Greek's voice frustration as hopes dwindle

It's tough feeling optimistic after witnessing the disaster which was Greece's opening game. Not that Greek fan's had anything to be optimistic about after team's terrible display in the warm-up matches leading up to the World Cup. But for some reason we were all blinded by our patriotism and thought with our hearts instead of our heads. The economic crises hit the country hard; everyone hoped a good run in South Africa could lift the spirits of the entire nation and all Greeks living abroad. After watching the national team's uninspired performance against South Korea, the fans hopes of getting out of the group are all but extinguished. Across the globe, most Greeks have the same opinion about what the problem is, and that’s the team selection of coach Otto Rehhagel. Personally upon seeing his starting XI, I was left scratching my head at all the talent that was left on the bench. How can you start out of form players who don’t have the speed or creativity to challenge the Koreans fast hard working style? That's a question only Rehhagel can answer; here’s hoping he does so against Nigeria. I watched the game on the Danforth; Greek town in Toronto, the mood was upbeat to start and quickly deteriorated. Shouts of anger could be heard coming out of all the cafes and pubs. The players looked slow and lethargic, often lost by the speed of the game, having all kinds of possession but not being able to muster up a decent scoring chance. Teammates were even seen arguing on the pitch as frustrations mounted.  It was almost like USA '94 all over again, fans had nothing to cheer for all game, which dampened the mood even further. Greek's are very proud, even in defeat we would put on a brave face and support our team till the end, all us fans ask for in return is a positive effort and to work hard for the full ninety minutes; unfortunately that didn't happen on Saturday. The team deserved to lose and I’m surprised the score line wasn't worse. Flags still flew high as fans exited the cafes and pubs; frustration was the dominant emotion on display by the thousands littered on the street. The only positive coming out of the opener is the team can't play any worse (hopefully). Winning against Nigeria is a must but won't come easy; both teams need a win at this point after opening the tournament with a loss. Despite losing the Super Eagles looked impressive against Argentina and will make things difficult for Greece. A result is then needed against Argentina if Greece has any shot of making the knockout rounds. The Greek tally now stands at four games played at the World Cup, four losses and zero goals scored! Rehhagel must answer his many critics and produce a positive outcome moving forward, or he might find himself looking for a job as calls for his resignation will be on the lips of all Greeks.