Over the course of my soccer spectating life I have always loved the flair and passion of Greece. Whether it be the Euro’s, the World Cup or even friendly matches, The Greek National Team will always put up a good fight. At least that was the case about 10 years ago. Lately, Greece has been having trouble even qualifying for major competitions. During qualification for the Euro 2016 they finished bottom behind the Faroe Islands who have a population of not even 50,000. It’s safe to say, they are not the powerhouse of a team they once were and here is why I think they have fallen out of form over the passed decade.
Financial Issues –
Unfortunately, Greece has also become famous for something else recently. It’s not the Olympic Games, or Baklava anymore, it’s financial strife. With Greece being in constant financial trouble, it is hard to put funding into their national soccer team. Having a good soccer team has become the least of their problems as they could possibly be going into a financial crisis again quite soon. In sports you almost always need money to be successful, and football is no different.
Horrible Manager –
Current Greek manager Michael Skibbe is not the man for the job to manage a national team. He has little experience with managing big clubs with his biggest club managed being the assistant manager of the German National Team. Greece needs someone with energy, with experience and someone with heart. Skibbe’s style of coaching is far too relaxed for what the team needs right now. They currently trying to qualify for the 2018 World Cup and if they don’t get someone to turn the team around they might not be able to qualify.
Old Age –
Greece used to be a pool of young fresh talent around the time they did win the Euro’s in 2004. Now those days are gone and the fountain of youth is dry. Greece does not have any new up and comers who have made big names for themselves. The squad is saturated with players on their way to 40 and who used to be stars back in their younger days but are just getting to that age where they need to think about retiring. Their squad also has an over abundance of defenders who are actually very good players in their own right. The problem is that they can’t balance that with a good attack, which is their biggest week point. Salpingidis, Samaras and Mitroglou have all retired and there is no one to take their place.
If Greece can get their act together they could be on their way to going to the 2018 World Cup. If not I think it’s going to be very tough to recapture their 2004 where they became champions of Europe. They need a new manager, new ways of funding and some new attackers. Maybe then they will do some damage against the world best national teams.
