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17 June 2012| last updated at 08:51AM

EURO 2012: Greek joy, Russian tears in Warsaw



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WARSAW: The joy of Greek fans relishing their team’s advance to the Euro 2012 quarter-finals after beating Russia was all the more visible in Warsaw Saturday as Russians hung their heads over the 1-0 loss.

 

“I’m happy, it was a great game,” Christofer Mandalis from the northern  Greek city of Thessaloniki said at the exit gate of Warsaw’s National Stadium.
 
Student Michalis Papadopoulos told AFP the result would bring some  consolation to his country facing a deep economic crisis as well as Sunday’s  parliamentary elections seen as crucial for its economic future.
 
“The situation in Greece is not good. Many people are sad, but this evening  we’ll be merry,” said the young fan studying marketing in Warsaw within  Erasmus, the European Union’s student exchange programme. 
 
“Tomorrow there’s the election, but nobody is thinking about that — the  next game is what’s on our minds now,” Teo Vogdanos, the chef of a Greek  restaurant in Warsaw, told AFP.
 
In stark contrast, Piotr, a Russian fan, had harsh words for his national  side.
 
“It’s very simple: those who can’t play lose. There’s no mystery in that,”  he said grimly.
 
“It’s over. I’m going back home, as usual. Our team can’t play. The 4-1 win  against the Czechs was pure luck,” Igor Goshkov from the central Russian city  of Yekaterinburg added in an equally bitter tone, referring to the Russians’  opening game.
 
Greece, facing a deep debt crisis, confounded all pundits to advance to the  Euro 2012 quarter-finals after seeing off Russia, the odds-on favourite of  Group A.
 
In the other game, the Czech Republic sealed a quarter-final berth by  beating co-hosts Poland 1-0. -- AFP

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