Lucky omens fuel Ninis optimism

The summer of 2004 brought the greatest achievement in Greece's footballing history as the outsiders came from nowhere to lift UEFA EURO 2004™ and three years later the country's next generation are on the verge of claiming another continental crown, with only Spain standing between them and the UEFA European Under-19 Championship title.

Striking similarities
The current crop of youngsters include rising star Sotiris Ninis and he and his team-mates will be drawing on lucky omens from that triumph three summers ago as they prepare for Friday's final in Linz. Not only did both teams defeat Portugal in their opening games of the tournament but they also drew with Spain in the group phase, struck a dramatic winner in the semi-finals and are characterised by their solid, pragmatic approach. "Of course we have been inspired by EURO 2004™," the 17-year-old Ninis told uefa.com. "If you look at the signs, like the first match against Portugal and the semi-final with the late goal in the last minute, there are certainly similarities."

Big belief
Ninis, who arrived in Austria amid a wave of excitement after a season in which he went from ballboy to first-team regular at Panathanaikos FC, admits Greece's run to the final has been a surprise but there was always belief within the squad. "It has been a bit of a surprise, but we believed in ourselves from the beginning. We know what our strengths are and we always thought we could reach the final."

'Heart and soul'
The midfielder scored Greece's opening goal in the 3-2 semi-final victory against Germany that enabled them to get to that final - the first in the country's U19 history. "It is very important I scored, but the most important thing is that the team won and this was down to the heart and soul of all the players," sain Ninis, the youngest ever scorer in Greek league history having found the net as a 16-year-old in January.

Victory aim
Curiously the man who is attracting interest from some of the biggest clubs in Europe was given his big break by a Spaniard, Panathinaikos coach Víctor Múñoz. Now he is plotting the downfall of Spain, who overcame France in Tuesday's semi-final, as the sides meet in a rematch of their Group A encounter, a goalless draw in the same Linzer Stadion where the final will be played. "France as a team would have suited us better in the final because of the way they play," Ninis admitted. "Spain are a better team, but as long as we play well we can beat them. We just have to be better than the opposition - and win it."