Though Ellas lost today, 0-2, to Argentina, at least our Ethniki went out fighting.
We played Messi and company tough - in fact, played them even for 75 minutes or so - and even had a few scoring opportunities that simply did not pan out. Though it was a loss, and a loss that eliminated Greece from the World Cup, at least they went down fighting.
That is a worn out cliche, especially when it comes to sport, but for a team that embarrassed a nation and worldwide diaspora in their opening match versus South Korea going down fighting is an improvement.
Followers of Greek football have to say that the 2010 World Cup was a huge step forward. One could assume that a country that won one of football's most important championships as recently as 2004 (though 2004 is a long time ago; for perspective Carolina has won 2 national basketball championships since then) would have higher aspirations than going 1-0-2 (3 points) in a World Cup. But for a nation that was totally embarrassed in their only other appearance, in 1994, scoring 2 goals and getting a win is progress.
Almost more important than the win and the goals is the incremental changing of the guard. Unlike in 2006 or 2008, this team shed some of the old stars from 2004 and introduced some younger talent.
Hopefully, qualifying for the 2010 World Cup and winning a game is simply a step in the right direction, a direction that will see Ellas routinely qualify for future European championships and World Cups. Remember, this is only Greece's fourth international final (1994 World Cup, 2004 and 2008 European championships are the other three) so let's hope this is the start and not the waning of a golden era of Hellenic football.
USA
Speaking of soccer teams on the rise, we can take a huge step forward with a win over Algeria tomorrow. This group has been unpredictable so we should not take Algeria for granted. But that said, you got to like our chances.
A win would move the US into the knockout round, but more importantly give this team some serious mojo. If we can avoid giving up an early goal tomorrow watch out.
So another big sports today tomorrow - USA versus Algeria, and Strasburg back on the mound for 2-game winning streaking Nationals.
1 comment:
Agree with everything here; Ellas played hard and can leave the pitch knowing they gave their all.
However, I hope this World Cup starts a new era for Greek football that recognizes that we have some talent on offense. Gekas, Samaras, Ninis and Salpingidis know how to score.
Against Argentina playing for a 0-0 tie made sense, but more activism on offense from a combination of those four players might have netted a better result versus South Korea.
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