Greece promises Germany tough fight
LEGIONOWO, Poland - The Associated Press
Greece’s Costas Katsouranis says his side is willing to give a tough fight against Germany. AFP photo
Greece captain Costas Katsouranis is hoping for a minor miracle when his team goes looking for its first ever victory against Germany in the European Championship quarterfinals tonight.A convincing Germany side advanced to the last eight after three straight group wins, while Greece’s 1-0 victory over Russia - it’s first win at a European Championship since lifting the trophy in 2004 - saw the team scrape through.
In terms of head-to-head matches, the figures look even worse. Greece has lost five and drawn three of its eight games against Germany and former West Germany.
Though the odds are not in his team’s favor, Katsouranis says the players will be giving everything in Friday’s match in Gdansk, Poland.
“You know that we’ll fight tooth and nail to win. This is one match, not the best-of-10 games,”
Katsouranis said before training Wednesday. “If will pull off the mini-miracle ... (and) if luck smiles on us, we will smile too. If not we’ll still have a sound sleep that night.
“We have one promise: To fight as hard as we can, for the full 90 minutes.”
Attacking style
Katsouranis will be wearing the captain’s armband in place of suspended skipper, Giorgos Karagounis.
Coach Fernando Santos abandoned his attacking 4-3-3 lineup against Russia, and could be tempted to keep a cautious formation against the Germans and frustrate their fast forwards.
Greece’s Dimitris Salpigidis played down Greece’s poor international record against the Germans.
“I think reporters worry about that stuff,” Salpigidis said. “And that’s their job. But we are not to bothered about statistics. If we beat Germany, it won’t really matter if it’s the first ever win or not.”
