Greek captain Zagorakis named player of Euro 2004
First Published: Jul 05, 2004
Greece captain Theodoros Zagorakis has been named as the player of Euro 2004 after leading the rank outsiders to victory in the final over Portugal.
Greece captain Theodoros Zagorakis has been named as the player of Euro 2004 after leading the rank outsiders to victory in the final over Portugal.
The AEK Athens midfielder was a commanding figure as a team that had never before won a match at a major international finals before beating Portugal in the opening match and went on to silence the host nation with a 1-0 win in Sunday's final.
Zagorakis, 32, led by example as Greece edged out Spain and Ukraine to top their qualifying group for the tournament, playing all eight qualifiers and helping his side to six clean sheets in six victories.
Once in Portugal, Zagorakis marshalled the defence superbly, providing the basis for the remarkable victories over Euro 2000 champions France, the Czech Republic and then Portugal.
The result was announced on Monday by UEFA's technical study group, the group of coaches and technical experts who are compiling a report on technical and tactical trends to arise from the competition.
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