George Tsitsonis
As the Euro 2012 qualifiers resume this week, the competition’s shock winners in 2004, Greece, face crucial back-to-back home matches. The former champions are a team in transition, with Portuguese manager Fernando Santos having taken over at the helm from the long-serving Otto Rehhagel.
Santos’ reign began with an extremely disappointing 1-1 draw with Georgia in Greece’s first qualifier in September. He was able to rally his charges however, and though his side drew again, this time it was in a more respectable manner, 0-0 against Croatia in Zagreb.
Though two points from their first two matches is hardly the return Greece were hoping for, the draw against the Croats could ultimately prove vital as it kept Croatia’s advantage at two points rather than five in Group F.
Greece now play host to Latvia on Friday and Israel next Tuesday at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus. Six points from those matches would allow Greece to take charge of the group, and Santos will be hoping to guide the “Ethniki” to a pair of wins that would go a long way towards taking the pressure off his shoulders so early in his reign.
Santos was appointed manager of the Greek team in the aftermath of the team’s 2010 World Cup campaign as Rehhagel stepped down after nine years in charge. The Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) saw in Santos the ideal man to replace the wily old German, another coach who favoured building teams on a solid defence. The Portuguese boss was not just considered someone in the Rehhagel mold, but also a coach who was much more in tune with the Greek game as the former Porto manager had spent nearly seven years in the country coaching club sides AEK Athens, Panathinaikos, and PAOK Salonika.
Soon after his appointment Santos paid homage to the exploits of his predecessor, though he hoped Greece would become a side known for playing a more aesthetically-pleasing brand of football and said one of his main jobs would be to “marry good football with results”.
In fact, Santos has been widely praised for some of the steps he has already taken as national team coach. For starters, his decision to live in Greece and follow the game there “on-the-ground” has been applauded by those involved in Greek football, as has his desire to travel around the country to watch matches and track the progress of current and potential national team players.
Whereas Rehhagel would come back to Greece and take in the odd derby involving the bigger sides, Santos has not only attended matches involving the likes of Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, AEK, and PAOK, but also fixtures such as Larisa-Kerkyra.
One of his main goals coming into the job was to provide more continuity and cooperation between the senior side and the younger national teams. His recent visit to a practice of Greece’s Under-21 side and subsequent discussion with the team was meant to motivate those players to continue their growth and progress toward the full national team.
Santos’ belief that Greek players are talented enough not only to win, but to win playing positively is in stark contrast to Rehhagel who once famously said “We will play exciting football when we have [Lionel] Messi, Kaka, [Andres] Iniesta, and Xavi”. Santos however is under the impression that there is good quality inherent in the national team pool and the potential is there to play a more expansive game.
Perhaps the most glaring difference between the two managers is their team selection. The Portuguese coach has already shown he chooses to base his picks on form rather than established favourites. He recalled 35-year-old Nikos Lymberopoulos due to his positive start to the season and Santos has shown he is unafraid to bring in youth as evidenced by his recent call-up of Olympiacos’ talented 19-year-old Ioannis Fetfatzidis. Couple this with his insistence on picking players to play in their normal positions and many see the Portuguese as a breath of fresh air compared to Rehhagel’s rigid and sometimes odd approach to his line-ups and tactics.
One example of the difference between the two is their preference at left back. Rehhagel preferred right-footed Vasilis Torosidis as his left back, leaving natural left-footer Nikos Spyropoulos on the bench much of the time. Santos meanwhile has brought Giorgos Tzavellas, the young Eintracht Frankfurt left back, into the frame and was rewarded with a fine performance by the player in the qualifier against Croatia. Spyropoulos played the first qualifier against Georgia and Santos’ trust in him seemed to shine through as he played well and grabbed the team’s equaliser.
Santos has made a good impression on many observers and fans thus far, but ultimately he will be judged on results. Rehhagel had many detractors, especially toward the end of his reign, but his success in qualifying Greece constantly for major tournaments was his saving grace. Santos’ task is far from easy and regardless of what some think of King Otto, Santos has giant shoes to fill.
Already, the new Greek manager has had to deal with some key players quitting the national team. Stalwarts such as Sotiris Kyrgiakos, Ioannis Amanatidis, and Theofanis Gekas have recently quit international football, with rumours persisting of problems in the dressing room between some stars. Santos was also hoping to have the team play a 4-4-2 with a diamond midfield, but that system looks to have been abandoned now after being used sparingly in his first two matches in charge with no real success.
Still, he has come through all these problems and even the two draws to start qualifying relatively unscathed. So much however hinges on the next two matches against Latvia and Israel. Two wins and Greece will take charge of the group and Santos will almost immediately gain the respect and the time he needs to build the team. Anything less will see Greece in a difficult position as far as automatic qualification goes and Santos unable to shake off the pressure and comparisons with Rehhagel.
