Otto Rehhagel will be in charge of Greece for at least two more years after agreeing a new contract until the summer of 2010.
'Strong bond'
The 69-year-old German has accepted a two-year extension with the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) to prolong his successful reign as coach of the European champions. EPO president Vassilis Gagatsis said: "We wanted Otto Rehhagel to continue at the helm and hopefully lead the side to the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He has such a strong bond with the players and the team that he couldn't say 'no' to the extension offer. The fact we needed less than 25 minutes to reach an agreement is indicative of the two sides' mutual desire to continue working together."
Title defence
Rehhagel, appointed in August 2001, is Greece's longest-serving national coach, with 43 wins, 16 draws and 19 defeats from his 78-game tenure. Although his charges failed to qualify for the 2006 World Cup, they looked well-equipped to launch a strong defence of the European title they won at UEFA EURO 2004™ – having posted the most points of any team through to UEFA EURO 2008™ in Austria/Switzerland. Greece, who beat Portugal in a midweek friendly, will play Sweden, Russia and Spain in Group D of this summer's championship. Rehhagel's impressive CV also includes stints on the benches of Werder Bremen, FC Bayern München and 1. FC Kaiserslautern.
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