‘It was magical:’ Remembering Greece’s miracle triumph at Euro 2004

(CNN) — It’s been 20 years since Greece shocked the world by winning Euro 2004. It’s remains one of the most unlikely stories in sport.

The players, then, who delivered the miracle on that balmy night in Lisbon, Portugal, are still considered heroes to this day.

One of those stars was Stelios Giannakopoulos, who walked out for the Euro 2004 final knowing he was on the verge of something incredibly special.

The Greece midfielder says his team was confident it could defy all logic by winning the nation’s first international soccer title, with just the host nation Portugal standing in its way.

Very much outsiders at the start of the tournament, Greece had already beaten Portugal during its incredible run to the final and was now facing the host once more – only this time with history at stake.

“I looked at the trophy. As I’m going past it I had a glimpse and I said ‘you will be mine in one-and-a-half hours’,” Giannakopoulos tells CNN Sport, reflecting on his thoughts just moments before the biggest match of his life.

“I was so confident that we would make it that I couldn’t wait for the game to get started. Especially after you sing the national anthem with your compatriots that have flooded the stands. We were feeling that we were playing in Athens or something. It was unbelievable.”

Greece had ripped up the rulebook on its miraculous run to the final on July 4, 2004.

After beating Portugal in its opening group game, it went on to claim a draw against Spain, before earning wins against Poland, France and Czech Republic. The only game Greece lost in the tournament was its final group game against Russia.

‘Magical’ journey

Back in Greece, the country had come to a standstill to watch the final. The team had touched the hearts of the population and that love had spread across the Greek diaspora.

George Tsitsonis is a Greek-American writer who has penned a book about the team’s incredible performances at Euro 2004. He was living in the US when Greece reached the final, and remembers sitting down to watch the game on television with his family.

“It was magical,” Tsitsonis tells CNN Sport as remembers watching the final that was played on the fourth of July.

“Looking to my left and seeing both my grandparents, who have now passed on, who had never watched football in their lives, would never have been interested in any sort of way, but everybody was so invested in what was happening on that television screen.”

Back in Lisbon and Greece was facing a tough task. Portugal was not only playing at home, but it also possessed some of the greatest players on the planet.

The legendary Luís Figo was still in his prime, Deco was regarded as arguably the best midfielder in the world and a young Cristiano Ronaldo was starting to make his mark on the international stage.

Lining up on the left-wing, former English Premier League star Giannakopoulos was facing the indomitable Figo, but says his nerves were quelled by the confidence he had in his own teammates.

Without any standout star, the Greek players relied heavily on teamwork and formed a formidable defense which leaked just four goals during the tournament. While keeping goals out, offensively the team also mastered the art of set-pieces and proved a constant threat from corners.

It was a plan that worked again in the final when Greece scored the only goal of the game – Angelos Charisteas sparking jubilant scenes as his header from a corner rippled the back of the net in the 57th minute.

The celebrations that followed are now etched into folklore, with a sea of blue and white fans falling over themselves in the stands.

In the US, Tsitsonis and his wife had hung Greek flags out of the car window and were driving around the back roads, honking their horns in celebration.

Meanwhile, fireworks lit up the Athens sky as thousands of fans flooded out onto streets to celebrate an unprecedented success.

“Everybody was just in such a state of euphoria, no matter whether you were in the stadium, in Greece, or across the Greek diaspora,” Tsitsonis said, smiling at the memories.

“I think even we knew at that time that this was probably a once in a lifetime thing that we were living.”

Moment of glory

Giannakopoulos, who watched the final minutes of the final from the bench, still recalls the angst of waiting for the fulltime whistle, but remembers the explosion of emotion he felt as the entire squad ran onto the pitch when the referee blew his whistle.

“It was a moment of glory for us. Moments that will remain there forever and for the generations to come,” he says. “Everyone included in that squad was blessed. It was an unreal dream that came true for us. For our country. For Greek football. The power of football is massive.”

Prior to 2004, the national team setup had been disjointed, and the squad had been considered serial underachievers.

But under German coach Otto Rehhagel, everyone seemed to be pulling in the same direction and Tsitsonis says the 2004 victory was a cathartic moment for the Greek people who had longed to celebrate some soccer success.

The Euro 2004 triumph came shortly before the country hosted the summer Olympic Games, an event that further united the population.

Tsitsonis says the memories of that “magical Greek summer” were clung to during the difficult years that followed for the nation, as it was plunged into economic chaos following the financial crisis in 2008, resulting in rampant unemployment across Greece.

For Giannakopoulos, the team’s Euro 2004 victory was further proof of what the Greek people can do when they come together.

“If we stick together, we can make miracles happen. We can make wonders,” he says.

“It’s in the DNA of our nation. We are very, very strong as a nation. History proves that. Once more through football, we proved that. It was a big metaphorical message.”

The current Greek national team failed to qualify for this year’s European Championship after losing to Georgia in an agonising penalty shootout in the play-off final.

In truth, Greece has never come close to matching those heroics from 2004 – perhaps unsurprising given the depth of quality throughout world soccer currently.

Now, 20 years on, Spain and England will have the chance to produce a magical moment for their countries in the final of this year’s tournament, but neither side’s victory will compare to the shock produced by Greece all those years ago.

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