Former Greece captain Theodoros Zagorakis has announced the end of his playing career in order to put together a consortium of investors to take over his current club PAOK.
The 35-year-old, who captained Greece to victory at Euro 2004, said he expected to take control of the club tomorrow.
“Taking into account the settlement of the debts, I am in a position to announce that as of Monday June 18, I will be running the club,” he said in a statement. “I think it is high time I retired although it was a very difficult decision. It took endless hours of reflection.”
DF: We will miss you on the soccer field. Thank you for making us proud! Good luck with PAOK.
CNNSPORTS/
posted on Monday, June 18
Greeksoccer.com is gearing up for the 2nd Annual Hellenic Soccer Tournament. This great event features teams from all over the US and Canada. Mark your calendars. September 1 &2 in Chicago.
DF: Remember who won last year?
Greeksoccer.com
posted on Wednesday, June 13
Greece ran out comfortable winners over Hungary to wrest control of Euro 2008 qualifying Group C from Turkey. Otto Rehhagel's defending champions produced an assured display at the Pankritio stadium in Crete as first-half strikes from Fanis Gekas and Giourkas Seitaridis clinched a victory which moved Greece into top spot following Turkey's surprise 3-2 defeat to Bosnia-Herzegovina.
The Greeks now hold a two-point lead and have the chance to extend it to five points with a home clash against group minnows Moldova on Wednesday as Turkey do not play again until September.
"We're halfway through the qualifiers ... I'm satisfied with the result," Greece coach Otto Rehhagel said. "We played well in the first half and not so well in the second."
DF: Sikose to...
posted on Saturday, June 2
While watching the UEFA final on Wednesday in Athens, not only will you be seeing the final between Liverpool and AC Milan; but there will be a strong statement coming from police associations in Greece, who will be protesting their working conditions and pay.
While some police get ready to protest; 15,000 other officers have fanned throughout Athens as thousands of fans from England and Italy began flying into the city in preparation of the big match. Athens officials have threatened to send game hooligans back to their country of origin if they can not prove to have tickets to the match.
DF: About 26 million-euro (US$35 million) is expected to be pumped into the local economy from hosting the Champions League soccer final.
Bloomberg
GreekSoccer.com
posted on Tuesday, May 22
Two power tennis players will be going to play in the country from where their families originated from. Pete Sampras (from the US) and Mark Philippoussis (from Australia), will be at the 30-and-over Champions Series tennis tournament in Athens next month, along with other tennis stars such as Richard Krajicek, Mats Wilander, and Pat Cash. The tournament will take place at the Olympic tennis facility used for the 2004 Athens Summer Games.
When Pete Sampras was asked what it was like to play in Greece, the first time he will be ever visiting the country he answered by saying"Playing in Greece is going to be very exciting. This event will give me the chance to see the country, meet the people and allow me to play with a different kind of pride as a Greek-American playing in the land of my heritage."
DF Fun Facts: Pete Sampras' parents hail from Sparta, Greece; while Mark Philippoussis father comes from the island of Tinos. (His mother is Italian.)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_Philippoussis
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pete_Sampras
posted on Tuesday, April 17
Greece's tennis ace, Eleni Daniilidou, caused the biggest upset on the opening day of the Amelia Island championship when she cruised to a 6-0 6-4 victory over French 10th seed Marion Bartoli on Monday.
Eleni has climbed up quickly in the rankings for womens tennis, in both singles and doubles, and made a strong appearance in the 2004 Olympics among other competitions. In addition to playing tennis; this athlete also enjoys windsurfing, basketball, volleyball, football, table tennis and swimming.
DF: Best of luck on Wednesday Eleni.
posted on Wednesday, April 4
Our defending champs bounced back from the weekend fiasco with Turkey by beating Malto 1-0 in a European Championship qualifying match.
DF: Get all the news at Greeksoccer.com
posted on Thursday, March 29
Greece is looking to take home some pride after its devastating defeat on Saturday against Turkey. They will play Malta on Wednesday in Valetta. While many see this game as a guaranteed victory for Greece, they should not let down their guard.
Greece is seen as one of the favourites to book a place in the finals of Euro 2008, to be held in Austria and Switzerland. Turkey, Greece and Norway are the top teams in Group C. (The group which they are playing in to quality for the final round.)
DF: Update Wednesday afternoon: Greece beats Malta. Greece 1: Malta 0. Thank you to Basinas Penalty kick! How did you like this game?
posted on Wednesday, March 28
After the fifth minute goal by Kyrgiakos, it seemed that Greece was off to a great start against Turkey in this crucial Euro Qualifier match. But Turkey came back to tie the score 1 - 1 at the 25th minute; followed by three more goals at the 55th, 70th and 80th minute. What are your thougths on the game?
posted on Saturday, March 24
The match between Greece and Turkey is more than just for a top spot at the Euro 2008 tournament it's ethnic pride-one day before Greek Independence Day.
Greece coach Otto Rehhagel and his Turkish counterpart Fatih Terim have carefully sidestepped sensitive issues that divide the two nations, knowing all too well that Saturday's clash could determine who will gain a major advantage for qualification to the 2008 tournament. Greece has asked its players to be "committed but not aggressive." The stadium, out of security reasons, will only have Greek fans. (Quite intimidating for the Turks eh?)
DF: Team Hellas...make us proud.
posted on Friday, March 23
