Thursday Sep 29 2005 10:18
Greece coach Otto Rehhagel is backing his side to cause an upset in the opening game of Euro 2004 against hosts Portugal.
The vastly experienced German has guided the Greeks to their first European Championship finals appearance since 1980 and is certain that they can make an impact and do better than predicted.
He told reporters: "We may have no stars, but we have a very good team.
"Outsiders also have a chance in football. We are passionate and we will give it our best to win this game."
Rehhagel is refusing to name his starting line-up until shortly before kick-off in Porto's Dragao Stadium, but has a number of injury concerns to deal with.
Leicester City central defender Nikos Dabizas is doubtful with a back problem, with AS Roma stopper Traianos Dellas also set to miss out.
Better news comes with Atletico Madrid forward Demis Nikolaidis set to beat injury to take his place.
Rehhagel's confidence in his side comes as a result of an impressive qualifying campaign that saw them top Group Six ahead of Spain, who are also in the Group A for the finals.
Having lost their first two games to Spain and Ukraine, Greece then won their next six fixtures to finish a point ahead of Spain, keeping six consecutive clean sheets in the process.
Rehhagel admitted there was a point to prove saying: "We are not going to Portugal just to participate, but to succeed.
"We want to show that our qualification was justified, not lucky."
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