A WORD of warning. Do not book a table for a Greek restaurant tomorrow. For a start there is a good chance that, whatever the result in Lisbon this evening, the chef will have done a year’s celebrating in one night and may not be up to producing a half-decent moussaka. Then there is the chance that, even if the chef is not suffering from the aftershocks of an overdose of ouzo, there may be no crockery left to serve it on.
Plate-smashing is a Greek tradition that goes back thousands of years to the days of Aristotle, Socrates - not to be confused with the Brazilian midfield maestro - and Aristophanes. It began as a funerary tradition but today is associated with a cele
bration. And the Greeks are in the mood to celebrate like never before.
Euro 2004 has been an extraordinary journey not just for Greek football but for the 11 million Greeks who have been following their progress at home and countless expats in places like Australia, Canada and the US.
It has been an odyssey that can be measured in the growing confidence of a nation that has spent too long putting itself down and being put down by others. I have witnessed first hand living here this year how the Greeks are still unsure as to why they merited what they see as an unfair amount of criticism in the overseas media over Olympic preparations.
It had reached a point where many Greeks were privately asking whether the Games really were going to be one huge embarrassment. Success on the football field has given them pride in their country and a belief that a relatively small nation like theirs can achieve things if they are determined and well organised - and have a German coach.
Oh yes, King Otto, as Mr Rehaggel is known in reference to the Otto who arrived from Bavaria in 1833 to take the Greek crown, is up there with Lord Byron in the pantheon of foreigners fighting in a Greek cause.
In sporting terms, Greece is small fry. They usually do well in the weightlifting at the Olympics and they have had some isolated world-class performers such as Costas Kenteris who won the 200 metres gold medal in Sydney. Basketball and volleyball are also popular sports but nothing comes close to football.
So when Angelos Charisteas, pictured, and Traianos Dellas put their headers into the back of the net to beat France and the Czech Republic in the quarter and semi-finals respectively, the nation went trellathike.
And we do mean the nation. Ten thousand supporters jumped on flights to Porto to see the match live. And apart from those gathered to watch on big screens set up in squares, the streets were empty. You could almost sniff the tumbleweed. Everyone but everyone was watching the match. Even the men who sit in the peripteros - the roadside grocery stalls - had installed small sets, not that anyone took the time to nip out and stock up with beers. The local video shop did not even bother opening.
ERT, the national television channel that showed the game, reported audience viewing figures of 89.5 per cent. Chances are that the other 10.5 per cent were watching in a bar.
The cheer that greeted Dellas’s late winner resounded around the city. And within seconds of the final whistle, which came just after midnight, the streets gave up their ghosts as Athenians piled into cars and began the drive around town. Horns blaring, flags waving, singing out of windows, the cars and motorbikes screamed around the backstreets before meeting to form one long traffic jam, a cacophony of noise and celebration.
Their aim was to get to Omonia, a big square that is the regular gathering point for football fans in Athens. No chance. The crowd there was already in the thousands and there was no room for anyone else as the fireworks and flares lit up the night sky. It was the same in Syntagma Square and down through the Plaka.
"I never knew my neighbourhood had so many guns in it," said one bemused Greek-American.
In all there were an estimated two million people on the streets after the game - 50 per cent of the entire population of Athens. The party did not begin to dim until around five on Friday morning. For many, that left just enough time to nip home, take a shower, and head in to work, tired but still flush with excitement.
It was the same story across Greece. From Piraeus to Patra, from Corfu to Kos they celebrated. From Melbourne to Montreal as well, the Greek community savoured the moment.
In all of this, it is interesting to note there was not a single arrest. The police were laid back to the point of horizontal and even joined in the car horn symphony. Their policy was to make sure that everyone had a good time. Other forces around the world might take note.
This does not make Greek football fans angels by any stretch. Matches between the two top clubs, Panathinaikos and Olympiakos, became so vicious off the field in the last couple of years that the government insisted that no away fans be allowed to games. When they last met in the league, in March, this did not prevent running street battles between rival fans and the police four hours before kick-off.
Domestic football, as a whole, is in a hole. Allegations of widespread corruption and fixing are regularly doing the rounds and smaller clubs are struggling to attract supporters in the face of the marketing onslaught of the big two.
Just as Scotland has Rangers and Celtic cherry-picking the best players and the bulk of the youngsters looking to follow a successful club, so Greece has Panathinaikos and Olympiakos.
These two attract massive crowds. AEK Athens and PAOK in Thessaloniki also get reasonable support but the remainder hardly get a look in. It is not unusual to see crowds of under a thousand people at first division matches that do not feature the big two.
The situation is hardly helped by the financial gloom at AEK, which is incidentally pronounced Ike, as in Eisenhower. A buy-out of the club, which has debts of 30 million, by a consortium led by Greek striker Demis Nikolaidis, is hitting the rocks as the government declared this week that the club would only get a 30 per cent write-off of the debt rather than the 95 per cent that they were asking for.
Nikolaidis will be off the plane from Lisbon and into the government offices to discuss the issue next week.
That problem, however, must wait. The initial concern for Nikolaidis and his colleagues is a rematch with hosts Portugal tonight. After three weeks of doubt and negativity, the supporters are even wondering if they won’t pull off a repeat of that 2-1 victory that set the ball rolling.
"The Portuguese are a good Catholic country," said one supporter. "But they only have one God to help them. We come from a country that was founded by the gods. Zeus, Poseidon, Heracles ... you name them, they will be helping our team."
Whatever happens, it will be one big fat Greek party. And if you are watching it with any expats, just make sure you hide the Royal Doulton.
