EURO 2008: Malta - Greece

[ukchris]

Oh, and just to clarify, according to UEFA.com

"The winners and runners-up in the seven qualifying groups will go through to the UEFA EURO 2008™ final round in Austria and Switzerland."

So no scary play-offs for finishing second.

[as5664]

Gamiseta and ALL OF YOU LISTEN AS WELL. The team is what it is, and no matter how much whining and complaining on the forums, Rehhagel is not going to make the changes you all propose.

Here is a solution: DO NOT WATCH ANYMORE....go root for the Turkish team!

[DUDE]

think about it, the goalkeeper for a malta team....can walk onto the euro championship side.

Ela re, dont get carried away. Their keeper was terrible, he couldnt catch a cold let alone a cross or a corner!

[DUDE]

i thought greece's crossing today was excellent. vyntra had some very good crosses that the maltese 'keeper couldn't get to. the corners were well taken...even torosidis made a dangerous cross (on his right foot), that came tantalizingly close.

how about his agility on gekas' header and his courage and reflexes on lymberopoulos' chance in the box?

:blink:

Lybe's shot was straight at him and the save from the header was basic. I know our keepers are shambolic but let's be fair to them. Its interesting how people see football differently isnt it? When considering how many crosses we put in I thought our delivery from crosses was crap today.

[as5664]

We're playing 4-4-2 with Torosidis right mid.  GOOD JOB REHHAGEL!!!

............Chalkias

Dellas....Vynrtra.....Kyrgiakos.......Kapsis

Torosidis..Basinas...Karagounis...Katsouranis

............Gekas.......Salpingidis

ummmmmmmm, i don't think so.

my mistake, I was going by EURO2008.com

Regardless of the 5-3-2 formation, I don't see where all this constant whining and complaining is getting us? One of you even hoped they lose today! This is ridiculous!

The team is what it is, Rehhagel does not read this stupid forum, and niether does Gagatsis...

I'm not against discussion and criticism, but some are you are too harsh and borderline wacko!!

I made a mistake of joining this in the first place...what a waste of time!

[aekrossoponti]

anyways....the wings were fantastic. torosidi played super and vyntra was also very good. i understand this is malta, but we didn't miss giouxa or fyssas at all, especially offensively.

i thought gekas and salpiggidis were fairly good. it was great to see a central striker (gekas), pressing the maltese at the center circle. lots of corners, we weren't very good on the set pieces.

bearing in mind the opposition was malta, i agree the wings were really good today. this looked somewhat like football does at times. great improvement to our normal play.

gekas and salpi added some excitement up front which was good to see. salpi made things happen, it wasnt always top notch but there was movement. something we lacked oftentimes in the past.

i can t help imagine what this game would have looked like with fyssas, stelios. probably not half as good and way slower.

this is somewhat sad as it becomes apparent how rehagel in essence waisted years with fyssas on the left wing, etc. i would think that spyropoulos who is a natural left winger would leave an equally promising impression as did toro today. there are some options we just have to use them.

having said that given his standard katsouranis was garbage today. in addition we absolutely HAVE to score against malta from gameplay not the penaltyspot. we had chances, we need to use them. this si ridiculous. if not for the penalty, i believe we wouldnt have scored. against malta...

instead of lympe i would have preferred samaras.

all in all, i am still happy with todays performance and just hope otto continues this way with some needed refreshments to our side. i doubt it though...

[DUDE]

anyways....the wings were fantastic. torosidi played super and vyntra was also very good. i understand this is malta, but we didn't miss giouxa or fyssas at all, especially offensively.

i thought gekas and salpiggidis were fairly good. it was great to see a central striker (gekas), pressing the maltese at the center circle. lots of corners, we weren't very good on the set pieces.

bearing in mind the opposition was malta, i agree the wings were really good today. this looked somewhat like football does at times. great improvement to our normal play.

gekas and salpi added some excitement up front which was good to see. salpi made things happen, it wasnt always top notch but there was movement. something we lacked oftentimes in the past.

i can t help imagine what this game would have looked like with fyssas, stelios. probably not half as good and way slower.

this is somewhat sad as it becomes apparent how rehagel in essence waisted years with fyssas on the left wing, etc. i would think that spyropoulos who is a natural left winger would leave an equally promising impression as did toro today. there are some options we just have to use them.

having said that given his standard katsouranis was garbage today. in addition we absolutely HAVE to score against malta from gameplay not the penaltyspot. we had chances, we need to use them. this si ridiculous. if not for the penalty, i believe we wouldnt have scored. against malta...

instead of lympe i would have preferred samaras.

all in all, i am still happy with todays performance and just hope otto continues this way with some needed refreshments to our side. i doubt it though...

I agree with pretty much all of your post except on Stelio. Of all the oldies he can still do it. He's just low on confidence. I also think that many of the changes will now stand: Torosidi will be in permanently but I fear that he won't use Salpi again. Like you, I was happy with him. He worked hard and made things happen - typical Salpi - but the fact that he subbed him suggests he wasn't happy. Maybe he prefers Haristea <_< I'm also starting to think that Basina and Kastourani can't play together. They are both too negative. And if that's the case who do we play? I'd like Patsa in there but that would mean only one of Basina or Kats. If he was 2 years younger (so fitness and pace was better) I'd go with Basina but as things are I'm not sure. Kats is better physically but his passing and off the ball movement is naive, while Basinas's passing is exceptional but he is starting to lack the physicality needed for a CM. We pick up the ball in defence and there are 6 players behind the ball so we're forced to look long which kills our offense. When we do get bodies forward the lack of pace exposes us on the counter (as the Turkey game showed).

At Euro 2004 we had Vryza to hold up the ball which gave time for other midfielders to come up and support. Also, Basinas and Karagounis were/seemed fitter so they were able to get up and down quickly. So when we were hit on the break they were able to get back. Of course we had had Zagoraki who I think was world class at what he did (protect the defense, lift the team's morale and even drive the team forward at times). This has gone now too. So what can we do to re-find that balance? Well one thing is for sure, we miss Vryzas (when he was at his best not during the qualifiers). No other forward we have can hold the ball up like him. We also miss Haristeas' arial threat. Because of this it means we have no alternative but to change our style and Otto did show a change tonight. The problem was that we had no offensive midfielder. No one to link the play between the midfield and the strikers. Otto has to work on this in training. We have to find a way to create angles in midfield. Of course this needs fit midfielders that can attack and defend and our midfield 3 cant seem to do that together.

[Akritis_1944]

A 1 nil win via a penalty against the powerhouse that is Malta playing with 10 men for 1/3 of the game!

bravo kurie Otto, eise axtipitos!

Sack this monkey now! What on Allah's green earth is Kapsis doing in that line up!?!?!

This is chocolate covered kopria! As someone pointed out we should expect to see Fyssas/Nikopolidis/Charisteas and that long ball game against Hungary.

Otto is playing the Greek public for suckers!

We don't need him as a manager. A TV psychologist would do better.

[Akritis_1944]

Oh, and just to clarify, according to UEFA.com

"The winners and runners-up in the seven qualifying groups will go through to the UEFA EURO 2008™ final round in Austria and Switzerland."

So no scary play-offs for finishing second.

Correct.

So with all the planets in alignment and with being in the easiest Euro qualifying group in decades we still might qualify.

Expect 35 year olds to be playing in Austria-Switz and getting seriously annihilated during the group phase.

Way to go Euro champions.....bow out with honour you kseftilismeni koroida!

[loup]

ela paithia - how great can our forwards be if we needed a penalty to beat MALTA

close is s**** you must deliver

only Samaras and Charisteas can deliver for the ethniki - I wish it wasn't true but it is

[OFI-mtl]

This is not figure skating nomarks for artistic performanc, in qualifying rounds all that counts is QUALIFYING!!!

I for 1 was happy that Malta was going to sit back and wait,they must not have recievd th game film from Saturday,wher Turkey ran us to the ground.

All the changes worked for the better,but please do not tell me that a healthy Giourkas would not have toyed with the Maltese Left side!

Chalkias 5.5 Never tested,but was so calm on the ball,being catches or punching out, and I saw that he rolled more balls out to our defenders rather than booting it downfield and givin up possesion.

All three central defenders 5 they were not tested all game,Kyriakos and Dellas had offensive chances which they could have done better on, Is it me or is Kapsis the most calm player you've seen, not a starter but has a spot on our bench.

Vyntra 6.5 Not tested defensively but he did place a bad header right to a Maltese player hich Dellas took in the face.Vyntra got forwar well made nice crosses and slipped nice passes as well

Basinas 7 today was his game, scored the goal,delivered good corners,was barking at players,but the Maltese midfield was weak and did not offer a challenge.

Katsouranis 6 Why are people down on him,the more Otto pushes him forward the more Ethniki will play better.

Karagounis 5.5 Sorry guys this man is to talented ot have 3 shots from the edge of the box and not register 1 on net,more Bark than bite.

Torosidis 7 The newcomer was tough and quick on the ball,very aggressive,apart from an early leftfooted whiff he played well.Can you imagine how well he plays on the right side( him and Giourka will cause havoc)

Gekas 5 Won some headers but the Maltese were soft on coverage,could have done better with those headers, shows more skll than Haristeas

Salpigidis 6.5 The kid ran every ball down like a man possesed,made 1 bad choice on a tete a tete at the side of the net,I love his hustle we need this guy on the field. I believe Samaras Gekas Salpi can do some damage.

The Ethniki is in decent shape,Otto has some retooling to do.

I believe Kapsis ,Stelios,Dellas can still be of service off the bench.

Anatolakis Goumas Nikopolidis Lybe and Fyssas have paid there dues to their country.

This leaves 5 newspots Tavlaridis Lagos Sifakis 2 young leftbacks,I'd even swap a healthy Patsa for D.Papadopoulos

Would love to see:

Sifakis,Giourkas,Tavlaridis,KyriakosSpyropoulos,Katsouranis,Torosidis,Basinas,Lagos,Salpi,Samaras Off the BENCH Karagounis Gekas

[thrylos]

Ellas should employ a tectic with it's strengths:

-------------------------GOALIE (I'm at a loss. Nikopolidis until the last match was money)

SEITARIDIS-----KYRGIAKOS---LB

-------------------TAVLARIDIS

---------TOROSIDIS--------BASINAS

SALPIGIDIS--------------------KARAGOUNIS

----------SAMARAS--AMANTIDIS

*Play with 3 defensmen. Seitaridis is still money when healthy.

*We need a LB.

*Are there any young guys?

*Time to give Tavlaridis a chance. Maybe put Kastouranis there. Not sure how good he is but no more Anatolakis and Kapsis.

*Use Torosidis where he is best suited for. A defensive midfielder. Have Basinas work with him in the middle

*Put some pace on the wings that can bring the ball up and attack.

*Go with your two best strikers up front.

I know I'm leaving off some staples but...a combination of

Vyntra, Gekas, Charisteas, Stelios, Spiropoulos, Papadopoulos (both of them), Stoltidis, Lagos should also be given a spot on the roster.

Essentially, there needs to be more pace on the team

[chameleon65]

It took us a penalty to beat a team like Malta..something is wrong with this picture!

In any case a win is a win but then again we shall see when we play later on this year.

In my opinion, if our NT does not improve on attacking midfield or control, we will continue to see the same display over and over again.

Are there any good and aggressive greek attacking midfielders in our famous super league?

I also agree that Vryzas was the only striker that could handle the ball very well and allow time for support up front. I think Samaras or Gekas would have combined very good with Vryzas.

Guys is Patsazoglou injured?

[plato-ny]

Turkey tied Norway 2-2 in a game where Turkey was down 2-0 by halftime. Greece had beaten Norway earlier in division play. If Norway had beaten Turkey, which Turkey tied at the 90th minute, then Greece and Turkey would be tied (not including tiebreakers) and Norway would be 3 points behind both teams (not including tiebreakers). Both Greece and Turkey play in Norway later on and that would make this division more tight, especially if Bosnia defeats Turkey on June 2.

The match in Bosnia on June 2 will not be easy. When Greece won in Bosnia, Bosnia was getting negative results before that match and the 4-0 win for Greece in Bosnia does not indicate that Greece was dominant. Bosnia's win in Norway will give them confidence now and they are still alive.

Remember, despite the Turkey win in Greece, Greece is technically 2 points behind for first place. Norway and Bosnia are underrated and undervalued as I thought as well.

Regarding the Malta game, these small teams can be a pain. Just recently, Azerbaijan beat Finland 1-0 and Kazakhstan beat Serbia 2-1.

[gcp]

Kala re paidia eiste sobaroi? Me penalti nikisame enantion mias, Maltas me 10 pektes, kai milate gia prokrisi sto Euro 2008? Gia na mas piasei kardiako me kathe paixnidi? Gia na ginoume kai pali to rezili tou kosmou? Eleos pia!!!

The reality is this NT sucks. They can't defend worth a damn, they can't control the midfield, even without an opponent, they can't score to save their life...Simply put they act like they are champs but with out the balls it takes to earn a champ's respect. Admit it, live with it, learn to love it, but do hope that drastic changes WILL occur ASAP or else we will continue to be the karpazoispractores of the world. See, while the coach makes his money, and the players make their money, you and I end up with all sort of heart aches. Please, lets let reality sync in shall we?

[plato-ny]

http://www.goal4replay.net/GoalWatch.asp?ID=1475&Ln=En

[gcp]

plato-ny, kai an h giagia mou eixai axamna thatan o papous mou........ELEOS!

[dark_horse]

Hello everybody!

Since you know I was away from Phantis for 5 days due to some psychological meltdown I was suffering after Greece were trashed by Turkey. It got to the point where I ended up at a hospital, I was suffering from depression and sleeping disorder. (crying) It was a sad and frustrating exprierence for me to come to Karaiskaki and witness such a nightmare, I never want to go there again! (crying)

I want to go home back to Sweden and concertrate on finishing school, and I miss my sweetie too! (crying harder)

I'm happy Greece beat Malta from where I heard on a Greek radio station. I believe Greece will qualify! MARK MY WORDS! :gr: I love my ethiniki very much and I'll always support them thru the good and bad times. This brutal loss will never take away my love & passion for HELLAS!!

Thank you all, and may the road to my recovery be a quick one. :)

[Akritis_1944]

Hello everybody!

Since you know I was away from Phantis for 5 days due to some psychological meltdown I was suffering after Greece were trashed by Turkey. It got to the point where I ended up at a hospital, I was suffering from depression and sleeping disorder. (crying) It was a sad and frustrating exprierence for me to come to Karaiskaki and witness such a nightmare, I never want to go there again! (crying)

I want to go home back to Sweden and concertrate on finishing school, and I miss my sweetie too! (crying harder)

I'm happy Greece beat Malta from where I heard on a Greek radio station. I believe Greece will qualify! MARK MY WORDS! :gr: I love my ethiniki very much and I'll always support them thru the good and bad times. This brutal loss will never take away my love & passion for HELLAS!!

Thank you all, and may the road to my recovery be a quick one. :)

File,

Sou euxomai dinami kai pereastika sou.

[PAO_OR_DEATH]

i remember last time the turks were involved in a 2-2 draw (vs denmark WC06) that i thought would benifit the ethniki and it turned to s%$#!, every game is a must win for me. we have no room to F*** about untill the last game when we have a 4 point lead over 3rd or 2nd place country.

bravo paidia for the 1-0 lets make sure we clean up our next two games vs hungry and moldova

[Olympiakosthyra7]

Hello everybody!

Since you know I was away from Phantis for 5 days due to some psychological meltdown I was suffering after Greece were trashed by Turkey. It got to the point where I ended up at a hospital, I was suffering from depression and sleeping disorder. (crying) It was a sad and frustrating exprierence for me to come to Karaiskaki and witness such a nightmare, I never want to go there again! (crying)

I want to go home back to Sweden and concertrate on finishing school, and I miss my sweetie too! (crying harder)

I'm happy Greece beat Malta from where I heard on a Greek radio station. I believe Greece will qualify! MARK MY WORDS! :gr: I love my ethiniki very much and I'll always support them thru the good and bad times. This brutal loss will never take away my love & passion for HELLAS!!

Thank you all, and may the road to my recovery be a quick one. :)

po po re file i hope you recover

not only as a greek supporter but as a thrillos supporter and a forum friend :D

I hope you make a full recovery :tup:

[Irlandos]

Hope you recover from Davidhealyitis also! :P

[GS1905]

Hope you recover from Davidhealyitis also! :P

:LOL: :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

[aekrossoponti]

I agree with pretty much all of your post except on Stelio. Of all the oldies he can still do it. He's just low on confidence. I also think that many of the changes will now stand: Torosidi will be in permanently but I fear that he won't use Salpi again.

I'm also starting to think that Basina and Kastourani can't play together. They are both too negative. And if that's the case who do we play?

we miss Vryzas (when he was at his best not during the qualifiers). No other forward we have can hold the ball up like him. .

i am still in favor of keeping stelios on the squad. at the moment though i see his position coming from the bench. if indeed we stick with a 5-3-2 i dont see a place for stelios as we NEED 2 real strikers up front.

there i would go with our classic combo- one big guy and a smaal one that causes trouble i.e. vryzas/charisteas and ntemis. in the given squad this would mean either charisteas or samaras + one of salpi, pap or gekas. lympe is only an option as a sub to me. again its sad to see, that otto wasted years in developing an attacking duo.

what we saw yesterday worked BUT i am unsure wether the duo salpi AND gekas will take us far as a striking force internationally. too small i think. whats your take?

katsouranis was a major disappointment to me in these two games. still he can and will play better. you may be right about him and basinas though. another option would always be patsa. or play torosidis as a defensive mid and bring in spyropoulos (long overdue) who is a real left winger. another option would be iliadis who turned heads at international youth tournaments and is a regular at paok and the u-21. i also like taralidis from olympiakos, as he has a wicked shot but hes not even starting a thrylos, so that would be far fetched.

talking of left backs. what about nastos?

as for vryzas. i agree. probably the best holding striker we have now is samaras.

offensive mid is a problem and only kiliaras of ergotelis comes to mind.

[aekrossoponti]

as far as stelios. i think he is really only servicable in the exact position salpiggidi played today. either there, or, as a right attacking midfielder in a 4-4-2, and we know otto can't/doesn't play that tactical scheme.

the question is: play stelios as a right forward or let salpiggidi 'grow' with the national team. it depends, tell me if you think that salpiggidi is international quality.

do you think he is?

but salpi played a second striker against malta or am i misjudging his role. as you say stelios is only for the right attacking midfield. to me this would mean stelios being an option only off the bench or for a 4-4-2 if lagos ireturns. else, i dont really see a spot for stelios although i rate him highly.

stelios as a forward to me doesnt really work. so i would prefer salpi there give he is teamed up with either one of the big guys samaras or charisteas. else have gekas or pap play there. salpi to me played a good game against malta. its hard o judge his short stints at other games since he also played in the fairly awkward winger position of the 4-3-3. at the u-21 he was all the money, against lens away i was really impressed wth salpi. if he is international calibre is hard to be said. although i think he is at least on par with gekas and pap for sure. although pap is probably the best football player of the three. but remember pap doesnt seem to be in ottos plans anymore.

we need to find a real striking duo and otto wasted years there as in other places. nominating some 7-8 strikers for every game just shows he doesnt really know whtat to do there.

another interesting striker would be kampantais of aek. although i have doubts if he has the international potential.