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How good was it to see a Greece side play the last week. First we keep Italy at bay until the penalty and to be honest if Koulouris bagged his chance anything could have happened. Then we come out and play football, with Bosnia. Like a steam train. I could not believe Masouras had 7 chances in 30 minutes of football. Incredible. So to say I'm excited is an understatement. Here are my big takeaways. Hatzidiakos is a class back. He's positioning in set plays is good. His passes out of defence are smooth, crisp and hit the target. He was nervous with Italy, but he makes passes which allow mids to transition into attack better. The clearance off the line with Bosnia was brilliant. Stafylidis was compact and solid, and for me has just played his two best games for the NT. Nothing was getting through the LH side of the backline. His shot that hit post shows that he will be a threat outside the box. Worthy captain. Kourbelis had his best two games for Greece. He's got a good engine and we need that. Together with Galanopoulos their link up play with the other mids and forwards was something new and one of the main we reasons we created many chances with Bosnia. Limnios has great pace, is talented and is only 21. He can take on defenders and that is something we haven't seen much in the past. Hard to see him not get a big contract to one of the big leagues in Europe in the future. He is a strong boy too. He is a big introduction. Together with Bakakis they can be a formidable tandem on the RH side. Pavlidis is a class act for me. A real target up front. He is more than just a striker but links well with the other forwards and can defend when needed. His finish for the goal was top draw, and so to was the dummy which led to a golden opportunity for Mantalos. He is only 20. Bakasetas strength, and his run and movement was quite good. He didn't score, but in the Italy match he was in great position to score on 2 occasions and also made a brilliant pass to Limnios. He needs to get better at finishing at NT level which should be a strength but is not showing. A fit and healthy Fortounis would come straight in to his position. Area we need to improve is in finishing. Koulouris, Masouras, Bakasetas and Mantalos all had chances they should have scored and we need to get better. Depth in attack. There is nothing better than having options in attack or off the bench. Fetfatzidis and Donis are two players on their day are good enough to start and impact a game but if not, then they are also good options of the bench. Their weakness I think is the defensive side of their game. There are other players I am excited about also, such as Giannoulis and Vrousai who are both young and skillful. Vrousai they say is one to really look out for. Slowly, the Greece team is starting to show it has a heart beat and there is plenty to look forward to. I can't wait for the next two qualifiers, which we can win and then it's onto the Nations League which by then should bring our FIFA ranking back up and set us up well for World Cup qualifiers.

Yeah ,PAOK TV should make a paok series on Aggelos going to Agios Oros!

Yup looks like JVS will not allow the NT to be turned into a circus as was the case before his arrival. I like how he keeps saying that when the players are called up they are coming to Greece to work and not to vacation.

And now we understand the reason for Stafylidis as a CB..the boys reverted to 3 at the back in attack, Staf to LB, Hatzidiakos in the middle and Kourbelis to the RB position..Giannouls and Bakakis pushed up as wingbacks to add to the Greece attack..maaate! Schip gave Galanopoulos a shot and he, along with Kourbelis will be the mids for the Ethniki for a long tme. Kourbelis was very composed and did the dirty work that Zeka usually does as well. Ethniki played a compact 4 5 1 against Italy and a 4 4 2 in D, with a 4 3 3/3 5 2 in attack vs Bos-Hertz. Fetfa and Koulouris caused havoc against Bos-Hertz, as did MOM Limnios. Van Schip!!!!!!! deserves kudos for his enterprising tactics, giving his players a chance to play football, as he demonstrated that he believes in them, players not being afraid to make mistakes although, continuing to stay compact and sticking with their gameplan. The Mykonos club went back to Mykonos. Didn't see or hear of any decent enterprise from the other coaches in the last few years, no imagination and one dimensional, alot like my romantic abilities..

Better chance of us winning the powerball if all those need to happen.

He was late to the team meeting.. I like the fact that this coach will punish guys and make them countable...

Yeah but PAOK TV does not have Narcos.

Did anyone notice at the end that they all got together to take in the win, they wanted it badly!!

We might not agree with JVS playing certain players but let’s be honest he has them playing a good fast paced system with lots of pressure.. The Italy game even though we lost gave us some optimism and we were unlucky but today’s game against Bosnia was the best all around performance in the last 4 years hands down.. With out getting to far ahead of ourselves this coach looks like he knows what he’s doing.. We dominated the Bosnians IMO.. Hope we keep building on this.. Finally a good feeling after a game for once!!

Το περίεργο «μωσαϊκό» γεγονότων με την Ξάνθη Ένα άρθρο για το οποίο δεν θα σχολιάσω τίποτε. Κυριακή, κοντή γιορτή. Για ποιόν λέτε;

fat phil was happy