Roma-Panathinaikos

[Euro2004]

Tzorvas only made 5 huge saves... !!!!

Ah Re EUROOOOOOOOOOOO

Im gonna have a great night when I get back from work....

radio, tv, replay, websites.. Kavlaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

WHAT?? Are you being serious?

Re on the 8th min he did his usual, "I'll parry the ball straight into the path of their forward", m*****a and Vucinic almost scored. Then he did exactly the same thing to gift them their 2nd goal! He then did it 2 more times and Sarriguei and Kante had to bail him out with blocks.

Anyway, for now it's not important, for now let's just enjoy this. WHAT A NIGHT!

[drakos13]

Very good game. The only thing that made me nervous was that we waited to call in and bunker the team behind the ball, and Roma took some hope for it. The rest was quite good, we started ok, the goal was an odd chance for the 1-0 with a deflection....

The penalty was a bit of a gift. I didn't really think that was great cause for a PK. There was contact, but not really a pk. Cisse nailed it perfectly though.

The Ninis goal was brilliance. The kid just put himself on the map, and he's making a great arguement to get on the WC squad.

Cisse's goal was great too. When you get a tet a tet, you have to score. And thats my favourite thing about Cisse - he rarely lets us down. For years, aside from Vazexa, every forward has been a 50/50 on these chances. Cisse is undoubtebly in my mind the best since Vazexa's era. Technique, speed, strength and finishing... Way higher level than anything PAO is had in the last 10 years.

Cisse's got 21-22 goals this season for Green. Get on your knees, he is a GOD - plain and simple. He's nowhere near finished too. He's on course for THIRTY GOALS.

Incredible points for Greece. Theres nobody here thats not a boldfaced liar honestly thought PAO would beat Roma twice.

[cyberfish]

Hey, let's not make this the Tzorvas thread. He did well today and blocked some amazing shots.

Let's make it the Ninis thread! The kid is amazing. I know many fans want us to buy a "dekari" in the summer. But if we do, it will push Ninis to the right, or will deny him playing time. Instead, we should invest in world class players to put around him and let him become the player we all know he will become. We saw the glimpses of his talent today. Taking a game, virtually by himself, being in the spotlight in a top notch contest is rare.

Drako: Cisse has 23 goals for the season.

[athinaios]

Niko, Athinaie, Euro, Titus, NYPAO, PAO123 and 4, Irlande, PAOprotathlima... I mean AEKprotathlima, PaoOrDeath, Adonis, all the lurkers, and all the friends here, this round is on me:

Gee, thank you Cyber!!! :P

Keep them coming! :LOL:

[cyberfish]

ha ha that was quick. BTW, drinking is bad for you.

UEFA.com has a nice Ninis picture in their home page :tup:

[drakos13]

Drako: Cisse has 23 goals for the season.

I'm sorry but its impossible to keep up with the man!

He is a GOD. :nw: :nw: :nw:

As for Tzorvas, actually he played well. The 2nd goal was not his fault - a shot comes out of nowhere any keeper can and has had similar misfortune. He played fine today, had some key reflex saves, and he's been having good and productive season, improving along the way as well as stopping everything we'd expect a PAO level keeper to stop. If anybody's not PAO calibre, its Sariegui and Vyntra out there today. Pretty bad. Time for an upgrade.

[pao123]

http://www.sportdog.gr/v3/article.aspx?id=124688

the big f you to domenech

cisse IS a god...

[Clover22]

WOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAA HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!! :tup: :box: :gr: ;)

[plato-ny]

Impressive win and progression! :box:

[GreenTitus]

Good thinking, Cyber, it's beer time!

[pao123]

Good thinking, Cyber, it's beer time!

beer time???

i have a special bottle of whiskey for these events :D

[GreenTitus]

Whiskey or whisky?

[pao123]

its actually scotch!

[Clover22]

My dream guys! My dream! :tup:

[adonis]

this is so awesome its legendary

ninis mom was simply marvellous

that goal of his reminded me a lil of the konstantinou goal in the nou camp with the turn and shoot from distance

the kid is class

but with these performancs against club such as roma also come scouts and offers

how long can we keep him for

luckily for us einai diko mas paidi kai opados

cyber......CHEERS BIG EARS!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cyberfish]

I too thought Tzorvas did well today even though I thought he could have done better on that first goal.

Ninis is trully an excellent talent. There are parts of his game that can improve but his vision of the field it's something rare that can't be taught. The team has invested in him and he will just get better and better. We just need to surround him with other world class players who can take advantage of his talents. Cisse seems to love Ninis and the two can be a lethal combination when they play close to each other. He just needs to increase his bulk so he does not get knocked off his feet in the crowded area outside the box and he will be the PAO leader for over a decade. I don't see him leaving Greece.

But what was amazing today was that we didn't just rely on our GK pulling amazing saves, or on our defense being heroic. We actually turned the game around with three offensive plays. Same thing happened in Athens so it's not a coincidence. This team is special and Nioblias did a great job fortifying our defense and giving his team a fighting chance to make history. He is undefeated in Europe so far (two games with Roma).

I am also excited to see this formation working well because we are going to need it in the near future. I've been looking for a way to help our mistake-prone defense (my main criticism of Nioblias up until today) and this formation looks solid. I hope fans don't begin getting on his case like they did with other coaches when he finds it necessary to protect our behind.

[Genome]

Some more to enjoy:

And also:

Panathinaikos ease past Roma

Two goals from Djibril Cisse and one from Sotiris Ninis earned Panathinaikos FC a second successive 3-2 victory against AS Roma and a place in the last 16 of the UEFA Europa League.

All three goals from the visitors came in a six-minute spell at the end of the first half after John Arne Riise had given Roma an early lead. Ninis was at the heart of it all. Tripped for Cisse's goal from the penalty spot, he then drilled in his own from 20 metres before releasing the Frenchman to settle the contest before the break. Daniele De Rossi's 67th-minute tap-in ended the scoring while Kostas Katsouranis saw red late on.

Full article on uefa.com.

[trifilli]

Cyber, do not forget me on the beers. :P

I LOVE Karagounis more than any other player, for his immeasurable contribution to PAO and Greece.

When I heard he would not be playing, my immediate reaction was negative.

He lives for these games, and is a proven leader.

However, I though that PAO would be quicker without him.

Was that an understatement!

Look how fast Ninis reacts when he has the ball.

NO delay, looks left, right passes, BANG.

THREE goals created by Ninis, two executed by Cisse.

In a game where Kante is decent, especially after he got the "note" from Nioplias, PAO will do well.

Obviously NINIS was Euroclass, Cisse a cold executioner, Simao a mad defending machine.

Impressive Nioplias tactics, defensively and offensively

Any other coach would have held the team back after the equalizer.

Everyone deserves congrats.

The players, coaches, fans.

HISTORIC wins against a great ITALIAN side.

6 goals, thrice from behind.

Pateras should do his part in keeping Simao, Ninis.

There will be big offers for them after these performances!

CELEBRATE :gr:

PEACE

[athinaios]

Thanks Genome for the video(s).

That's definitely part of the beauty of it. To be able to have fans in the stands. When will this be possible in Greece? :(

Wouldn't be great to have several thousand PAO fans in Nea Smyrni on Sunday? Something has to be done about this.

Aslanidis, a veteran, said it helps the economy when you have thousands of visiting fans. That is, if there's no violence. It helps the economic activity.

I'd like to add that this team tonight has a future. Of course, Karagounis, Gilberto, are vital but they won't be around for that long, or won't be able to play 90' matches. Nice to see this younger team perform so well.

Watching them play one of the better teams in Europe makes me wonder.... Don't they want the domestic title? :huh:

[cyberfish]

Here is a special one for you trifili and clover and Drakos too. Sorry I missed you in the first round.

[pao123]

http://www.sportdog.gr/v3/article.aspx?id=124718 :nw: :nw:

[cyberfish]

I am watching the first hafl again and its just as much fun the second time.

Great to see:

Cisse running to hug Nioblias after he converted the penalty!

It's a joy to watch Ninis' face when he celebrates!

You probably read about Voucinic shunning Ninis when he asked to exchange jerseys. Ninis got pissed and Voucinic tried to get on his case. Cisse stepped in and told him to not bother the little guy and if he had a problem to speak to him.

Great stuff!

[Euro2004]

I am watching the first hafl again and its just as much fun the second time.

Great to see:

Cisse running to hug Nioblias after he converted the penalty!

It's a joy to watch Ninis' face when he celebrates!

You probably read about Voucinic shunning Ninis when he asked to exchange jerseys. Ninis got pissed and Voucinic tried to get on his case. Cisse stepped in and told him to not bother the little guy and if he had a problem to speak to him.

Great stuff!

Apparently Ninis called him a "p******s gie" - or so Vucinic claims. :LOL: He's becoming a little s%$#!! I guess a nasty, ultra-passionate streak is needed to be a top athlete. He put in a top class performance today and is certainly at his best behind the front man. I want him in our national team now. A nice 4-3-3 with Ninis ahead of 2 midfielders. Same thing with PAO. It works so well.

Cyber if you're watching the game again I assume you have access to it again? If so please look at Tzorvas' crap parry on the 8th min and for the 2nd goal. He blocks the ball so it falls right in fron of him every single time. He can't do that! It has cost us numerous goals already this year. Until he sorts that out and improves with aerial balls then I can't consider him good enough for PAO. Even at 2-3 I was nervous today because Tzorvas looked shakey with those parries.

In fact I've found a video to show what I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6zKx6mZQAw

on 0:05 secs you'll see a 20 yard, low shot that should easily be dealt with. Look where the ball ends up. It should be parried towards the corner flag but Tzorvas keeps the danger alive!

On 1:22 look how far Riise shoots from and how poor the effort is. Tzorvas should either be collecting this or at least palming it sidewards towards the corner flag. Instead look at what he does and they score!

He does the same mistakes. Check out the Ukraine-Greece game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5IFaHDBPcMo

See 0:04, 5:04, 6:48 (which is the worst one!). Becuase of his poor shot parrying, every shot a team has from distance is half a goal! That's not good enough.

On another note I was impressed with the way Marinos handled himself overall. It was a big step up for a kid that was playing B Ethniki until recently. The only thing that semi-spoilt this for me was listening to ESPN UK's analysis of the highlights. They said it was a "massive shock" and "Roma were missing their stars: Totti and Toni". DON'T UNDERMINE OUR ACHIEVEMENTS YOU ARSEHOLES! WE HAD NO GILBERTO, LETO OR KARAGOUNIS! YOU DON'T MENTION THAT s%$#! DO YOU? :angry:

I really want us to win this trophy to shut some fools up!

[cyberfish]

I don't remember the 8th min, but the on the second goal Tzorvas has some responsibility. He did well to fall on the 30-meter shot but he spilled it right into the middle of the box. He should work at holding on or deflecting to the side. He does have good instincts under the goalposts and manages to get on the right spot to stop some certain goals, but we can't have one or two gifts per game. I would be happy if we bring a great goalkeeper, but if we bring another one with major weaknesses in one part of his game or another I'd rather stick with Tzorvas.

It was fun watching the game again (on greektv) and looking for the small things. Cisse running for Nioblias, Simao dispossessing italians, our fans chanting, the joy of everyone. The amazing thing is we really had four or five chances all game and we scored three times. If we keep this rate up it would be nice. Roma was very laxed the way they marked outside their box and Ninis made them pay. On the third goal Roma's defense was worst than our worst. How could they leave Cisse so alone? They completely underestimated us.

Two more games and we could be looking at EL quarter finals! Standar is not scary and even though they are probably happy to play us, we have good chances. But first let's round up this week with a convincing win at Panionios.

[Hellene]

Gee those highlights and replays bring a tear to my greek eye..

PAO OLE!!!