Claims of 'National Team' interest in Fernando Santos

It has been claimed that the Hellenic Football Federation wants to appoint Beşiktaş manager Fernando Santos as the head of the national team.

According to a report in Hürriyet, the newspaper Ta Nea wrote that despite the Greek National Team manager, Uruguayan Gustavo Poyet, repeatedly expressing his desire to stay in Athens, the Hellenic Football Federation is not keen on renewing his contract, which expires on March 31.

THEY WANT SANTOS

The report stated that Greek National Team officials want to bring back Santos, who managed the team between 2010 and 2014, and that another alternative is Spaniard Manolo Jimenez.

LEFT AFTER GEORGIA MATCH

In its report, the Greek newspaper Ta Nea stated, "The EPO prefers to remain silent at this stage to avoid unrest in the team before the match against Georgia for the European Championship in March. They are waiting for the Georgia match to end to tell Poyet that his contract will not be renewed. The federation wants either Santos or Jimenez."

TOOK GREECE TO EURO 2012 AND THE 2014 WORLD CUP

Fernando Santos, who managed Greek clubs Panathinaikos, AEK, and PAOK, took over from legendary Greece manager Otto Rehhagel after the 2010 World Cup. Under Santos, Greece qualified for the EURO 2012 finals by finishing second in their group. The blue and whites were eliminated from the tournament after losing 4-2 to Germany in the quarter-finals. Greece, which also finished second in its group behind Bosnia and Herzegovina for the 2014 World Cup, succeeded in advancing from the group stage for the first time in the finals. Fernando Santos's side could not avoid being eliminated by Costa Rica in a penalty shootout in the round of 16.