WHERE ARE THE EURO 2004 TEAM MEMBERS?
Stories of underdogs in football surpassing expectations used to be rare but these days are there still underdogs?
The Euro 2004 team that represented Greece shocked the world and wrote their names in gold in the annals of history with the surprise title win. Where are the rest of the squad today?
As at the last time goalkeeper AntoniosNikopolidis was regarded as the best keeper to feature for the national side. He was very impressive at the tournament in Portugal and made the All-Star list at the end of the event. He became the skipper of the team before he moved to football management after retirement.
Defenders MichalisKapsis and TraianosDellas were strong at the back. While Kapsis retired into oblivion at EthinikosPireaus, Dellascontinued with the predictable move of venturing into coaching. He managed ASK Athensin the 2013/14 and 2014/15 seasons before SteliosManolas took over.
Fullbacks GiourkasSeitaridis and TakisFyssas played key roles in the set-up in the run to the title. Seitaridis next played for Dynamo Moscow following the success. He also featured for Atletico Madrid and Panathinaikos before retirement. Fyssas played for Panathinaikos after the trophy win before proceeding to work with the Greek Football Federation post retirement.
Skipper of the team and Player of the Tournament Theo Zagorakiswas a cult figure at Leicester City but he moved to PAOK before retiring. He ventured into politics thereafter.
Midfielder AngelosBasinas moved to Real Mallorca after the tournament and also featured for Portsmouth and French side AC Arles-Avignon. He is retired now.
Stelios Giannakopoulos retired back in 2009 at AE Larissa following his time at Bolton Wanderers. He was coach of Paniliakos for a short time but is involved in football politics at last check.
KostaKatsouranisplayed for the national side until 36 years but later retired. He has strong followership in Greece. While Katsouranis played mainly domestic football, striker AngelosCharisteas played at Ajax, Feyenoord, Bayer Leverkusen, Schalke and Al-Nassar before retiring. His strike partner ZisisVryzas left Fiorentina after Euro 2004 to play for Torino, Skoda Xanthi and PAOK before hanging his boots.