IT is said that deep within every centre-half beats the heart of a frustrated centre-forward.

Many defenders may argue otherwise, and a certain number of their union - who shall remain nameless - regularly suffer anxiety attacks when crossing the halfway line.

But what is undoubtedly true is that many British players have made the successful change from back-line to forward line - and in some cases back again - including the likes of Chris Sutton, Colin Hendry and Paul Warhurst.

But today it is a certain Greek stopper by the name of Nikos Dabizas who will be hoping for a quiet afternoon in his own penalty area, while at the same time causing mayhem in England's.

His scoring exploits with Newcastle are not reflected on the international stage. In his 46 caps he has yet to trouble the Greek goal-scoring statisticians - a duck he will be very keen to break at Old Trafford this afternoon.

Although his 13 goals for the Magpies have put him at the top of an esteemed list of goal-scoring Newcastle centre-backs, the figure is dwarfed by the likes of Steve Bruce who managed the same number in just one season at centre-back for Manchester United in 1990-91.

But with his goals and obvious commitment to the United cause Dabizas, 28, has become a genuine hero on Tyneside.

However, his hero status is in danger of turning villainous - for a while at least - if he succeeds in breaking the hearts of most of the Magpies' fans, along with the millions of England supporters hoping to see their team claim a World Cup final place.

The chances of this would appear remote with the Greek side he represents apparently low on confidence and self-belief following their 5-1 defeat at the hands of Finland.

But Dabizas believes it is time for Greece to be united, and also time for the new coach, German Otto Rehhagel, to get the team's full backing.

''We have an experienced manager now, and experience is very important, as I know at Newcastle,'' said Dabizas.

''In Greece we have a habit of judging people too early. We have to give him time to adapt and to learn.

''The image of the national team, with the results we've had, is not the right one.

''I think we are more talented and technically better than we have shown. It is up to us to show we can play better than that.

''The game against England is a very important one for us. We have to put things right and this is a good opportunity to do it.''

The absence of Michael Owen from the England line-up will no doubt hearten Dabizas, with the Liverpool striker a thorn in his side - at club level at least.

Owen has managed to hit the net five times in just two games against Dabizas, but the last time the two met in June, when England beat Greece in Athens, Owen failed to score.

But Owen is one in a long line of obstacles the centre-back has faced in his career - including public humiliation at the hands of Ruud Gullit - and he has shown time and time again he has never been afraid of facing a challenge.

An early obstacle appeared to be a family business waiting for the eldest son to take the helm, and Dabizas' life could have been far different if he had stayed in Armindio in the north of Greece. In fact he could have been a big cheese in Greek business - if you'll pardon the pun.

His father Konstandios ran a cheese-making plant in the family's home town and had plans for his eldest son to join the business.

Speaking about his formative years Dabizas said: "After leaving school I even went to college to learn about the technical side of the process.

"My brothers, Giannis and Stellios, joined the firm but I decided to give football a go after playing for my home-town team."

The idea appeared to be that if he didn't make it to a big club inside a few years he would head back to the Armindio factory.

Fortunately for Newcastle fans Dabizas soon became a hit and after two seasons in the Greek second division with Verias, Olympiakos plucked him from obscurity and turned him into an international player.

In his time in Greek football he scored 20 goals from his centre-back position - a fact that had not gone unnoticed to then Newcastle manager KennyDalglish.

In 1998 Dalglish followed up a video viewing and signed him up, with Dabizas starring in United's run to the FA Cup final that year.

His attacking prowess was evident at the beginning of his Magpies career with Terry McDermott labelling him the best header of the ball at the club.

In fact a headed effort in the FA Cup final against Arsenal in 1998 - when he became the first Greek to play in an FA Cup final - was one of the few meaningful Magpies attacks during their 2-0 defeat that handed the Gunners the double that year.

The arrival of Ruud Gullit early the following season was a watershed in many Newcastle players' careers - Dabizas included.

After deciding he was the main reason Newcastle lost the FA Cup final to Manchester United in 1999, Gullit signed three centre-halves - including Spanish misfit Marcelino - and the writing was on the wall.

Dabizas said: "It didn't take long to work out that I did not have a future at the club. I only played in a pre-season friendly at Dundee because of injuries."

Gullitt added insult to injury by hauling him off after 25 minutes of that game.

But he outlasted the Dutchman and new manager Bobby Robson's opinion of Dabizas was a vastly different one.

Last season, after a cruciate ligament injury ruled Dabizas out for most of the campaign, Robson repeatedly referred to his team 'missing its best defender'.

Robson said of his returning defensive linchpin: "He has wonderful ability in the air, and on the ground. He's experienced, he's tigerish and he's committed."

It was no coincidence Newcastle's 30-game run without a clean sheet coincided with that injury, a run fellow centre-half Aaron Hughes said had threatened to make the club 'the laughing stock' of the Premiership.

Three games into the Greek's return Newcastle broke the clean sheet hoodoo against Leicester and this season, although far from watertight at the back, Newcastle have been a different proposition.

Today, though, Dabizas will be firmly focused on spoiling the English party in Manchester - and transferring his Newcastle scoring form to the blue of Greece.

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