Three-star players from Greece’s historic 2004 Euro winning team are in Adelaide as part of their two-week tour across Australia.
Greece’s 1-0 Euro 2004 victory over Portugal 20 years ago was one of the competition’s fairy-tale winning runs, including a quarter-final win against defending champions France.
It was a surprising result given that prior to that Greece had previously qualified for only two major tournaments: UEFA Euro 1980 and the 1994 FIFA World Cup, where in total they lost all but one game (a draw) in the group stages.
Man of the Match Theodoros Zagorakis, Giorgos Karagounis and Angelos Charisteas – who scored the winning goal in the Euro 2004 final – appeared at a ‘Lunch with Legends’ event at Coopers Stadium on Friday, hosted by West Adelaide Soccer Club in partnership with the Hellenic Australian Chamber of Commerce & Industry (HACCI) and the Foundation for Hellenic Studies.
Local fans in Adelaide also had the chance to meet the players.
Minister for Infrastructure and Transport Member for West Torrens, Tom Koutsantonis said the SA Greek community is delighted to have the players stop by in Adelaide.
“Like all Greeks, South Australia’s Hellenic community will never forget the joy these three football heroes and their teammates gave us during the 2004 UEFA European Championship,” he said in a media release.
“Their talent, hard work and resilience brought Greece an iconic victory, and by extension brought immeasurable joy to Greek communities all over the world.
“This team showed what is possible when Hellenes pull together towards a common goal and continues to inspire pride and joy throughout the diaspora.”
West Adelaide Soccer Club President John Tsianos reminisced two decades ago.
“For Greeks all around the world, 2004 was a special year,” he said.
“Seeing the national football side lift an international trophy – at odds of 150/1 – was an unbelievable achievement and likely won’t be seen again.
“To have arguably the three most influential players from that team in Adelaide 20 years on means so much to our community.”
He also said that having three Greek organisations get together for the event is a testament to how tight-knit the community is in South Australia.
HACCI SA chairman Alex Demetriou said the event was more than just a meeting, but a convergence of sports industry leaders showing that sport can serve as a vehicle for change and impact in business too.
Chair of the Foundation for Hellenic Studies Greg Crafter also welcomed the Euro 2004 heroes and said that it is an opportunity to connect the world game in Greece and Europe to Australia.
