Findcate

Angelos Charisteas joined other more mythical Greek heroes when he headed the winning goal at the Euro 2004 final against hosts Portugal – but since then he has sunk career-wise into the equivalent of Hades.

It all looked so different for Charisteas as he appeared to have shown his then Bundesliga club Werder Bremen that he could produce more than the paltry four goals he had scored for them the season leading up to the European championships.

However, it mattered not a jot to Bremen, who made it pretty clear that he was not considered to be first choice and thus after a summer of highs he was plunged into uncertainty and Greece’s German coach Otto Rehhagel a former Bremen coach – advised him to look for another team.

Thus it was in January 2005 that Dutch giants Ajax came knocking on his door, desperate to find a top replacement for Swedish star Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who left for Juventus.

If he thought that five million euros transfer fee had allowed him to enter the Elysian fields with a chance to really prove himself at club level, then he was quickly disabused of that notion as then coach Henk Ten Cate placed him fifth in the list behind Klaas-Jan Huntelaar, Ryan Babel, Markus Rosenberg and a certain Rydell Poepon.

However, bizarrely he ended up at Ajax’s bitter rivals Feyenoord, which went down like a lead balloon with the Rotterdam side’s supporters, some of whose more hardnosed members marched in protest – and they looked to have been right when Charisteas failed to score in his first 10 appearances.

So low had his star fallen he was shipped off to traditional German relegation candidates FC Nuremberg for just 2.5mil euros – his value in the market halved in just two years.

Thus no wonder that back at the Euro stage where he made his mark four years ago he expressed his delight to have changed scene.

Tags: ajax, bitter rivals, cate, champion, charisteas, club hell, elysian fields, euro 2004, europe, feyenoord, first choice, german coach, greece, greek heroes, henk, hero, jot, juventus, klaas jan huntelaar, lead balloon, markus rosenberg, nuremberg, rotterdam, ryan babel, rydell, ten cate, zlatan ibrahimovic

Related posts

• Ten Cate arrives to put a bit of Bar鏰 into Chelsea
• Ten Cate takes over at Pana
• Jol on Ajax alert as Ten Cate flies into Chelsea
• Chelsea Wants Rijkaard
• Zola turns down chance to join Grant’s regime
• Van; and Wheels
• The Grant effect: a bright new start or more of the same?
• Quiet man at the centre of Barcelona’s revival
• Hiddink Extends Russia Contract
• Grant happy to have Ten Cate as part of his new backroom team

mlevinsmlevins

Niles Mercer has been down this road before. Only now, it is his final trek.

Mercer, a graduate of Van Buren High School, is a senior on the Coe College wrestling team. He qualified for the NCAA Division III national tournament as a sophomore, but was beaten out for a spot in last year’s national tournament.

Now, Mercer is gearing up for one last run, one final push to get back to the national tournament, one last opportunity to earn All-America honors.

Mercer, who is 31-9 at 141 pounds, enters today’s Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament at Wartburg College in Waverly needing to place in the top three at his weight to advance to the NCAA Division III Championships, which are set for March 7-8 at the U.S. Cellular Center in Cedar Rapids.

For Mercer, it’s now or never.

“It’s been a pretty good season so far,” Mercer said. “I’ve had some ups and down here and there, but overall it’s been a pretty successful season.”

“Up until the last couple of weeks, Niles was putting together a pretty strong senior year,” Coe coach John Oostendorp said. “He has provided a lot of leadership for us. I feel like his best wrestling is still ahead of him heading into conference.”

Mercer graduated from Van Buren as the winningest wrestler in school history with 157 career wins. He also set numerous other school records.

But Mercer, as many wrestlers do, found the transition to the college level a difficult one.

“That first season was a difficult transition,” Mercer said. “I had a new coach and he had different philosophies. We were ranked in the nation and had one of the best programs. No matter what, I knew I had to work hard. You have to raise your level, buy into the coaches and their philosophy.”

Mercer rolled to a 16-4 record to start the year, but has suffered four losses in his last nine matches.

“I have just been fine-tuning things, breaking things down,” Mercer said. “I have been focusing more on certain aspects than others. I am focused right now on getting into the top three and qualifying for nationals.”

Mercer has had plenty of help this year from teammate Gannon Hjerleid. The two were bitter rivals in high school, but now are best friends, roommates and workout partners.

“Being a couple of southeast Iowa boys set us apart from the get-go,” Mercer said. “We always competed against each other when we were in high school. Now, we are always hanging out together on weekends and after classes. We are both dedicated and love the sport of wrestling. We push each other to be better wrestlers and better people.”

Mercer’s main competition today will come from third-ranked Matt Kelly of Wartburg and Luke Satern of Buena Vista. Mercer lost to Satern 10-5 and lost to Kelly 8-2 late in the year.

Mercer struggled for part of the year on what weight to wrestle at. He finally settled into the spot at 141.

“I’ve kind of fit right in at 141. It’s been a good weight for me this year,” Mercer said. “I’ve kind of stayed out of the rankings here lately, but I like being the underdog. I think that’s a good thing.”

Mercer is finishing work on his degree in physical education and hopes to be a police officer when he is done. And don’t be surprised if he uses a wrestling hold or two on a few criminals.

Mercer has a 100-50 career record heading into today’s conference meet. He qualified for nationals as a sophomore, but made a quit exit. He desperately wants one more shot at earning All-America honors.

“It would be great to qualify and get a chance to earn All-America honors,” Mercer said. “I would love to have that chance.”

Tags: bitter rivals, cate, champion, coach john, endor, ups

Related posts

• John McCain runs for George Bush’s third term
• Zola turns down chance to join Grant’s regime
• Wednesday’s rumours
• Venezuela: The IAPA lords
• Tony Blair details role of his faith
• The Absurdity of ”Independent” Kosovo
• Running for president? Make sure your child is on side
• Robert McChesney’s ”Communication Revolution”
• Raging Fatalism; and Putting The Boot In
• Quiet moments outweigh clamor during tumultuous year