Otto Rehhagel hopes Greece have learned from their 3-2 loss against Hungary as they arrive in Germany for pre-UEFA EURO 2008™ training.

Disappointing showing
A first defeat since August for the reigning European champions was a shock but Rehhagel hopes it was a well-timed one. “If we play like we did today against Sweden [in Greece’s Group D opener on 10 June], then we have no chance,” he said after Saturday’s match. “However the timing is perfect for us to wake up. Hungary exposed all of our failings and proved that we haven’t reached the level many believed we had.”

Minor injuries
Aside from the loss, two names were added to Greece’s injury list. Goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidis and defensive midfielder Angelos Basinas were both taken off during the game against Hungary, but medical staff have revealed that their injuries are not serious. Nikopolidis will be out for a week with a pulled groin muscle while Basinas has bruised his calf.

Final friendly
Both players are expected to be rested for Greece’s final pre-tournament friendly game against Armenia in Offenbach on Sunday 1 June, while Georgios Karagounis – who did not play in Budapest due to a bruised knee – has returned to full training after Greece went from the Hungarian capital to their training base in Frankfurt on Sunday. Rehhagel will now look to put the Hungarian lessons into practice on the training pitch.

Otto Rehhagel has led Greece more times than any other coach

Greece’s final game in UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying marked another milestone for their German coach Otto Rehhagel as he surpassed Alketas Panagoulias’s record of 74 games in charge of the national team. "Nobody could have predicted that I would be at the helm for so many matches," said the veteran trainer, whose side qualified for Austria and Switzerland with more points than any other.
Stunning achievement
Speaking of predictions, nobody would have guessed just what ‘King Otto’ would achieve after he took the Greece job in August 2001. Indeed the prognosis might have been gloomy when his first game ended in a 5-1 defeat against Finland, yet the tactics and discipline that had made him a legend in German football soon began to tell. Rehhagel led his team to the finals of UEFA EURO 2004™ and a month few Greeks will ever forget, culminating in a 1-0 win against hosts Portugal which earned them their first major title.

Setback
Failing to reach the finals of the 2006 FIFA World Cup may have taken some of the gloss off that triumph, but Rehhagel has got Greece back on track. Despite losing 4-1 at home against neighbours Turkey, they finished the UEFA EURO 2008™ qualifying campaign comfortably clear at the top of their section.

Coaching career
A player for Hertha BSC Berlin and 1. FC Kaiserslautern in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Rehhagel’s coaching career took in spells at Kickers Offenbach, Werder Bremen, BV Borussia Dortmund, DSC Armenia Bielefeld and Fortuna Düsseldorf - where he won the 1979/80 German Cup - before he returned to second division Bremen in early 1981.

Golden years
He was hugely successful during this second spell with the club, which lasted 14 years and took in triumphs in the Bundesliga (1986/87 and 1992/93), German Cup (1990/91 and 1993/94) and UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup (1991/92). Rehhagel subsequently took the manager’s job at FC Bayern München and led them to the 1995/96 UEFA Cup final. He was later dismissed, but soon got his revenge when he led Kaiserslautern to the 1997/98 German title before leaving the club in October 2000. He was the first man to have been involved - as a player and a coach - in more than 1,000 Bundesliga games.