YES, #GREECE CAN! 10 Years Ago Today, 4th July 2004, Team GREECE stuns the World, Winning the EURO 2004 Football! 2004 The Year of GREECE had Begun!

Often referred to as 'King' Otto for masterminding Greece's Galanolefki triumph in the European Championship of 2004 and helping to make 2004 the Year of Greece, Otto Rehhagel was invited to speak on Greek TV's NSports about Greece, Ethniki Ellados, the team, its strengths and weaknesses and the wonderful journey Greek football gave us those wonderful, incredible, unforgettable days in June and July of 2004.
July 2004, exactly ten years ago, when the Greek team  became the European Football Champions and made us so incredibly proud to be Greek wherever in the world we happened to be!!!

Towards the end of the interview (at 17 minutes)  listen to 'King' Otto sing the Greek National Anthem in answer to  the journalist's question  
he taught us football, did he learn Greek...?

Εθνική Ελλάδος Γειά σου!!! 

Ευχαριστούμε, Danke, Thank You!!!




At Global Greek World, We ♥ Greece...and it shows!

 © GlobalGreekWorld 2014 All Rights Reserved

Today we are TWO! Happy Birthday to us!!! Χρόνια Πολλά και Καλά!!!

Source: (c) Frosted Pink by Stacey

Today, 21 March, officially the first day of Spring in Greece and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, and we at Global Greek World are celebrating our second birthday!

This post is dedicated to our readers and wonderful friends around the world who have supported our efforts and helped this blog develop and grow!!!! We've had a great two years and we would like to thank each and everyone of you for taking the time to visit, read our posts and leave comments.

Source: (c) Frosted Pink by Stacey

We thank our followers on Twitter, or our friends who 'like' our Global Greek World Facebook Page and all who have participated in the discussions there!

We have had some lively discussions and debates on that page and some great laughs!

Source: (c) Frosted Pink by Stacey

Some of us are still laughing at one of our recent posts on facebook which had someone trying to speak Greek in an episode of Xena, Warrior Princess. The writers obviously hadn't done any research on the Greek to be spoken, so the result was something totally ridiculous for anyone who can speak the language! The only thing one could do was laugh...or cry...

You can check it out for yourself - we'd love to hear your comments! Don't be misled by the title, Gabriella's Greek has some Spanish mixed in with it...Yeia sou Kalimera, Yeia sou Kalinyxta, Yeia Sou Kala Noches! (Thanks Vicky D - Sydney for posting it)

Over the last year we have also made a lot of wonderful new friends; we have had readers visit us from 161 countries, up from 117 last year, with the USA, Greece, Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom still topping the list .

Source: (c) Frosted Pink by Stacey

Above all, it has been another great year for our Global Greeks who have worked hard and made headlines in many parts of the world.

• Chris Pissarides from the London School of Economics won the 2010 Nobel Prize in Economics;
• Dr Nicholas Christakis and Greek PM George Papandreou were named amongst Foreign Policy's 100 Top Global Thinkers;
• Yorgos Lanthimos' Dogtooth, Mary Zophres, Alexandre Desplat - three Global Greeks made it to three different categories of the Oscar nominations;
• Greek America Foundation's Greg Pappas inaugurated the USA's first gathering of global leaders, innovators, thinkers and doers who share Greek heritage, the first-ever National Innovation Conference (NIC) in Chicago;
• Greek Australian Dimitris Dollis was appointed Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs in Greece;
  
• Greek Russian Cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin went back into space and
• Ethniki Ellados, under the guidance of super coach Otto Rehhagel, the architect of Greece's Euro 2004 soccer victory, qualified and competed in the World Cup in South Africa.

We all know that it hasn't been such great a year for Greece economically and we have spent a lot of time discussing the economic crisis with those who care about this country, who have worked hard to keep the flag flying in every corner of the world and who want to know more about what is happening in Greece.

Source: (c) Frosted Pink by Stacey

We continue to believe Greece will pull through but not without hardship in the short term of course. In the long run, we think the Prime Minister George Papandreou, a Global Greek himself, is on the right track, but we need to stop blaming everyone else for Greece's difficulties, and get on with the job, making many difficult and often painful decisions in the process.

Source: (c) Frosted Pink by Stacey

We continue to believe in Greece and the achievements of our Global Greeks wherever in the world they are, and will continue to highlight and promote all the positive things we see.

Greece has much going for it.

Despite the economic doom and gloom and the many natural & man made disasters that our world is going through right now, we need to keep thinking as positively as we can, so that the positive thinking catches on...

We at Global Greek World are certainly trying!

With your support we will continue to spread the word until we're well into our 90's, just like the Global Greek ladies that the cakes below were made for!

Source: (c) Frosted Pink by Stacey

Efharistoume Poly!! Ευχαριστούμε Πολύ!!!

Source: (c) Frosted Pink by Stacey made for her grandmother, Kyria Evangelia.

Regrettably Kyria Evangelia died late last year far away from her beloved Arcadia but surrounded by her loving family...

PS The delicious-looking birthday cakes are courtesy of Frosted Pink by Stacey.
Talented young Greek Canadian, Stacey Korolis Sherlock, works from home in Tisdale,Saskatchewan. To get a taste of the rest of her top class creations on Facebook - Click here.

Efharistoume Stacey!

Αντίο Otto! Ευχαριστούμε, Danke, Thank You!!! Ethniki Ellados Geia sou!

 

Ευχαριστούμε Όττο! Thank you Otto!

"They were nine glorious years,...The circle is closed today and I am pleased to have achieved so much with you,"  

  

Otto Rehhagel, Greece's coach for the last 9 years, speaking to the Greek players before they returned to Greece yesterday...

Often referred to as 'King' Otto for masterminding Greece's Galanolefki triumph in the European Championship of 2004 and helping to make 2004 the Year of Greece, Otto Rehhagel resigned as coach yesterday along with his Global Greek assistant Yiannis Topalidis, after the match with Argentina's Albiceleste! 

We agree, they have been 9 glorious years for Greece's Ethniki Ellados!  

They did so well and even though they didn't get any further in this year's World Cup in South Africa, they left with their heads held high. They did their best and that's all we can expect! 

We're proud of our Greek team, and we're proud of their achievements. A huge thank you-efharisto to them and to Coach Otto Rehhagel for the wonderful journey they have given us since those incredible, unforgettable days in June and July of 2004.

We thank our friend Otto for helping make the Greek team    European Football Champions and for making us so incredibly proud to be Greek wherever in the world we happened to be!!! 

It was a marvellous journey. 

Whether you were a fan of soccer or just a lover of Greece and all it stands for, it was a wonderful 9 years and for that we thank him from the bottom of our hearts and dedicate the video below to him!

From all of us in the Global Greek World we wish our favourite German, but honorary Greek, Otto Rehhagel all the very best and hope that he will stay with us in Greece... 

The team he helped build, we're sure, would love to have him here watching and advising.

For the moment though...

Αντίο Otto! Ευχαριστούμε, Danke, Thank You!!!

Tonight! Greece vs Argentina ! Hellas Ole Ole!!! Good Luck! Καλή Επιτυχία!

In just over an hour Greece will be taking on the mighty Argentina in what promises to be a gripping game in their 2010  World Cup Odyssey, after defeating Nigeria by 2-1 in  one of the most exciting games so far! 

Let's show the world just what Greece can do!

But whatever happens today we're proud of our Greek team and thank them and Coach Otto Rehhagel for the wonderful journey Greek football has given us since those wonderful, incredible, unforgettable days in June and July of 2004, when the Greek team  became the European Football Champions and made us so incredibly proud to be Greek wherever in the world we happened to be!!!

Wherever we are in the Global Greek World today, our heart  and souls are with the Greek team in South Africa and wish them the very best of luck for this critical game...

Καλή   Επιτυχία!!! 

Go  Greece!!!!