Intro:

Sport and politics collide in Gdansk on Friday (June 22) when Eurozone strugglers Greece meet the continent's financial heavyweights, Germany.

Script:

Sport and politics collide in Gdansk on Friday (June 22) when Eurozone strugglers Greece meet the continent's financial heavyweights, Germany.

Thousands of fans from the two nations at opposite ends of the Eurozone financial crisis are converging on neutral Polish turf for the second European Championship quarter-final.

For Greece fans, Friday's clash in rainy Gdansk inevitably mixes sports and politics, Euro 2012 and the euro currency.

They seek respect for their country after its humiliating economic collapse - and the German government's role in imposing strict austerity measures.

In football as in finance, Germany is the traditional power and Greece the spirited underdog.

While authorities fear off-field tensions, this Greek fan says it's all about football:

SOUNDBITE (English): Greek fan (no name given):

"We are going to stand up for the national anthem of Germany. We are going to cheer the German people, we are going to cheer everyone in the ground and let's hope the best team wins - which is Greece, obviously. But in terms of the political side of the game, I don't think there is anything."

With the Greeks in severe financial trouble, a win against the Germans would both be the upset of the tournament and lift the spirit of a desperate nation.