Euro 2016: 5 memorable counter-attacking teams from the past

#4 Greece (2004)

The Greece side of 2004 were applauded and derided in equal measure for their victory over Portugal in the Euro final. They are like milkshake dipped french fries...or, erm, marmite; you either love them or hate them.

Whatever your personal preference, there is no denying the fact that they won it outright and they did so thanks to a very particular set of tactics which even the very best of offences found difficult to break down, the most solid of midfields couldn’t stop from being over-run, and the best goalkeepers couldn’t prevent their sniping attacks.

Otto Rehhagel was the mastermind behind their on-pitch exploits which saw them score little (just seven in all), but effectively. Indeed, their top scorer Angelos Charisteas only nabbed three strikes, but it was typical of the man that one of those was the most important of the entire competition – his 57th minute conversion on July 4 to kill Portugal’s title hopes.

Yes, set-pieces were used intelligently, but they normally eked out those chances thanks to well-timed counter attacks. They didn't have the technical quality to compete with plenty of possession but as many teams are proving today, they didn’t need it because they were able to make the most of their time on the ball. Some deemed their philosophy to be anti-football due to their defensive, cynical stylings but they did what they needed to do to win and it worked.

Frustrating to play against but champions of what underdogs could do to upset the odds they outgrew their limits in a spectacular way and they attacked appropriately in response to their own weaknesses.