Rehhagel resigns after World Cup exit

It didn't take long after Greece's exit from the World Cup but as expected Otto Rehhagel resigned as national team coach and the search for his successor is on. The Greek FA now have under 3 months to find a replacement before qualifying starts in September for the European Championships. Now the question on all Greeks minds is what ripple effect will this have within the squad. A number of aging veterans look to have played their last game for the national side in Polokwane against Argentina. Loyalty will be put aside with a new coach stepping in, thus giving some of the younger players the chance to crack the first team. In 9 years Rehhagel took the team from soccer obscurity into the limelight. In one of his first games in charge he almost provided a shocking victory at Wembley, which would have ended England's hopes of qualifying for the 2002 World Cup; only a trademark David Beckham free kick in injury time ruined the fairytale start for Rehhagel. The team jumped from 57th (2001) to 18th (2004) in 3 years under the German, his biggest achievement coming in Portugal by lifting the European Cup. All Greeks have a soft spot for Rehhagel and will be forever grateful for the success he brought to the team and the nation, however everyone has come to realize a change is needed after results have became stagnate. Players like Seiteridis, Karagounis, Katsouranis and Charisteas will make way for the new breed and hopefully this will revitalize the squad for a strong qualifying campaign for Euro 2012. Reports out of Greece state a coach will be in place in time for the friendly vs. Serbia on August 15th. The three names being floated around are Nikos Nioplias (former Greek U-21 coach), Dusan Bajevic (current AEK Athens coach) and Fernando Santos (former Benfica & PAOK coach). The latter is the early favorite to take over for Rehhagel but nothing has been confirmed. One thing is certain; Greece will have a different look and style of play come qualifying and hopefully can build on the foundation laid down by King Otto.