Now that the Olympics are over I can finally concentrate on Hellenic football. Greek soccer teams, both the national team and Panathinaikos, will try to restore some Hellenic pride after the very disappointing Olympics. Fortunately, the path to redemption can start as early as this Saturday, when Greece plays Luxembourg in a World Cup qualifying match on September 6th. Four days later, Greece travels to Riga to play Latvia on September 10th. Greece is in a relatively weak group, with Switzerland and Israel their main rivals. Though Greece didn't play that well in Euro 2008 they did play well in qualifying, so should win their group and advance to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. I think that would only be Greece's third World Cup, and first since coming in last place in the 1994 World Cup played here in the U.S.
Panathinaikos has qualified for the UEFA Champions Cup, the only Greek - but not Hellenic - club to do so. Olympiacos has been a mainstay of European club football, but was upset by Anorthosis of Cyprus in a qualifying match. Unlike the national team, Pana is in a tough group led by InterMilan and Werner Bremen, along with Anorthosis. Their first match is September 16th versus InterMilan at 2:30 eastern time. That game may be televised since it involves a traditional power in InterMilan.
Finally, it's not to late to mark your calendars for the weekend of September 26-28 and St. Sophia's Greek festival (or the Agios Baklavas Festival, as my dad calls these festivals). My kids and I will once again work at Grill II on Sunday making feta burgers, to hot dog, souvlakia and calamari. Feel free to come by on Sunday.
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