King Otto reigns with Greece (Team Profile)

ATHENS - German coach Otto Rehhagel is enjoying proving his sceptics wrong after Greece’s national team scored their 1-0 win in Ukraine Nov 18, sending them through to next year’s World Cup finals.

Some observers had begun to question the 71-year-old’s ability to stir the 2004 European Champions to the World Cup after failing to do so for the 2006 World Cup Germany.

It is only the second time-ever that Greece have qualified for a World Cup finals, coming 16 years after their first appearance in the United States in 1994 - when they lost all three group matches without scoring and conceding 10 goals.

“This is a very important moment for Greek football. It’s simply fantastic,” said Angelos Charisteas, the man who scored the winner in the final against Portugal at Euro 2004.

“We played very well throughout the game against Ukraine, especially in the first half, we took the lead thanks to a beautiful goals from Dimitris Salpigidis and then we held them comfortably, I thought.”

Indeed, many say that the failure of the team to qualify for next year’s finals in South Africa would most likely have spelled the end of Rehhagel’s eight-year run as Greece’s coach who managed to pull the national team out of relative obscurity.

Qualification for the finals of the World Cup was the missing piece in Rehhagel’s five decades of involvement in the game, having never coached or played at the highest level.

The German coach was under mounting pressure following Greece’s second-place group finish after losing both matches against Switzerland to miss out on an automatic place in South Africa.

He is enjoying showing them that their fears were unfounded.

Often under attack by the Greek media for his insistence on using ageing players, the former Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich coach is under pressure to adopt a more attacking stance with a smaller poll of players.

Adopting a no-nonsense defence was the foundation for success during the 2004 European Championships and it is again likely to underpin the strategy of the team.

Brushing aside strong media criticism, the German decided to field five defenders in Donetsk with Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Vangelis Moras, both playing in Italy’s Serie A, forming a strong central defence.

The Coach:

Otto Rehhagel, nicknamed “King Otto” by the Greek press, took over the reins in 2001 and after eight successful years in charge he can be considered Greece’s greatest coach.

The 71-year-old German became the first “foreign” boss to take Greece to success at the European championships and he has now been in charge of the team for more than 100 games - more than any other coach.

He also had managerial successes in the Bundesliga with Werder Bremen and Kaiserlauten, leading the former to Cup Winners’ Cup glory. He also helped steer Bayern Munich to the 1996 UEFA Cup final but was dismissed before the event took place.

He is known for his autocratic, no-nonsence style which has been dubbed “Ottocracy” in some sports circles.

Star player:

Unlike other European teams, Greece does not have a lot of international superstars in their ranks - they are more about team play. But if one had to select a star player then two come to mind, Georgios Karagounis and Kostas Katsouranis.

Midfielder Karagounis, nicknamed “The Dude” spent two seasons in Portugal with Benfica before returning to super league club Panathinaikos in 2007 and remains a key part of the national side.

Known for this free-kicks within 30 yards of goal, Karagounis will likely serve as the teams showstopper again. He is best remembered for scoring the first goal of Euro 2004 where the stunning long range effort helped his team win the opening game of the tournament against the hosts Portugal.

Factfile:

Nickname: Ethniki

Founded: 1926

FIFA affiliation: 1927

Highest FIFA ranking: 8 - April 2008 (first obtained)

Lowest FIFA ranking: 66 - September 1998

Previous World Cup appearances: 1 (1994)

Best World Cup performance: Group Stage (1994)

Date qualified for finals: November 18, 2009