Athens - Four years ago Greece returned home to a heroes welcome after causing one of the biggest upsets in football history with the Euro 2004 title in Portugal.

Just days before Greece is scheduled to go out onto the playing field to defend its title, many of the same partying fans that lined the streets of the capital to greet them in 2004 are keeping their excitement in check for Euro 2008.

"Just because they won the European Championships does not mean that they are the best team now," Filipos Sirigos, a sports writer for the Eleftherotypia daily, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa.

"If the team does well in its first game and does not get knocked out then they will be a success even if they do not advance from the group stage."

Greece will play its first game against Sweden on Tuesday, June 10, in Salzburg. Spain and Russia are also in Group D, both also Greek group opponents in 2004.

Many believe that far from repeating the astonishing feat that comes along once in a lifetime, the team may struggle to get past the groups stage.

"I think that it will be different this time around because all our main opponents will be on their guard," says cafe-owner Pavlos Papalambrokopoulos, adding that "even if the team passes the first round they will remain heroes."

Understanding that the Greek glory of 2004 may have been a freak outcome, businesses across Athens are cashing in on the positive hype, with one electronics store promising a full refund to anyone that buys a television set if the national team wins.

Another radio commercial sets the mood for the upcoming tournament by noting that while Greeks hate traffic, love their mothers more than their wives, cheat on their taxes, build their homes illegally and spend more than they earn - one thing that everyone is proud of is the national team.

Understanding full well that setting his sights too high could prove disastrous after failing to qualify for the last World Cup, coach Otto Rehhagel, the man who engineered Greece's run to the Euro 2004 title, has set modest targets for his team this time around.

He has said his team's initial target is to get past the group stages and into the quarter-finals.

"We have made the situation difficult for ourselves because we won the Euro four years ago," he said. "The last time in Portugal we were outsiders. But this will not be the case on the pitches in Austria and Switzerland," Rehhagel said recently.

Despite his modest goals, the Greek team is in many ways better prepared than they were four years ago, with the German Rehhagel still focusing on a solid-rock defense and an attacking midfield.

Rehhagel decided to keep the faith with experienced players for the championships, picking a core of the same players who helped win the title while also quietly ushering in a younger generation.

Ten of the players are left from the same squad in Portugal, including Mallorca midfielder and captain Angelos Basinas. Also among those in the 23-men squad are Bayer Leverkusen striker Theofanis Gekas and Nuremburg forward Angelos Charisteas, who scored the winning goal against hosts Portugal in the Euro 2004 final.

In qualifying for the right to defend their title, Greece won its group ahead of arch-rivals Turkey and Norway. But the last tune-up matches have been not so good, a 3-2 defeat in Hungary and 0-0 draw with Armenia.

These results only seemed to confirm Rehhagel's recent statement that "Euro 2004 belongs to the past. We have to think afresh about Euro 2008." (dpa)