Liberopoulos returns to Greece fold

Greece coach Fernando Santos has named a 20-man squad for the UEFA EURO 2012 qualifiers against Latvia on 8 October and Israel four days later with the selection of Nikos Liberopoulos making the headlines.

The 35-year-old AEK Athens FC forward retired from international football in September 2009 after scoring 13 goals in 64 matches but has answered his country's call following a conversation with Santos and goals in each of his two UEFA Europa League group-stage matches this term.

"Bearing in mind what Liberopoulos had said a year ago, we spoke to him to see what his intentions were," explained Santos. "I thought it only natural to call him since he is playing well and scoring. He is a player that can hold the ball and we are in need of such players for our upcoming encounters. He told us he is willing to help us so we can count on him."

Greece squad
Goalkeepers: Alexandros Tzorvas (Panathinaikos FC), Michalis Sifakis (Aris Thessaloniki FC).

Defenders: Sokratis Papastathopoulos (AC Milan), Vassilios Torosidis (Olympiacos FC), Loukas Vyntra (Panathinaikos FC), Avraam Papadopoulos (Olympiacos FC), Stelios Malezas (PAOK FC), Nikos Spyropoulos (Panathinaikos FC), Georgios Tzavellas (Eintracht Frankfurt).

Midfielders: Kostas Katsouranis (Panathinaikos FC), Alexandros Tziolis (Real Racing Club), Giorgos Karagounis (Panathinaikos FC), Pantelis Kafes (AEK Athens FC), Sakis Prittas (Aris Thessaloniki FC), Panagiotis Kone (Brescia Calcio), Sotiris Ninis (Panathinaikos FC).

Forwards: Dimitris Salpingidis (PAOK FC), Georgios Samaras (Celtic FC), Kostas Mitroglou (Olympiacos FC), Nikos Liberopoulos (AEK Athens FC).