Greece coach Otto Rehhagel said his side's 1-0 defeat of Portugal in the Euro 2004 football final was a sensation that made football history.

"It was an unusual achievement for Greek football and especially for European football. The team played great football," he said.

"We took advantage of our chances. The opponent was technically better than us but we took advantage of our chances. We should have made it 2-0.

"The Greeks made football history today. It's a sensation."

Goalscorer Angelos Charisteas said: "We're the champions of Europe. We're the best team in Europe. We deserved it (the victory).

"It's very significant, I'm very happy and very moved. I call on all Greeks to rejoice and celebrate today.

"I believe this is a unique moment, which many of us may never experience again and I believe we deserved it.

"We got this far by getting past very big teams, and today we came against a very strong Portugal. Despite this, we were able to win the trophy. It's the best moment in my career."

"I thought that there is no way we could lose the cup today. At that moment I didn't know how, but I knew that we were going to lift it (the cup) today."