Soccer: Greece coach Santos eager to leave team on a high

Athens: The World Cup finals offer a very fitting stage for Portuguese Fernando Santos to end his four-year spell as Greece coach.

The poker-faced 59-year-old, who took over from Otto Rehhagel in 2010, has continued to steer the Greeks to major tournaments, leading them to the Euro 2012 quarter-finals and now to their second consecutive World Cup.

Santos signed to manage the national team after spells at several clubs in Greece, where he has worked since 2001. He opted not to renew his contract and is expected to return to club football after the tournament.

"The federation pressed me for a final answer (on a contract extension) but I turned down their offer," Santos said in late March.

"I will now take my time and think about my future without any pressure. I am a coach and anything is possible, to return to Portugal or Greece, or even China."

Greek fans will miss his quiet yet effective style and a man more accessible to players, fans and officials than Rehhagel.

With his creed of "tactics first, technical ability second", he took over after Greece's World Cup group-stage exit in 2010 and has maintained a high level of performance and stability in the team.

After a fine display at Euro 2012 where Greece, European champions in 2004, were beaten by Germany in the quarter-finals, Santos' men lost out on an automatic place in Brazil to Bosnia on goal difference after winning eight of their 10 qualifiers.

They eased past Romania in the playoffs to reach their third World Cup finals and are drawn alongside Colombia, Ivory Coast and Asian champions Japan in Group C.

An important factor in Santos's success is his extensive knowledge of Greek football and culture from his time as a club manager, having coached some of the country's top clubs in AEK Athens, Panathinaikos and PAOK Salonika.

Santos lives permanently in Greece and spends most of his time watching matches and checking on young talent at home and on the continent. He has also had the good fortune of having a greater range of players to chose from than his predecessors.

In recent years more and more Greeks have moved to bigger clubs in Europe, gaining in confidence and experience.

With Kostas Mitroglou leading the line, Santos has also found a solution to Greece's long-standing goal-scoring problem, although Mitroglou's move to the Premier League with Fulham has yet to click.

Previously always chain-smoking on the bench, these days Santos is a calmer man. Despite not speaking Greek in public after all those years in the country, his no-nonsense, result-oriented approach has made him a crowd favourite.

A good performance in Brazil will see his popularity soar as he plans a return to the daily grind of club football.