Larissa explain it all

Georgios Donis said "heart and will prevailed" after Larissa FC joined four other Greek sides in the group stage despite a 2-1 defeat at Blackburn Rovers FC.

Donis delighted
Donis, who played for Blackburn in the mid-1990s, led his side to a 2-0 win in the home leg in Volos and then watched Cleyton score a crucial away goal at Ewood Park to demoralise the English Premier League side. Blackburn went on to win the game but lost the tie. "Our enthusiasm, heart and will prevailed," Donis said. "Sometimes these ingredients can lead you past great obstacles. I want to thank my players and our fans who made the trip to England and helped us. We are creating a new generation of fans who get to experience triumphs rather than just hearing about past glories from their fathers."

Prestigious wins
Back in 1988, Larissa became the only side from outside Athens and Thessalonika ever to win the Greek league, but they were relegated in 1996 and went through several years of financial and administrative turmoil before Donis led them back into the top division in 2005. They then beat Panathinaikos FC 2-1 in last season's Greek Cup final but arguably pulled off a bigger shock in beating Blackburn. As Donis said: "The prestige of the loser gives more honour to the winner."

Cleyton assessment
Having also scored in the first leg, Brazilian Cleyton was thrilled to have inflicted further damage on Mark Hughes' side in Lancashire. "It's the most important goal of my career so far," he said. "I hope that more will come in the future. We worked hard, we believed in ourselves, we studied our opponents and we achieved a hard-fought but deserving qualification."

Greek contingent
While celebrations were kicking off in earnest back in Larissa, Konstantinos Piladakis - who took over as the club's president back in 2004 - explained his side's unique appeal. "The secret is that we remain down to earth," he said. "It's important that all five Greek teams qualified to the group stage. We still have a lot to show and I'm very proud of our side." They now join Panathinaikos, Aris Thessaloniki FC, Panionios NFC and AEK Athens FC in Tuesday's group stage draw.