The coach of the Greek national team Fernando Santos has called up two first time players before tomorrow’s friendly match against Russia in Pireaus. With Greece having qualified for the 2012 European Championships in Poland and the Ukraine, Santos is keen to see a range of new players and has surprisingly called up 17-year-old Panathinaikos goalkeeper Stefanos Kapinos.

“I have seen him in three matches and was very impressed. I want to see him up close and let him gain experience with the national team,” Santos told a press conference about Kapinos. Santos also called up for the first time Olympiakos defender of Greek and Uruguayan descent Jose Holebas, 27, who plays for champions Olympiakos and who has just received his Greek citizenship.

“Once he had expressed the desire to play for the national team, and this is now formally possible, I decided to call him and see the player at close quarters,” Santos said of Holebas. Other new faces on the 23-man squad are 31-year-old midfielder Giorgos Theodoridis of Panetolikos and 23-year-old defender for Atromitos Kostas Giannoulis.

“We will face two teams with two different characteristics. I want to congratulate my players involved in qualifying for Euro 2012 and now a new cycle is open. “We want to see our players in view of the final phase of the European championships. There will be completely different line-ups in the two halves of both matches,” Santos said of the upcoming two friendlies.