Blackhawk

Apparently so. Not that it's any of our business. Also, I really doubt that this is the reason for his decision. It hasn't been an issue preventing him from playing on the NT for the previous 3 years.

It's only a temporary retirement according to the announcement. It is something EPO was informed about 2 months ago and they could not change his mind. Not sure if the real reason is his kid or the one he is expecting. Could be something concerning their health, which is not really any of our business. Selected Greek social media (some with anti-PAOK bias) are picking up on his religious beliefs (Jehovah Witness) claiming that that is the reason for his decision. However, if I was Konstantelias and I was constantly pushed aside so Bakasetas could start, I would also think twice about my role on the national team. Interesting fact: Konstantelias played 18 game on the NT. He was a starter in only 5 of them, and he never played the full 90 minutes in any of the games.

Baba started on the bench against England, and entered the game in the 90th minute.

All our pre-season games will be televised on OPEN TV.

The pre-season games are almost set. The first 3 are confirmed, while the last one is not officially confirmed yet. 01-July, 17:00 EEST: PAOK - SK Beveren 04-July: PAOK - Westerlo FC (Nino Sparta, Zaltbommel) 07-July: PAOK - AEK Larnaca (Nino Sparta, Zaltbommel) 11-July: PAOK - Twente Enschede

The team's first practice took place today and was conducted with our new coach. Our two World Cup players Baba and Sanchez were absent. Also absent were Zivkovic, Zafeiris and Gugesasvili who will join the team on June 25. Thymianis, Camara, and Michailidis practiced individually, while Despodov and Meite underwent physical therapies. All the players that were on loan last season where also present at the practice, including Chalov, Lyratzis, Shoretire, and Gomez. The following players from the U19 and the 'B' team also took part in today's practice: Avrabos (CB), Apetenok (CB), Dunga (LB), Kosidis (RB), Sarris (DM) , Kottas (CB), Bataoulas (CB), Tsopouroglou (CM), Balde (LW), Berdos (LW)

In any case let's just beat Kiev or Cluj and continue in EL. We really F***ed ourselves by not winning the Greek Cup. We would at a minimum have secured a Conference League Phase spot and start our European campaign in August.

Alessio Lisci officially our new coach:

We owe Dynamo Kiev something from 1976.

Alessio Lisci is the new coach of PAOK.

Looks like we are very close to announcing Marino Pušić as the replacement for Razvan Lucescu in the coaching position.

If Kedziora leaves, we will need to sign 3 center backs. Not sure how it can be accomplished. In the past when we needed a CB we ended in the last minutes with over the hill Lovren. I think Kedziora is a decent CB, but like some other players on the team he has been overused by Lucescu. I would keep him as long as we acquire another starter in that position.

Draw for Qualifying Round 1 was made today. Here are the updated seedings: SEEDED TEAMS Benfica Lisbon (POR) 90.000 Viktoria Plzen (CZE) 50.500 FC Midtjylland (DEN) 48.250 PAOK Thessaloniki (GRE) 48.250 Maccabi Tel Aviv (ISR) 32.500 Anderlecht Brussels (BEL) 30.750 Pafos (CYP) 24.125 winner of Vojvodina Novi Sad (SRB) 5.500 - Ferencvaros Budapest (HUN) 51.250 winner of Qarabag FK (AZB) 42.750 - IF Vestri (ISL) 3.304 UNSEEDED TEAMS Besiktas Istanbul (TUR) 15.500 Twente Enschede (NED) 13.585 Tromso IL (NOR) 8.247 FC Sankt Gallen (SUI) 6.940 Hammarby IF (SWE) 6.000 winner of Dynamo Kiev UKR) 17.500 - Universitate Cluj (ROM) 5.050 winner of Hajduk Split (CRO) 10.000 - MSK Zilina (SVK) 5.500 winner of Sheriff Tiraspol (MOL) 20.000 - NK Aluminij (SLO) 4.893 winner of CSKA Sofia (BUL) 6.500 - Derry City (IRL) 4.000 Tomorrow the draw for Qualifying Round 2 will be made and PAOK will find out the first European opponent for the 2026-2027 season.

Apparently Kedziora wants to leave and sign with Dynamo Kiev.

I think this was the right move, but poorly executed. The coaching situation should have been resolved right after the game with Panathinaikos. This leads me to believe that they really had no concrete plan after the season ended. Once again we are scrambling get things together at the last possible moment. I am really curious if we will have a coach next Monday, when the training season starts.

The main pre-season training will take place at the Nino Sparta Training Center at Zaltbommel between June 29 - July 12. Four pre-season games will take place during that period: 01-July: tba 04-July: PAOK - Westerlo FC (Nino Sparta, Zaltbommel) 07-July: PAOK - AEK Larnaca (Nino Sparta, Zaltbommel) 11-July: tba

Sanchez did not get the start in the WC opener between Mexico and South Africa.

He keeps saying and repeating it that he has one more year in his contract. The question is if the Matos/Vieirinha duo want him to be the coach for the upcoming season. Rumors now are that PAOK is negotiating with some Qatari team to give them Lucescu if they pay the contract clause (4 mil). The sticking point appears to be that all this was done without Lucescu's knowledge. The worst thing is that we are week and a half from the start of training and the coaching position is questionable.

The U19 Greek NT defeated Kazakhstan 4:2 in the final qualifying game and finished in 2nd place in the group. This means they will continue in the qualifying competition. Berdos of PAOK scored 2 goals.

Latest reports are that we offered 4 mil to Augsburg, 3 mil + 1 mil in incentive bonuses. It remains to be seen if Augsburg will accept it. It also looks like the chances of Lucescu continuing as a coach of the team are 50/50. I think they need to resolve the coaching matter as soon as possible.

It was announced that the first training session of the new season will be on June 22, 2026. The following youngsters will be joining the rest of the players for this pre-season trainig: Dimitris Berdos, Dimitris Bataoulas, Giannis Sarris, Bedri Dounga, and Giannis Kosidis.

Looks like Giannoulis might be heading to Olympiakos. They are apparently offering 1.5 mil more to Augsburg than we are. I don't really think the player is worth the 5 mil that Olympiakos is willing to pay. Also, today Matos and Vierinha had a first meeting with father Savvidis and sons, so I would expect to start hearing solid transfer news from now on. What is interesting though is that there are no mentions of Lucescu's inputs on the transfer matters. It will be interesting to see Lucescu's coopderation with the new team directors.

I'll settle for 6 Greek players on the pitch at all times.

https://www.paokfc.gr/nea/20260606-anakoinosi-pae-paok/

Zafeiris played for 80 in the 2:2 tie with Sweden. Kedziora stayed on the bench in the Poland - Nigeria (2:2) game.