Not long ago, the Greek national team got their first victory over England, as they prevailed 2-1 at “Wembley” for the Nations League and made history.
Many years before this happened, in the distant 2001, the “blue and white” had come very close to something similar at “Old Trafford”, as they led the “Three Lions” 2-1 but saw the David Beckham to equalize with a free kick in stoppage time, sending his team to the 2002 World Cup.
Speaking to the British “Sun”, Mr Nikos Dabizaswho started in that clash, revealed how he… trolled ‘Becks’ shortly after the game when they met as rivals in a match Premier League between her Newcastle and her Manchester United.
“Sometime after the game, possibly later in a game against Manchester United, certainly very soon, I made fun of him. I told him “you got yourself out of jail”. And he smiled. He did not give a specific answer. He’s a perfectly normal guy,” the veteran stopper detailed.
What Dabizas said in detail in the interview:
“I think he gave a great performance in the game against us in 2001. It was a landmark match for his career and it was the first strong sign we gave as a team with Mr. Rehagel about what was to come, as we were very competitive in qualifying.
We were convinced that we can stand up to very high-level teams because this England team had a lot of talent. And the team that went to Portugal in 2004 had a lot of talent despite having some problems back then in English football.
Beckham was certainly a footballer who was extremely effective in set-pieces. His shots were unimaginably good. One of the best in the world in terms of the way he hit the ball and the trajectory the ball took.
It was the last stages of the game, there was a lot of pressure, we were in front, if I remember correctly we were playing with three central defenders. Then this whole story started with Mr. Rehagel to trust the system of three central defenders more.
But I think it was inevitable at that point the game got to. When a footballer of this level can pass the ball either over the wall or from the closed corner of the goalkeeper, then I think the level of difficulty is very high.
And it had the result it had in the last phases of the match. And England qualified for the World Cup with that draw.”
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
