Rehhagel reins in Greek euphoria

Otto Rehhagel refused to get carried away after a 3-2 win for Greece and a 1-1 draw for Turkey left the European champions in a commanding position in Group C.

Cautious coach
The German coach was far from convinced by his side's victory at home against Bosnia-Herzegovina and was not ready to book his ticket to Austria and Switzerland just yet despite Greece being four points clear at the top of their section with three games to go. "The qualifying phase is like a 400m race in athletics," he said. "We might be on the final stretch but we haven't crossed the finish line yet. When we are mathematically certain we will acknowledge that we achieved our goal - but not before then."

Wrong mentality
Reflecting on Saturday's win, he added: "We took a deserved lead through [Angelos] Charisteas, but then I saw some things in my team I didn't like, as well as in the second half after the Bosnians were reduced to ten men. Perhaps it's a matter of mentality, because everybody thought - even before the match - that we had already qualified. I say you have to wait for the ball to cross the line before you celebrate. However I don't want to criticise my players."

Charisteas achievement
Charisteas' goal put him fifth in Greece's all-time scorers' list, level with Demis Nikolaidis - a team-mate at UEFA EURO 2004™ and now president of AEK Athens FC - on 17 goals. The 1.FC Nürnberg striker said: "It was a deserved victory from a stressful match. It was important to take the lead early, but we were pegged back from a set piece. However we stayed cool and managed to score quickly afterwards and then took advantage of our numerical advantage."

'In debt'
Greece now face Turkey in Istanbul on Wednesday looking to avenge the 4-1 home defeat that rocked Rehhagel's team back in March. Defender Vassilios Torosidis said: "Our 4-1 defeat to Turkey last March was a heavy one. More than anything, this next game is a matter of pride." Greece captain Angelos Basinas agreed: "The 4-1 defeat against Turkey has left us in debt to Greek fans."

'A big deal'
However, Turkey's 1-1 draw in Moldova on Saturday has taken some of the sting out of the tie, as Stylianos Giannakopoulos acknowledged: "We focused on our match, but then we learned also about our gift from Moldova. Now we can travel to Istanbul with no stress at all. It's not a matter of settling old scores - our goal is always to win. We were very upset after the 4-1 defeat - we were criticised and that made us more determined. It will be a huge accomplishment if we qualify for a second consecutive EURO. It is also a big deal for all the players who couldn't be with us in Portugal three years ago."