Greeks respect but do not fear Germany

Greece midfielders Giannis Maniatis and Grigoris Makos on Monday said that they have total respect for their Euro 2012 quarter-final opponents Germany but do not fear them, despite being underdogs. Maniatis told a news conference at the side’s Warsaw training camp that they will be looking for a repeat of their last qualifying match on Saturday when they beat a much-fancied Russia side 1-0 against the odds to finish second in Group A. “We will be playing one of the best teams in the Euro. We surpassed ourselves against Russia. We achieved our qualification for the next round, something that was not expected by many,” the 25-year-old said. “We will do the same against Germany on Friday. We will look them straight in the eyes, we will not fear them even though they are the favourites. It is just a game and anything can happen.” Maniatis, of Greek champions Olympiakos, brushed aside questions about the match’s political backdrop, with Germany unpopular in Greece for leading calls on Athens to impose tough austerity measures to help alleviate a crippling debt crisis. “Here we are talking sports. We are talking football. We just want to bring some joy to the Greeks back home,” he told...