Chalkias urges new heroes to stand up

European champions Greece kick off their title defence against Sweden on Tuesday with the 2008 vintage keen to make a name for themselves.

Still motivated
Greece refused to get flustered four years ago when the pressure was on and goalkeeper Kostas Chalkias is adamant that the squad still have their feet on the ground. "There is no contract to guarantee success," Chalkias said, before explaining how the team are desperate to repeat the success achieved in Portugal. "We have done the Greek people proud and we intend to do that again. In comparison with 2004, this Greece side has several new faces. But the passion, the will and the effort to achieve something is exactly the same."

Fully focused
While Chalkias, 34, is a veteran of UEFA EURO 2004™, team-mate Loukas Vintra is enjoying his first major finals. The Panathinaikos FC right-back is a picture of shy determination for the media and says he and the team are focused on their first encounter – with no thoughts of the following Group D games against Russia and Spain. "Our match with Sweden will be difficult," the 27-year-old said. "There's no need to say more. Hopefully we will be ready and then work from there. Nothing else matters – we need to begin the tournament on the right foot."

Danger men
When discussing Sweden, Chalkias singles out strikers Zlatan Ibrahimović and Henrik Larsson as the danger men. However, he also warns against paying too much attention to that pair. "If we focus too much on them, we might find that someone else can hurt us," the PAOK FC keeper said. "Sweden have lots of good players and they have quality. Our strength is our defence. Our centre-backs are tall, strong, technically gifted and I believe they will do well."