For a long time, Greece were regarded as a soft touch on the international stage, with their club sides gaining little respect in European competition. The last decade however has seen teams like Olympiacos and Panathinaikos starting to perform well in the Champions League. Their European Championship win in 2004 is widely regarded as the biggest surprise in major football tournament history with only Denmark’s 1992 win in the same competition on the same scale.
It is clear from their previous World Cup history that Greece were not considered as much of a player on the world scene. 1994 was the first time they qualified for the World Cup, with the 2010 edition being the second. After finishing their group ahead of Russia for the 1994 tournament, Greece had high hopes of making their mark on the world stage. What followed was one of the worst succession of performances in recent memory. They were simply appalling as they lost 4-0 to both Argentina and Bulgaria and 2-0 to Nigeria. This dismal showing was due to the coach’s decision to use the aging squad that had qualified rather than any bright up and coming talent. It must have been apparent that their tournament would conclude early, so he allowed every single member of the squad game time during the competition, something that is unheard of in the modern game.
Despite the fact that their qualifying group wasn’t that difficult, Greece still only finished second behind Switzerland after losing both matches against the Swiss. Their shaky defense was offset by the scoring exploits of Theofanis Gekas who was top scorer in European qualifying with 10 goals. They ended up meeting the Ukraine in a two legged playoff to determine who would play in South Africa. Two extremely dull matches followed, a 0-0 draw in Greece followed by a 1-0 Greek win in the Ukraine.
In a strange twist of fate, Greece were paired with Argentina and Nigeria again in their World Cup group with South Korea making up the quartet. The Greeks bring a vastly experienced squad to South Africa and are unlikely to be on the wrong end of hidings like they were in 1994. Liverpool’s Sotirios Kyrgiakos has had an excellent season and with the midfield quality of Giorgos Karagounis and the strike force of Gekas and Angelos Charisteas, Greece seem certain to do far better than on their previous World Cup appearance.