The executioner of Spain

Greece's Giannakopoulos (L) and Romania's Adrian Mutu (R) try to catch the ball during their friendly soccer game in Constanta, 250 km South-East from Bucharest, 21 August 2002. Giannakopoulos scored first goal for his team during the first half of the game.

On a memorable June night in 2003, Greece went into the hostile Romareda stadium in Zaragoza where Spain had not hosted a match in 18 years and came away with a famous victory..

Portuguese Miguel (R) vies with Greek Giannakopoulos during a friendly match Portugal vs Greece for the Euro2004 championship at the new stadium of Aveiro 15 November 2003.

The decisive moment was just before half-time, when Greek midfielder Stylianos Giannakopoulous unleashed a angled drive from just inside the box that got past Iker Casillas in the Spain goal and silenced the stunned home crowd.

The goal had heavy consequences and led to Greece's somewhat surprising direct qualification for Euro 2004 in Portugal while Giannakopoulos was made an instant hero in his homeland.

The offensive midfielder who had just won a fifth straight Greek title with Olympiakos rode his new found fame all the way to English club Bolton Wanderers where he signed a three-year contract to embark in a new adventure in the Premier League.

English adventure

A tireless worker, the bald Giannakopoulous has reaped the rewards of grafting his way upwards from the depths of the Greek third division to the heart of the Olympiakos midfield where his team dominated domestic affairs.

Stylianos Giannakopoulos (L) of Olympiakos Piraeus tries to escape Edin Mujcin (R) of Croatia-Zagreb during the UEFA Champions League group A match in Zagreb, 09 December.

He has since taken his gifted skills into the Greek national team where he is an essential cog in coach Otto Rehhagel's midfield system. "Stylianos transmits serenity to his teammates," said the German coach.

Not only capable of controlling the game from midfield, he also knows where the net is, scoring 70 goals for Olympiakos including 13 during the 2002-03 season.

He is now a veteran in the Greek side and his enthusiasm has not dampened since joining Bolton as he gets to grips with the fast paced top flight in England.

As Euro 2004 comes into focus, the stage now gets higher with greater prizes on offer in Portugal.