Boxou
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Posts posted by Boxou
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30 minutes ago, kosaca said:
Right, and Aubameyang has never done anything with Gabon. Must mean he's s%$#!. What flawed logic, I suggest you rewatch the first half of Juventus vs Real Madrid.
Apples and oranges. You say he's one of the best and I say he hasn't proved it in international level. And surely one can't compare the teammates he had/has with the ones that Aubameyang is supposed to play with. Really now. I'm talking about the fact that he has underperformed in international level and you come up suggesting me to rewatch the first half of the final game? If this is not flawed logic then what? I didn't doubt his skills or his quality for the love of god.
Regarding the other comment, I don't think the fact Messi (and other Barca players) wasn't selected in UCL 2016-2017 means he's not one of the best ATM
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Expected Imo and I'm sure Skibbe never thought he would miss the game. Anyway little importance it has right now as his status was questionable only the past 2 days.
By the way if he's one of the best midfielders in earth you think he would have achieved something more than just a single qualification to the world cup with his national team.
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Do we have any update on Zeca ?
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Do we have any update on Zeca ?
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Oikonomou and Koutroubis over Siovas is a non-brainer for me despite Koutroubis' development with Panathinaikos this year. I don't get it at all. Also I'd prefer Lazaros instead of Bakasetas. Btw regarding the lack of wingers, does anyone know if Klonaridis is willing to play for Greece ? I mean if he has claimed the Greek passport yet. Obviously there's no chance he will ever be in Belgium NT radar and I think he could provide some 'depth' as a backup once in a while.
Other than that, if Tziolis starts in the game we'll surrender the midfield after the first 5 minutes. Dude came in as a sub in Brussels and couldn't run, couldn't keep his position and the possesion. Him and Zeca screwed us in that game, we could even afford losing. (even though a loss against Bosnia would disminish the victory in Belgium.) Siopis' size and playing style don't suit in such a game too, remember that Skibbe tried to match Belgium's big bodies by picking Samaris and Tachtsidis (who was awful until that game in the campaign but he surprised us positively). As a result I think that after Zeca's injury Kourbelis has a good shot at starting along with Retsos and Maniatis. Basically 3 of them will battle for 2 positions in the starting XI. Then Mantalos, Fortounis, Mitroglou and may I say one of Gianniotas or Donis up in front.
I do think that we finally have built some team chemistry and don't lack cohesion to the extend we did in the first 4 games. If only half of our midfield wasn't suspended we could see another good display and could handle the opposing midfielders and attackers the way we did against Belgium until Tachtsidis was sent off. Skibbe did a great job putting Mantalos and Mitroglou pressuring their world class CB's but had to give up once we lost Tachtsidis. I expect him to follow the same game plan which will deliver as far as Bosnian CBs and defence overall is weaker in comparison to Belgium and that will lead to some good opportunities for us to score. Again the key will be to handle their midfield and especially Pjanic.
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Maniatis and Zeca if he's healthy I suppose. I hope there's a slight chance to see Retsos playing there though.
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Greece will miss 6+1 players too. Samaris, Tachtsidis, Karelis, Papadopoulos, Tzavellas, Glykos and perhaps Zeca. Only Glykos wouldn't start if he was available and maybe Zeca wouldn't start if they were available.
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I think in those lists there are some guys from 70's and 80's or even 90's who had good runs in qualificiation rounds but most of the times they were coming up short. I'm talking about a qualification game against Romania for the World cup 1970, where we needed an away and would top the group ahead of Eusebio's Portugal which we had beaten in Athens. We drew them, eventually, because of coach's ego. (can't recall his name). While the team was accomondating in the hotel, coach called the players for a meeting and Domazos who most of you are aware of his importance as an all-time great in PAO and the NT wasn't wearing the NT t-shirt. Coach says, "hey, take that out and wear your jersey right now". Domazos refused to do so and coach kicked him out of the squad. As a result we didn't manage to qualify, such an amazing opportunity this team missed to make it to the world cup. These guys were legends with their respective teams but nobody mentions them as NT all time greats because they couldn't deliver the results. Sorry for the OT.
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May the force be with us
Yeah Zeca is sort of injured but he will try not to miss the game. In case he misses it though, that would be catastrophic for us since we already have like what, 3-4 midfielders out. It's a pity that we have to play the most important (until the next one) game of the campaing having 5 main players not available. Skibbe has been doing a good job and Imo it would be unfair to lose the game and possibly the chance to play in the playoffs under such circumstances.
Possible squad
Karnezis / Kapino / Paschalakis
Torosidis / Stafylidis / Lykogiannis / Retsos
Sokratis / Manolas / Siovas / Oikonomou
Maniatis / Zeca / Siopis / Tziolis
Mantalos / Fortounis / Gianniotas / Lazaros
Mitroglou / Vellios / Donis / Mpakasetas
It's way to difficult to predict the line-up for me at the moment as we dont' know yet how Skibbe will approach the game.
Imagine having Papadopoulos, Samaris, Tachtsidis, Karelis and Tzavellas for let's say Oikonomou, Maniatis, Tziolis, Bakasetas and Lykogiannis. That's a solid squad Imo and even if the things don't go our way in the upcoming game I think we could upset the almighty Belgium which might have already qualified when we meet.
Keep in mind that Bosnia has still to play away against Cyprus, a side which they have faced plenty of times the past 2-3 years and have struggled a lot and Estonia which demolished Croatia in their last international friendly. These are 2 tricky games for them but at the same time they have a home game against Belgium who will be enjoying their trip to Russia and it's quite possible for them not to play at full strength as far as they will not have any motivation.
That's why I think that a win in a few days would guarantee us the second place no matter what, unlike a draw which might make the situation more complicated. I hope we approach the game not seeking for a draw because Bosnia's defence is a weak one especially now that their best defender is suspended so we'll have our chances to score and I hope we do it.
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For the next game my ideal squad would be
Kapino/Karnezis
Torosidis Sokratis Manolas Stafylidis
Maniatis Siopis/Zeca
Gianniotas Fortounis Mantalos
Mitroglou
Glykos, Tziolis, Vellios, Mpakasetas, Oikonomou, Manthatis are locks more or less. I'd like to see Kitsiou getting a call up in the absence of Tzavellas, Siovas because he's playing great in Leganes, Kone and Retsos as we have limited options in the midfield and perhaps Lazaros as a winger.
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Speaking about the qualification through the playoffs, the last two times we advanced to the world cup by beating our opponents in playoffs. We were seeded these times though, if we advance now we'll be unseeded unless we pull of a miracle and with a strong finish manage to be the last seeded team. In case we'll be unseeded though, we'll have to avoid Italy(or Spain). The likes of Ireland, Slovakia, Nothern Ireland and maybe Sweden are pretty much beatable..
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Estonia demolished Croatia yesterday in a friendly game, 3-0 the final result. Croats missed Modric, Rakitic and co but overall their squad was consisted of very capable players like Kovacic, Perisic, Kalinic etc. My point is since they seem to have the momentum going, Bosnia and (maybe) Belgium which both have to play in Tallinn, could possibly drop points there. Thankfully we have already beaten Estonia away, (we still have them at home though), perhaps they can be an X-factor in the group out of nowhere.
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Karelis picked up a season-ending injury around December I think, he's out for 9 months :(
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Papadopoulos is also out, he is suspended for 2 games (The one in Brussels and the next one in Bosnia).
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On 26/3/2017 at 8:37 PM, pash said:
Seems weird that you'd start - or even play - Oikonomou there when Stafylidis is a left back and would be the logical choice there. If Skibbe called up - and played - any wingers at all, that's where he would have been in this match.
Like, who to start at the midfield besides Maniatis, with all these guys being suspended ? If Zeca starts it's going to be a marvellous disaster,not only because he doesn't fit in nt's system and he's a poor footballer at all, but also against Belgium in 10 minutes of action he made a lot of mistakes and eventually the Belgians equalized after he lost the ball in the midfield. I'd love to see Siopis but he lacks size. Tziolis is tremendously slow too. Doubt Retsos is going to be given the chance, because he seemed quite familiar with this position when he was utilized there by Bento in Olympiacos.
I know deeply inside me it's gonna be Zeca though.
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I did some calculations and it seems that this draw will boost our rankings, we'll be around 39th or so in the next update. Of course it's important not lose in Bosnia in order to make the playoffs at the first stage. I would prefer us going there to win the game so we could still have a shot at the first place by beating Belgium in Athens. That's the way the team should approach the games.
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Considering the fact we'll have no pure midfielders at the next game, if I were Skibbe I would probably start Stafylidis along with Siopis or Maniatis. Not sure if starting Siopis is the right approach though. Then Oikonomou to replace Tzavellas, and most likely Ganniotas (I'd prefer Manthatis of Olympiacos to be honest) as a winger (since Kolasinac will be also out for Bosnia) instead ot Stafylidis who is going to be utilized as a DMF. Zeca was negative in these 10 minutes he played yesterday, he made a couple of mistakes too. Tziolis is tremendously slow in order to be considered as an option for such a game.
Ideal squad/approach
Kapino
Torosidis / Manolas / Sokratis / Oikonomou
Stafylidis / Siopis or Maniatis
Mantalos / Fortounis / Ganniotas
Mitroglou
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So Samaris is out, Tachtsidis is out, Tzavellas it out and let's not forget Papadopoulos.
That basically means we'll have to change 3 starters. Imo, since we obviously are going to play for a draw, we should basically go after Siopis, perhaps call up Kone, Retsos who can play there too. Not really satisfied by how Zeca played in these 10 minutes. Even use Stafylidis if needed. Oikonomou to replace Tzavellas, otherwise there's going to be an inner sub with Stafylidis going back to his natural position, and bringing Ganniotas or for the love of God, someone useful. Bosnia will also miss Kolasinac in that game.
Btw, why the hell don't we arrange a friendly game to improve our rankings? Has anybody considered the possibility of finishing second but then having to face the likes of Italy, Netherlands and so ? We'll be unseeded if we advance to the playoffs (IF WE GET THERE) so that means we will have even more limited chances to qualify in the world cup. Skibbe should have thought this before. Even more now, because we'll have to use new players for arguably the most important game of the campaign.
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4-2-3-1 is a complete disaster for this team. He should better come up with a 4-5-1 instead.
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Yeah these call ups were insane. I mean, Retsos can play everywhere in the defensive end if needed, yet he wasn't called up because already eliminated U-21 team arranged a couple of friendlies. Even Petsos is miraculously in the squad despite having only 5 or 6 caps with Fulham since Januray.
Siovas is also regular in Leganes, how the hell can somone ignore that and pick Oikonomou instead..
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Seba got injured for about 10 days and we finally saw some ball movement. Leali is also pure s%$#!, such a comical keeper.
If anything, only Marinakis has to be blamed. He totally let the team collapse on summer, obviously because Marko Silva demanded some solid signings. I don't want to say anything else. Most likely that was the last Olympiacos game I watched this year. Not going to cheer if they win they cup or the championship like all these brainless sheep (*getting paid to do that of course) do every year. This way it's like they accept being humiliated in Europe by evey random side is our standard. Nobody is gonna protest against that oligarch who cares more if he's going to sell Retsos in a couple of years ( in all honesty that's why players from academies are regular starters this year, Marinakis didn't expect Beer Sheva would eliminate Oly and thus he lost the annual amount of 20 million Euros from the marker pool. Wanna make some profit like he previously did with Manolas, Samaris, Cholevas, Mitroglou and many others ) Fans are going to boo the players who are the last to blame for this disaster. Eagerly awaiting people chanting in about 1 and a half month from now on, "kai ton mai tha'nai wraia me thn koupa ston peraia". How pathetic that seriously.
I feel betrayed from the people that run Olympiacos, they simply "play" with fans' love for Olympiacos. Knowing that there are people out there who dream a different Olympiacos gives me some hope, yet that's just a small portion.
Funny enough, I've realized the past 1 and a half year that Olympiacos facebook page deleted every comment related to Marinakis and how he has destroyed the team. LOL. Truth hurts I suppose.
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Retsos can play everywhere from a RB to a CB and a DMF. Yet he didn't receive the call up. Anyway we ain't winning that game so it doesn't really matter who is going to be called up or not.
Although IMO Zeca, Diamantakos and Mpakasetas haven't proved they deserve to be parts of this national team.
I Just wish he will pick wise for the game against Bosnia or even the one against Belgium at home, when the Belgians will have already secured their qualification and they probably won't care that much for this game ( or at least that's my impression ).
Just an earnest request guys, surnames in the English language do have an "s" ending. Please it looks weird when you ( on purpose ? ) type them without this.
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5 hours ago, Brklyngrk said:
I know Sokratis got injured during the Benfica game, didn't play this weekend...Does anyone know how long he is out for???
A slight one. He'll be available for the national team game, that's for sure. Actually he'll be in action the upcoming weekend.
8 hours ago, J1078 said:It sucks if he's out, but to be honest we have no chance this match anyways and realistically with or with out him we are looking at a defeat. Lets just hope he's back for the Bosnia game which is our true do or die game.
I'd take Kapino but I've no idea for how long he will be out. He'll surely miss Olympiacos game on Thursday, so the chances are limited. Most likely Glykos will start, with Mparkas and let's say Lamprou of Willem will get a call up.
All in all I think the team is in a much better shape right now. Almost everyone gets regular playing time in their clubs abroad ( Karnezis, Torosidis, Sokratis, Manolas, Stafylidis, Samaris, Mitroglou, Siovas, Papadopoulos are all regular starters as well as Oikonomou, Tzavellas, Tachtsidis and co. Looking back in November, Samaris and Papadopoulos were bench warmers, Siovas and Tzavellas had no club, Torosidis wasn't regular either. Maniatis too, who was the first option, he was not even allowed to train with Olympiacos.
Also, I'd like to see Vergos, Retsos and Manthatis ASAP in the national team. I don't understund why they should waste call ups to Diamantakos, Bakasetas, Lazaros ( ? ) and Petsos.
* Kudos to that coach who didn't cap Lodygin in time. We would be packed now...
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What I'd like to see in the second leg ;
Leali ( unfortunately Kapino is still injured )
Figeuiras
Botia
Da Costa
Retsos
Martins
Cambiasso
Fortounis
Manthatis / Marin ( I think he will be a liability if he starts, not ready to play a full game yet )
Androutsos
Ansarifard
Currently we seem to be in our best shape this year. Both mentally and technically. Coach has done a great job with the rotation and has managed to utilize in less than a week, players that had to play a game for about 3 months.
Also Besikas drew an arguably bad turkish side at the weekend, at home, equalizing in the last 5 minutes. They will also miss their CB Marcelo, he picked up a slight injury.
We have nothing to fear, we'll play our game and I think we're pretty capable to go through. Besiktas subcounsiously will let Oly dominate the game as the time passes. With some luck we can upset them. Even if we don't I think we already punched above our weight this season. Playing awufullty for the whole season, despite having opponents like Young Boys, Apoel, Astana, Hapoel Beer Sheva and Osmanlispor so far. In any other season I'd be fully convinced Oly could reach the quarter finals and get past from this almighty turkish side.
A big fcvk you to Paulo Bento who excluded Chori Dominguez from EL squad. The Portuguese was a true cancer, a chemistry killer. Just look how unmotivated the players were, with him on the bench.
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Bosnia and Herzegovina vs Greece (9 June 2017- World Cup Qualifier- Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica)
in Greek National Teams
Posted
Lots of misunderstunding here.