Australia is all set for an extended visit from three of Greece’s stars of the famous Euro 2004 winning team, with the players looking to mingle with the country’s Hellenic community as they impart their knowledge onto the youth.
The three stars in Giorgos Karagounis, Angelos Charisteas and Euro 2004 captain, Theodoros Zagorakis, officially touched down in Sydney on Tuesday night to commence a two-week tour across Australia.
The legends will feature in numerous initiatives during their stay until 17 December with the tour having been organised by Greek Australian Nikos Mouzourakis, who runs the Football Brilliance Academy (FBA).
The trio will travel to Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Canberra as they lead clinics with young footballers, attend various events as well as play a legends game in Sydney at Lambert Park this Sunday.
The players expressed immense excitement to Neos Kosmos on their tour, which represents the first time the trio have been together in Australia since the famous 2006 friendly that attracted close to 100,000 spectators at the MCG.
Charisteas stressed he is eager to see the quality of the youngsters, particularly those from the FBA, saying it has been a dream of his to observe the abilities of the Greek Diaspora around the world.
“I am very happy and excited because I always wanted to go wherever there are Greeks and Greek kids to see their talent and what skill they have,” the striker said.
“We are very happy that we are going to see kids that work hard every day. For me it is very important for the tour.”
The visit marks the second time that Mouzourakis has brought a Greek legend to Australia, with Karagounis having visited in 2022 and gotten a firsthand look at some youngsters then (one of them being Anthony Fanos who has since joined Panathinaikos’ academy).
The “Trifylli” icon highlighted their keenness to impart their wisdom and experience onto Australia’s youth, their key message being the importance of putting time and effort in achieving their goals.
“They have to, above all, believe in themselves and join academies where good work is done,” Karagounis said.
“Hopefully, they can prove themselves here and take the next step, whether that be here, in Greece or Europe, to make their dreams a reality.”
Zagorakis expressed his gratitude for the work done by Mouzourakis to organise their visit, considering it an honour to come and be amongst the Greeks of Australia.
He highlighted his anticipation for the upcoming friendly, emphasising it will have a “character of celebration”.
The miracle win of Euro 2004
The players’ visit coincides with the 20th anniversary of one of the greatest achievements in football, Greece’s Euro 2004 victory, which the trio to this day take enormous pride in.
“The most important thing is that after 20 years, we and all Greeks feel proud for what we accomplished and we are blessed to have been there and achieved that,” Zagorakis said.
He added that they take even greater joy in knowing the spirit of that win has carried on and been passed down to the younger generations who did not live the moment themselves.
“What makes us even more proud is that the young kids who did not live it, with the help of us and all the people who did, have seen the games and images and they too feel like Greece gave them something and made them feel proud,” Zagorakis said.
When asked which game stands out to them most, the players were unanimous that it was the quarter-final win against France (the defending champions at the time).
“After that victory, we all thought that if we can beat the reigning champions then we can win the Euros,” Charisteas said.
“For me, personally, it was the match where Greece proved it was able to win the trophy.”
The players admitted they do not take lightly what they accomplished, with the story of Greece’s win set to live on eternally and take on the character of a modern Greek myth that is told for generations to come.
Charisteas stressed that the key message to take from that Euro win is that everything is possible in football.
“We turned the slogan that ‘anything can happen in football’ into a reality,” he said.
Zagorakis added that the win took an enormous amount of work which they all put in, with the players agreeing that the same principles can and should be applied by children to achieve any ambition of theirs (regardless of if it is in football or something else entirely).
“It was not luck that we won the tournament…it needs work, effort and the squad that achieved this did something significant: putting their own ego behind for the benefit of the team,” he said.
Nearly playing in Australia
The three icons have all had prior experience in Australia, though Charisteas and Karagounis each revealed that there were opportunities for them to play for Australian teams during their careers.
“I had an offer around 2013 to go play for Sydney Olympic, I believe, for three months. It was a similar offer as to what happened with Sotiris Kyrgiakos, who did come to play a handful of games for Sydney Olympic,” Charisteas said.
“I had that opportunity, but I ultimately decided to retire.”
Karagounis shed light on the possibility of playing for Melbourne Victory in 2013 during Ange Postecoglou’s tenure.
“He (Ange) came to Greece and we spoke together but there was not an extra space they could make for me given the foreign player limit,” he said.
“I then received an offer from Fulham and so I stayed there for another year.”
When asked if any of them would consider moving to Australia, Zagorakis stressed “why not?”.
“It is never too late, and you never know what will happen. We won the trophy and no one thought that would happen so who knows.”
The current state of Greek football
The Greek league this season has been one of the most competitive and well-balanced in many years, which the Euros legends said has greatly enthused them and is something they hope can carry on.
“It is very good to see,” Zagorakis said, believing the introduction of VAR and increased fan support for smaller teams has helped make the league more thrilling.
“The result is that the bigger teams start to lose points and that is good because it makes it more competitive. You can see on the table that the teams are changing positions every weekend, at the top, at the bottom and in the middle.”
Charisteas built on this point, saying that many people were complaining that we had an uncompetitive league which saw the same handful of teams always win their games.
“I think what we are seeing now is that things are changing, and we need to accept that,” he said.
“I hope it continues because then the small teams will have a reason to be there and fight. We need to support this project, or else we go back to the same four-five teams winning all their games.”
Regarding the national side, they expressed their belief that the team has shown signs of improvement over the last few years but it has not lived up to their potential.
Zagorakis noted that it was understandable that the team dropped a bit after the 2014 World Cup, when many stalwarts like Karagounis and Kostas Katsouranis retired and were phased out of the team.
“I think at some point we need to qualify for the major tournaments because the pressure of the jersey is starting to weigh them down a bit,” he said, believing the achievements of Greece’s golden generation in the 2000s have set an example for what fans expect.
“Those involved with the national team need to take action to ensure that they start to take centre stage again and bring joy to all Hellenes, those living in Greece as well as those abroad.”
Karagounis remarked that they have taken steps forward, but it is not enough, citing the recent failure to qualify for Euro 2024 as a particular disappointment.
“We have to be honest, the fact that we are not making it to the Euros when close to half the teams qualify is a failure,” he said.
“If the players themselves do not see that, they will not go anywhere and they will not achieve success with the national team.”
He urged the importance of striving for direct qualification and earning wins when they matter most, challenging the players to emulate their success and qualify for the next World Cup.
Charisteas echoed this sentiment, reflecting on their experience when qualifying for the 2004 Euros, wherein they lost their first two games against Spain and Ukraine before winning the remaining six and topping their group.
“After those two losses, we spoke as a group, and we said that we needed to win the other six games to qualify for the Euros in 2004. You can see the mentality we had as a team then,” he said.
“What I want to say to the players is that if you do not raise the bar high, you will not get anywhere.”
