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World Cup 2010


thrylos

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Hey folks,

I've been a critic of Otto's selections, but at the same time I've also supported him.

Otto's selections have been questioned for good reason, but my father (who did play in B' ETHNIKI everyone has a claim to fame) did say that no matter how we look at it, Otto is the first coach to bring "peitharhia" (discipline) to the national team ever. His selections hav always been about maturity over flashyness.

Anyways, I'm happy we are there and look forward to the World Cup. I do not belive this time we get embarrassed like USA '94, but I'm not sure about moving into the second round.

Best possible group:

BRAZIL (with Ziko as a spy)

GREECE

ALGERIA

NEW ZEALAND

Otto selects Avraam to the Ethniki (half the forum user die of a heart attack) and he shuts down BRAZIL on his own and then the other half die from shock.

thrylos stands all alone and feels vinidcated :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

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quick trivia--no googling or looking up the answer

Which are the only 2 nations to participate in a WORLD CUP and NEVER score a goal?

Trivia answer

As a Greek-Canadian I would have to say Greece and Canada.

Greece...USA

Canada....think it was Mexico in 1982

United States was not a good team yet and the CONCACAF group was fairly weak so that's how Canada got in. The team has improved lately but the group is much stronger now with Mexico, USA, Jamaica and a few other teams that are quite strong. I can recall off hand who is making it from that group but a quick look at FIFA dot com will fix that.

So Greece......get a fricken in game one. You don't need this hanging over your head the whole tournament.

Also...it was mentioned on another thread that Ninis and others will get a chance to prove themselves before the world cup next summer.........I'll believe it when I see it.

Lots of time to discuss these issues over the next several months.

Greece is in the world cup!!!

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Opponents that I would like to have as a fan of our NT in the WC2010:

From First Group:

(1) South Africa.

(2) Italy.

(3) Argentina.

(4) France.

(5) Germany.

We have 62.5% chances of getting one of the above. Remember that our opponents will also have to face one of these.

From Third Group:

(1) Cameroon.

(2) Algeria.

(3) Chile.

(4) Uruguay.

(5) Paraguay.

62.5% chances to get one of the above.

From the Fourth Group:

(1) Japan.

(2) North Korea.

(3) New Zealand.

(4) Honduras.

(5) South Korea.

again 62.5% to get one of those.

Also the match sequence is important. We will see, 4th of December is not too far away.

Anybody can tell me whether our UEFA National Team ranking improved for the EURO2010 Draw after the last night's knockout games?

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What are your expectations today about GREECE future performance in South Africa???

To be franc I really do expect another 2008 performance. Otto is too predictable his tactics and choices. There is no quality in the team. I've stated this before Greece show quality for 90 seconds in a game. In a tournament like the W.C. you need to have for 90 minutes every game. Greece lacks depth and consistency. Honestly with a little bit of luck they can make it far but this is the only tournament that not any team can win, fairy tale teams get eliminated at best in the semi-finals. There is not just 2 rounds past the group stage to make it to the finals there is like 4 I think. Plus the best teams accross the continents with different styles of play. Greece can't produce a 2004 miracle or even make it past the 3rd round at best. Too much quality and depth.

This was a little long but I honestly did not want Greece to qualify because I'm afraid of them being embarrassed again like in 94 and 08.

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What are your expectations today about GREECE future performance in South Africa???

To be franc I really do expect another 2008 performance. Otto is too predictable his tactics and choices. There is no quality in the team. I've stated this before Greece show quality for 90 seconds in a game. In a tournament like the W.C. you need to have for 90 minutes every game. Greece lacks depth and consistency. Honestly with a little bit of luck they can make it far but this is the only tournament that not any team can win, fairy tale teams get eliminated at best in the semi-finals. There is not just 2 rounds past the group stage to make it to the finals there is like 4 I think. Plus the best teams accross the continents with different styles of play. Greece can't produce a 2004 miracle or even make it past the 3rd round at best. Too much quality and depth.

This was a little long but I honestly did not want Greece to qualify because I'm afraid of them being embarrassed again like in 94 and 08.

You're way off and will be proven wrong next summer. We have quality and talent on this team, its the player selection and negative tactics that made things crooked for this team. Example: Torosidis was being used on the left wing where he can't play; he has a weak left foot and it really slowed things down...FINALLY he's used in his natural position on the right vs. Lux. The player selection makes a lot more sense in the last 4 games. Samaras and Gekas complement each other, Karagounis is there and Pliatsikas is playing. We won't see anything like 1994, and we will do better than 2008, since now they have more of a "system": 2008 was just a mess, no communication and players looking for each other. Thats not the case anymore.
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Otto selects Avraam to the Ethniki (half the forum user die of a heart attack) and he shuts down BRAZIL on his own and then the other half die from shock.

thrylos stands all alone and feels vinidcated :LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

I'm sorry Avraam is a f*ckin disaster that should never play for the Ethniki ever again. The man is a minger!!!!!

As of Nov 2009 the 23 man squad should be.

Sifakis

Tzorvas

Eleftheropoulos

--

Kyrgiakos

Moras

Giourkas

Papastathopoulos

Spyropoulos

Kyriakos Papadopoulos

Vyntra

--

Tziolis

Pliatsikas

Patsazoglou

Torosidis

Katsouranis

Karagounis

Ninis

Koutsianikoulis

--

Gekas

Samaras

Salapindis

Charisteas

Mitroglou

Amanatidis misses out as he won't have played any football leading into the comp, looks like he needs a knee reconstruction.

I'd go Eleftheropoulos as 3rd choice keeper ahead of Chalkias and take both Koutsianikoulis and Kyriakos Papadopoulos for the experience.

NO AVRAAM - Sorry he's out! We nearly didn't qualify in the world's easiest group because of this goof. He didn't play against the Ukraine and we conceded no goals in 180 mins - GoodNight!

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Clover22 your assessment of the club and quality is based on their recent performance?

I agree the tactics Otto uses for the NT is not to bright but u gave me one player as an example of when playing in his natural position he is great and that Samaras compliments gekas and vis versa. Even with Karagounis leadership I really do not think GREECE will do something next summer. Just think of what I said earlier no team wins the WC by fluke..... Every other tournament their is a fairytale story and the team wins that's about it. WC is a different ball game. The Greek NT has talent but no depth in every position and lack consistency in the long run. They don't play 90 minutes. I might of over done it with them not doing anything and saying a repeat of 94 and 08 is waiting for us but the assumption is that greece will not be a tough squad in 10.

I honestly hope they win it. But the fact of the matter is that they wont and no one thinks they will. Reality is we dont have a squad to compete with the likes of Brazil, England, Spain, Argentina, Germany, Holland, Ivory Coast and Nigeria. All these teams are just better and got more depth and consistency.

Hope I'm wrong but I'm not.

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I think its easier to progress out of a group in a world cup then the euros but harder to win obviously with the likes of brazil and argentina in the way.

Ukraine got to the quarter finals last time and they were fairly second rate.

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Anybody can tell me whether our UEFA National Team ranking improved for the EURO2010 Draw after the last night's knockout games?

I certainly wouldn't want Japan from pot 4 :huh: they are a very good team.

As for the draw for Euro 2012, we are in pot 2, 1 place away from being in pot 1 :(

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prime, good points...bottom line is in 04 we played an "a" game every time....in 08 everyone figured out the "a" game, we could not handle the pressure of being a defending champ and everyone had us in their sights. The 08 and non qualifying 06 were lessons learned....

now do ithink we can win teh WC? hell no....but tight games are what we specialize in....we just need to play our A game everytime becuase we dont have the raw talent to compensate when the "a" game is not there....i just hope we play with enough offesnsive minded-ness to at least keep more of our opponents guys back rather than sending waves of players to build up offensive rushes

i woud love to have otto give and interview and explain what 08 taught him and what he will do differently this time.....because if he tries the same crap again, he will be undressed even worse on the world stage that the european stage....

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You have to remember that each group in the World Cup cannot have 2 teams from the same continent (exception Europe).

I personally would think it would be more beneficial to draw a SUPER POWER like Brazil and let the other teams fight for 2nd spot. If we get Brazil we do not get another European SUPER POWER and there is a chance of a lower African team and Asian team.

In short tournaments, winning that first game, or more important NOT LOSING, is CRUCIAL.

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One thing for sure: there will NOT be a repeat of 1994!

Back then, we had ultra-pessimistic Panagoulias with his ultra-pathetic 3-6-1. One Machlas was hopelessly outnumbered out front and we didn't score. Three defenders were inadequate at the back and any time the ball got through our midfield, the opponents scored.

Plus, that was NOT a team! I still have nightmares about Kofidis winning the ball and then looking around - seemingly forever - to see where his teammates are and whom he can pass it to.

Enough of the memories...

For 2010...

Our GKs should be Tzorvas, Sifakis and Chiotis.

Defenders should include Moras, Papastathopoulos, Spyropoulos, Tavlaridis, Kurgiakos, Seitaridis and Vyntra.

Midfielders should include: Karagounis, Ninis, Pliatsikas, Koutsianikoulis, Patsatzoglou, Torosidis

Up front: Salpigidis, Samaras, Gekas, Mitroglou

Leave at home: Avraam, Katsouranis, Charisteas

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Irlandos I agree with your squad selection except for one droping katsouranis for patsatzoglou are you nuts.Katsouranis on his A game can help this team and can play holding midfield.

I would love for greece to play a 4-2-3-1

Tzorvas

torosidis- papastathopoulos-kyriakos- spyropoulos

katsouranis- torosides

ninis- karagounis- salpigindis

gekas

I few changes here and there depending on players forms but i would love for GREECE to play with this formation. Even though they wouldnt be use to it trying it and emplying it for the future would become better offensive football for GREECE if they can play for 90 minutes

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i heard "offenssive football" "more firepower" etc etc all the way leading up 2008...and we all know what happened....i was bellyaching that we did NOT have any firepower because the mids weer not supporting the guys in front.....

we are not, and will never be an offensive juggernaut...not because we dont have the talent to do it, we can.....it very easy to throw more guys forward BUT your defense suffers because of it....the teams that play more offensive just push more guys up and force their opponent to keep more guys back, thereby limiting their offense....and they also have some outside speed and a few guys that can create space and keep the ball on their feeet.....

as long as otto is here defense will be a priority, and as long as that is the case you can forget "offensive firepower"......but what otto can and should do is emphasize 1. clever attacking ball 2. off the ball tactics (just look at salpigidis goal) 3. attacking open spaces 4. getting more guys to play their natural positions 5. getting the mids to support by pushing forward abit more....

look at teh italians...the been playing defensive style for ever, BUT BUT BUT they have "firepower" becuase they can strike at any time with clever offensive rushes....they come down 4 times agame and score twice type of thing , rather than come down 15 times and not score ....

the best we can hope for is a littel more creatvivty in the middle, a litttle more speed on the wings and clever off the ball tactics with appropriate support from the guys behind...just enough to keep the opposition honest....

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Mangas 21 I agree with you that Greece are not an offensive team but you cant say that they never will be.

every team plays to the strengths of their players. Who knows what players might come along in the next few years.

I agree with the rest of your post. For me temp and attitude is the key in football generally.

The main problem for Greece in Euro 2008 was the attitude it was so negative and timid.

With the right attitude Greece is a good 60% better.

In addition I do feel that a lot of foreign sides are talked up to be better then they actually are.

One example for me is Croatia. They are a good side but are nowhere near as good as they have been made out to be.

They experienced a lot of luck during the qualifying for euro 2008. During this latest campaign they did not get any of these breaks and they suffered for it.

I think Greece will do quite well this time round. Its just a feeling I have. The stupid mistakes during the qualifying will have given them a valuable lesson.

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