THERE were scenes of elation across the island last night following Greece’s unexpected triumph against the French for the 2004 European Championship.
Thousands of people gathered in Nicosia’s main square and celebrated until the early morning hours while beeping cars with Greek and Cypriot flags jammed the streets causing traffic chaos for hours.
It was a similar situation in Limassol where celebrating fans gathered at the Ayios Nicolaos roundabout while hundreds of others roamed around town in their vehicles.
The stage was set at the 65th minute of the game when Angelos Charisteas headed the ball into the back of the net after a sweet cross from Thodoris Zagorakis.
With the final whistle the streets suddenly became alive and hundreds of beeping cars could be heard around town.
Their destination was Eleftherias Square at the town centre where a spontaneous party was set up to celebrate Greece’s unprecedented win.
President Tassos Papadopoulos said the Greek team made all the Greeks happy.
He added that he had not watched the game due to an obligation he had but he had nevertheless listened to it on the radio.
Greece’s victory was hailed by House president Demetris Christofias and his Greek counterpart Anna Psarouda Benaki, who is on an official visit to the island.
Christofias congratulated Greece while Benaki said she was very happy because her visit had coincided with the team’s victory.
Alex Schleifer, 27-year-old French web designer saw the match surrounded by excitable Greece fans in a bar in Nicosia.
“It was disappointing but Greece played well so it made defeat more tolerable. “Basically it was a sure win for everybody; the first half was underwhelming, but we were sure France would pick up in the second half,” Schleifer said.
But France played terribly and Greece played well.
You can’t take the victory away from Greece, he added.
Asked whether Greece had a chance to win the trophy, Schleifer said: “You never know, they managed to keep their cool against a big team. But the Czechs are likely to beat them”.
Twenty-six-year-old England fan John Leonidou said:
“It’s always a nice feeling to know that England isn’t the only country to go out early. “Nice to know weaker countries have a chance in this tournament; I would have preferred to see England in the semi finals too but at least Greece got in.”
He said France’s loss had been a “big big” shock.
“It was a big upset. Very few expected it apart from a few optimistic Greeks. Anything can happen now.
“I am sure the English fans will be happy about it.
“Not sure how arsenal fans will feel about their players, but certainly the English will be sniggering a bit now.
“Its always nice to see your main rival get kicked out. “
Lawyer Michalis Michail, 35, said he did not expect the result.
“I had hope but did nor really believe they could pull it off.
“After Greece scored however I believed they could win because the French didn’t show anything in their previous games and they didn’t look like scoring in this one,” Michail said.
