bides Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Greece turn down invitation to play Cyprus in coming event By Leo Leonidou (archive article - Wednesday, February 8, 2006) THE MANAGER of the Greek national football team has snubbed Cyprus, demanding that Greece and Cyprus be kept apart in the upcoming Cyprus Football Association (CFA) International tournament. Tassos Katsikides, president of the CFA’s National Teams Committee, told the Cyprus Mail that, “a request was made to the Hellenic Football Federation for the two sides to meet, but Greek manager Otto Rehhagel refused, saying the two sides could be drawn to face each other in the same Euro 2008 qualifying group. “When the draw was made, Greece and Cyprus were kept apart, so we really wanted to play against them and made another request to the Greek Federation. “But again, the answer was no, and we were left disappointed. However, I would like to stress that there is no problem between the Cyprus Football Association and the Hellenic Football Federation. Our relationship has always been good and will continue to be good.” European champions Greece are among the sides involved in the tournament, which is billed as a warm-up for Euro 2008. The tournament is taking place between February 27 and March 2, with matches due to be played in Nicosia, Limassol and Larnaca. A total of eight teams will be taking part and they are: Cyprus, Greece, Romania, Slovenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Finland and Armenia. The teams have been divided into two groups of four, with the top-placed side in each section being declared joint tournament winners. Each country will play two games. The first matches will take place on February 28. In Group 1, Greece take on Belarus while Finland face Kazakhstan. Cyprus are in Group 2 and will play Slovenia while Romania do battle with Armenia. Both groups conclude on March 1, with the two winners from the first fixtures in the pools meeting while the two losers fight it out for the right to finish third. Despite the disappointment, Katsikides said: “It’s an honour to be hosting the European champions. It is irrelevant that Greece will not meet Cyprus, the fact is they will be here and our fans can go and see them. It will be a very strong tournament.” APOEL fan Petros Ioannou couldn’t disguise his anger though. “I find it extremely insulting that Rehhagel doesn’t want to face Cyprus. I, along with thousands of other Cypriot fans, flew to Portugal to support Greece during their triumph in 2004, and this is how he thanks us. “I think the Hellenic Football Federation should do something about it. How can the coach of a team decide which side he wants to play against in a tournament? “The Cyprus Football Association obviously are more than happy to buckle to his demands and I feel betrayed.” ?? ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irlandos Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 This may have been done for practical reasons. Cyprus are always on their top game when they play Greece and would not be a good opponent to play against when you are trying out new players. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ziaka Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Are trying to tell me that Otto fears being embarrassed by one of the greatest Greek coaches? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bides Posted February 23, 2006 Author Share Posted February 23, 2006 All i know is Rehagal would be linched in the greek press if Cyprus were to win... Aggelos is by far the best GREEK coach to come out of Greece...... He has the most passion and is also a DIE HARD PAOKTZIS!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bides Posted February 25, 2006 Author Share Posted February 25, 2006 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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