Greece Head Coach to Leave after World Cup
The Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) has announced that Fernando Santos will leave his role as Greece’s head coach after the FIFA World Cup this year.
The 59-year-old Portuguese guided the 2004 European champions to the tournament in Brazil through qualifying play-offs, by beating Romania, but will not supervise Greece’s bid to reach UEFA EURO 2016.
HFF president Giorgos Sarris told the Federation’s official website: “I have informed the board members that Santos will conclude his work with the national team following his commitments at the World Cup finals.
“It is obvious that Santos still enjoys our respect. That will not diminish as the outgoing coach tries to achieve our goals at the World Cup. The HFF will support and work with him until his last day in the job.”
Santos – the former Benfica and Sporting boss – replaced Otto Rehhagel in 2010 and led Greece to the quarter-finals of EURO 2012.
Santos then matched Bosnia-Herzegovina’s haul of 25 points when attempting to qualify for this year’s World Cup but finished second in Group G due to their inferior head-to-head performance.
Sarris added: “The immediate priority for me is finding the right solution to the leadership of the national team, so we can move smoothly into the next phase of qualifying for the 2016 European Championships.
“However, the main guarantors for our successes over the last decade have been our international players, who we trust completely, and we will never tire of supporting them with all our mental and physical strength.”
Greece face Colombia, Japan and Côte d’Ivoire in Group C at the World Cup, with their opening game against the South American nation taking place on 14 June in Belo Horizonte.