Panathinaikos - Atletico Madrid

[Irlandos]

In my opinion, this is the worst possible draw for PAO. To top it off, the 1st leg is at home.

Good luck, guys!

[Euro2004]

I'm really angry about the draw. Ok, we've drawn Atletico, that was one of the possibilities. But why isn't the first leg away? I thought that was a given considering that we're the seeded team

[Irlandos]

I don't like it! I give PAO maybe a 20% chance to go through otherwise...see you in the Europa League's group stage!

[Euro2004]

Atletico aren't that good. They can't defend and we can get goals. Unfortunately unless we sign a top class defender Forlan and Aguero will tear our backline apart. We need to win the home game and get an away goal. If we do that we have a realistic chance.

Resino has already starting mouthing off saying implying that we're an easy draw. Hopefully that backfires

[drakos13]

wow.....What luck.

I just want every body to remember, what a huge PRICK Michel Platini is.

Remember.

PAO or Atletico (2 teams that made the Final 16 last year) are going to be eliminated the expense of the other.

So top UCL 16 teams forced to go out at the expense of a spot for rubbish like Debrecen, Levski, Salzburg, Maccabi etc. Its idiotic.

Oh, and theyre making all this crap for flare bans....

FOOTALL SHOULD NOT NEED THIS a**hole GOVERNING BODY. Enough, seriously! Greece should be responsible for their security. If we want flares, if were excited, then well set the place ablaze! Its our custom, its our tradition, and UEFA is a :censored:

DOWN WITH MINDLESS REGULATIONS AND DOWN WITH UEFA!!!

Euro: I hope, prey you're right, but Im fairly sure you arent. Atletico are much much much better than us. Seriously, our defense was shaky - catastrophical vs Sparta Prague. Remember, Villareal beat us, because they were just a higher level in the end. That is really what Atletico are too. I'd rather have Villareal again than Atletico.

Have a look at that Atletico Roster....It doesnt end.....

Aguero (world class) Forlan, Pongolle (very exciting and fast forward since he moved to Spain), and JA Reyes....

And we're talking about Vyntra-Sariegui with Kante as the 3rd CB.

Is Salpgigidis going to win a header vs Ujfalusi??? We know we'll see crosses to him and time wasted like that too.

I give us 2/10 chance. We're Europa bound.

Nobody beleived me when I said we are not favourites to go to the CL this year. Not in this system, and not with this totally imbalanced team.

[Euro2004]

Mate I promise you we have a chance. They aren't a well balanced team.

Atletico have an array of attacking talent: Aguero, Forlan, Simao, Maxi, and Raul Garcia (don't worry about Reyes, he's nothing special). But they are very weak at the back. They conceded 57 goals last year, the same as Recreativo who finished bottom. They are also very inconsistent. If they are at their best they'll beat us because if they click they are just too good going forward. However if they have on of their off days and we sign a good centre-back (not s%$#! like Collocini but a good, solid centre-back) we can do it.

I'd give approx 25% chance

[drakos13]

Mate I promise you we have a chance. They aren't a well balanced team.

Atletico have an array of attacking talent: Aguero, Forlan, Simao, Maxi, and Raul Garcia (don't worry about Reyes, he's nothing special). But they are very weak at the back. They conceded 57 goals last year, the same as Recreativo who finished bottom. They are also very inconsistent. If they are at their best they'll beat us because if they click they are just too good going forward. However if they have on of their off days and we sign a good centre-back (not s%$#! like Collocini but a good, solid centre-back) we can do it.

I'd give approx 25% chance

Dont worry about Reyes? Man, he played for Real and Arsenal, and Sevilla.

I'm not worried about him personally. What I am worried about is that a player like JA Reyes is only a rotation player for this team.... :o

Forlan and Aguero........ vs Vyntra and Sariegui.....and if they need help theres...Bjarsmyr (inexperienced) and Kante (garbage). Our only hope is very poor quality defenders. Vyntra/Sari FIGHT, they run hard, but theyre not enough when it comes to consistency and bigger sides.

I do think, at least it is good that we are at home first. Because, we can build some confidence, and won't have mission impossible to come back to. We have to go for a win but be cautious. If we get anything from that, like a win, then we can go into Spain with a 6-3-1 and roll the dice.

I could see PAO go to Spain and be out in the first leg, coming to mission impossible again and this time not pulling it off. However now, we get to start in OAKA with as much support as possible, and hopefully that can help the team out from keeping pressure on Atletico, and not allowing them to score.

We're just too weak in the back to pull this one off. Normally I would feel we had a chance, because our midfield and forwards are upgraded and fit to compete in Europe.

However, they can only put out, as much as this atrocious back line will allow. Really, I still do not understand HOW ON EARTH we IGNORED THE DAMN BACK LINE YET AGAIN!!!!!!!!!! 3 TRANSFER SEASONS NOW ! :angry: :angry: :angry:

We SHOULD have a chance at this, but thanks to some ignorant @holes like Ten Cate (declared our defensive line "fit" for the job, when it is clearly ISNT) and Andoniou (pathetic excuses for "solutions" in the back line...) and Pateras (is denying the team transfers, simply because he doesnt want to go back on his final word, and ADMIT HE WAS WRONG TO NOT GO AFTER MELLBERG, SCREWED UP WTIH PELLERANO, AVRAAM, GIVET etc.

The team has so much potential, and its RUINED by this mediocre back line and morons who are in denial.

Maybe it is best, if Atletico tear us apart and we go to Europa. Will they get the message then?

[Euro2004]

Reyes flopped at all of them. He's one of those players that build a name because he was talented as a youngster but he's just too ineffective. He's weak on the ball and doesn't have a natural position. He's the least of our worries with them.

Before you get too disgruntled let's not forget that 2 years ago they needed a last minute free kick to beat us 2-1 in Spain. The backline might not be great but if we revert to the one we used last year in the CL (replacing Wawrzinyak with whoever it is we're supposed to be buying) we may not do that badly. Don't forget that defence held up well away at Weder, Inter and Villareal.

This is PAO in Europe we're talking about. Don't write them off just yet.

[cyberfish]

Just came back from a little vacation and saw the draw. Atletico? Good! We'll fight in the shade :P

Long-posters here know my preference for strong opponents in Europe. If we win and go through it will be another one to remember for decades. If we get eliminated with good performances, then fine we'll have the joy of matching up against Europe's top clubs. If we lose, no big deal either, and our season does not go into tailspin the way it would go if we lose to the Celtics (just a name).

Realistically, our history shows that our best games come against the bigger clubs. The lads seem to focus and concentrate much better against such teams, and we can do some damage. But Atletico plays in a league that's 100 times better than the Super League, and their roster is overall much better than ours. Even if we do buy Marcena, we still can't seriously say we can match up well.

But I know we can take a win here and then go to Spain for the best. Is it difficult? Sure. Is it impossible? No way.

I am looking forward to two very exciting games and I'll be happy with any result as long as our players give 100% on the pitch.

[NikosVazelas]

It would suck if we dotn make it because there are soem strong teams not makin it to the cl this year... think of it.. its possible that arsenal lyon sporting athletico can all miss out... Thats crazy..

Especially considering that one of Copenhagen Apoel are guaranteed in.... along with a few others..

Man if Oly go through and we dont, they are going to have a fun time in at least 2 matches this year..

If sporting get ousted and we get in.. we will be in pot 2

Thats crazy

[HOLLYWOOD]

this is a tough match, but we have a chance!

if we cant beat Athletico then we shouldnt be in champions league period.

there is not point in being pretenders; if you cant beat the best then you shouldnt even be here...

im happy we got atletico

[drakos13]

Its not crazy Niko, its intentional :angry:

We are talking about teams that many whose leagues COULD NOT EVEN MAKE THE GROUP STAGE OF UEFA CUP in recent years, and are now being thrown into the CL group stage.

Out of the countries represented in the Champions section of the draw, only Greece, Cyprus, and Denmark have did not perform utterly embarassing in Europe.

Aside from those 3 and Switzerland, the other countries represented did not even have 1 team good enough to make the Group Stage of UEFA Cup, let alone UCL stages last year. That would be Bulgaria, Israel, Latvia, Hungary, Moldova, Austria.

Levski Sofia vs Debrecen - out of two teams who could not even make the UEFA Cup Group Stage last year, one will go to the UCL GROUP STAGES.

and look at what happens when you segregate that draw:

Atletico Madrid vs Panathinaikos - two teams, that last year both made it to the Final 16 round of the UEFA Champions League.

[drakos13]

Reyes flopped at all of them. He's one of those players that build a name because he was talented as a youngster but he's just too ineffective. He's weak on the ball and doesn't have a natural position. He's the least of our worries with them.

Before you get too disgruntled let's not forget that 2 years ago they needed a last minute free kick to beat us 2-1 in Spain. The backline might not be great but if we revert to the one we used last year in the CL (replacing Wawrzinyak with whoever it is we're supposed to be buying) we may not do that badly. Don't forget that defence held up well away at Weder, Inter and Villareal.

This is PAO in Europe we're talking about. Don't write them off just yet.

You make a good point. You cant write us off just yet as we pull of some good things in Europe, even when things look bad. Perhaps it is not mission impossible, but I feel like this year with our defense, not even a PAO European performance will be enough.

Historically, we have had a tough time with Spanish teams. We normally open up well, and can't handle the pressure in Spain. (Barca, Sevilla, Atl. Madrid, Villareal) we are defintley outsiders with this defensive line which can collapse entirely. I think if we had spent priority on improving the back line (instead of calling transfers quits mid July and pretending the team is flawless), we could definitely take them head on, and PAO's European magic could send us through. But, we don't have the magic when we suck. We all remember that year when Barca, Werder and Udine crushed us, when all we had to do was beat Udinese and maybe....We just werent good enough. Normally you'd expect a Euro PAO to beat Udinese at home, and then hold on in Germany to make it through...but we just werent enough.

They may have a weak defensive numbers in Spain, but I should point out:

Forlan hit 35 goals last season

Aguero hit 21 goals last season

Pongolle hit 10 goals last season

Maxi Rodriguez hit 10 goals last season

Simao hit 9 goals last season

This team can score.

As for Reyes, I never thought he was fantastic, but he was talented (at Sevilla he was not a flop btw) and he's certainly levels better than our own bench players. Thankfully we have Cisse, I hope he has the best games of his career, but we're going to need the whole team to have a serious game plan for that to happen.

True Sari-Vyntra have been here before, we had big games with Werder and Inter last year.

We also lost to Inter at home 2-0, conceeded 2 to Werder at home, 2 to Villareal at home, 3 away in Cyprus, 3 away in Prague, etc....

Hollywood:

If you can't beat Atletico Madrid, that does not mean we don't deserve to be in the CL. I think both teams are very worthy of being in it. We could have drew Atletico in the playoff round last year.

If we can't beat Atletico Madrid we would not be alone in that...They are a very difficult side. They are still relatively "reborn" in Spain, so their coefficient is still lower than what theyre worth so they were unseeded. Atletico last year as a 4th seed in the Group went to the Round of 16.

IMO, not one single team in the "Champions" Qualifying has any chance against Atletico, nor do they stand chances against PAO (except OSFP to be honest).

[Euro2004]

If you can't beat Atletico Madrid, that does not mean we don't deserve to be in the CL. I think both teams are very worthy of being in it. We could have drew Atletico in the playoff round last year.

If we can't beat Atletico Madrid we would not be alone in that...They are a very difficult side. They are still relatively "reborn" in Spain, so their coefficient is still lower than what theyre worth so they were unseeded. Atletico last year as a 4th seed in the Group went to the Round of 16.

IMO, not one single team in the "Champions" Qualifying has any chance against Atletico, nor do they stand chances against PAO (except OSFP to be honest).

totally correct. This could easily have been a match up in the last 16.

I agree with Platini's ideas regarding making football more even but I don't think this is the right way to go about it. The fairest way of doing it would be to force the leagues of equal standing to play against eachother. So instead of having "champions path" and a "non-champions path" groups they should have an elite group: i.e. the teams from the top 4 or 5 ranked leagues: so Arsenal, Atletico, Lyon, Stuttgart, Fiorentina, Sporting are in one group, and teams like PAO, Anderlecht, Olympiakos, APOEL, Copenhagen in another group.

Or, even better, to make things less complicated, how about reducing the amount of teams from the top leagues and spreading the places around Europe. Instead of 3 auto places for the top leagues plus one possible qualifier, why not have 2 auto qualifiers and 1 possible qualifier?

No point in complaining about it now. We simply need to prepare for battle with Atletico. Gia tin Panatha re gamoto!

[cyberfish]

UEFA is not a corner general store. They are one of the most successful enterprises in the world and they know what they are doing.

Their move to change the format seems strange to us because it doesn't conform to our fan logic, but there is merit in including the champions from smaller countries in the groups.

Financially, it's like a franchise that expands into other, smaller markets. For the good of the game, it does give a small chance to smaller countries to have a chance at playing with the best. When ManU comes to a small town, it's a big deal.

On the other hand, it will create a lot of one-sided games and in the long run it might hurt the game. It's a risk they are taking.

Another benefit of the new format, as UEFA probably sees it, is the fact that a lot of really excellent teams will be competing in the Europa cup. They wanted to upgrade the competition and one good way to do it is to flood it with top clubs.

For Panathinaikos, we need to advance in the CL groups past Atletico for many reasons. First in my mind, we need to equal the Olympiakos financial advantage from their probable qualification

The bonus just for qualifying is equivalent to one top transfer. It could be a transfer they make and the one we don't next season. It was dully exposed how important this money is when Olympiakos had to sell one of their top players this season (Belucci), and to buy the kinds of players we've been targeting in previous years (Zairi).

If we don't make it to the groups, we'll be fine. Europa league offers more money than previous years now, and we will probably do really well against competition more in our league after we pass the group stage. We'll probably be seeded much better than the CL all the way to the end.

One overly-positive scenario is to eliminate Atletico and move to the groups where we can advance, or capture a position that leads to Europa league.

Another optimistic position is to enter the Europa league now (with good games against Atletico) and then advance to the 16 or even 8 of this competition, adding up points to help us even more in the subsequent European seasons, especially if we win the domestic title. We need to build on the success of last season's Euro trip.

The only pessimistic scenario is to be blown to smithereens by Atletico. Something that will throw our season into a tailspin. But the later won't happen, so don't worry.

I see a 2-1 win in Athens and a 2-2 thriller in Madrid. B)

[NYPAO13]

it seems that they are trying to create bigger mismatches for the cl almost to ensure that the big clubs, like man u, real mad etc are ensured not to get picked off by a mediocre club like PAO, shaktar etc. te europa cup will probably have more exciting matches.

[Genome]

Pff what a bummer. Hope PAO makes it though, but as mentioned by many PAO fans here before it's a shame a transfer season was wasted not creating a good backline.

[Euro2004]

The rumours regarding Coloccini persist, but I saw him today in the English Championship (2nd division) against West Brom and he was abysmal once more. He's atrocious and we must stay away from him

[drakos13]

UEFA is not a corner general store. They are one of the most successful enterprises in the world and they know what they are doing.

Their move to change the format seems strange to us because it doesn't conform to our fan logic, but there is merit in including the champions from smaller countries in the groups.

Financially, it's like a franchise that expands into other, smaller markets. For the good of the game, it does give a small chance to smaller countries to have a chance at playing with the best. When ManU comes to a small town, it's a big deal.

On the other hand, it will create a lot of one-sided games and in the long run it might hurt the game. It's a risk they are taking.

Another benefit of the new format, as UEFA probably sees it, is the fact that a lot of really excellent teams will be competing in the Europa cup. They wanted to upgrade the competition and one good way to do it is to flood it with top clubs.

For Panathinaikos, we need to advance in the CL groups past Atletico for many reasons. First in my mind, we need to equal the Olympiakos financial advantage from their probable qualification

The bonus just for qualifying is equivalent to one top transfer. It could be a transfer they make and the one we don't next season. It was dully exposed how important this money is when Olympiakos had to sell one of their top players this season (Belucci), and to buy the kinds of players we've been targeting in previous years (Zairi).

If we don't make it to the groups, we'll be fine. Europa league offers more money than previous years now, and we will probably do really well against competition more in our league after we pass the group stage. We'll probably be seeded much better than the CL all the way to the end.

One overly-positive scenario is to eliminate Atletico and move to the groups where we can advance, or capture a position that leads to Europa league.

Another optimistic position is to enter the Europa league now (with good games against Atletico) and then advance to the 16 or even 8 of this competition, adding up points to help us even more in the subsequent European seasons, especially if we win the domestic title. We need to build on the success of last season's Euro trip.

The only pessimistic scenario is to be blown to smithereens by Atletico. Something that will throw our season into a tailspin. But the later won't happen, so don't worry.

I see a 2-1 win in Athens and a 2-2 thriller in Madrid.  B)

there is no 'merit' in forcing underserved teams into the CL. These are teams that do not deserve to be there.

In case you didn't understand before, they already WERE in competition with them. There was plenty of diversity in the CL. The CL represents every nation in Europe. Lesser nations and teams need to qualify in.

Smaller countries were given FULL opportunities to get into the CL every year. In cases where they were good enough, they even MADE it into the CL. Look at BATE, Anorthosis, AaB last year. They ALL made it without any cheap fixed draw to protect them from getting eliminated by teams that are better than them. 2 small nations new entrances last year. The reason they arent frequent in the past is becuase their develoment is starting to kick in in those leagues - money,

Yes, its a big deal for them. Its a big deal for everybody in the CL. Its their own fault, that they arent making it in. Belarus put a team in last year, so did Cyprus. Theres no excuse, they have to earn their way in, and should never compete, until they can qualify fairly.

Yes, Europa Cup will be better. At the cost of downgrading the Champions League, which was the perfect tournament.

PAO tied Honved 2-2 today.....Atletico beat Liverpool 2-1 today in anfield....

[NikosVazelas]

And Oly lost to Tottenham with Mellberg looking liek an amateur on the 2nd and 3rd goal being directly responsible for both goals. And also a clear penalty he commited was not called. Does that mean he sucks?

Friendlies are Friendlies...

Also, Kara, Gilberto, Kats, Vyntra, Salpi and Cisse were not on the field...

I think those 6 players have a chance of starting against Athletico.No?

We will have to win the league to avoid the non champions route.. EVEN MORE MOTIVATION

[Akritis_1944]

I think UEFA didn't do any favours with the draw. Whether intentionally or not they pulled PAO's fousta down to his knees and stuck it in with out any vazelini (pardon the pun).

What PAO needs to do now is show that they are more than up to the challenge byt qualifying. Be it via away goals or a clear winning margin.

It is not insurmountable to beat Atletico Madrid. They just edged out Villareal to the 4th spot and they finished 20 points behind Barcelona. yes I know Barcelona is a class above....but nonetheless PAO can take Atletico.

Keep a close eye on Aguero and Forlan and keep a tight defense (if possible).

PAO deserves a CL place compared to some "minnow" clubs UEFA has tossed up.

Good luck anyway. Stick it up Platini and his cronies!

[PAO_OR_DEATH]

IMO athletico are totally beatable, was it not a fluke 94' simao free kick that put us away last time??

PAO only lost due to their negative we've scored lets defend mentality, i remember they stopped pushing after the goal....

the fact is playing away second can be turned into an advantage especially if it goes to extra time, lets be honest fans in spain are not as "scary" as in Greece.

IMO greek teams play at some of the most hostile grounds (most notably toumba) in europe and thus "home" advantage is not always such an advantage for our opponents.

either way i think PAO fans should travel to spain and show those mardid folk how to support a team.....

ZITO PAO!!!!!!!!!!!!

[PAO_OR_DEATH]

btw we will see cisse score his fist competitive goal for PAO in this play off, mark my words

[drakos13]

IMO athletico are totally beatable, was it not a fluke 94' simao free kick that put us away last time??

Atletico is a much better team now, and we have a worse defense then back then. Not to mention they were dominating us. I hope, but I can't expect anything.

preventing them from getting away goals is a priority I'd say.

[Euro2004]

IMO athletico are totally beatable, was it not a fluke 94' simao free kick that put us away last time??

Atletico is a much better team now, and we have a worse defense then back then. Not to mention they were dominating us. I hope, but I can't expect anything.

preventing them from getting away goals is a priority I'd say.

They weren't dominating us. They were edging it.

Besides, if this rumour is true then our chances against them will double instantly!

http://www.sportdog.gr/new/article.aspx?id=103815

Riquelme?! PLEASE bring him!