Brklyngrk

Over 2-1

Manolas/Papa were told they could be back. Ninis is still not that old. If they honor their commitment, I do not have a problem with them.

You want your best players. If you don't want to include Mitroglou/Papastathopoulos bc they are older, I get it. Papastathopoulos may offer some leadership/professionalism but I understand. Attitude and professionalism though are imperative. If you can't offer that, then you don't belong.

Why not? Leave politics out of it. They have a good team and will be a good test.

Those are good games against quality opponents...

Manolas/Sok did not have an actual falling out with JVS if I remember correctly. He called them up initially and when the qualifiers were out of reach, he said he was going with younger players. He hasn't called them since. I am sure he didn't care for their attitude but I don't believe it was an actual argument.

RW - Limnios hasn't played much in Germany. He looked a little ragged last time he started with the ethniki. Not sure though who is the best option? Fetfa is not happening but that would be a good one. CB - This one will be interesting. Ideally it would be Manolas/Siovas but we shall see what the coach picks. RB - Not sure, Masouras has never been called up before. Not sure if JVS will pick him. If not him, Bakakis? Is Ballock going to be picked? CM - One will be Kourbellis/Zeca, the other should be Mantalos. Galo would have been a good choice if he didn't get hurt. Subs - I hope he selects Douvikas. Maybe even Ninis is he continues playing well (was injured and just got back).

I had read that the construction got pricey and with the delays that happened, they felt that it was better to move on.

They need a consistent home where they can get a good crowd, hopefully Toumba is that place....

He signed a 2 1/2 year deal, apparently many foreign teams were interested but he chose OLY over them.

If this was done in the states, let's say for the NFL, there would be a FULL investigation done by both the NFL and federal agencies. The NFL's investigations are just as thorough if not more so than the police departments. Tom Brady was accused of using deflated footballs and he got suspended and fined.

Maybe a young Holebas. They are both good players with I believe Tsimikas being the better player. Giannoulis is still good and he has had some great games, especially the game against Benfica.

I thought he was taken out to give their team a boost.

Doesn't Vrousai and Masouras play the same position at OLY?

How did they play today? It is clear that they need more depth.

Great job! Not many podcasts out there where we can listen to conversations about the Ethniki!!

While they may have clinched, they may use the last game to test players who haven't played. Those guys will be eager to impress and earn a spot on the WC team. Spain has a lot of depth.

Limnios looked a little off during the last two games. Not sure if it's bc of his lack of game time at Koln. Don't get me wrong, he has been our best player this past year. Just looked a little rusty.

Croatia was a really good team and it showed at the world cup. Funny, this is the first time in awhile I am more worried about our defense than I am about creating chances. I feel Bakakis will get ripped apart if he starts. The other thing is I would like to see how we stand against quality opposition. Our last test against quality opposition was against Austria and we should have won. I would love to see Manolas/Siovas as the CBs, Fortounis at AM, Tziolis on the wing, Galanopoulos (if fit) over one of Kourbelis/Zeca, and somebody else other than Bakakis/Mavrias at RB (it has to be a legit rb and not a converted cb). Hopefully that isn't too much to ask for....

I think we also play up to our opposition. We played Belgium tough in both games in 2018 when they were the number 1 team. Anything is possible - the key is to solidify our defense now as we won't be dominating possession as have been used to. On the other side, we finally have guys who are fast who can create chances on the sides. These games won't be as closed as we have played the last few times.

Sweden play similar to how we played in the early 2000s, more defensive. Anything is possible. 2nd is doable if we play to our strengths. This will be a great test to see how far we have come.

For some reason, they played him at right back and he didn't play well. Got a yellow and was subbed out at halftime.

It's now all up to OLY, hopefully they can beat Porto. Hopefully AEK/PAOK can get something from their games before their European seasons end.

I noticed Giannoulis is on the bench (per UEFA). Did he get over his injury??

Was going through the sports channels and noticed that Barkas was playing for Celtic against Milan. The commentators couldn't stop criticizing him, blaming him for goals. Turned game off.