TheCity1924

I really dont see your point. Just because OFSP bought this kid it automatically makes him a good player? By your logic every player the OFSP has signed for a relatively long period is good.I would love to see statistics on the number of players MAN U has signed at a young age who we would have considered "good and talented" because they were signed by MAN U, and then were released or sold to some small club and had a mediocre career. Greek teams notoriously overpay foreign players who do not live up to the hype and end up contributing nothing.

wasnt Bravo supposed to be Real's replacement for Roberto Carlos. The media loves to exaggerate and we love to buy into it. Im not passing any judgment on this player but fans of any team should be a little reserved when it comes to these new "Roberto Carlos or Zinedine Zidane"

His career is starting to resemble that of Charisteas. Every year he'll be on another team and then eventually he'll come to Greece and everyone will herald him as the "big" player who has played on 14 great teams (as opposed to making his mark on one team). A player has to prove himself in training to get the respect and trust of his teammates and manager. You can't expect to be given an opportunity if you dont prove yourself in training. I think we (the greek media and people) blew him up to something unbelievable without taking the time to fully examine his abilities. Now we are all disappointed that he isnt reaching the level we thought he was already playing at.

It is terrible to see him leave like that...If i am corect ricardihnio, the greeks had a good reputation at benfica the last couple of year with karagounis and katsouranis? This must of ruined it all. Btw does anyone no how much crap luisao got in? He got absolutly NO blame for this. NONE hes barly in crap This was the best thing that could have happened to Katsouranis. He has the talent and ambition to play for a better club in a better league. Aside for Benfica, Porto, and Sporting the Portuguese league isn't that great. Moving to Spain is a step up for a player of his caliber. Katsouranis has shown that he is a loyal player and respects the team he plays for. He could have easily left AEK after 2004 but chose to stay and help the team. For him to lash out on the pitch in the manner he did tells me that he has been putting up with a lot of abuse and disrespectful behavior.

File mou, generally I agree with you 100%, but with Belluschi i think it's a bit different. According to reports, he's already started taking Greek lessons and that isn't the sign of someone who only wants to be here for a short time (like Yaya Toure for example)... I'll be honest, I haven't really seen this kid play. I've seen highlights but nothing that would enable me to judge how good he is. I know he has a cannon of a shot and can use both feet, but not much else so i can't say whether he's worth the money or not. So generally I'd agree with you about the xenomania of Greek clubs and fans but maybe this isn't the case wth Belluschi. I'm on the brink of changing my mind after i came across this video showing, who appears to be Belluschi, smoking! :blink: All that money for a player that smokes? Florent Malouda criticised Chelsea for allowing their players to drink coke, while Wenger has banned his players from eating anything that isn't "healthy", imagine what they'd say if they saw this! Demi smoked 2 packs a day and was a killer up front. The only thing I have to say about Belluschi is that South American players cannot gel that quickly, unless they come from a European team (Galetti) Really??? WOW! I didn't know that. I know of many players that used to drink like mad though. But even still, today's game has changed alot since Demi was at his best. Diets are a big part of football now and that's reflected in the way the game has become faster. Will Belluschi be able to cope with the pace of the very top level if he's smoking? I hope so.@ paxiotis, here's the link: http://www.netc.com.br/video/aRM8IIVqrik/f...a-colombia.html I'm not sure if that's really him though, it appears to be and the website claims it is but I'm not sure. Oh definitely....Demi was notorious for smoking...Psomiadis showed up to Demis house one day to scold him about his nightlife...drinking, smoking, women, staying out late. Not that it was the right thing to do on psomiadis part but the point is Demi lived a destructive life, at least for a footballer. But I completely agree....diet and healthy living are a major factor in a player's fitness and success.

Kala re paidia...and my comments go for all Greek teams even AEK...what is this obsession with signing foreign players. Not particularly belluschi but Greek teams overpay foreigners who only want to use Greece as a stepping stone to moving onto bigger teams. I have a friend who's brother played for the junior side of one of Greece's midtable teams, they had him training the whole summer and then the team decided bring in 4 or 5 foreign kids and told my friend's brother and a few other greeks to get lost. These foreign players aren't even that good. And then we wonder why we have such a hard time keeping good greek players in Greece. We pay Ribo 25,000 a week, Belluschi 1mm a year and Greek players get a smack in the face.

It's a shame he doesn't do as well for Greece <_< Katsouranis has always been solid for Greece. Otto plays a defensive game and thus we dont see him making spectacular runs like he does with Benfica.

I don't understand your Lymbe reference :huh: :huh:

Come on people we all know that Takis was brought to the team to be a technical director and not the coach. His position is temporary and will undoutedly be replaced by another coach...he wont leave the team but merely be given a different position.

What is everyones predictions for his season next year? My friend who is a PAO fan and thus a little biased keeps telling me that he wont even score 10 goals next year. His theory being that Gekas scored so many goals with Bochum because they were a small team playing against bigger teams that were exposed in the back and that most of his goals came from long lobs from the back. My buddy says that when he plays with Leverkusen he wont be able to handle tight defenses where smaller teams play with 11 defenders. Anyway, I personally think that he's going to have a great season with Leverkusen. he was able to handle close defenses with PAO an he wil do the same with Leverkusen. Good luck to him.

http://www.eurosport.com/football/premiers...to1178060.shtml Barton is getting exactly what he deserves.

2-1 Bochum!!! FT Gekas with the second goal and Bochum lie 6 points out of the relegation zone.

Ti einai autos re paidia!!!! Tous exei trelani tous Germanous!!!

PAO surely screwed up with Gekas. He was consistently scoring last season and he continued to perform this season. Gekas showed that he could perform on two different level teams. He was able to break down a teams defense when he played for PAO a superior team compared to other greek teams and he was able to do the same when he played on a smaller team compared to the rest in Germany. PAO would have definitely been able to benefit from Gekas this year, as Pap wasnt in form for much of the season. Instead they were left with Mantzios who has no sense of where he is on the pitch and couldnt score a goal if his life depended on it. Bravo to Gekas for adapting in germany and showing his worth. I hope he continues his great performances next season.