FORTALEZA // The weathered face of Fernando Santos is unlikely to look any fresher on Wednesday morning. The night before Greece’s historical win over Ivory Coast on Tuesday, Santos was kept awake by a helicopter hovering over his hotel. Immediately after watching his side’s late 2-1 victory to book a place in the last-16 of the World Cup, he suggested a quiet evening with a couple of old friends would suffice. He should be so lucky.
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This was a victory that Greece had craved and the rest of the watching world had not expected. When substitute Andreas Samaris capitalised on an error by Cheick Tiote shortly before half-time to open the scoring, it was the country’s first goal of the tournament. It was also Greece’s first goal in World Cup history against 11 men.
Yet it was not a surprise. Africa’s perennial underachievers, for all their pace and guile, had looked vulnerable and Jose Holebas had already rattled their crossbar at the end of a rapid counter-attack on the half-hour mark. In the 68th minute, they struck it again, this time through captain Georgios Karagounis.
Greece’s advantage, though, was cancelled out by Wilfried Bony with 16 minutes remaining and, despite the Europeans’ dalliance with the woodwork, they looked destined to finish bottom of Group C with a solitary point. Ivory Coast, who had at one stage been playing with four forwards and an attacking midfielder, pulled off Didier Drogba and Gervinho to cement the win. It appeared to have worked, but then Giovanni Sio, an 83rd minute substitute, upended Georgios Samaras inside the penalty area.
The referee pointed to the spot and the Celtic forward picked himself up to fire his country into the Round of 16 for the first time. They will meet Costa Rica on Sunday in Recife. “I don’t remember anything to be honest,” Samaras said. “It was a black-out. I was just totally focused on trying to put the ball in the back of the net and give some joy to the people back home.”
Santos, looking disheveled but allowing himself a rare moment of joy in what had been a disappointing World Cup up to that point, said he felt a Greek victory was the deserved result. “In reality, the best team in the match won, be it in terms of passion or intelligence. This is a team that scored two goals and hit the woodwork three times. We have to see that as a fair victory,” he said
Santos, shortly before being hugged by a teary-eyed Greek journalist, said he felt no tension because Samaras had scored a penalty in training the previous day. “I believed in the team and the players because they deserve it,” he added. “It’s historical.”
His opposition in the dugout, Sabri Lamouchi, was crestfallen after watching Ivory Coast’s golden generation of Elephants fail to live up to expectations once more. He accepted the blame for making late defensive changes in the hope of closing out the game and revealed he will vacate his position now that his team’s tournament is over.
“My contract ended with this World Cup and there will not be any follow-up,” Lamouchi said “If you have not been able to win the African Cup of Nations or the World Cup, you need another discourse. I am sure this team will achieve something soon because they have a very talented generation coming though.”
The final word was left for Santos.
“This was essentially a knock-out match, so you always have a lot of stress in these matches, but also more focus. I felt when they scored, the result was kind of unfair, but then at the end the fairness was returned. We feel a lot of pleasure and happiness. It’s the first time Greece goes on to the last 16, so everyone there will be enjoying this moment. I told the players they must too, for they deserve it.”
gmeenaghan@thenational.ae
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