plato-ny
05-18-2005, 02:35 AM
Competing against many and powerful opponents, the Greek men's football team managed to perform one more miracle. This time, they didn't have to run, sweat, or make an attempt to score in order to claim victory. They won without breaking a sweat. Victory against Portugal and the July 4 European Cup were more than enough to do the work for them. However, for some people that wasn't enough and they made sure to reward Otto Rehhagel and his boys with the top distinction of the world, a reward which could match the Oscars. The Laureus World Sports Award for World Team of the Year. Competing against teams such as Ferrari, Porto and the Argentinean Olympic Basketball team, Greece stood out once more. Well done boys! We can only hope that the Greek men's team claim the Confederation Cup title at the end of June in Germany.
Rehhagel: "Landmark in my Career"
The sixth annual Laureus World Sports Awards Ceremony held at the Estoril casino in Portugal was attended by Head Coach Otto Rehhagel, his assistant Giannis Topalidis and footballers Angelos Charisteas and Takis Fyssas.
Speaking at Greek sports newspaper Sportday immediately after receiving the award, Otto Rehhagel said this nomination was a landmark in his career.
"I am deeply moved. What happened here is a landmark in my career. What we achieved in Portugal is very important and now the time has come to be rewarded for our efforts. Everyone kept asking us about how we felt and how we managed to win the European Cup playing versus such powerful opponents. We simply stressed that the power came from team work and inner faith which grew bigger match after match. Every moment here in Portugal, every breath we take, reminds us of the pervious summer's success. Everyone wished us to win the Award," stressed the German coach and added:
"It is very important to be viewed as role models and give young children in poor countries an incentive to get into sports. This award is a sports Oscar. I have made sure to stress to everyone that it wasn't just the five victories in Portugal that led us here, it was also the four years we worked hard to get here. People call it a small miracle, but it's not."
Greece arrived in Portugal for the 2004 European Championship as 150-1 outsiders who had never won a match at a major tournament. Four weeks later the Greece national team, and in particular Otto Rehhagel and Angelos Charisteas had become legendary figures in Greek football history.
Greece were surprise winners of a surprise European Championship which saw top teams France, Italy and Germany eliminated early. Angelos Charisteas scored the winning goal in the 1-0 Euro 2004 final victory against hosts Portugal, while German Otto Rehhagel, aged 65, proved a tactical genius as Greek coach.
The Greeks played with strong defence, confidence in each other and with shrewd strategy. Rehhagel is the first foreign coach and the oldest coach in football history to lead a team to victory in the European Championship. As an exercise in working with the resources at your disposal and getting the best out of them, Rehhagel provided a mastermind.
Greece's new gods on the field were Traianos Dellas and Charisteas, two men barely able to get a game for Roma and Werder Bremen, and yet the talismen for the values of brilliant coaching, organisation and honesty.
We also won another award before: During its annual global meeting adidas International awarded HFF and the A΄ National Team with the highest prize, the 2004 Adi-Dasler-Partner award. The meeting (attended by 1500 representatives of international adidas partners) was held during last week and concluded yesterday, Sunday 3 April, with the National Head Coach Otto Rehhagel being presented with the award. It should be noted that this prize is rarely awarded to representatives of the football world.
*Here's another award we won: Fifa awarded Greece best team of the yaer ahead of arsenal who were undefeted for 49 games straight.
*Another award:The World Football Gala 2004:
The best national coach of the year - Otto Rehhagel(Greece)
The best league of the year - Spanish Primera Liga
The best referee of the year - Markus Mark(Germany)
The best goal keeper of the year - Buffon(Juventus)
The best player of the year - Ronaldinho(FC Barcelona)
The best club coach of the year - Jose Mourinho(Chelsea)
More will come...
Rehhagel: "Landmark in my Career"
The sixth annual Laureus World Sports Awards Ceremony held at the Estoril casino in Portugal was attended by Head Coach Otto Rehhagel, his assistant Giannis Topalidis and footballers Angelos Charisteas and Takis Fyssas.
Speaking at Greek sports newspaper Sportday immediately after receiving the award, Otto Rehhagel said this nomination was a landmark in his career.
"I am deeply moved. What happened here is a landmark in my career. What we achieved in Portugal is very important and now the time has come to be rewarded for our efforts. Everyone kept asking us about how we felt and how we managed to win the European Cup playing versus such powerful opponents. We simply stressed that the power came from team work and inner faith which grew bigger match after match. Every moment here in Portugal, every breath we take, reminds us of the pervious summer's success. Everyone wished us to win the Award," stressed the German coach and added:
"It is very important to be viewed as role models and give young children in poor countries an incentive to get into sports. This award is a sports Oscar. I have made sure to stress to everyone that it wasn't just the five victories in Portugal that led us here, it was also the four years we worked hard to get here. People call it a small miracle, but it's not."
Greece arrived in Portugal for the 2004 European Championship as 150-1 outsiders who had never won a match at a major tournament. Four weeks later the Greece national team, and in particular Otto Rehhagel and Angelos Charisteas had become legendary figures in Greek football history.
Greece were surprise winners of a surprise European Championship which saw top teams France, Italy and Germany eliminated early. Angelos Charisteas scored the winning goal in the 1-0 Euro 2004 final victory against hosts Portugal, while German Otto Rehhagel, aged 65, proved a tactical genius as Greek coach.
The Greeks played with strong defence, confidence in each other and with shrewd strategy. Rehhagel is the first foreign coach and the oldest coach in football history to lead a team to victory in the European Championship. As an exercise in working with the resources at your disposal and getting the best out of them, Rehhagel provided a mastermind.
Greece's new gods on the field were Traianos Dellas and Charisteas, two men barely able to get a game for Roma and Werder Bremen, and yet the talismen for the values of brilliant coaching, organisation and honesty.
We also won another award before: During its annual global meeting adidas International awarded HFF and the A΄ National Team with the highest prize, the 2004 Adi-Dasler-Partner award. The meeting (attended by 1500 representatives of international adidas partners) was held during last week and concluded yesterday, Sunday 3 April, with the National Head Coach Otto Rehhagel being presented with the award. It should be noted that this prize is rarely awarded to representatives of the football world.
*Here's another award we won: Fifa awarded Greece best team of the yaer ahead of arsenal who were undefeted for 49 games straight.
*Another award:The World Football Gala 2004:
The best national coach of the year - Otto Rehhagel(Greece)
The best league of the year - Spanish Primera Liga
The best referee of the year - Markus Mark(Germany)
The best goal keeper of the year - Buffon(Juventus)
The best player of the year - Ronaldinho(FC Barcelona)
The best club coach of the year - Jose Mourinho(Chelsea)
More will come...