Ethniki in dire straits again

With six matches of the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying campaign in the books, Greece find themselves languishing in fifth place of Group J with a mere five points. AGONAsport looks at some of the reasons why the situation has become so difficult.

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Five points in six matches is nothing short of a disastrous result, especially for a country which became European champions in 2004. Unfortunately, the glory days of 2004 and 2014 are firmly in the past, with the Ethniki Omada set to miss a third consecutive major tournament. Greece previously failed to qualify for UEFA Euro 2016 and the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

Poor performances, a lack of pride, no tactical awareness and a consistently empty Olympic Stadium have created a terrible image for the national team. When Michael Skibbe was sacked in late 2018, many had hope of the team’s fortunes improving, but the exact opposite has happened. John van ‘t Schip, who replaced Angelos Anastasiadis at the helm this summer, has inherited a disjointed set of players completely devoid of confidence on the international stage. Something which was clearly evident in the latter stages of the 1-1 draw against Liechtenstein on Sunday.

Now, with all hopes of reaching Euro 2020 practically dead, the rebuilding process has to begin immediately. And that starts with discovering the main reasons why the Ethniki are in such dire straits.

The Hellenic Football Federation and its bumbling president Evangelos Grammenos must be held accountable. Unfortunately, the organisation is simply refusing to show any real interest in the senior national team, willingly watching it fall apart. The fact that the Ethniki are continuing to play at the OAKA is alarming. At the start of the year, it was revealed that the Pankritio Stadium in Crete was to become the new home of the national team, but Greece are still yet to play at the arena. Coaches and players have openly spoke of their dislike of the OAKA, but the EPO hasn’t listened. The team may as well host matches at the training ground such is the lack of atmosphere.

However, no matter where the team plays, no matter who is the coach, the players themselves have to take a huge chunk of the responsibility. Van ‘t Schip’s recent quote stating that ‘players must drop their egos’ is absolutely telling, and he’s only been working with this group for a very short amount of time. The Dutchman has revealed that he will be looking to bring more young players into the team.

While the likes of Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Kostas Manolas may be reliable performers for their respective club sides in leading European championships, there is an impression that they consider themselves bigger than the coaches and the national team itself. Manolas in particular is known to have a very tricky character.

Vasilis Torosidis’ words suggesting that Greece, who have a ‘mediocre domestic league’, heavily overachieved between 2004 and 2014 is not going to install a winning mentality. Having a seemingly weak national league hasn’t prevented a tiny nation like Iceland qualifying for both Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.

Psychology is everything. If you narrow your prospects with negative, primitive thinking, you won’t achieve anything - even if you have unlimited potential. The entire attitude must change, and that includes the pride the players have when representing their ‘beloved’ Greece.

Four games remain in Group J for Greece to lay positive foundations for the future. It has to happen now, otherwise the next generation of players will grow up with this thoroughly defeatist mentality. A mentality which Greece as a country has never held.

By Shaun Nicolaides

Image Source: sportdog.gr

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