loup Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 If our team is as good as it is now, I can't see us dropping any points at home Isreal is tough at home, but I see things going similar to EURO qualifying - except for 1-4 v Turkey - Its good to see that Isreal is happy - let them be happy and when they almost qualify once again we will show them the difference between contenders and champions :gr: :gr: :gr: :gr: :gr: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Akritis_1944 Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 a fantastic draw....as good as gagatsi rigging the draw along with otto wearing magnets and using telekinesis. people shouldn't get upset about the other nations excited about their prospects...we're just as excited facing them. the problem for many of these nations, is that they might be thinking that they will face greece with kapsis and vyntra as the fullbacks. LOL - they definitely did something this time around to score such a group. No doubt the matches will determine if we qualify, but this draw is set up for qualifying!I also agree about others getting excited. Similar to the previous Euro QC when the Turks, Norwegians, Hungarians etc all rubbed their collective hands thinking they'd face a Greek team that otto had ruined during the previous WC qualifications. I dug the following up as a reminder. Malta were the only team to pay us any respect. Euro 08 group Reaction Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 Only ourselves and Italy got a favourable draw. I think however that our group is slightly easier than their group. A fantastic draw for Greece and a great opportunity for our boys to go to the world cup. Karagounis, Basinas, Katsouranis and any other boys from EURO2004 deserve and will give everything they have to finish their career in the NT by going to WC2010. It is a great opportunity to do it this time. Israel is a good team but beating Russia is not impressive. The Russians are not a consistent team as we all know. We are more than capable of knocking them out. Greece is better in counter attacking than Israel and better defensively, so I don't see what the fuss is about. The Swiss have a young and inexperienced team, despite their good appearance in WC2006, whereas we have a successful blend of old experienced and young talented players. They are not the big game or team that could scare us. Moldova is a team that has done a lot of progress recently but we know them. It is our opponents that will most suffer from the Moldovans, therefore this is good for us that we have them in this group. Luxembourg: one of the weakest team of pot 6. Really guys, this is the best possible draw for our team, just see the other groups and you will understand. Our opponents also seem to be happy with the draw and it will be between us, the Israelis and the Swiss, with Moldova following closely. But with such a national team we can feel happy for this draw. We will need to win all our games versus Luxembourg, Moldova and Latvia, take 2 draws away against Israel and the Swiss and win our home games. That should be enough. I expect our major opponents to have points taken off them from Moldova who could be the surprize of the group. Israel and the Swiss will battle it out for 2nd place. Overall, most pleased with that draw. I also like Otto's comments and approach, that we will have to be careful and serious in all our games. Greece has indeed reached the Elite teams of the world, not only in rankings, but also in our mentality: serious in all games. Good luck to us, although it is diffucult to be more lucky than this draw!!! :gr: :gr: :gr: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangas21 Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 gentlement, i showed the israeli newspaper article, not to focus on the silly comments of the individuals quoted, but to illustrate how the world and more importantly the soccering world, perceives Greece as an opponent. True, we have not earned 100% the right to be considered a "lion"...Italy Germany etc. are consistently good year in and year out. It's bred into their mentality early on that they are a soccer machine and are expected to qualify and excel in every tournament. Look at England...it's a travesty not to qualify in their soccer culture....no moral victorie or "yeah we played well, but lost" excuses....WIN BABY...thats the issue....But with the advent of smaller team's players becoming better and playing in Europe and throughout the world, their are far fewer easy games anymore. Therefore, for Greece to be considered a lion and to be respected the way Italy and Gremany etc.. are, they must consistently turn out good results every time they play....This 08 tournament will show me alot about the progress of this team....no element of surprise, a different set of taactics, some new personel, all will combine to really test the boys in blue and white.... Inconsistency is the culprit. In the 4-1 loss to Turkey you see the disasterous results that a small lapse in concentration can cause. But its always about who is the best team on the field THAT day.....game day.....some rise to the occassion, some don't.....our team needs to be focused, serious and give a hgh quality effort every time they step onto the field. The moment another team thinks they have a chance, then the balance of wills changes...teams like italy and brazil, and a few others beat you before you even step on to the field...its about attitude and confidence....self confidence and self respect....Greece has emerged as an upper level soccer team not becuase the talent has changed...i would argue that there have been far more "talented" individuals in a greek uniform prior to his teams run.....what has changed is the mentality of the greek player...he now thinks/knows he belongs on the same field with ANYBODY.....whre prior temas were intimidated, this group is not....and THAT is the difference...just a small shift in thinking affects not only how they play but how the opponent approaches them..... unfortunately, still the soccering world perceives Greece as not a "lion"...that's ok...there reputation is getting much more solid...but for me, I would like to see temas say "i am glad we avoided Greece in the qualifiers"......this type of respect/fear is built one tournament at a time....thats why i posted an earlier comment that said if we believe we are an elite team, we must go out and crush everybody in our way..... bleed blue and white baby!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irlandos Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 There IS a bit of respect for our NT: N. Ireland's most popular Sunday daily - Life - had an article in the sports pages saying their preference of a pot 1 opponent was Croatia - not Greece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plato-ny Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 ^ Israel has not lost at home in 7 years, including big teams, and have improved alot in the last few years by reaching Pot 2. The Swiss have consistently qualified for the last several tournaments, reached the second round of the last WC where they were first in their division over eventual finalist France, and are tough at home. If it wasnt for the the Swiss not playing qual. matches, they would've been a Pot 1/Pot 2 team. Neither team is easy but Greece got the best Pot 2/Pot 3 combo out of any Pot 1 teams and avoided heavyweights Its funny that Greece's detractors say Greece was very, very, very, very lucky they got an easy draw. I tell them that Greece worked hard to achieve results that placed them in Pot 1 and avoid the Big Boys. If Turkey and England had better results that would've put them in Pot 1, they would have avoided Spain and Croatia, respectively. Although, Greece got the best draw amongst the Pot 1 teams, it wasnt lucky they were in Pot 1 with the superpowers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUDE Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 Ti axholiste mazi tous re paidia? Let them say what they want! As Akritis says, everyone was running their mouth before the Euro 2008 group was played. Greece have, imo, 3 key games. Switzerland home and away and Israel away. We need a minimum of 7 points from these games and we're through. Bear in mind that only the first team qualifies so it's not an easy group. The Swiss made it to the quarter-finals of the last tournament and if I'm not mistaken they didn't concede a goal (except for the penalties they went out on!). They also have some very good players like Barnetta to deal with. The only reason Switzerland aren't in pot 2 is because they are playing friendlies as they have already qualified for Euro 2008 as hosts. So if they were pot 2, then Israel would be the strongest pot 3 group, and Latvia are one of the strongest pot 5 teams so when you look at it like that this isn't as easy as everyone is making out. If this team Greece team was as good as it is now I wouldn't be worried, but we have many aging players... this is a 2 year qualifying campaign (2 and half years from now). Where will players like Dellas, Basinas, Karagounis, Goumas, Nikopolidis, Halkias, be by that time? And who will replace them? Whereas the Swiss have a very good young side. So a lot depends on how we deal with that transitional period. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mangas21 Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 If this team Greece team was as good as it is now I wouldn't be worried, but we have many aging players... this is a 2 year qualifying campaign (2 and half years from now). Where will players like Dellas, Basinas, Karagounis, Goumas, Nikopolidis, Halkias, be by that time? And who will replace them? Whereas the Swiss have a very good young side. So a lot depends on how we deal with that transitional period. EXCELLENT POINT.................................... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 HERE IS THE PERCEPTION.........ISRAELI NEWSPAPER...... "We did not qualify for Euro 2008, but at least we did something important by moving up to the second pot," said Omer Golan, who scored the match-winner against Russia a week and a half ago. "Now we have to take advantage of it. We were drawn against more convenient squads, who are not the 'lions' of Europe, and it should be very easy to qualify for the World Cup." For the first time, the expectations and the chances are the same and logical. If I had to chose between Greece, France, Italy or Germany, of course it is preferable to get Greece - even though we are not talking about an easy squad. It is a very strong squad, but it is still preferable than the big teams in Europe." Luzon also addressed the draw itself. "This is a good draw," he said. "It is always possible to get a more difficult or an easier draw, but all in all, this is a comfortable draw. All that is left for this squad to do is to work and get into the World Cup. I want to qualify from first place in the group." fu**ing israel.....can you believe it.....they just got their asses handed to them and will be WATCHING the euro 08......and yet still chirpin' about an easy qualification..... It is up to the Greek NT to make them eat those worlds......1st place??....who do they think they will play against???Malta.....i dont want 2 victories against them,i want to stamb them.... :box: :gr: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Genome Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 nice 08 draw.....we gonna beat the netherlands...... They are in the same pot as us, not in the same group...unless you meant later on in the tournament... ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plato-ny Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 Ti axholiste mazi tous re paidia? Let them say what they want! As Akritis says, everyone was running their mouth before the Euro 2008 group was played. Greece have, imo, 3 key games. Switzerland home and away and Israel away. We need a minimum of 7 points from these games and we're through. Bear in mind that only the first team qualifies so it's not an easy group. The Swiss made it to the quarter-finals of the last tournament and if I'm not mistaken they didn't concede a goal (except for the penalties they went out on!). They also have some very good players like Barnetta to deal with. The only reason Switzerland aren't in pot 2 is because they are playing friendlies as they have already qualified for Euro 2008 as hosts. So if they were pot 2, then Israel would be the strongest pot 3 group, and Latvia are one of the strongest pot 5 teams so when you look at it like that this isn't as easy as everyone is making out. If this team Greece team was as good as it is now I wouldn't be worried, but we have many aging players... this is a 2 year qualifying campaign (2 and half years from now). Where will players like Dellas, Basinas, Karagounis, Goumas, Nikopolidis, Halkias, be by that time? And who will replace them? Whereas the Swiss have a very good young side. So a lot depends on how we deal with that transitional period. The Swiss made it to the second round, not the quarterfinals... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DUDE Posted November 26, 2007 Share Posted November 26, 2007 Ti axholiste mazi tous re paidia? Let them say what they want! As Akritis says, everyone was running their mouth before the Euro 2008 group was played. Greece have, imo, 3 key games. Switzerland home and away and Israel away. We need a minimum of 7 points from these games and we're through. Bear in mind that only the first team qualifies so it's not an easy group. The Swiss made it to the quarter-finals of the last tournament and if I'm not mistaken they didn't concede a goal (except for the penalties they went out on!). They also have some very good players like Barnetta to deal with. The only reason Switzerland aren't in pot 2 is because they are playing friendlies as they have already qualified for Euro 2008 as hosts. So if they were pot 2, then Israel would be the strongest pot 3 group, and Latvia are one of the strongest pot 5 teams so when you look at it like that this isn't as easy as everyone is making out. If this team Greece team was as good as it is now I wouldn't be worried, but we have many aging players... this is a 2 year qualifying campaign (2 and half years from now). Where will players like Dellas, Basinas, Karagounis, Goumas, Nikopolidis, Halkias, be by that time? And who will replace them? Whereas the Swiss have a very good young side. So a lot depends on how we deal with that transitional period. The Swiss made it to the second round, not the quarterfinals... Ok, but they still didn't concede a goal the entire tournament. Trust me they are formidable opposition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plato-ny Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 According to Eurobet, Greece are the favorite to win the division followed by the Swiss. England are favorite to win their division over Croatia. In Holland's division, Scotland and Norway are deadlocked for second. Everything else was predicatable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAO_OR_DEATH Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 Im happy with the draw, it is what it is. ALL games will be "tough" away from home if the team get cockey!!! but i trust they will stay professional. just on the TURKEY matter, it seems that the past 3-4years turkey has been drawn with a "rival" Greece, and now they play Armenia!!!! (we all know what happend) whos next!? Cyprus!? has FIFA rigged this or something!? Will armenia and turkey play in thier respective countries or will they play in host nations???? Im sure that there will be bad blood between the two nations....well one at least.... ps im not trying to stir sh*t! with the turks on the site, im just wondering what is going to happen. These two games will be INTENSE!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olympiakara10 Posted November 27, 2007 Share Posted November 27, 2007 Cyprus vs. Turkey would be truly a great match up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plato-ny Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 The schedules draw will be held on January 8 for Group 2 in Tel Aviv. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted November 28, 2007 Share Posted November 28, 2007 I have little faith that the federations will agree on the schedule for these games since Israel and the Swiss believe they have a great chance for qualifying, and I also think that Latvia would like to pick up some additional points just for the sake of improving their rankings, not to mention Moldova. I think it is more likely that they will make a random draw, as has happened in the past. I expect that this will be done with all the groups for the qualifiers. That should not scare us. We would rather face Latvia in the summer season of course, or late in the spring, but that should not make a difference. It is one of our biggest opportunities to qualify; however, because the groups consist only of 6 teams, the results are even more important this time (victory) as there are less opportunities to bounce back in comparison with our group for EURO2008, where there were 7 teams and more games, thus more opportunities for points. With the attitude of professionalism that our players have demonstrated, I don't think we have anything to worry about. :gr: :gr: :gr: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plato-ny Posted January 10, 2008 Share Posted January 10, 2008 The schedules draw will be held on January 8 for Group 2 in Tel Aviv. Reps of teams in Greece's division met in Tel Aviv to determine a schedule and the only problem was that Greece and Latvia could not agree on when to meet so a final schedule has to be arranged by the 16th or else FIFA will determine a schedule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted January 14, 2008 Share Posted January 14, 2008 please keep us updated. The sequence of the games is very crucial. I hope we will trash Latvia. :gr: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plato-ny Posted January 18, 2008 Share Posted January 18, 2008 Reps of teams in Greece's division met in Tel Aviv to determine a schedule and the only problem was that Greece and Latvia could not agree on when to meet so a final schedule has to be arranged by the 16th or else FIFA will determine a schedule.FIFA draw to decide order of World Cup qualifiers ZURICH (Reuters) - World soccer's governing body FIFA will hold a draw to determine the order of matches in two 2010 World Cup qualifying groups after the teams involved failed to reach agreement by the January 16 deadline. The draw will involve European qualifying Group Two (Greece, Israel, Switzerland, Moldova, Latvia and Luxembourg) and Group Five (Spain, Turkey, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Armenia and Estonia). FIFA said the draw would be held on January 30 during the UEFA Congress in Zagreb, Croatia. The other seven European groups have finalized their fixtures with the exception of Group Nine -- involving the Netherlands, Scotland, Norway, FYROM and Iceland -- which has been given more time by FIFA to finalize details. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some of the groups have formed schedules: 20/08/08 TBA Kazakhstan Andorra 06/09/08 TBA Albania Sweden 06/09/08 TBA Wales Azerbaijan 06/09/08 TBA Ukraine Belarus 06/09/08 TBA Croatia Kazakhstan 06/09/08 TBA Slovakia Northern Ireland 06/09/08 TBA Liechtenstein Germany 06/09/08 TBA Malta Portugal 06/09/08 TBA Hungary Denmark 06/09/08 TBA Andorra England 06/09/08 TBA Poland Slovenia 10/09/08 TBA Croatia England 10/09/08 TBA Kazakhstan Ukraine 10/09/08 TBA Andorra Belarus 10/09/08 TBA Sweden Hungary 10/09/08 TBA Azerbaijan Liechtenstein 10/09/08 TBA Portugal Denmark 10/09/08 TBA Finland Germany 10/09/08 TBA San Marino Poland 10/09/08 TBA Slovenia Slovakia 10/09/08 TBA Albania Malta 10/09/08 TBA Russia Wales 10/09/08 TBA Northern Ireland Czech Republic 11/10/08 TBA Ukraine Croatia 11/10/08 TBA Hungary Albania 11/10/08 TBA San Marino Slovakia 11/10/08 TBA Finland Azerbaijan 11/10/08 TBA Denmark Malta 11/10/08 TBA Poland Czech Republic 11/10/08 TBA England Kazakhstan 11/10/08 TBA Sweden Portugal 11/10/08 TBA Slovenia Northern Ireland 11/10/08 TBA Wales Liechtenstein 11/10/08 TBA Germany Russia 15/10/08 TBA Belarus England 15/10/08 TBA Malta Hungary 15/10/08 TBA Russia Finland 15/10/08 TBA Czech Republic Slovenia 15/10/08 TBA Germany Wales 15/10/08 TBA Northern Ireland San Marino 15/10/08 TBA Croatia Andorra 15/10/08 TBA Portugal Albania 15/10/08 TBA Slovakia Poland 19/11/08 TBA San Marino Czech Republic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plato-ny Posted January 29, 2008 Share Posted January 29, 2008 Reminder: Tomorrow (January 30) will be the draw for Group 2, Greece's division. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 See Below for the Schedule: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geok Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 It appears by a first glance at the schedule that we have the easiest start from all the contenders, which is great, because if we get 9 points from the first 3 games the pressure is on the others. However, we have a very difficult 2009 ahead, with difficult games at the start of the season and 2 less difficult games at the far end. The fact that we play 2 difficult games in September 2009 is rather bad. I expect that by a good start everything will be on our side as the rest will face a great pressure and we can take advantage of that. So, overall a pretty good draw, if we are extra careful in September 2009. EPO should start the league at the beginning of August!!! I'll call Otto and ask him about the lotto numbers; I haven't heard of any person with such luck! :gr: :gr: :gr: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crazy Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 wow...yes, you're right. a great schedule. the big quirk is that we play israel twice in 4 days next spring. if israel have...say 2 injuries to major players - they are screwed, they don't have the depth that the greek side has. 1) no matches in the cold against switzerland - latvia - moldova. 2) we finish with 2 home matches against lower opponents 3) israel play in switzerland on the last fixture date for 2nd place. i'd say, a fantastic schedule. I have to agree with u here.The schedule actually seems to favor us as long as we are ready and serious on all our games. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plato-ny Posted January 30, 2008 Share Posted January 30, 2008 At the same time that Greece and Israel play back-to-back derbies, Spain and Turkey will also be playing back-to-back. Also, Turkey's first home will be IN Armenia. :argue: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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