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Soccer overshadows Olympics for Greeks The European Championships were supposed to be a minor diversion during Greece's Olympic summer. As the nation prepares for Sunday's Euro 2004 final, soccer is suddenly on everybody's mind.
The wave of enthusiasm and patriotism that has swept over Greece in the past few weeks as its national soccer team kept advancing is a welcome change after months of uncertainty and international criticism over the state of Greece's preparations for the Aug. 13-29 games.
Installing the roof over the Olympic stadium last month was a major symbolic achievement for Greece. The stunning run of its soccer team to the Euro 2004 final against Portugal has boosted the nation's self-confidence even further.
"All the players and the coach acted as the best ambassadors for the Olympic Games," said Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, the president of the Athens organizing committee. "They sent to the whole world an image of a Greece that is united, with discipline and teamwork, of a Greece that does not retreat before adversity, of a Greece that wins."
Many Greeks see the team as a role model for the nation — a tightly knit squad without ego problems, results the only objective.
"There's a good spirit in the team. We all play for each other, we all love each other," said midfielder Stylianos Giannakopoulos, who came on in the semifinals and joined the wild celebrations on the field following the 1-0 overtime victory over the Czech Republic.
There were also celebrations in Greece and other countries with sizable Greek communities. The feel-good factor was also evident in the stands of the Dragao Stadium in Porto, filled with thousands of Greek fans who had made the trip on a few days' notice, by far outnumbering the Czechs in the stadium.
The win warmed the hearts of Greeks immigrants all over the world and support was coming in from as far as Australia and New York.
"A win (on Sunday) will be the best imaginable curtain raiser for the Olympics and do wonders for Hellenic pride in Melbourne as well as Athens," The Australian newspaper wrote in an editorial Friday.
Whatever happens on Sunday, enthusiasm will not be dampened in a nation that had never won a game in a major tournament until the start of Euro 2004 three weeks ago.
Apart from beating Portugal in the opener, Greece stunned defending champion France 1-0 last week and the Czechs, the best team in the tournament until Thursday, in the semis.
The win also monopolized coverage on Greece's dozens of private television and radio networks. Even newspapers that usually favor politics over sports — such as the Greek Communist Party daily — splashed the story on their front pages.
"It's Friday and it's true. Greece-1, Czech Republic-0," the Athens daily Apoghevmatini headlined.
The Athens daily Ethnos said, "The gods have gone crazy," a reference to the slogan painted on the Greek team bus: "Ancient Greece had 12 gods, modern Greece has 11." |
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