Touching moments unfolded on Saturday at a Deree event in honor of Otto Rehhagel, the coach who led the Greek national team to Euro 2004 triumph in Portugal.
The German football coach, who was received with warm applause by those present at the event, told ERT that "I always come to Greece with pleasure.
Rehhagel said, "what surprised everyone was the success of Greece. We have to think that we beat Ronaldo at a young age with all the superstars, the Czech Republic, France and that impressed all the experts."
He revealed that he still remembers the national anthem which he sang, while also saying another phrase in Greek that has remained with him: "When I have absolute control, I feel confident."
As the football legend explained to Action24's camera, “the secret was that we positioned the players in such a way that they could perform at their maximum. Our whole strategy was based on the abilities of the players."
He also revealed that in the first game against Portugal, the then 19-year-old Cristiano Ronaldo was asked if he had been interested in Greece and he had answered "not so much," and so he told Giourkas Seitaridis that "he doesn't know you but he'll find out after the game."
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