The Stadium of Light is no more. Someone flicked the switch for every Portuguese and plunged it into abject darkness. These Greeks have never borne any gifts, either on the first day or last. What happened in between may have been unrelenting sunshine for the hosts but it was sandwiched between black despair. For Greece, on the other hand, Christmas has lasted a glorious month and will now last forever. Unexpected heroes every man jack of them never to be forgotten. And for neutrals we witnessed one of the greatest upsets ever in sport - 100-1 outsiders sweeping aside the cream of Europe to crown themselves champions. If every big earner in football - yes, including Sven-Goran Eriksson and David Beckham - isn't hugely embarrassed today, then they damned well should be because the European Championships has been won by organisation, discipline, fitness, and a burning desire to succeed. All commodities which can be instilled in willing souls. This Greek team practises the dark art of defensive strangulation until the opponent surrenders. Their pragmatic philosophy that any team, no matter how gifted, can be stopped from playing has again be proved shudderingly correct. They have beaten the champions France, the best team in the tournament the Czech Republic, and the hosts twice - just in case we didn't believe it the first time! The doctrine of coach Otto Rehhagel has been slavishly followed to the ultimate reward and thereby lies their secret. Greece do not have pampered superstars who would despise and refuse to carry out Rehhagel's work ethic. That, soccer's millionaires would sniff, is for donkeys not thoroughbreds. Neither did the small provincial clubs he took to the championship in his native Germany possess such turned up noses. But the Hollywood posers of Bayern Munich wouldn't have it and got King Otto removed within a season. Greece work a fluid 4-3-2-1 system which is so effective because every single player is an athlete. Each has the capability to work and run relentlessly as much in the last minute as the first. Superstars who like the ball to do the work such as Luis Figo were reduced to looking heavy-legged and off the pace. The two support strikers push up on lone front man Zisis Vryzas when Greece have the ball and drop back to help the midfield when they haven't. It isn't pretty, it certainly isn't the beautiful game that the likes of Pele and the watching Eusebio blessed, but if slavishly followed it wins football matches. Usually 1-0. Skipper Theodoros Zagorakis, thrown out by Leicester City, epitomises what the Greeks are all about on the right side of their midfield, while behind him Georgios Seitaridis, who has just signed for Porto, is a wonderfully athletic right-back going forward and backwards. The goal that won the game was a set- piece - surprise, surprise. A right-wing corner was won by the overlapping Seitaridis in the 57th minute and when Angelis Basinas swung it across goal Angelos Charisteas, who can't get a game with Werder Bremen in the Bundersliga, rose to whip his header past Ricardo. Portugal's best attacker was Newcastle United target Miguel who brought a great one-handed save low down out of Antonios Nikopolidis before going off injured after only 43 minutes. With him went a lot of the home threat. The trouble was Portugal's ball players wanted too much time to dwell when against such organisation attacks had to be quick and the ball played accurately and early. Of course the Portuguese had most of the possession - Greece play on the counter attack subduing the life and the will out of temperamental talent. Rehhagel has turned Greeks into Germans with outstanding efficiency - only four goals conceded in the six matches of Euro 2004 and not a solitary one in the knock-out stages. It is not the way I prefer my football but then a small country like Greece is never going to have the depth of ball-playing talent to command global domination and therefore requires a clever coach to devise a cunning tactic, which often requires you to nullify superior opposition. Jack Charlton did it with a tall centre-forward and the long ball played into the corners when with the Republic of Ireland and Rehhagel does it with tremendous athleticism and discipline. Every one of his men looked capable to chasing Linford Christie for 90 minutes and, in fairness, can hold up the ball better than Jack's lot. For Portugal it was all a tragedy. They were supposed to win their first major trophy in front of their own folk and on the final whistle, while the Greeks cavorted round the touchline, Cristiano Ronaldo sank to his knees shedding buckets of tears. At least he'll have other opportunities. The golden generation of Figo, Rui Costa and Fernando Couto will not. The man from Sheffield United (Traianos Dellas) and from Bolton (Stelios Giannakopoulos), the Leicester reject (skipper Zagorakis) and Burnley's has-been (Dimitrios Papadopoulos) as well as two given the elbow at Newcastle (Nicos Dabizas and Giorgios Georgiadis) all had gold medals hung round their necks and can call themselves European champions. Has football gone stark staring bonkers? It's all Greek Greece's first attempt at qualifying for the 1934 competition saw them beaten 4-0 by hosts Italy in the first leg in Milan. The Greeks decided not to play the second leg so, in return, the Italians gave their opponents enough money to buy a house in Athens worth approximately £210,000 to provide a home for the Hellenic Football Federation. Euro 2004 is only the third time Greece have appeared in major finals. They competed in the 1994 World Cup and the 1980 European Championship. Greece lost their opening two fixtures in their Euro 2004 qualifying group, which included Spain and Ukraine, but then won their next six games without conceding a goal to seal their place in Portugal. Greece's surprise victory over hosts Portugal in the opening match of Euro 2004 was their first-ever win in a major competition. Greece were 100-1 outsiders to win Euro 2004 before the start of the competition. | 
