Sadly for the Greeks they left the World Cup earlier this week. While many found their approach to football boring, even mechanical, their play is based on percentage football and leaves little on the table for the opposition to mop up. The Greece-Costa Rica match was never going to be fast, flowing and attractive football but it was a strong tactical display for two hours or so. The Central Americans had much more of the ball in the opening 35 minutes (61%) but the Greeks were happy for them to have so much as they sat deep and absorbed pressure. As the game went on the Greeks wore their opponents down and forced them into extra time with a last minute equaliser.
Amazingly, age is no impediment to some. The illustrations below (courtesy of OPTA) show the average position of each player and their influence during the 30 minutes of extra time. The most influential player on the pitch...one Giorgos Karagounis, at a mere 37 years of age! The oldest player on the pitch in fact. What a pro.