No room for overstaying guests

A little over three weeks ago, a Greece side led by Germany8217;s Otto Rehhagel shocked Luiz Felipe Scolari8217;s Portugal with a 2-1 win in the opening match of the tournament that set the tone for much of what was to follow.

Portugal recovered from the trauma to beat Russia, Spain, England and the Netherlands and clinch a place in the final of their home event.

The reward is a last chance for the remaining members of the golden generation 8212; Luis Figo, Fernando Couto and Rui Costa 8212; to win a lasting place in history and the team are determined not to have to settle for silver.

History will be made whatever the result of Sunday8217;s final, with a foreign coach set to lead a country to victory at a major championship for the first time.

If Portugal win, Scolari will become the first to win the World Cup and European Championship with different countries.

The inspirational Brazilian, who took over the Portugal job after leading his native country to World Cup victory in 2002, has been a huge success, rescuing the hosts with a series of uncanny substitutions and firing them with self-belief.

Portugal had lost two semi-finals in the European Championship and one in the World Cup before Euro 2004 but with Scolari at the helm they eased to a deserved win over the Dutch.

What German coach Rehhagel has achieved with Greece has been even more remarkable. They were 80-1 to win the title before Euro 2004 began and had not won a match in their two previous appearances at tournament finals.

After beating Portugal, they became the first team ever to defeat the hosts and holders in the same competition when they knocked out champions France 1-0 in the quarter-finals with a note-perfect performance.

They then clinched a place in the final with a silver-goal win against a talented Czech Republic side.

A second victory over Portugal on Sunday would give them a title victory even more astonishing than Denmark8217;s shock 1992 European Championship win in Sweden when the Danes were recalled from their holidays to replace the suspended Yugoslavia.

The biggest problem for Rehhagel will be the suspension of midfielder Giorgos Karagounis after he picked up a second yellow card against the Czechs.

He was also suspended for the game against Russia in the group phase and his absence was painfully felt in a 2-1 defeat that almost cost them a quarter-final place.

He will be replaced by Stelios Giannakopoulos or Vassilis Tsartas. Reuters

THE SWOT ANALYSIS

GREECE

STRENGTHS

Charisteas8217;s strength and good form, Dellas outstanding in defence, Zagorakis8217;s leadership

WEAKNESSES

No playmakers. With Karagounis out, can they find a way back if a goal or two down?

OPPORTUNITIES

Frustrate Portugal midfield, wait for Deco to combust and Figo to run out of steam

THREATS

Ronaldo8217;s resilience, Deco8217;s magic, the occasion, the crowd

PORTUGAL

STRENGTHS

Home support and the abundance of talent. Goals can come from anywhere

WEAKNESSES

No consistent goalscorer, doubts over Figo8217;s energy levels

OPPORTUNITIES

Hit the Greeks before they can strangle the game, cut out their long-ball plans, make them pass and stumble

THREATS

Pressure. And more pressure.

ROAD TO FINAL

PORTUGAL

Group Stage

Lost to Greece 1-2

Scorer: Ronaldo

8226; Appearing unmotivated, they were on the back foot from the word 8216;go8217;

Beat Russia 2-0

Scorers: Maniche, Rui Costa

8226; National pride restored, but performance still way below par

Beat Spain 1-0

Scorers: Nuno Gomes

8226; The big one. In a sense, the tournament was won for a large chunk of fans

Quarterfinals

Beat England 6-5 on penalties

Scorers: Postiga, Rui Costa

8226; Dominated right through and finally looked like one of the teams to beat

Semifinals

Beat the Netherlands 2-1

Scorers: Ronaldo, Maniche

8226; A huge morale-booster, having got past the star-studded opposition

GREECE

Group Stage

Beat Portugal 2-1

Scorers: Karagounis, Basinas P

8226; Upstarts, nothing more; despite controlling the entire match

Drew with Spain 1-1

Scorers: Charisteas

8226; Another flawless show, but where are the goalscorers who will take them through?

Lost to Russia 1-2

Scorers: Vryzas

8226; Back where they belonged? No way. Just an aberration

Quarterfinals

Beat France 1-0

Scorer:Charisteas

8226; Held the French at bay, won all 50-50 balls, went through deservedly

Semifinals

Beat the Czech Republic 1-0

Scorer: Dellas

8226; That they didn8217;t concede any to the Baros-Koller combine is indication of their defensive abilities