The magic of EURO 2004 and its lasting impact on European football
Tuesday, September 15, 2026
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Greece’s extraordinary victory made UEFA EURO 2004 one of football’s greatest stories. The tournament also gave birth to UEFA’s HatTrick programme, creating a legacy that continues to transform the game across Europe.
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When Greece defeated hosts Portugal in the opening match of UEFA EURO 2004, it had all the ingredients of a classic tournament upset. By the time the teams met again in the final, it had become something much bigger.
Three weeks after their 2-1 victory in Porto, Otto Rehhagel’s outsiders returned to win 1-0 in Lisbon, with Angelos Charisteas heading the only goal.
Greece, 150-1 outsiders before the tournament, had completed one of the most unexpected triumphs in football history.
EURO 2004 produced compelling stories throughout. Wayne Rooney and Cristiano Ronaldo announced themselves on the international stage, while a thrilling Czech side won four consecutive matches en route to the semi-finals. But the tournament is ultimately remembered for a team that arrived in Portugal having never won a match at a major finals, and departed as European champions.
"It was the first finals for all of us: coach and players alike. Our main goal for the tournament was to enjoy taking part," recalled Greece captain Giorgos Karagounis.
Belief takes hold
Victory over Portugal was followed by a draw with Spain and defeat by Russia, the latter nevertheless enough to take Greece through. The challenges only grew from there.
In the quarter-finals, Greece faced holders France, a team featuring Zinédine Zidane and Thierry Henry to name but two. Charisteas’ second-half header secured a famous 1-0 victory and transformed the squad’s own expectations.
"The game against France was the one which made us believe we could go all the way," said Karagounis.
Goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis explained the mentality instilled by Rehhagel even more succinctly: "No one was afraid of anyone. There was respect but not fear."
Next came the free-scoring Czechs. Greece held firm for 105 minutes before forcing a corner at the other end. Traianos Dellas rose to meet Vasilis Tsiartas’ cross to net the only silver-goal winner in European Championship history.
"We got a corner. I looked up at the scoreboard: it read 14:36, a now-or-never situation," Dellas later wrote. "And we scored. I scored. I have never felt like this. I started running, celebrating. I don’t remember anything else, just [the] final whistle."
Three days later, Greece kept a third consecutive knockout clean sheet and defeated favourites Portugal, that of Luís Figo, Ronaldo and Rui Costa, as well as several of Porto's UEFA Champions League winners, once again.
The unfancied challengers were European champions.
Greece’s success was built on organisation, sacrifice and a remarkable collective spirit. "We didn’t have the same star players that other teams in that EURO had," Dellas explained. "Our main advantage, though, was that we were all able to put the team ahead of ourselves."
For Dellas, however, its meaning remains deeply personal. "I will always remember these 40 days with the Greece team in summer 2004 as the sweetest story of my career," he wrote. "And I will tell it to my children as a bedtime story."
A tournament that gave back
A fairytale on the pitch, EURO 2004 proved to be equally magical off it.
Revenue from the tournament financed the launch of the UEFA HatTrick programme, a new model for reinvesting the revenues of the men’s European Championship throughout the game.
"Those in Portugal will be privileged to watch some of the world's greatest players in magnificent stadiums, but it is as important to me that football continues to flourish in every country, at every level," said then-UEFA president Lennart Johansson as he launched the programme.
"It is always a delight to see the magnificent new stadiums built throughout the continent, providing perfect settings for UEFA Champions League or UEFA European Championship matches," he continued, "but it is as important to me that these great events are used to nourish the health of football’s grassroots. With our new UEFA HatTrick programme, I am convinced that we can continue our good work at this level and ensure the future health of European football."
By pledging more than CHF400 million, approximately €250 million of EURO funding at the time, UEFA sought to ensure that the tournament benefited football at every level in every member national association.
The first cycle offered investment grants and annual solidarity payments, supported club licensing and participation in European competitions, as well as helping associations improve their football infrastructure.
€3.5 billion and counting
That initial vision has grown into one of world sport’s largest solidarity programmes, now offering increased flexibility for federations to invest funding where it is most needed.
In its first 20 years, HatTrick channelled €2.6 billion into football development, a figure that will reach €3.5 billion by 2028.
Its impact is clear, having helped to build or modernise 35 national stadiums and construct 34 national training centres, as well as more than 1,000 full-size pitches and 3,000 mini-pitches. It has also funded more than 700 women’s football programmes, over 400 elite youth projects and more than 500 social and environmental initiatives.
"HatTrick remains our flagship programme," said current UEFA president Aleksander Čeferin. "Its strength lies in its flexibility. Each association can invest where it matters most to them – infrastructure, governance, participation or elite pathways."
Looking back, UEFA EURO 2004 left two legacies bound by the same idea.
Greece demonstrated that opportunity was not reserved for football’s traditional powers. HatTrick ensured that the tournament’s success created opportunities in every corner of Europe.