Papadopoulos has long been destined for international honours and while Euro 2004 may not see him arrive on the big stage with a bang, the Kazakhstan-born striker has the potential to be around for a long time to come.
An aborted spell in England with Burnley in 2001 set his career back but having joined Panathinaikos he has rediscovered the form that saw him capped at Under-16, Under-18 and Under-21 levels.
Papadopoulos failed to feature as Greece qualified for the finals, yet his form for Pana - he scored 17 goals in 26 games as they won the title - earnt him a call-up for Portugal.
He will probably spend most of the next month on the bench, yet his first major international tournament will be an important part of his learning curve.
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