Sotirios Kyrgiakos (retired)

[Guest TheLegend]

if kyriakos cant go to a bigger club than frankfurt and he was one of the best players in the euro for us we are royaly F***ed. No decent team wants our players. Our own league doesnt want our players... Several players are just sitting without a team for sure and are gona end up joining some austrian club and never be heard from again. I think this euro marked the decline of greece in world soccer. Unless we can go to the WC, undedeated in qualifying, and win some games there were done. No one will say anything about us, or want our players. Bravo rehagel see how you can F*** a nation over just with stupidity

[Genome]

After Kyrgiakos' move to AEK today, he can no longer be considered a player abroad. Discussion on the transfer and the player continues here.

[Euro2004]

http://www.liverpoolfc.tv/news/drilldown/N...090821-1750.htm

"Liverpool have today completed the signing of Greek international defender Sotirios Kyrgiakos from AEK Athens.

The 30-year-old has put pen to paper on a two-year deal with the option of a further year after successfully completing a medical.

Trikala-born Kyrgiakos began his career at the Panathinaikos academy in 1996 before being loaned out to Greek second division club Agios Nikolaos.

He was recalled by his parent club in 2001 and the powerful centre-back quickly established himself as a regular member of the Panathinaikos first team, helping them to a Greek league and cup double in 2004.

In January 2005, Kyrgiakos acquired his first taste of British football as he joined Glasgow Rangers on loan.

After clinching the Scottish title and League Cup, the deal was made permanent in the summer of the same year as the 6ft 4ins defender agreed a one-year contract at Ibrox.

The Bundesliga was his next destination with the tough-tackling stopper sealing a transfer to Eintracht Frankfurt in 2006, where he spent two seasons before joining AEK last summer.

A knee injury kept Kyrgiakos out of Greece's historic triumph at Euro 2004, although he started each of his country's three matches in the same tournament four years later.

In total, he has won 50 caps for the Greek national team. "

[js1000]

should start tonight against aston villa with injuries to skrtel and agger, agger's injury is for a couple of months so soto should get some playing time, he'll certainly improve playing for liverpool.

hopefully a solid debut tonight :gr:

[Euro2004]

should start tonight against aston villa with injuries to skrtel and agger, agger's injury is for a couple of months so soto should get some playing time, he'll certainly improve playing for liverpool.

hopefully a solid debut tonight :gr:

Sky Sports News are reporting that Ayala will retain his place because Kyrgiakos isn't considered to be fit. I've always said that one of the main stumbling blocks of Greek clubs was a lack of fitness compared to our European counter parts and this has been proved to be true. He was supposed to play against Vaslui on Thursday, it's now Monday and he's still not fit? What kind of fitness programme are they running at AEK?

Hopefully he gets some sort of run out tonight though.

[Euro2004]

should start tonight against aston villa with injuries to skrtel and agger, agger's injury is for a couple of months so soto should get some playing time, he'll certainly improve playing for liverpool.

hopefully a solid debut tonight  :gr:

Sky Sports News are reporting that Ayala will retain his place because Kyrgiakos isn't considered to be fit. I've always said that one of the main stumbling blocks of Greek clubs was a lack of fitness compared to our European counter parts and this has been proved to be true. He was supposed to play against Vaslui on Thursday, it's now Monday and he's still not fit? What kind of fitness programme are they running at AEK?

Hopefully he gets some sort of run out tonight though.

As was reported, he isn't match fit and hasn't even made the bench

[Euro2004]

http://www.thisisanfield.com/news/2009/08/...lid-reds-debut/

Kyrgiakos enjoys solid Reds debut Article added: August 28th, 2009

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[Euro2004]

Kyrgiakos has made his debut today, starting for Liverpool against Bolton. It's currently 1-0 to Bolton though :(

[Euro2004]

Liverpool won 2-3. It wasn't a bad performance by Kyrgiakos but he was way off his best. He was beaten in the air by Davies whose flick on resulted in Cohen scoring. To be fair Cohen only scored because the Liverpool player in front of him slipped on the floor so it wasn't Kyrgiakos fault that the goal went in but he should have won the initial ball.

Other than that he was ok against a very physical team but he's clearly not at his best yet. He looks rusty

[Euro2004]

Played 90 mins in tonight's 0-1 cup win over Leeds. I saw approx 70 mins of the game and he was the best central defender on show. He got booked but was aerially dominant and didn't give Beckford (a highly rated forward who is being watched by bigger clubs) a sniff. Leeds were the better team tonight so it's not as if Kyrgiakos didn't have much to do. He dealt with everything very well though. Hopefully that means he's given more of a chance now.

[js1000]

Played 90 mins in tonight's 0-1 cup win over Leeds. I saw approx 70 mins of the game and he was the best central defender on show. He got booked but was aerially dominant and didn't give Beckford (a highly rated forward who is being watched by bigger clubs) a sniff. Leeds were the better team tonight so it's not as if Kyrgiakos didn't have much to do. He dealt with everything very well though. Hopefully that means he's given more of a chance now.

yes he did well tonight however he's been signed as COVER he's a decent defender but not as good as agger skrtel or carragher. he'll only play in cup games and when there are injuries, luckily for him agger has been out for ages so hopefully he'll feature more

[Euro2004]

In my opinion he's definitely better than Skrtel. Agger is a different sort of defender so it depends on the opposition as who a manager should pick. Carragher has been their leader for years but so far this year he's been appalling. He was a major reason they lost at home to Villa and he was a major liability against West Ham at the weekend. He also made a horrendous mistake today and luckily Kyrgiakos was marking Beckford tightly or he would have been through on goal. Many Liverpool fans believe that this isn't just a slow start, they believe that Carragher isn't the player he was last year. So I disagree with you, Kyrgiakos is a top quality defender. If he adapts he'll establish himself as a top class defender

[js1000]

re euro i want him to do as well as you do but to say he's anywhere near as good as carragher is beyond me, last night liverpool were up against a team in the third tier of english football and kyrgiakos got booked after bringing down one of their players who turned him with ease. he'll improve at liverpool but he's not as good as skrtel that's why skrtel plays the league games and soto doesn't.

[Euro2004]

They're a third tier English team that will be a 2nd tier English team by the end of the year. He was also up against a very highly rated forward that has been tipped to move to the Premiership soon (much like Zamora was a few years ago, or Lua Lua). He puts in a solid performance and you're still trying to find a way to criticise him for getting booked?

Was he tested? (i.e. were Liverpool put under pressure)?

His job is to prevent the opposition from scoring, did he do that?

Was he the best centre-back on display yesterday? (Carragher was poor)

It was a positive performance, can't ask for much more than that.

I didn't say he was better than Carragher. I said Carragher was poor this season. Go onto the official Liverpool fans' message boards and see what they've been saying. They've been calling Kyrgiakos "strong" and "solid" while asking if Benitez will have the courage to drop Carragher because if he was anyone else they'd be calling for his head. Go and see.

Another interesting statistic. According to a phone-in programme on Sky called "You're on Sky Sports", Liverpool have conceded 9 goals this year, 1 penalty and 8 set pieces. Carragher's inability to deal with aerial balls has been a major problem from them. He was beaten in the air comfortably for C.Davies' goal (Villa), Cole's goal (West Ham) and K.Davies' goal (Bolton). Not to mention the fact that he almost gifted West Ham's Hines a goal when he delayed for so long that he got tackled and allowed the kid to go through one on one and hit the post.

So yes Carragher of yesteryear would be better than Kyrgiakos (in the Premiership! Elsewhere may be different) but this years Carragher has been poor. To conclude, isn't it hypocritical to say that Skrtel is better than Soto and that's why he plays in league games, when at the same time you argue that the reason Samaras doesn't play for Celtic isn't because he's not good enough but because the manager has favourites?

[js1000]

To conclude, isn't it hypocritical to say that Skrtel is better than Soto and that's why he plays in league games, when at the same time you argue that the reason Samaras doesn't play for Celtic isn't because he's not good enough but because the manager has favourites?

samaras will get more playing time than soto, also benitez signed soto and skrtel where as mowbray paid big bucks for fortune and didn't sign samaras so soto skrtel and agger were all signed by benitez, why do you think skrtel plays ahead of kyrgiakos ? also i'm not rubbishing him at every opportunity i'm thrilled a greek is playing for liverpool but realise he's been signed as back up and is not as good as the other centre halves. time will tell

[Euro2004]

samaras will get more playing time than soto, also benitez signed soto and skrtel where as mowbray paid big bucks for fortune and didn't sign samaras so soto skrtel and agger were all signed by benitez, why do you think skrtel plays ahead of kyrgiakos ? also i'm not rubbishing him at every opportunity i'm thrilled a greek is playing for liverpool but realise he's been signed as back up and is not as good as the other centre halves. time will tell

the fact that Benitez signed him doesn't mean anything. Pearce and Strachan signed Samaras and dropped him. If anything Kyrgiakos not starting is understandable. The Prem is the most difficult league in the world to adapt to, it takes time. Months, possibly a season!

His start has been decent, nothing more, nothing less. If he settles he could be fantastic. If Skrtel was playing for Greece, would he be as influential as Kyrgiakos? Or would he have been as great at AEK? I doubt it. You obviously think he would, so let's wait and see. Hopefully I'm right :P

[Euro2004]

the fact that Benitez signed him doesn't mean anything. Pearce and Strachan signed Samaras and dropped him. If anything Kyrgiakos not starting is understandable. The Prem is the most difficult league in the world to adapt to, it takes time. Months, possibly a season!

His start has been decent, nothing more, nothing less. If he settles he could be fantastic. If Skrtel was playing for Greece, would he be as influential as Kyrgiakos? Or would he have been as great at AEK? I doubt it. You obviously think he would, so let's wait and see. Hopefully I'm right :P

Skrtel had another very poor display today while Carragher was uneasy too. Of course when you have players like Torres in your team you can get away with it (Liverpool won 6-1 today at home to Hull), but Kyrgiakos clearly deserves a chance because Liverpool are poor at the back, especially when dealing with aerial balls.

[Euro2004]

Yet another poor defensive display by Liverpool's central duo: Skrtel and Carragher. Goal.com ratings and comments:

Martin Skrtel - 5 - Awkward throughout, his performance will have worried Benitez as he failed to deal with the power of Mutu or the trickery of Jovetic.

Jamie Carragher - 5.5 - Could not live with the intensity and pace of Fiorentina's attacking play in the first half. Got better in the second half but still short of his best.

Mutu's power? :blink: Kyrgiakos deserves a fair chance now!

[Euro2004]

Kyrgiakos played in Liverpool's 2-1 cup defeat away at Anfield today.

He's clearly not at his best yet and seems to have lost half a yard of pace, but he was decent. He was probably caught out of position on the first goal, but you can't really blame him for a 25 yard stike into the top corner. He was certainly better than Skrtel too who was his partner today. Overall i'd say it was an average performance but nothing compared to his best.

[Euro2004]

Kyrgiakos played in Liverpool's 2-1 cup defeat away at Anfield today.

He's clearly not at his best yet and seems to have lost half a yard of pace, but he was decent. He was probably caught out of position on the first goal, but you can't really blame him for a 25 yard stike into the top corner. He was certainly better than Skrtel too who was his partner today. Overall i'd say it was an average performance but nothing compared to his best.

Goal.com's rating and note:

Sotiris Kyrgiakos - 6.5 - Outshone his more renowned defensive partner [skrtel], but clearly prefers a physical battle to a technical one.

He's played 3 games for Liverpool and although he's still way off his best he's been the better centre-back on show in every game. He needs playing time to find a rhythm.

[Euro2004]

Kyrgiakos played 90 mins today in Liverpool's 3-1 away defeat at Fulham. Despite the loss Kyrgiakos was once more Liverpool's best defender. He was aerially dominant and physically great. His ball distribution needs work though.

Goal.com rated him as Liverpool's best defender today (once again!).

Sotiris Kyrgiakos - 7 - Competed well with Zamora, though looked a little square for his goal. Nevland offered another physical threat, but the Greek defender did well.

(Carragher got a 5, Degen a 4 and Insua a 6).

My ratings would have been:

Kyrgiakos 7

Carragher 5

Degen 5

Insua 4

The first goal was Insua's fault not Kyrgiakos'. Goal.com do acknowledge this saying that Insua "was slow to react as Zamora opened the scoring" but they're wrong when they say Kyrgiako was square for the goal. There was nothing he could do, Insua was responsible because Kyrgiakos had to shift to the right to fill the central void (which he did) and Insua had to cover Zamora who was in his zone. He didn't and they scored as a result.

Kyrgiakos is still way off his best but he's been Liverpool's better centre-back in every game he's played. If I was Rafa I'd either shift to a 3-5-2 with Carragher, Kyrgiakos and Agger at the back or try a duo of Agger and kyrgiakos because Carragher and Skrtel have been poor.

Hopefully the Alani is given more playing time. If he does I'm sure he could solidify his position.

[Genome]

Would be awesome to see him become a basic for Liverpool! He has what it takes imho!

[Euro2004]

Would be awesome to see him become a basic for Liverpool! He has what it takes imho!

To be honest I don't think he'll ever be given a fair chance. First impressions are very difficult to change. When Kyrgiakos first arrived most Liverpool fans were saying "Who's this guy? How can we win the league with players like this?", etc. It didn't matter that they haven't seen him play, it just mattered that he wasn't a big name and he wasn't from a country that's considered a footballing super power.

In every one of the 4 games Kyrgiakos has played for Liverpool he has been the best defender on show for them and yet he doesn't really get the recognition. On the Liverpool message boards you get a few comments like "Kyrgiakos looks solid", or "there's nothing wrong with him, he's doing ok", etc, while they criticise the rest of the Liverpool backline but most don't talk about him. I also haven't heard one TV reporter say "Kyrgiakos was good today". He's Greek and is automatically undermined as a result.

He'll never be given the chance. It's not just him either. If Gekas was Italian and had the goalscoring record he does, would he really have been given a total of 30 seconds during his time at a Pompey team struggling for goals?

Kyrgiakos will carry on doing fairly well but won't ever be given a chance to really find a rhythm. He'll be gone by the start of next season for sure.

[js1000]

To be honest I don't think he'll ever be given a fair chance. First impressions are very difficult to change. When Kyrgiakos first arrived most Liverpool fans were saying "Who's this guy? How can we win the league with players like this?", etc. It didn't matter that they haven't seen him play, it just mattered that he wasn't a big name and he wasn't from a country that's considered a footballing super power.

In every one of the 4 games Kyrgiakos has played for Liverpool he has been the best defender on show for them and yet he doesn't really get the recognition. On the Liverpool message boards you get a few comments like "Kyrgiakos looks solid", or "there's nothing wrong with him, he's doing ok", etc, while they criticise the rest of the Liverpool backline but most don't talk about him. I also haven't heard one TV reporter say "Kyrgiakos was good today". He's Greek and is automatically undermined as a result.

He'll never be given the chance. It's not just him either. If Gekas was Italian and had the goalscoring record he does, would he really have been given a total of 30 seconds during his time at a Pompey team struggling for goals?

Kyrgiakos will carry on doing fairly well but won't ever be given a chance to really find a rhythm. He'll be gone by the start of next season for sure.

you make some good points regarding greek players being under-rated, and players not being able to find rhythm when they're in and out of a side(the point i was trying to make about samaras which you dismissed) however i don't agree when you say kyrgiakos will be gone by the start of next season, he was after all signed as COVER to replace hyypia who was no longer a starter and i'm sure soto was aware of that, and when you consider the amount of football liverpool play (60 or so games a season) i'm sure he'll feature in 20 or so which is what i presume he expected so i very much doubt he'll be looking to leave, and IF he does well i doubt liverpool would want him out, especially when you consider daniel agger(who i think is top class) is nearly always injured.

he'll start tomorrow night vs lyon with all the injuries liverpool have, he'll probably be playing alongside rookies so lets hope for a solid performance from him

[Euro2004]

To be honest I don't think he'll ever be given a fair chance. First impressions are very difficult to change. When Kyrgiakos first arrived most Liverpool fans were saying "Who's this guy? How can we win the league with players like this?", etc. It didn't matter that they haven't seen him play, it just mattered that he wasn't a big name and he wasn't from a country that's considered a footballing super power.

In every one of the 4 games Kyrgiakos has played for Liverpool he has been the best defender on show for them and yet he doesn't really get the recognition. On the Liverpool message boards you get a few comments like "Kyrgiakos looks solid", or "there's nothing wrong with him, he's doing ok", etc, while they criticise the rest of the Liverpool backline but most don't talk about him.  I also haven't heard one TV reporter say "Kyrgiakos was good today". He's Greek and is automatically undermined as a result.

He'll never be given the chance. It's not just him either. If Gekas was Italian and  had the goalscoring record he does, would he really have been given a total of 30 seconds during his time at a Pompey team struggling for goals?

Kyrgiakos will carry on doing fairly well but won't ever be given a chance to really find a rhythm. He'll be gone by the start of next season for sure.

you make some good points regarding greek players being under-rated, and players not being able to find rhythm when they're in and out of a side(the point i was trying to make about samaras which you dismissed) however i don't agree when you say kyrgiakos will be gone by the start of next season, he was after all signed as COVER to replace hyypia who was no longer a starter and i'm sure soto was aware of that, and when you consider the amount of football liverpool play (60 or so games a season) i'm sure he'll feature in 20 or so which is what i presume he expected so i very much doubt he'll be looking to leave, and IF he does well i doubt liverpool would want him out, especially when you consider daniel agger(who i think is top class) is nearly always injured.

he'll start tomorrow night vs lyon with all the injuries liverpool have, he'll probably be playing alongside rookies so lets hope for a solid performance from him

I dismissed the Samaras argument because he was getting runs in the team and still not playing well. That's irrelevant to this discussion though. The reason I think Kyrgiakos will leave is because Benitez's days are numbered.

Once Benitez leaves and the new coach comes in he'll want to appease Liverpool fans by making a statement and having a clear out. Voronin and Babel are certainties to leave, Lucas will also probably be pushed out. They'll sign a forward too.

After that they'll need to address the defence which has been so weak and I guarantee you they will sign a centre back which means they'll have 5 first team centre-backs plus Ayala who is a highly rated youngster. So someone has to go. Carragher is a Liverpool legend so he won't leave. Even if he's demoted he won't leave. Agger is a very good defender (not sure about top class but very good) and despite always being injured he will def stay, and rightly so because he's proven with Liverpool. That leaves Skrtel and Kyrgiakos and Kyrgiakos is the more "unknown" of the two in global terms. Trust me, he'll be given the option of being shipped out or will rot in the reserves and he'll leave