With disappointment and tensions running high after Greece was defeated in its first game by Columbia, the national football team’s coach Fernando Santos must now mitigate the discord in the Greek camp before the next critical match against Japan.
The latest bout of trouble for coach Santos came when Yannis Maniatis and Giorgos Tzavellas nearly came to blows in the locker rooms following a training session. Luckily Panagiotis Kone and team captain Giorgos Karagounis intervened. While no further details have been made public, it is thought that the tension between players originated in the last championship and cup.
In response to the bust-up, Santos commented on the situation in a press conference, stating his belief that is was water under the bridge and that the implicated players will overcome their differences. Regarding the critical match against Japan, Santos stressed that Greece desperately needs the full three points in order to have hopes of progressing to the next round.
Greece will face Japan at 1am after midnight on Thursday (Greek time), with NERIT broadcasting the game.
