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With the current economic situation in Greece worsening by the day there is not a lot for Greeks to be positive about at the moment, however a long source of pride particularly since their heroics in Portugal in the summer of 2004 has been the national football team. This time around being led by the engineer of the penta Fernando Santos, there are high hopes in Greece for a summer of positivity coming from Ukraine and Poland.Following the European Championship triumph in 2004 Greek football was on the up with world renowned players such as Rivaldo, Olaf Mellberg and Djibril Ci se choosing to ply their trade in the Greek Super League. This resurgence even saw the Greek National team rise to 8th in the FIFA world rankings which has been their highest ever positioning. The current Greek side sits in a more than respectable 14th in the World rankings after a dismal campaign in South Africa which saw the Euro 2004 winners eliminated at the group stage. Since the departure of Otto Rehhagel after the World Cup in 2010, Fernando Santos has instilled an efficient hard to beat mentality within the Greek national side which saw Greece Dmitrij Jaskin Jersey concede just five goals in qualification for Euro 2012 in a group which contained the European heavyweights Croatia and a talented Israel side which had the likes of Chelseas Yo si Benayoun and Celtics Biram Kayal at its disposal. Greece endured a hugely impre sive unbeaten qualification campaign scoring fourteen goals in ten games with particularly surprising results being the valuable 0-0 draw and 1-0 win in away games against Croatia and Israel respectively. Greeces home form in the qualification stage was the catalyst for Fernando Santos sides succe s, with the Greeks taking a fantastic 13 points from a po sible 15 from fixtures at the Karaiskakis Stadium. The succe s of the Greeks qualification campaign has seen the 2004 European Champions enter Group A alongside the Co Hosts Poland, Ru sia and the Czech Republic. This is by no means an easy group and will require Chris Thorburn Kids Jersey concentration and performance of the highest order if Greece are to progre s into the knockout stages of the competitionThe CoachFernando Santos, one of the most experienced managers in Greek football will lead Greece into Euro 2012 this summer. As previously mentioned Santos has brought a sense of efficiency to the Greek squad which sees the side not conceding many goals however the cynics would say the build from the back system that Santos has brought to the Greek national side does not allow for many goals to be scored which could prove Tony Twist Men Jersey to be costly in Ukraine and Poland. Santos having worked in Greece for the majority of his post playing career knows the national pool very well, a hugely succe sful spell at Porto which saw him lift the Portuguese championship led him to AEK Athens, Panathinaikos, Sporting Lisbon and Benfica before finally a return to Greece with PAOK whom he left to take the national job after guiding them into the Champions League. The efficient nature of his management may well prove to be vital in a tournament scenario with games coming just days apart. Santos will look to utilise his experience and build upon the form shown by Greece in the qualifying campaign for this summers Championships.The Provisional SquadFernando Santos recently named his 25 man provisional squad for the European Championships before he makes his final squad decision for the tournament on May 29th. The provisional squad included the expected spine of the team with the Olympiakos duo of energetic right back Vasilis Torosidis and strong Centre Half Avraam Papadopoulos being selected. As expected the jewel in the Greek crown so to speak Panathinaikos attacking midfield playmaker Sotiris Ninis made the provisional squad, the midfield also included the hugely experienced Giorgos Karagounis who was an integral part in the 2004 winning team and another of Greeces young starlets Giannis Fetfatzidis whom many will remember for his impre sive strike late on at the Stade Velodrome in this seasons Champions League. Fernando Santos chose experience over youth in the striking department for his provisional squad with the expected inclusion of Giorgos Samaras, Dimitris Salpingidis and 36 year old Nikos Liberopoulos. There was no place in the squad for Euro 2004 winner and joint all time Greek leading scorer Angelos Charisteas. Here is the full provisional squad list including the players domestic clubs.Goalkeepers:Alexandros TzorvasPalermoMichalis SifakisArisKostas ChalkiasPAOKDefenders:Kyriakos PapadopoulosSchalkeSokratis PapastathopoulosWerder BremenVasilis TorosidisOlympiakosAvraam PapadopoulosOlympiakosGiorgos TzavelasMonacoStelios MalezasPaokJose HolebasOlympiakosMidfielders:Alexandros TziolisMonacoGrigoris MakosAEKGiannis ManiatisOlympiakosKostas KatsouranisPanathinaikosGiorgos KaragounisPanathinaikosSotiris NinisPanathinaikosGiorgos FotakisPAOKKostas FortounisKaiserslauternPanagiotis KoneBolognaGiannis FetfatzidisOlympiakosAttackersGiorgios SamarasCelticDimitris SalpingidisPAOKFanis GekasSamsunsporNikos LiberopoulosAEKKostas MitroglouAtromitosThe CaptainGiorgos Karagounis will be the man leading Greece on the pitch in Magnus Paajarvi Men Jersey Ukraine and Poland this summer, the 35 year old midfielder has enjoyed a fantastic career which has included two long spells at his boyhood club Panathinaikos alongside periods at Internazionale Milan and Benfica, two giants of the European game. Karagounis captain since Jordan Nolan Kids Jersey 2010 and led Greece to their first ever World Cup fixture win is Greeces second most capped player behind Theodoros Zagorakis. Karagounis playing the holding role in midfield for Greece will be expected to play far le s of an attacking role than he did in Portugal in 2004 and even as recently as South Africa in 2010 however this will in no way diminish his impact within the team with the veteran still as much of a threat as ever from set piece situations particularly free kicks within shooting range. Karagouinis will also have an instrumental part to play in guiding the young players in particularly Ninis and Fetfatzidis for whom it is only their second and first tournament appearance respectively. Ninis and Fetfatzidis will no doubt provide the attacking flair of the team with Karagounis simply playing a supporting cover role for them however his experience in tournament situations will be invaluable in both training and match situations for both these two boys and for the majority of the squad.The Key MenTh