Greece
How'd they get here: Won qualifying Group F
Last Appearance: Euro 2008 (eliminated in the Group Stage)
Best Appearance: Euro 2004 (Champions)
Schedule:
June 8 vs Poland
June
12 vs Czech Republic
June
16 vs Russia
The Story:
It's hard to decide what's worse for Greece, the crippling economic crisis that has caused rioting in the streets and a fallout that is being felt throughout Europe or me ranking them last in this thing I made up last night. It's too hard to call so I'll just call them 1A and 1B, just kidding, this ranking is definitely #1 on the list of things Greece wishes it could turn around. However if you've ever seen any Disney sports movie you might realize that this is setting up quite nicely, "a team of underdogs join up to overcome all the odds lifting their country out of crisis at the same time they lift the trophy". So what are the odds we'll be watching 'Euro 2012: A Greek Odyssey' starring Emilio Estevez (he really needs the work) as the team's coach sometime in the future? In my opinion, not so good.
If you're a soccer fan, you're probably thinking "in 2004 no one thought this team would do anything and look what happened then" and that's fair. We all remember what happened in '04 (especially Portugal fans and my dad who somehow predicted them winning the competition, something he never forgets to mention anytime the European Championship is mentioned) but there's a reason why that victory was so improbable. Playing that style of soccer with limited, if any world class talent rarely leads to any victories let alone into winning a whole tournament. However, if this particular edition of the Greek squad were to win it, it would be through the same brand of football that makes Chelsea's recent Champions league style of play look ultra offensive.
Gone are most of the players from the 2004 squad including the MVP of that particular team, goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis (you probably remember him as the goalie that managed to make incredible save after incredible save despite looking like someone's old greying uncle) and 8 of the remaining starters have moved on from the national squad. The only two leftovers from '04 who look to be a pivotal part of this upcoming team are Giorgos Karagounis and Giorgos Karagounis (if you're wondering if I docked Greece because typing each player's name is like a particularly hard level of All The Right Type? Absolutely. Also, shout-out to the 6 people who'll get that joke. I owned Homerow), both players who are in the twilight of their careers. The changes also extend to behind the bench where German Otto Rehhagel, a man who preached defense and discipline has been replaced by Portugese Fernando Santos, a man who also preaches defense and discipline. So although this team isn't your older sibling's Greek team of '04, the style of parking the bus for the entire game before taking your chances on set pieces remains the same (Greece scored the least amount of goals in the whole qualifying process with just 14).
Greece lucked out in qualifying with an easy group that featured Israel and Croatia as the main competition (not exactly a murderer's row). They used this to their advantage as they won this group to book their ticket to Poland and Ukraine. Their luck continued in the next draw as they are in the undeniably easiest group of the 4, Group A. This group has 4 fairly even countries all of which could qualify (also known as the group whose games you're allowed to miss). Because of this, seeing Greece make it to the quarter-finals wouldn't be as surprising as you would think but them going anywhere past the quarters seems practically impossible.
#1 Song in Greece at the moment
It's basically Jennifer Lopez ft Pitbull if Pitbull was a Robin Thicke looking guy who sings in a weird English accent. Enjoy!
Reasons to Cheer For Greece:
If you're a Stoke City fan, if you think 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' got screwed out of an Oscar in 2002, if your idea of "Showtime" is Pat Riley's Knicks from the 90's, if your two favorite 'Wire' characters are Stavros and 'The Greek', if you think playing the 4-5-1 formation leaves you too exposed at the back, if Maria Menounos is your favourite Dancing With The Stars contestant of all time, if you're a fan of "The Trap" in hockey, if you're Greek.
Tomorrow the countdown continues with Team #15!
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