The Bolton midfielder was outstanding as Greece pulled off one of the greatest shocks in football history by lifting the Euro 2004 trophy in Lisbon last night.

And Stelios, full name Stylianos Giannakopoulos, was on cloud nine after a goal from Angelos Charisteas clinched a memorable 1-0 victory for Greece in the Stadium of Light.

It was an amazing achievement for a team who were quoted as 150-1 by some bookmakers to win the title when the finals started just over three weeks ago. But as the celebrations got into full swing, Stelios showed he hadn't forgotten about his fans or his teammates back home in England.

"It's amazing to be standing here with a medal," said the midfielder who was snapped up on a free transfer by Sam Allardyce from Olimpiakos in May 2003.

"It was a dream, an impossible dream, but we did it and it became reality. It's a fantastic achievement.

"To be honest we didn't come to Portugal to win the cup, we came to try our best, play good football and enjoy ourselves. But we soon realised we could do something better and now we have done.

"We believed in ourselves and we have showed that nothing is impossible in football.

"There are a lot of people who I have to thank but I want to dedicate one small bit to my teammates at Bolton as well because I think they will be happy for me tonight. So I dedicate one bit of the cup to them and the Bolton fans too!

"It is a great club and I can't wait to get back to England and show everybody my medal. It will make me very proud."

Greece may have been surprise winners of the title in Portugal, but nobody can say they didn't deserve it.

Having beaten Spain to top of their qualifying group they went into the tournament as dark horses and then produced some astonishing results.

They beat hosts Portugal in their opening game - as well as in the final - and also beat champions France and the Czech Republic along the way.

Captained by former Leicester City midfielder Theo Zagorakis they showed English-style resolve to lift the trophy and in Georgios Seitaridis had the tournament's most outstanding right-back.

Stelios also impressed, and he believes playing in England has helped improve him as a player.

He said: "Playing in the Premiership is bound to improve your game and I think it has helped me a lot - playing alongside and against great players every week.

"It has been an important move for me and I think it helped me during Euro 2004."

Stelios certainly shone in the Stadium of Light as he took over suspended Georgios Karagounis' role in midfield and was inspirational.

"I tried my best to replace Georgios and win the trophy for him, and I hope I did it right," he said.

"It was a great night for everybody in the world who is Greek. And it showed that if you believe in yourself you can do something special. I think I will be flying high for a long time and I hope everyone in Bolton can enjoy it too."