Greek warriors invoke the spirit of 2004 to warn Germany that they will not lie down in their quarter-final
Greece supporters in Poland are having T-shirts specially printed ahead of Friday's quarter-final against Germany in Gdansk. The slogan: "It's time we kicked you out of the euro." Football can often provide a parallel universe, but Angela Merkel will be attending the game and attempting to put financial politics behind her for 90 minutes, and at a press conference this week Greek players promised to do the same.
"We are not here to speak about politics," veteran midfieldfer Kostas Katsouranis said. "We are here to make the nation proud in the only way that we know. We are sportsmen and our job is to concentrate on our sport. Everybody knows the crisis we are having in our country, but for the players in our squad the game against Germany is the most important thing going on right now. We need to focus just on that. In a few hours Greece will have a new prime minister so maybe it would be a good idea to telephone him and ask about politics."
Germany are favourites to reach the semi-final where they will face the winners of Sunday's England-Italy game, but a comment from within the German camp that they do not understand the meaning of the word elimination seemed to rankle the Greeks more than any number of references to the state of their economy or chances of staying in the Eurozone. Greece put Russia out of the competition against all expectation in their last group game, and Dimitris Salpigidis insisted the same could happen to the Germans.
"They should know better than that," Salpigidis said. "If we can beat Russia we can win this match. If anyone comes into our dressing room they will find 22 fighters [the Greece captain Giorgios Karagounis is suspended for the game]. When we play in a competition such as this we never think we are going to lose, because we can play with heart and passion. When times are difficult for the country it becomes even more of an honour to wear the jersey with pride. It never even crossed our mind that we might lose to Russia, for instance. We knew we needed to win, and that is what we did."
Katsouranis, a survivor from the Greece team that surprised everyone by winning the European Championships in 2004 in Portugal, said it was insulting of Germany to simply assume they would go through against a weaker team. "Do they imagine we will just stand on the pitch and look at them, just admiring the way they play?" he asked. "We will not do that. We are going to fight. We have proved over the years that we can match the bigger nations in Europe. The spirit is the same here as it was in 2004. The coaches might be different and many of the players have changed, but the attitude now is as it was then. We are still Greeks, and we still play for each other. If Germany do not like the way we play that is their problem, but I can tell them now we will be playing for a win."
With Portugal and Spain still alive in the tournament, Friday's game may not be the only one Mrs Merkel feels somewhat uncomfortable about attending, though doubtless she will be hoping Germany still go through. The German chancellor can go to the match because the Italian government moved forward by several hours a meeting in Rome with the Italian, French and Spanish leaders that originally was supposed to end as the game started, the government spokesman Georg Streiter said.
Germany, Europe's biggest economy, has been a major contributor to international bailouts for Greece and was instrumental in demanding structural reforms and hugely unpopular spending cuts in return. Team officials on both sides have been at pains to stress that it is purely a sporting event. "She hopes for an exciting and fair match," Streiter told reporters in Berlin. With Greece still in the process of forming a government it wasn't clear whether Merkel will meet any Greek officials at the match. Merkel, who has frequently attended Germany matches over recent years, was invited to Gdansk by the Polish prime minister Donald Tusk. "This is a football match, and it is exclusively about sport," Streiter said.
Joachim Löw has never played Greece before in his time as German manager, but is aware of their resilience on the football field. "No one thought they would make it as Russia had been so strong," he said. "I think they've had three or four chances at this tournament and scored three goals, they're masters of efficiency. They're great at the back and strong in the tackle. It's like biting into a rock. Angela Merkel and the national team are on good terms. We agree she will not interfere in my tactical instructions and I will not interfere in her political agenda. This is a normal sporting contest and that is the end of it." Read More
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