Goal! Weekly Article 19: EURO 2008

UNDERDOG TO SHINE AGAIN?
Will there be a repeat of Greece’s 2004 triumph?
By Julius Ross

In 2004, Greece shocked the continent of Europe by claiming the European Championship trophy against all odds.

The team from the Mediterranean were mere outsiders prior to the tournament’s kick-off in Portugal, but dramatic victories against defending champions France, the Czech Republic and the host country, saw a sea of blue and white celebrate ecstatically in Athens.

Four years later, and it is unlikely that Greece will mount a second title winning campaign in Austria and Switzerland.

The reigning champs will find it difficult in the 2008 version to retain their crown in a challenging and tightly-poised Group D, where fixtures will be fought out in the Austria cities of Innsbruck and Salzburg.

Greece will have to overcome a talented and youthful Spanish side, Guus Hiddink’s tactically astute Russia, and perennial un-achievers Sweden just to progress to the quarter-finals.

With Greece’s surprise package status now relinquished, and opposition more wary of their giant-killing abilities, it paves the way for another underdog to emerge in their footsteps.

In the search for a new tournament underdog, co-host Austria can be safely ruled out.

The side’s ultimate aim is to ‘survive’ the group stage by avoiding embarrassment against their Group B opposition; Germany, Poland and Croatia.

At 92 on the FIFA World Rankings behind Mozambique, New Zealand and Guatemala, it is no surprise that Austrian fans wanted their national team withdrawn prior to the tournament to avoid humiliation.

Receiving automatic qualification as hosts, Austria’s preparation for the tournament involved 11 friendlies, of which they lost nine, drew one and surprisingly achieved a 3-2 result against the Ivory Coast.

Ten of the 11 matches were played in Austria which suggests the host country can hardly boast home ground advantage and they will surely provide ‘cannon fodder’ for the likes of Germany in their debut tournament.

Romania, on the other hand, may prove to be a likely candidate to adopt Greece’s former underdog status.

The side is appearing in its first competitive finals since 2000, with the last eight years witnessing one Euro and two World Cup qualification failures.

The side will face an uphill battle to progress from Group C, which many appropriately consider 2008’s ‘Group of Death’.

Romania tackles joint-tournament favourites France and Italy and Marco van Basten’s revitalised Netherlands.

But while many would automatically consider France and Italy as favourites to progress, the mouth-watering clash between these sides could easily result in a draw, leaving Romania in a position to unexpectedly snatch a shock qualifying spot.

Their last appearance, at Euro 2000, saw them progress from an equally challenging group consisting of Germany, Portugal and England, before failing to eventual runners-up Italy.

Having already defeated Holland on the way to securing qualification for the tournament, Romania remains relatively unknown, but fearless heading into the challenging group.

Romania’s key man will be Fiorentina’s Adrian Mutu whose excellent club form has seen him net 23 goals for the Italian side this season.

The 29 year-old will look to take his club form onto the national scene, and add to his 28 career goals from 61 caps for the Romanian side.

Another side that may emerge from the tournament as outsiders is Guus Hiddink’s newly adopted Russia.

After parting with Australia after the 2006 World Cup, Hiddink’s aim has was to qualify for Euro 2008 in a tough group that included England and Croatia.

An historic 2-1 victory in Moscow against England during qualifying proved an invaluable three points, with Russia securing the final qualifying spot, edging out the Three Lions by a solitary point.

Hiddink’s task will be to navigate his side past Greece, Spain and Sweden to reach the quarter-finals, a feat that has not been achieved by the Russian national team in two World Cup and two European Championship appearances.

Having guided South Korea to a semi-final place in 2002 and Australia to the quarters in 2006, Hiddink will be relishing the underdog tag, and if there is one man to secure a first-ever second-round appearance in Russia’s history, its Guus Hiddink.

While Russia and Romania await their chance to emulate Greece’s 2004 triumph, Group A kicked off the tournament Sunday morning (AEST).

After an intriguing opening ceremony in Basel, which saw skiers, cows, mountain scenes and waltzes encapsulated the alpine characteristics of the host nations, it was down to business.

But there was no waltzing for tournament hosts Switzerland, as their curtain-raiser against the Czech Republic resulted in a1-0 loss, courtesy of substitute Vaclac Sverkos’ 71st minute strike.

In the other Group A clash, 2004 runners-up Portugal used the pain of defeat last tournament to record a promising 2-0 victory over Turkey on the opening night.

Luiz Felipe Scolari’s men were too strong for the Turks, as Pepe fired home just after the hour mark and substitute Raul Meireles sealed the match three minutes into injury time.

The tournament will continue be played over the next three weeks, culminating in the final on the 29th of June.