Lynn Greek community members celebrate Greece’s World Cup run

Although Greece bowed out of the 2010 World Cup with a 2-0 loss to Argentina on Tuesday, members of the Greek community in Lynn praised the squad’s effort afterward.”The Greeks did as good as they could do,” said Spiros Tourkakis, who helps run East Coast Seafood in Lynn and the Boston Braves senior soccer club, and was born in Athens. “Argentina is one of the top teams in the tournament.”Lynn has long been a home of Greek immigrants, and the community is reflected today in such institutions as St. George Greek Orthodox Church. The athletic career of the late Harry Agganis, the son of Greek immigrants, is also a source of pride to both the Lynn Greek community and to the city itself.On Tuesday, Greece played Argentina, a two-time Cup champion, impressively as the teams battled to a scoreless first half in Group B play at Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane, South Africa.”I think the Greek team did fairly well,” Tourkakis said. “I think they contained them.”In fact, Argentina did not score until the 77th minute, on a header from Martin Demichelis that bounced off teammate Diego Milito and back to Demichelis, who scored off Greek keeper Alexandros Tzorvas.”(Argentina) did not have that many opportunities,” Tourkakis said. “That says quite a bit.”The final goal of the game came in the 89th minute when Martin Palermo of Argentina scored off a rebound after Tzorvas had made a save on superstar Lionel Messi.Greece finished with a win and two losses in Group B play, with its highlight a 2-0 victory over Nigeria last Thursday. It represented Greece’s first goals and first win in the Cup.”They did play very well,” said George Markos, a 35-year Lynn resident who is from Sparta. “It was the first time they got a win in a World Cup. It’s a big accomplishment for them.”Markos also placed Greece’s performance in the context of the country’s recent economic difficulties.”I think this thing took it away, all those big problems away, for a while,” he said. “Those things will come back. For now, they have something to share and watch.”