[Memnoch]

I'm happy at this result - it's good to see some of the smaller nations succeeding - Johnny's view is taht it devalues the tournament but I disagree - I agree it robs the tournament of a bit of glamour and a bit of star power to not have the big names like Zidane, Nedved, Van Nistelrooy, Becks etc. there, but I'm thrilled for these battlers to actually get to realise their dream - after all they got there fair and square (it's a bit of an Aussie thing to barrack for the underdog). It shows that the game is truly a world game. If there's a criticism I have of rugby it's that this type of result would never happen - at each World Cup you pretty much know that the semifinalists will be Australia, NZ, South Africa and France, with very little chance of a smaller nation like Samoa, Italy, Japan or even Scotland making it in.

A news report, from the Guardian.

Dellas fires the silver bullet . Kevin McCarra in Oporto Friday July 2, 2004 The Guardian . Greece have come from 35th place in the world to the summit of the European Championship. They will meet Portugal in Sunday's final after showing character and perfect timing here. They won with the silver goal of Traianos Dellas's near-post header from a Vassilios Tsiartos corner kick at the very end of the first period of extra-time. There were barely enough seconds remaining for a devastated Czech Republic to restart. . The losers will have to confess that Otto Rehhagel's team had been by far the more dangerous team once the standard 90 minutes had elapsed. Before the outcome was settled, the goalkeeper Petr Cech had already made good saves from Stelios Giannakopoulos and the mighty centre-half Dellas, who once played for Sheffield United. The Czechs never recovered from a first-half injury to their captain Pavel Nedved and that hinted at flawed character. . Whatever the other limitations, the Greeks lack nothing in temperament. They have already beaten Portugal, at the very start of the competition, and France, as well as ensuring that Spain did not survive the group stage. Whatever credentials they lacked prior to Euro 2004, abundant proof of their worth is now being flourished. . Their large and passionate band of followers will naturally be contemptuous of any adverse opinion, but this is a final that will take some getting used to for the football community at large. The Portuguese may be alone in viewing it with total approval. This semi-final has served up opponents who may have been drained by an emotional night and must make their way down from Oporto to the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon. . They will bring with them a non-combatant since Georgios Karagounis, booked here, is suspended, but nothing is likely to deter this side after all they have achieved. Rehhagel is now linked with the Germany vacancy and though he may be bound for his homeland he can only be enthralled by this adventure with Greece. . Not everyone can share in the delight. Much as people pose as iconoclasts they actually miss the idols who are destroyed. The competition would have been richer in quality if the Spaniards and Frenchmen could have played on a bit longer. Greece will bring an adamantine spirit to the final rather than virtuosity. . A lesser team would have been deterred at Estadio do Dragao as the initially fluent Czech Republic suggested they would make light work of these adversaries. In the third minute a drive by Tomas Rosicky from the right corner of the penalty area pinged the crossbar and, by the interval, the rampaging left-back Marek Jankulovski alone had seen two shots pushed behind by the goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis. . The first victim of the Czech onslaught, however, was to be their own captain. As Karel Bruckner's side tried to sustain pressure and tempo, Nedved lunged at a low cross in the 33rd minute, inadvertently kicked Konstantinos Katsouranis and hurt his knee in the process. The attempt to continue after treatment was doomed and the midfielder eventually left the field in distress. . The Czech Republic still had, among others, the competition's top scorer Milan Baros. His marker Georgios Seitaridis, who is to be with Porto next season, followed the Liverpool striker doggedly, mixing persistence with one foul that brought a yellow card. And yet Greece were never totally resigned to dull covering. . They must have sensed fragility in the favourites. Nedved's gifts would be missed by any side, but the Czechs seemed to let their emotions slump in sympathy with him. They never again moved with the liveliness of a side that had won all their previous games at Euro 2004. . Without the sparkle, the moments of alarm for Greece had a rugged character. Jan Koller, the burly centre-forward, appeared to have his shirt pulled by the eventual hero Dellas as he pounded towards a free-kick but Pierluigi Collina showed no interest in awarding a penalty. . On the whole, the odds were improving for the Greek team. Even if there was no equivalent to the finesse of the Czechs, Panagiotis Fyssas might just have headed in a deep free-kick by Angelis Basinas instead of putting it off-target. . From a corner-kick in the 60th minute, Baros got in the way of a Koller header. The incident symbolised the manner the Czechs had become a barrier to themselves. Bruckner's team were at least diligent prior to extra-time and they added slickness when Koller linked with Rosicky after 80 minutes but the robust striker shot wide. . Greece already understand how frustration and fear mounts in rivals who expect to outclass them. The experience garnered at Euro 2004 was obvious as they assumed a far more purposeful approach. The Czechs looked paralysed by a premonition of their fate. . There is no psychological labyrinth for Rehhagel's men. They have never deviated from a confidence that spirit and organisation would take them onwards at Euro 2004. Portugal should still halt them in Lisbon, but will not expect to do so without a real struggle. . Match stats . Greece (4-4-2): Nikopolidis 6 ; Seitaridis 6 , Dellas 7 , Kapsis 6 , Fyssas 7 ; Katsouranis 6 , Basinas 5 , Zagorakis 7 , Karagounis 5 ; Charisteas 6 , Vryzas 6. Booked : Seitaridis, Charisteas, Karagounis. Goals: Dellas 105. . Czech Republic (4-4-2): Cech 7 ; Grygera 6 , Bolf 5 , Ujfalusi 6 , Jankulovski 7 ; Poborsky 7 , Rosicky 7 , Galasek 6 , Nedved 6 ; Baros 7 , Koller 6 . Booked : Galasek, Smicer, Baros. . Att: 42,449; Referee : Collina (Italy) 6 . Man of the match: Dellas (Greece) . Substitutions: Greece: Giannakopoulos (Basinas, 72) to right midfield, Vryzas to left midfield, switch to 4-5-1; Tsiartas (Vryzas, 90) like for like. Czech Rep: Smicer (Nedved, 40) like for like . Greece Czech Rep . 48% Possession 52% . 5 Shots on target 5 . 4 Shots off target 11 . 4 Corners 8 . 15 Fouls conceded 24 . 70% Pass completion 73% . 4 Offside 2 .

[ 07-02-2004, 06:06 AM: Message edited by: Memnoch ]