Which euros did greece win

We weren't complete outsiders, though: going into EURO, we were 15 games unbeaten. Karagounis : The goal… Portugal lost the ball close to their area. I remember pressing them and getting the ball in an area where I always think about scoring.

I had a problem with my right foot — for a while I thought I wouldn't even make the finals — and hadn't had a chance to shoot with it for two weeks until that moment.

First shot, first goal; we were on our way. Nikopolidis : That goal, early in the match, took our anxiety away and boosted our confidence, both as a team and as individuals. It was key. Karagounis : This was the most difficult game of the entire finals, especially the second half. Sometimes, you just need luck and we had it on our side that day. We held on for a very important point and we were almost through. They knew what we were about.

They knew us, they knew it would be hard. Karagounis : Russia had nothing to lose, they were already out; suddenly the pressure was on us, especially when they scored.

Nikopolidis : That first 20 minutes — we could have been down! The second half was chaos. Half of us were pushing for a goal, the other half were trying to keep the scoreline as it was. Karagounis : Fortunately, we managed to pull a goal back and qualify.

It was the sweetest defeat of our careers. Karagounis : The greatest win in the history of the Greek national team. We beat the holders and favourites, the reigning European champions and recent World Cup winners. It was maybe the greatest France team. The game against France was the one which made us believe we could go all the way. That game became a turning point.

That's when we started to realise we could go to the very end. The match featured tournament hosts Portugal, who went into the match as favourites, and Greece, playing in only their second European Championship. It was the first time in a major international tournament where both finalists had also played in the opening game of the tournament.

Greece won the final 1—0, defying odds of 80—1 from the beginning of the tournament, with Angelos Charisteas scoring the winning goal in the 57th minute. Greece booked a place in the Final thanks to a win in extra time against the Czech Republic. Meanwhile, Portugal beat England in the quarters on penalties and then notched a win over the Netherlands in the semifinals.

With home-field advantage and a young Cristiano Ronaldo on their side, the money was clearly on Portugal. Except the passion of the Greek team was undeniable, and on the field, Greece did what they did best and proved they were the best team of the tournament.

Dabizas thinks that kind of collective spirit, nurtured painstakingly by Rehhagel, helped see Greece through. Part of the marvel is that their players genuinely had other things going on. Before the quarter-final against a star-laden France, squad members packed their bags and firmed up their travel plans for holidays and weddings.

It sounds a likely story but Dabizas confirms plans had to be hurriedly rearranged. It was farcical in a way: people were planning to marry, to go away on holiday, and had to reschedule. But against what? Another week? The wider Greek world barely knew what to think when they won, Charisteas scoring while Zinedine Zidane and a frustrated Thierry Henry were nullified. Just before the hour mark, Greece earned a corner kick from which Angelos Charisteas scored. And even the most frantic finale in front of passionate home support could not break the resistance in-built by Rehhagel.

Greece won the match 1—0 and were crowned European champions, a title that they were given a —1 chance of winning before the tournament. Portugal became the first host nation to lose in a European Championship final. Celebrations took place all over Greece and the world. Fireworks lit up the night sky over Athens almost as soon as the final whistle sounded half a continent away in Lisbon, as flag-draped Athenians poured onto the streets of the capital, hailing the victory over Portugal as the best possible augury for the Athens Olympics that followed in August Players were eulogized across the country and Charisteas even reportedly had his home village renamed after him.

Along with a string of other seminal dates in the long history of Greece, will go down as another point in time that all Greeks who were living at the time will never forget. A date that, when a Greek person even hears it in passing, brings them back to the almost impossible victory that they witnessed that fateful day.