Greece National Football Team

The Greece national football team (Greek: Εθνική Ελλάδος, Ethniki Ellados) represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos. Greece spent most of their history in relative obscurity, having participated only twice in the final tournaments of the FIFA World Cup and the UEFA European Championship, in 1994 and 1980 respectively, until UEFA Euro 2004, when they became European champions in only their second participation in the tournament. The Greeks, dismissed as rank outsiders before the tournament with bookmakers giving odds of between 80–1 to 150–1 for them to win, defeated some of the favourites in the competition including defending champions France and hosts Portugal, who Greece beat in both the opening game of the tournament and again in the final.

Since that victory Greece have occupied a place in the top 30 of the FIFA World Rankings for all but 2 months, and reached a high of 8th from April to June 2008, as well as from September to October 2011.

Read more about Greece National Football Team:  Stadium, Colours, Nicknames, Honours

Famous quotes containing the words greece, national, football and/or team:

    Tell Greece that her spring has been taken out of her year.
    Herodotus (c. 484–424 B.C.)

    We love the indomitable bellicose patriotism that sets you apart; we love the national pride that guides your muscularly courageous race; we love the potent individualism that doesn’t prevent you from opening your arms to individualists of every land, whether libertarians or anarchists.
    Tommaso Marinetti (1876–1944)

    ... in the minds of search committees there is the lingering question: Can she manage the football coach?
    Donna E. Shalala (b. 1941)

    Romeo. I dreamt a dream tonight.
    Mercutio. And so did I.
    Romeo. Well, what was yours?
    Mercutio. That dreamers often lie.
    Romeo. In bed asleep, while they do dream things true.
    Mercutio. O then I see Queen Mab hath been with you.
    She is the fairies’ midwife, and she comes
    In shape no bigger than an agate stone
    On the forefinger of an alderman,
    Drawn with a team of little atomi
    Over men’s noses as they lie asleep.
    William Shakespeare (1564–1616)