LEICESTER CITY HAVE a lot to thank the Greek Football Federation for.
So, too, the Premier League’s marketeers for that historic title win which was masterminded by Claudio Ranieri in 2016.
Yet, not even by the standards of the most maddeningly absurd realms of professional football’s Tetris-like existence could anyone envisage things falling into place as they did.
The Italian had endured a spectacularly disastrous, and brief, reign with Greece.
It felt like a crude finale in the game.
His jobs before that had been with Monaco, Inter Milan, Roma, Juventus, Parma and Chelsea.
He lasted four games in international management, dismissed swiftly following a historic defeat against the Faroe Islands during Euro 2016 qualifying.
A decade after winning the tournament, when they were crowned kings of Europe by beating hosts Portugal, Greece slumped to a 1-0 loss to the Faroes in Athens.
There was instant recrimination. Giorgos Sarris, the federation’s president, released a statement before any idea of sleeping on it entered his head.
“Following today’s devastating result, I take full responsibility for the unfortunate choice of coach,” he said.
Pathos, indeed.
Ranieri, of course, would rise again, his ultimate glory in the Premier League still ahead of him.
The country he left behind would continue to suffer and, you guessed it, another Greek tragedy followed against the Faroes.
His successor, Sergio Markarian, oversaw a 3-1 humiliation in Torshavn and was at least allowed the honour of resigning the following month. Greece ended that qualifying campaign bottom of the group.
Their triumph in 2004 was seismic and their troubles since suggest, almost 20 years later, they are battling to emerge from the shadow it casts.
Only once in nine previous attempts prior to winning it had Greece even qualified for the group stages of the European Championships, and they have missed out on the last two.
There was a World Cup appearance a decade before that Euros triumph, and two more (2010 and 2014) since.
Vasilis Sambrakos, author of The Miracle, the book which charts that incredible sporting achievement in ’04, described to RTÉ this week how apathy remains towards their national team.
That certainly doesn’t translate to the club game, where issues range from fan violence to owner violence.
On the pitch, at least, Ireland fans might just feel an almost worrying sense of comfort in the parallels of despair and hope with the Greeks.
The defeat to Luxembourg and draw with Azerbaijan in Dublin are two recent results under Stephen Kenny that, while they may not haunt him, will only be fully exorcised when the team he has built delivers on the pitch.
A win in Athens tonight would go a fair way to that.
However, any notion that opposite number Gus Poyet might not view this Euro 2024 qualifier through the same prism of importance as the Ireland manager, given they have secured a spot in the Euro play-off series via topping their Nations League group, was dispelled at his pre-match press conference yesterday evening.
Kenny spoke about aiming for a “historic victory” and Poyet was equally emphatic.
“The reality for both of us is if we don’t win it’s going to be very difficult to be able to finish second. I think it’s a must-win for both of us. That brings a special situation for the game so early in the group unless you go and beat France and Holland,” Poyet said.
Like Kenny, the Uruguayan was appointed with the brief to try and inspire a team, fanbase, and general public largely bereft of confidence and belief.
As Shane Keegan broke down with his tactical assessment yesterday, Poyet has done so by relying on a tried and trusted formula.
Gary Dicker, Poyet’s former midfielder at Brighton, also explained how his old boss emphasised controlling the play and dictating the tempo.
“He would tell us, ‘punish them, make them suffer when you have the ball’. It was so competitive all of the time,” Dicker recalled.
It’s an attitude that hasn’t changed.
When Northern Ireland were drawn with Greece in that recent Nations League group, their former manager, Ian Baraclough, sought to cause as much damage as possible on the counter attack.
There was an appreciation of how quickly Poyet managed to get his new team in unison, with the emphasis on expansive and dynamic football going forward.
But Baraclough was keen to impress upon his players the importance of using those strengths against them, highlighting that they could be very open and leave spaces to exploit on transition – something a livewire presence like Mikey Johnston might exploit.
Greece, though, proved too good for Northern Ireland in both games.
However, those vulnerabilities have not gone away. To create their piece of history Ireland will have to prove capable of exposing them.