Greece bearing gifts for Stoltidis

Ieroklis Stoltidis was handed an early birthday gift as he received his first Greece call-up under Otto Rehhagel following a long international exile.

Overdue chance
The German faced criticism in the past for not giving the Olympiacos CFP defensive midfielder a chance after taking over as coach in 2001, but the player – who turns 33 on Saturday – is likely to have an opportunity to impress as the European champions play an unofficial friendly against the Czech Republic in Cyprus on 5 February and an official one against Finland in Nicosia the following day.

Expansive selection
With two games in such quick succession, Rehhagel has named a 30-man squad which marks first call-ups for Under-21 internationals Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Lazaros Hristodoulopoulos, Christos Melissis and Grigorios Makos. Goalkeeper Chrysostomos Mihailidis and defender Avraam Papadopoulos also get the nod after impressing in domestic football, while Giourkas Seitaridis, Traianos Dellas and Michalis Kapsis miss out through injury.

Greece squad
Goalkeepers: Antonios Nikopolidis (Olympiacos CFP), Konstantinos Chalkias (Aris Thessaloniki FC), Stefanos Kotsolis (Larissa FC), Chrysostomos Mihailidis (Atromitos FC).

Defenders: Sotirios Kyrgiakos (Eintracht Frankfurt), Nikos Spiropoulos (Panathinaikos FC), Loukas Vintra (Panathinaikos FC), Ioannis Goumas (Panathinaikos FC), Vassilis Torosidis (Olympiacos CFP), Christos Patsatzoglou (Olympiacos CFP), Paraskevas Antzas (Olympiacos CFP), Avraam Papadopoulos (Aris Thessaloniki FC), Christos Melissis (PAOK FC), Sokratis Papastathopoulos (AEK Athens FC).

Midfielders: Angelos Basinas (RCD Mallorca), Georgios Karagounis (Panathinaikos FC), Stelios Giannakopoulos (Bolton Wanderers FC), Alexandros Tziolis (Panathinaikos FC), Konstantinos Katsouranis (SL Benfica), Ieroklis Stoltidis (Olympiacos CFP), Panagiotis Lagos (AEK Athens FC), Grigorios Makos (Panionios GSS), Pantelis Kafes (AEK Athens FC).

Forwards: Dimitrios Salpingidis (Panathinaikos FC), Nikolaos Liberopoulos (AEK Athens FC), Theofanis Gekas (Bayer 04 Leverkusen), Georgios Samaras (Celtic FC), Ioannis Amanatidis (Eintracht Frankfurt), Angelos Charisteas (1. FC Nürnberg), Lazaros Hristodoulopoulos (PAOK FC).