Euro 2004: Greece
Otto Rehhagel’s Greece clinched the trophy courtesy of a 1-0 victory against their Portuguese hosts. “King Otto’s” deeply unfancied side had beaten Portugal 2-1 in Group A’s tournament opener. They proceeded to draw with Spain and lose to Russia, finishing second in the group before really hitting their stride and recording a trio of 1-0 knockout wins against France, the Czech Republic and, ultimately, Portugal. Rehhagel claimed to have little interest in tactics but confused opponents by deploying a man-marking system while playing 4-5-1 against lone strikers and 5-4-1 when confronted with front twos. With sometime-sweeper Traianos Dellas shining in central defence and Angelos Charisteas, scorer of the winner in the final, a specialist at heading goals from crosses and corners, Rehhagel reminded everyone that, sometimes, sitting deep before undoing opponents with ultra-direct counterattacks really works. Fortune does not always favour the brave.
