Not qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2016 competition would be a huge failure, Greece coach Claudio Ranieri has said.
“Not making it to the finals would be a disaster – it’s that simple,” the coach said when naming his squad for the qualifiers.
Greece’s history with the competition is enough to put a heap of pressure on the players and the coach, and Ranieri has been very honest about the situation.
“My predecessors did a great job with Greece,” he says.
“Now it’s up to me. It won’t be easy.”
He faces his first test as a coach when the newly minted team goes up against Romania on Sunday.
Last time Greece played Romania, it was qualifying for the World Cup. It came out with an aggregate of 2-4 thanks to Kostas Mitroglou’s goals and secured their spot. Romania on the other hand will be vying for blood as it hopes to forbid Greece from getting another spot from them.
