Euro 2008 : Moldova - Greece

[aekrossoponti]

@CalGreek:

it doesnt get MUCH better than the second half lineup to be honest...add giourkas, papadopoulos, darlas or kafes to the mix!!

[loup]

I have watched the Greece v England game twice now, and I see a team cannot create quality scoring chances. Forget the 2nd half, England was in cruise control by then, Greece did nothing to scare England, one or two corner oppurtunities, and a Karagounis shot, but that was it. I saw no creativity, no flair, no speed, no finnishing ability, etc. England gave Greece the mid-field in the seccond, and Greece looked average at best. Aren't there any younger, hungrier players to give some chances?

agreed. but.....

The English goals all had a bit of fluke to them and in review

1st Nikopolidis swung at and went straight to the England player after Antzas couldn't cover Crouch

2nd was Antzas fault on Lampard's break

3rd was Antzas fault on the ground

4th Lagos watched Crouch for, I counted, 9 seconds in the middle of the 6 yard box

So these are fixable tactical errors - no Antzas - and Lagos is not a defender

If Kapsis had played and had done what he had done to Koller to Crouch the Ethniki would have had a much better result

I would go with these 11

--------------Nikopolidis------------

Giorkas- Dellas-Kyrgiakos-Fyssas

---------Kats----Basinas-----------

-------------Karagouni------------

--Amantidis-Charisteas-Salp----

right now Amanatidis and Salpgidis are the hottest Greek players as evident by their play for club and country - and Salpigidids needs more time for the Ethniki - he looked a little nervous and should have been more assertive in his play around the net

Zagorakis and Stelios should be brought off the bench for this one

[thrylos]

If it is new blood you guys want, here are some small changes to put some spark in the line-up.

ASSUMING ALL ARE HEALTHY: a 1-3-4-2

-------------NIKOPOLIDIS

-----------------DELLAS(sweeper)

SEITARIDIS--KYRGIAKOS-PATZATZOGLOU

------KATSOURANIS---STOLTIDIS

STELIOS-----------------------SALPIGIDIS

--------AMANATIDIS---SAMARAS

Amanatidis and Samaras are monsters. They know where to go to get chances and are both in form. Salpigidis can be used with Stelios as attacking outside midfielders. A lot of speed and finish there. Patz is starting to play like he used to and I wouldn't be surprised if he soon is back in the starting 11 for Olympiakos. Stoltidis is a younger, hungrier, more complete version of Zagorakis and Basinas in my opinion. When Charisteas gets matches under his belt again put him in. He needs games.

On the bench:

Papadopoulos (great player coming of the bench)

Zagorakis or Basinas (need one of them)

Fyssas (always very solid)

Antzas (is very good when paired with a quick partner-Patz is an option)

Lagos (can play anywhere)

a goalie

another defender

[OFI-mtl]

My heart says 3pts but i posted a tie 0-0 CLASSICO!

With the current form shown by the squad a single point on the road might not be that bad. What Otto does with the line up is anyones guess. I'm hoping that the 11 chosen take a look in the MIRROR and see the UNIFORM that they where and just represent GREECE well. Believe in the system and play hard that is all I ask.

I've seen alot of 3 striker attack,sorry paidia we do not possess the skill in midfield or up front to pull this off. Sit back and let Moldova break 1st!

Nikopolidis( I believe a loss and he will be leftout of the next game)

Giourkas ( our only player with serious pace and he has a bum ankle )

Dellas( He must sweep!!!)

Kyriakos (must carry over his good 2nd half vs the Brits)

Fyssas( Does this country teach there young ones only kick with there right :unsure: )

Karagounis ( Ksipna , foras to 10, pekse totai)

Basinas (possibly the only midfielder in form)

Katsouranis (Does this guy know how good he could become)

Lagos (Must be given the confidence to succeed)

Salpigidis ( has earned the right due to the fact NO ONE CAN SCORE!)

Amanatidis ( see Salpigidis I would start him behind Salpi as a 5th mid)

It is thru tough times that we see the REAL FANS! Not so long ago a sports bar would get a handful of fans in Montreal( watched Alexandris miss a tete a tete with Schmeichel with 2 buddies only at Champs sports bar), 04 brought back some soccer pride. What Euro 08 campaign brings remains in the players hands, I'll always support!!!!!!!!

OMADARA!!!!!!!!

[Thrylos2006]

Samaras has not even been called up? This is bullsh*t !!

[BlueStriker]

I watched the Chelsea vs. Man City yesterday and Samaras was subbed out for Dickov in the 56th min.

He really didn't have any solid scoring oppurtunities as none were really created for him. I was dissapointed not seeing what he can do with the ball when he's given the chance.

I was thinking what would have happened in the second half vs. England had he been left in to play? With the few good scoring oppurtunities that occured and the ball being played into the box, we (and Otto) might have had a chance to see how he handles the ball near the goal for the Ethniki. We already know what Charisteas can do :whistle:, so why play him the entire game? In a FRIENDLY!

If you have a 20 year old striker, one of the few hopes we have for our future, why not see what he has to offer? He had absolutely no chance to create anything in the first half. We could have had a Van Nistelroy up there and still nothing would have happend.

At first I thought the Otto bashing was too harsh, but now I'm really thinking "who do we have for our future" and "what can they offer us?"

How can we know?

Take the ages of Dads old Army now and + 2 years, that will be their age at EURO 2008. :( Take their performance level now and subtract about 25% (or more). That will be our future of 2008. :(

[aekrossoponti]

@bluestriker:

thats exactly the problem. two years after the euro, otto has not managed to add just one player to the endekada!!! samaras is not called upon for moldova, and antzas, kiriakos were part of the euro 04 qualifying campaign. rumour has it that vryzas may get a callup as otto said, he wil call upon a greek striker from the greek league. in my opinion this could only be kapetanos or vryzas. mantzios hasn t played, agritis :D

we know what charisteas is capable of, lets give salpi, pap especially, kafes amanatidis, darlas or even stoltidis, tziolis a fair chance in a friendly in the starting endekada. what can you show when you come in as a sub with a 4-0 against you in a team that was raped? i am not saying forget about zagorakis, charisteas, fyssas..they still can offer something to the team but give the others a chance. otto didnt.

[OFI-mtl]

Take the ages of Dads old Army now and + 2 years, that will be their age at EURO 2008. :( Take their performance level now and subtract about 25% (or more). That will be our future of 2008. :(

And while the papoudes waist the 2 years,Greece waist 2 years of prep work for the others who wait there turn!

Is Otto not concerned that 2 of his midfielders and "HIS" main striker HAVE NO STARTING SPOTS WITH THEIR CLUB!!!!!!!

Karagounis Stelios and Charisteas(Who has NO club), you need to be playing to earn a spot on the Club. Has Otto said anything in the greek media.Imagine a Spanish side or Italian side with starters like that,MEDIA FRENZY!

OFF TOPIC

I see that Grammozis has found work in Germany again and playing well ,once a promising player what happened and is there hope of a call , since we are watching Fyssas erode in front of our eyes! What has Happened to OLY player Patsatsoglou? and the striker Vakfoutsis ?do you have Dr."s or Butchers in Greece!

Now is the time to try a Kafes in the palce of Stelios and Basinas instead of Karagounis.

My midfield: Kafes Basinas Katsouranis Lagos

[Athens4]

Katsouranis should be in midfield, why does otto put him in midfield???

[thrylos]

Katsouranis should be in midfield, why does otto put him in midfield???

ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

he is a midfielder and he did play there versus england

[slick13]

I have watched the Greece v England game twice now, and I see a team cannot create quality scoring chances. Forget the 2nd half, England was in cruise control by then, Greece did nothing to scare England, one or two corner oppurtunities, and a Karagounis shot, but that was it. I saw no creativity, no flair, no speed, no finnishing ability, etc. England gave Greece the mid-field in the seccond, and Greece looked average at best. Aren't there any younger, hungrier players to give some chances?

they are plenty but otto is afraid of the youth in generaly!

like with kaiserslautern he kept on playing the same old fools until he got sacked!

i really hope we lose so he can get the sack and let another 1 come and bring the younger ones!

i did not watch the 1st half but i told my cousin(when i was in greece) that i would sit and drink a tsibro with his mum and dad at a taverna and would go to the bar in the second half!

then suddendly i saw him and some others come back to the taverna after 45 mins. or so i said "whats the score" he said "only 4-0"!

after that i realized that atleast 80% of the people i know in greece and who support football do not want otto anymore

otto must leave

[Athens4]

ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

he is a midfielder and he did play there versus england

sorry i people i meant "why doesnt otto put him in midfield".

and he didnt play against england in midfield

[greekgod690]

If Otto has any a*****a he'll bench all of their sorry @sses! Zagoraki and co can all take a seat (or heck just cut them for all I care).

Amanatidis and Kyriakos should be starting no questions asked. It's their time. Basinas has proved his worth (although I've bashed him in the past he's improved his play ever since playing for Mallorca). Stelios and Kara are still quality guys, as is Katsouranis.

As for the defense, Dellas and Antzas should be benched; but I'd give Fyssas another chance. Still unsold on Vyntra. Anyone think a 4-3-1-2 might work?

Amanatidis-----------------Samaras

Karagounis

Katsouranis-------------Basinas----------------Giannakopoulos

Giourkas-----------------Kyriakos-------------Tavlaridis(give him a chance)---Fyssas

Nikopolidis (I know but who else really?)

But in all reality, we'll probably end up seeing the same tired, sorry @ss faces again against Moldova and if we're lucky, we'll eke it out 1-0. Sad.

i think that formation will work really well for greece but with a few modifications instead of nikopolidis in net Sifakis(he very tallented and young but no exp) should be there and instead of basinas lagos or kafes should be in the mid.

[kristin]

A respectable 0 - 0.

It's a pity I have no standing or qualifications to be the Ethniki's manager. I would find each players weakness and hit it to get the motivated.

If Katsouranis only cares about money I would tell him he will get paid on performance basis.

If Dellas is interested only in gomenes. I would show him pictures of hotties and let him know that he can take his pick of any of them, but only if he performs.

If Salpiggidis is very protective of his family. I would take his parents and sister et al and lock them up in a kloubi and show him the video footage and explain to him if he doesn't finally score he won't be seeing them for a while.

All jokes aside, a good manager needs to get the best out of his players by finding out what motivates a player to get even 1% extra out of them.

Otto was not employed to train our elite players on hot to head, tackle, shoot, pass etc (aside from Aggelos Charisteas that is. He should be training with the 16 year olds. He might actually improve his skills).

A good manager will come up with tactics and playing systems and then motivate his squad. Otto is just not doing that. he hasn't done it since the final of Euro '04.

I remember when I was 19 and I was told I had no heart and that I was soft and I wouldn'y be playing regularly...I went out my next game as a sub and put two players in a asthenoforo. I played hard and (semi) fair.

My football technique (unlike Charisteas') is of a decent level, but I lacked heart, commitment and passion.

My coach just found what motivates me. I can't stand being made a fool of or being told im not up to standard. This motivates me. I will run through brick walls if I am motivated correctly.

We need a new manager right now, and for this very reason is why I say ANYONE but Otto (and probably Alketas Panagoulias and Vasillis Daniil) will do.

<_< If Katsouranis only cares about money I would tell him he will get paid on performance basis.

If Dellas is interested only in gomenes. I would show him pictures of hotties and let him know that he can take his pick of any of them, but only if he performs.

If Salpiggidis is very protective of his family. I would take his parents and sister et al and lock them up in a kloubi and show him the video footage and explain to him if he doesn't finally score he won't be seeing them for a while.

Is this what these players are rumoured to be obsessed with? :unsure:

[Morphi]

Erm, I have a question.

Did Otto actually named his squad?

[Ziaka]

Yes, he did. He kept out Gekas and called back Lyberopoloulos for some strange reason. Not that I want Gekas on the NT, but there are other options available.

Here is the squad:

Nikopolidis, Anatolakis, Kafes (Olympiakos), Dellas, Lagos, Lyberopoulos (AEK), Vyntra, Papadopoulos, Salpiggidis (Panathinaikos), Zagorakis (PAOK), Chalkias (Aris), Kyrgiakos (Glasgow Rangers), Charisteas (Feyenoord Rotterdam), Basinas (RCD Mallorca), Giannakopoulos (Bolton Wanderers), Fyssas (Hearts of Midlothian) Katsouranis, Karagounis (Benfica Lisbon), Seitaridis (Atletico Madrid), Amanatidis (Eintracht Frankfurt)

[Athens4]

Ziaka Katsouranis is Benfica :D

Where is Antzas???

Well I dont care anymore about what that German does. As far as im concerned if we dont make EURO 2008 hes a gonner...

[Ziaka]

Ziaka Katsouranis is Benfica :D

Where is Antzas???

Teaches me not to copy and paste from older threads...

As for Antzas, I guess he did not impress Otto in the England game.

I just hope the game against Moldova is not another "Albania" fiasco.

[Irlandos]

Ziaka, Seitaridis plays for Atletico Madrid! ;)

[Ziaka]

OK, I think I got right this time around. B)

[Wallofsoccer88]

Is it just me or is Samaras not in the squad? Also, whatever happened to Kotsolis (Larissa) or Sifakis (OFI)?

[Morphi]

Rehaggel should leave, I mean, come on what the hell is this? Zagorakis?! How old is that bloke now? 38?

Nikopolidis? Chalkias? I don't want to sound rude but they are the dumb&dumber of goalkeeping in Europe. Don't you have a few good goalie in Greece? I heard about that Sifakis bloke who seems to be good.

Basically, he is always calling the same players which is fine when the team is having good results. It doesn't seem to be the case at the moment.

Someone mentionned Sven Goran Eriksson in another thread. Well, I don't blame it all on Sven for our 3 last failures in big tournaments (2002 wasn't a failure when you think about it) and I think his profile would suit Greece (many not the salary). I'm sure he would the country with the weather and the cute Greek birds :whistle:

[DUDE]

I watched the Chelsea vs. Man City yesterday and Samaras was subbed out for Dickov in the 56th min.

He really didn't have any solid scoring oppurtunities as none were really created for him. I was dissapointed not seeing what he can do with the ball when he's given the chance.

This is consistent with Samaras. He needs players to create chances for him because he's lazy, hence, surely you can see the logic of dropping him in favour of Salpi. Salpi isnt as talented but he works hard and makes things happen, whereas Samaras needs service, and in a team that doesnt create many chances the game can pass him by.

[loup]

For a qualifier - do they not usually carry 3 keepers?

Besides that I guess the Sammarras rumurs were true :o - but like said by others this may be good in the long run for the team and if you are to add a forward Lybe has shown that he is good for a late goal (see Kazakstan)

The win is key :gr: :gr:

[Ziaka]

Our history against Moldova is one friendly game played on December 16, 1999 in Larisa.

Greece defeated Moldova 2-0 in that game with Georgiadis and Frantzeskos scoring.