Panathinaikos Fan

Racing Toward The Title: The next 12 games

2012-01-26T11:09:00.000-05:00

Panathinaikos is five points ahead of Olympiakos, but the title has not been won yet. Five points is a good cushion, but in the team needs to stay focused and to put in an extra gear for the upcoming games.

Let's see what the two contenders for the title have to face from now on.

Match day 19
Doxa - Pao
Olympiakos - Ergotelis

Realistically, Panathinaikos and Olympiakos will win their games, so the five point differential will remain. It would be considered a major upset if Panathinaikos loses points in Drama, and an even bigger upset if Olympiakos loses points at home against Ergotelis.

Match day 20
Levadiakos - Pao
Paok - Olympiakos

Panathinaikos will win one way or another in Levadia, but Olympiakos visits the toughest arena in Greece, and their chances of escaping intact are not very good. If they take a point in Touba it would not be considered a huge upset, but I'd be very surprised if they win against PAOK. To be sure, PAOK does not look good at the moment, but despite their big talk, Olympiakos looks really bad too.

Match day 21
Pao - Xanthi
Olympiakos - AEK

Panathinaikos will win at home even if Xanthi looks decent this season. On the other hand, Olympiakos has another tough game to play against AEK, even if it's at home. AEK has a ton of problems this year and they look very erratic. However, they have proven capable of pulling an excellent game here and there. Let's hope they pull their best game in Karaiskaki, but realistically, Olympiakos will win this game.

Match day 22
Egrotelis - Pao
Olympiakos - Panionios

Both Panathinaikos and Olympiakos will win their games this day. If Panathinaikos loses points in Crete it would be a major upset.

Match day 23
Pao - Paok
Ofi - Olympiakos

PAOK is a capable team, but away from home they are not as strong and traditionally Panathinaikos takes the three points in these games. Olympiakos will also win in Crete, although if OFI draws, it would not be such a huge upset.

Match day 24
AEK - Pao
Olympiakos - Aris

On paper, Panathinaikos plays their toughest away game, but they are still playing at home in OAKA. I would expect a draw to be a realistic result, although the way Panathinaikos plays this season I think they will win it one way or another. On the other hand, Aris can be a dangerous team, but they too are weak away from home and traditionally Olympiakos beats Aris at home with ease.

Match day 25
Pao - Olympiakos

This is the biggest game of the season for both teams. If realistic results dominate the previous games, Panathinaikos will go into the game with a huge point advantage, making even an Olympiakos win mute in the race for the title. Panathinaikos will win this one, although a draw has good posibillities of occuring.

No matter what happens in the previous games (assuming realistic results), if Panathinaikos beats Olympiakos the title will be sealed. But even if Panathinaikos doesn't win, it would make a perfect season for Olympiakos to overlap Pao in the next five games. Pop the champaign and enjoy the rest of the ride.

Match day 26
Ofi - Pao
Olympiakos - Asteras

Ofi plays a tight game and a win there won't be easy, but I think PAO will have this title locked by this game and they will cruise through Crete with ease. There is also no expectation that Olympiakos will lose points at home against a very friendly club.

Match day 27
Pao - Aris
Panaitolikos - Olympiakos

Panathianikos and Olympiakos will both win their games one way or another.

Match day 28
Pao - Panionios
Olympiakos - Kerkyra

There is no way the title contenders will lose points this match day

Match day 29
Asteras - Pao
Giannina - Olympiakos

Asteras traditionally puts up huge resistance against PAO (they did shave points off Olympiakos at home earlier this season) and it won't be an easy game. If the title is already decided, it won't really matter, but if Olympiakos is within striking distance, it could be a stressful and tough game that can be won nonetheless.

Match day 30
Pao - Panaitolikos
Atromitos - Olympiakos

Fiesta time for Panathinakos, and a tough game for Olympiakos against one of the better teams of this season. If Atromitos needs the points to secure an UEFA spot, it will be a huge game for them.

An appropriate end to the season: A packed OAKA with a big win against Panaitolikos to go along with an embarrassing loss for Olympiakos at the feet of Atromitos.

So there you have it. That's my prediction, but a lot of unexpected things will happen between now and the last game. It is fun making calculations with a five point advantage though.

Panathinaikos - Levadiakos 3-0

2012-01-25T17:54:00.000-05:00

For Panathinaikos, this was a perfect game. I don't mean the actual performance - which wasn't too bad either - but all the benefits that the club reaped from playing this postponed game in the middle of the week:

Solidified first place, five points above the second team with 12 games to go
Returned to scoring more than one goal
Did not concede a goal again
Had a nice and comfortable game - almost like a mid-week friendly
Totse scored twice and won the accolades of the fans
Karnezis continued shutting out opponents - he hasn't conceded a goal yet this season
Sariegi scored (need our defenders to contribute one to two goals each every season)
Got back to good ball circulation
Got back to creating tons of chances to score
Got back to scoring early in the game
Continued the amazing streak of scoring at least one goal every game so far
Kept the winning record at home (haven't lost a point in OAKA)
The fans rewarding the players for their performance by chanting their names
The fans rewarded Sariegi and Totse especially
Karnezis won my trust with another solid game
Took more air off the second team's tires

There is really not too much I can say about the game. It was a sluggish affair with Panahtinaikos looking like two speeds above Levadiakos players. It ended up in a monologue of possession and chances that brought the very natural 3-0.

I don't remember when we were ahead by five points before, but it feels good. And it can get even better in the coming weeks. Stay tuned for a lot more fun ahead. If we go into the game with Olympiakos with this, or larger, point differential, we'll have a chance to humble their arrogance even more.

Video

The Players

Karnezis 9

He pulled a couple of really difficult saves and generally he looked like he has a lot of confidence and skill. He hasn't conceded a single goal yet this season, so maybe there is something to the incredible trust the club and coaches have shown in his skills.

Marinos 7

He is getting better and better each game he plays. He looked good on defense when needed, and since most of the time he wasn't pressed, he spent quality time down the wing.

Spyropoulos 6

Good work by Spyropoulos today. He too spent a lot of time down the wing. He is no Munch, but he sent a few good crosses in the box today.

Katsouranis 7

He played as a CB once again next to Sariegi and had a solid game with a few critical stopages on counter-attack attempts. Good job by Ferreira to keep him on defense because our entire defensive line was playing in center-field all game long and was probably more appropriate to organize the forward passing game from defense than Bjarsmyr.

Sariegi 9

He did lose his opponent once in the first half, but I can't expect him to keep up with a winger on a 50-meter dash, so I won't take points off for that. Besides, Karnezis did well to block the resulting tete-a-tete. Beside that, he looked like Terri back there, stuffing the plays with comfort and style multiple times besides scoring the opening goal. The fans seemed to really enjoy his game, cheering him on continuously.

Simao 9

Besides having very few errors in his passing game, he looked like an immovable object out there. Opponent after opponent kept finding him in front and giving him the ball. He did an excellent job managing the game from a spot that older fans would remember as the number "10" (I mean the player who plays in the area half way between centerfield and the opponent's penalty area).

Vitolo 8

Excellent game by Vitolo who contributed to ball possesion with his midfield defense, and moved the ball forward really well. In general, he looks like he is getting more and more comfortable in the system where he can be a major contributor with his balance of defensive and offensive skills.

Zeka 7

Once again he was tireless and very energetic. In the last few games with Totse up front, he slides in the middle behind the striker, a position that he seems to do very well in. He was unlucky not to score once again, but he did everything else really well.

Quincy 8

Excellent game by quincy. I criticized him for not helping on defense much (he still doesn't), but in games where we win easily, he is a lot of fun to watch. There are times that I feel I am watching a skills exhibition game with Quincy on the ball.

Leto 9

He didn't score, but he did create three goals, so I'd consider this an excellent game by Leto who did a lot more too. He was unlucky not to score, but with Totse in he played a little farther back from the box and did his job just about perfectly.

Totse 7

He was at the right place on the two goals he made and generally he kept the center backs busy with his presence. I was happy to see the standing ovation by the fans when he was substituted late in the game.

Karagounis, Mavrias, and Petropoulos
all came in the game late, and there is not much to note besides Karagounis looked really out of sorts to me, Mavrias looked excellent, and Petropoulos had one nice shot on goal.

What more proof do we need?

2012-01-23T18:13:00.003-05:00

Do we need any more proof that Olympiakos can and does affect officiating in Greek football?

What a bunch of idiots. I mean the people who comprise the infimous KED (ΚΕΔ). They don't even have the decency to pretent that they are not controlled by Marinakis.

It's no secret that Greek referees suck. They suck so bad it's not even funny. It's a common impression in Greece that games and championships over the last decade were fixed. There was an early case with wiretaps that was thrown out of court because the wiretapping was illegal, and last summer there was another wiretapping case (legal this time) that exposed the rotten roots of the system.

These phone conversations have proven beyond a reasonable doubt that games are fixed and that referees are influenced. Although only few tapes have come to light, the methodology and system came to light. And I don't believe for a second that only "small" games were fixed by a couple of hillbillies who liked to play millionaires with crooked money.

If the system is in place to fix games, there is a reasonable expectation that this system will be used to fix the games that bring the multimillions to fatter cats.

The recent revelation and the jailing of the most brazen of masterminds seemed to put the fear into everyone this year and lo and behold, we see some normal game results this season.

So far in this short miserable "superleague" there have been a ton of teams that have complained about referee decisions against them, Panathinaikos included. I saw tons of errors for and against Panathinaikos, and every time I watched Olympiakos or other teams I saw the same.

I saw the work of really really bad referees, but what I haven't seen so far is the blatant pushing of Olympiakos by referees who in yesteryears invented calls and extended games until the red team got their wins and subsequent Champions League money. The epitome of this was of course last year's Olympiakos - Panathianikos game.

Somehow, I thought that this fear has put the fat cats in their boxes, now that they would be more reluctant to try funny business, seeing some of their peers behind bars.

So, all the complaining by all the teams was treated with contempt by the officials and the government. Nothing was ever done until the theatrical diving by Torosidis who realized he could not get to the ball even with rockets on his shoes and did a "bend and snap" on a normal "check" the kinds of which we see hundreds every sunday in such lobs in the penalty area (did you see the photo of Vintra being pulled by the shirt his Sunday as he was ready to score on a corner kick?).

I've been watching Greek football to know with certainty that if Konstantineas had called that play a penalty, Xanthi's president would be complaining about crimes against Xanthi. Furthermore, if such penalty was called against Olympiakos Theodoridis would be on the first plane to the court of Human Rights to file a crimes against humanity.

This little dive, silly as it was, brought out the master agitator (I wonder if he ever had any other real job in his life) out to pontificate about "crime against Olympiakos" and "wasted investment by his master", and other funny crap the kind of which we are used to over the years.

This was not a blatant penalty that the media nudged by Olympiakos would have you believe. It was a marginal play that should have never seen such publicity.

But things took a turn for the bizzare today. Suddently, KED fired Vassara from assigning referees, and assigned another old referee with a lot more baggage in that position.

You tell me that Olympiakos had nothing to do with this decision? I say your are looking for idiots.

What's really worrisome is that these people (the ones who can't play straight and want all the cards stacked on their corner) are so secure in the system they built that they are not even afraid to make such brazen and public moves in the middle of the season.

This is not an issue of whether or not Douros is better than Vassaras. They were both pretty bad referees and neither has any managerial and administrative qualifications or skills to make us believe that something will change with this swap.

It's an issue of who controls the game officiating.

Those who enforced their own wishes on the KED are sending the message that they can control refereeing no matter what.

This football world is so screwed up and filled with crooks and small minded idiots that they don't even care about the effects, or how such moves further downgrade their own product.

They don't care how such moves will mathematically lead to more violence in the near future.

They don't care. As long as their pockets are lined and their ego stroked, they'd do anything.

Theodoridis was certain that Olympiakos will take care of this championship in OAKA. He said so last week. Now I know what he meant. Except, now that the "entitlement" team has fallen further behind, they have to take care of this championship in more than one stadium or game.

I can't believe the government would just sit there watching this tragedy.

What needs to be done is to investigate immediately who called the KED people and if there was any pressure put on them to fire Vassara. Open up their phone accounts (and the bank ones too) to see who they talked with and who called them in the last 48 hours.

Second, someone needs to step up and stop the travesty of the refereeing in Greece. From now until the end of the season, and with the goal of restoring the lost credibility, the league must bring referees from abroad to officiate Greek games.

There is no way any refereeing error will be construed as "human error" from now on. The cat is out of the bag.

How can referees call the Olympiakos or Panathinaikos games when they know that when Olympiakos decided they don't like their calls their career will be history. They don't have to be bribed or threatened with "Russians, Romanians, etc". All they have to do is read the newspapers where marginal calls have destroyed the careers of other referees (Daloukas, and now Konstantineas), and even the most politically powerful ones like Vassaras have been axed.

You would say, why not? If they make huge mistakes they should be axed. Right?

But look closely, it took the equivalent of a nuclear blast to keep Kalopoulo off the games, even though he screw up majorly (well, his assistant really), and other referees that have burned other teams like Panathinaikos, AEK, PAOK, and Aris, to mention just the ones that are on top of the table constantly, have enjoyed the "human error" excuse and continue to officiate. Does anyone remember the Kakos red card to Sariegi in Karaiskaki a few years ago? Galleti pulled a high dive on a play where Sariegi didn't even touch him. That "error" influenced the game result and if we were idiots we would be talking about "crime against Greece". But it was a call in favor of Olympiakos, so Kakos continues to abuse the fans with his whistle.

I am no fan of Vassaras. I was actually prepared to write this week about what I think is wrong with Greek refereeing.

What's wrong with it is that it does not promote talent but butt-kissing. It doesn't have a system that rewards and promotes the best referees while it punishes and demotes the bad ones. It starts from the top where club shareholders control the officiating group, and they install old referees (the ones fostered by the rotten system) at the top decision-making spots. Unless this vicious cycle is broken, Greek football will always look like a lucrative hobby for underground hobbyists.

Let's see how this develops. I have a hard time believing that the state or the other teams will roll over and take this kind of abuse.

Panathinaikos - Atromitos 1-0

2012-01-22T17:09:00.002-05:00

Φασούλι το Φασούλι, γεμίζει το σακούλι! I remember this from second grade class in Greece. "Bean by bean, the sack will fill". Point by point this title is getting closer.

Panathinaikos - Atromitos Video

Seeing that the stress is beginning to creep in the team, I hope Ferreira finds a way to keep the players focused and the team's gaze at the title that is closer now than ever. Most importantly, I hope the fans don't let their own agony for the title translate into unreasonable requests, jeers, and more stress for the players.

Not to forget the "paragontes", I hope they stay the hell away from the team and the point advantage that the players and coaching staff built through hard work over the past six months.

I say that because I have watched Panathinaikos implode in the past because they were unable to manage the stress that first place imposes on players, paragontes, and fans. I remember vividly the Peseiro year when we were so close to winning the title only to see the team implode in the last month through off the field distractions that should have been avoided.

Gontikas has done a good job so far letting the team do it's job, while he has matched the childish behavior of the Olympiakos paid agitators with nicely timed and well crafted responses.

I start my game analysis with this prologue because I see some signs that make me worried.

Fist the fans booed Totse last game against Doxa when he came off the field.

I know for a fact that the majority of Panathinaikos fans don't condone this kind of behavior, but it seems like there is a large population of idiots in the stands who have no clue how to help the team, or worst, they care less about the team as long as they get to "be heard" for once in their lives. I hope those who booed Totse find another team to destroy and leave Panathinaikos players alone.

I still remember the game with Peseira against Panionios that fans booed Tziolis for entering the game at a time when the coach wanted to secure the winning score. These fans weren't the only responsible for losing that title, but creating a toxic atmosphere with unreasonable expectations did not help then, and it will never help.

Second worrisome sign is the re-appearance of some lost ghosts and agitators from the past. Sure we do want to know what will happen with the shareholders and the club ownership, and we definitely want to know that some of them will step up to help, but I get an uneasy feeling when the team has a critical game to play today, and the media reports are dominated by business persons who send some sort of letter to Gontika. I know it's not constructive when everyone jumps to take sides, to polarize the fans, and to talk about anything but what really matters: the player and coach's efforts on the pitch.

Now that the team is winning and solidifying first place, I suspect there will be plenty of "comets" who will attempt to show themselves as "PAO-loving", "saviors", and general "team bouncers". By my book, unless someone wants to write the club a check, they will do well to stay the hell away this season. We can live without self-serving letters, ideas, and patronage.

Now for the game.

This win was not just a small step toward the title. It was a giant leap ahead for the competition who lost ground through their own ineptitude (even though Theodoridis and Marinakis will have everyone convinced that Gontikas has set up a "paranga").

With the three points collected today Panathinaikos is in first place, two points ahead of Olympiakos. That's two points ahead having played a game less than them. This means that if Panathinaikos wins the pending game against Levadiakos (at home) this Wednesday, they will be FIVE points ahead in the league table. That's a huge handicap in Greek football and it would literarily take an implosion by PAO to lose this title - hence my huge introduction about distractions.

If you read my previous blog about the games ahead, you 'll see the beauty of Panathinaikos' position. They have a chance to make the upcoming Panathinaikos - Olympiakos game completely meaningless.

Olympiakos agitators have already mentioned that they expect to make up the difference by winning in OAKA (I am not sure if Theodoridis had inside knowledge when he said this with so much certainty last week - perhaps a slip of the tongue for an attempt to fix that game? I don't know. He'd have to explain himself), and being already five points ahead would make that game an attempt at a long-shot to get back in the race than an actual title-winner. Suffice to say that Olympiakos will have a few more chances to lose points, especially since they suck, and still have to play in Touba among other tough games.

This Panathinaikos - Atromitos game was another typical contest where the little team can go home and brag about "ball possession" (not) or "didn't get killed at OAKA", and Panthianikos players can go home to enjoy the view from above.

Overall, it wasn't an easy game, Atromitos being a disciplined and well drilled team, but in the end Panathinaikos verified that they have solutions to overcome these kinds of games no matter how much the other team "wants" to do well.

Today's solution had a Quincy stamp on it. It was getting into the last twenty minutes of the game and despite Panathinaikos picking up their game, it looked like we would need a hero again. Quincy had flirted with the goal a couple of times before, but he didn't let his third chance to score go astray. You bring the ball in the box enough time, and it's bound that one of this times it will bounce your way.

Atromitos had one decent chance early in the game but beyond that, and despite their good ball movement in midfield, they never really became dangerous. On the other hand, Panathinaikos wasted the first half again with only one long-range shot to show for, but they did adjust both tactics and intensity in the second half, enough to bring a winning goal and several other good chances to score again.

It's noteworthy that Panathinaikos has kept a clean sheet for the last five games despite the major injuries and forced rotations in both defense and midfield. They have stopped scoring two and three goals per game, but they do score enough to win, and they stopped conceding silly goals on defense. I am not sure what has caused the major change, but it works for now, and if we can keep winning for the next month, I am convinced we will see good football again if the difference from second place increases some more, and when the injured players return.

Ferreira once again showed that he is a very astute and flexible tactician. He fielded a good and disciplined squad, and made the right moves during the game to win it.

I am sure mainstream media reports will mention how Atromitos held the ball in midfield and how Panathianikos looked unable to win possession. But if you watched the game, and like to analyze tactics, you would probably agree with my observation:

Atromitos had a very sly strategy. They got the ball in midfield and passed it around their defenders and two DMs, trying to bait the other team's zone to run up to get it.

Most teams fall for this. They sit back in two defensive zones and eventually players from the first defensive line will strart peeling off to attack the ball. Inevitably when this happens individually, without the rest of their teammates following, it leaves big holes behind that can be exploited to force the defenders on one-on-one match-ups without support. Defending midfielders do it is because they too get as impatient as the fans to win the ball and to attack.

Panathinaikos players didn't fall for it, and they never attempted to attack the ball behind center field, unless it was a movement by the whole team. For me that's a good sign of the excellent work that Ferreira's coaching team has done this season. It's not something that can be taught in one week, and in the end, this kind of discipline is what wins titles.

Also, I am impressed with the way Ferreira trusts and manages his players, and they seem to respond well to him. I don't know if he had something to do with the playesr increasing their intensity in the second half, but he definitely has a huge part in bringing this team on top of the table with a game to go.

The Players

Karnezis 6
He had one excellent save early in the game on a close-range Mitroglou shot, but I thought he looked shaky and spilled a couple other shots that I thought he could have smothered, and he had a couple of bad exits in corners.

Vintra 8
Good game by Vintra who covered the entire wing on the right and sent in the excellent cross that resulted in the winning goal.

Spyropoulos 7
Spyropoulos had an excellent game with critical stoppages on defense and meaningful plays down the wing.

Bjarsmyr 7
He was not pressed, but he had a solid game with excellent positioning and solid plays on the ball outside the box. The only weakness, and it's not only his own responsibility, was the fact that most high balls in our box ended with an Atromitos head meeting them.

Sariegi 7
He had the dificult task of marking a very dificult forward in Mitroglou, and looked a little nervous at times, but overall he managed to keep most dangers away from our goal.

Simao 8
Solid contribution in midfield with dominating play on man-marking plays, perfect positioning in zone defense, and excellent distribution to advance the play.

Katsouranis
He got injured and substituted in the first half, but he looked good in the minutes he played.

Vitolo 8
He replaced the injured Katsourani and he too left the game injured in the dying moments. But in between he had an excellent game, plugging holes in midfield, stealing balls, and distributing well.

Zeka 7
He looked energetic and at times dangerous with good forward runs. , but his final passes weren't always successful.

Cleyton 3
Cleyton had an off game, with slow distribution, unnecessary dribbles, and generally he looked sluggish.

Quincy 8
It was his turn to carry the torch for the team's offence today, and he did well to keep defenders on their toes, and of course, to score the golden goal that secured the win today.

Leto 5
He ran around in every offensive position, but most of the time he found two and three defenders around him. The moments when he found space, he chose the least desirable play - dribbling and shooting when it's time to pass, and generally looking all stressed out. I think he really wants to score every game, and he gets all aggravated when he can't. I suspect he'll bounce back soon, especially when the distance from second place increases. He just needs to relax and accept that he doesn't have to be the savior in every game, especially now that others have proven that they can step up and win a game even when he doesn't play well. His best conrtibutino was that awkward header that ended up as an assist to Quincy.

Totse 6
He replaced Cleyton around 60' and from my point of view, his entry in the game was catalytic in this win. With Totse present in the box, the center backs had him to worry about, leaving Leto and Quincy a lot more space around the box. He didn't do anything amazing, and managed to miss an excellent chance again (as a reminder, even the great Warzycha and Cisse went through long dry-spells), but he fought hard, and won the fans' cheers when he run about 80 meters to defend the forward run of an Atromitos defender. He looks like a conciencious player who cares about the team and I hope the fans give him the support he deserves.

Marinos
He came in the game after we scored to solidify the game in midfield and he helped in this respect without doing anything else noteworthy.

Racing towards the title

2012-01-19T13:24:00.000-05:00

While it's easy to get lost in the details the big picture is clear.

Panathinaikos holds their destiny reins in their own hands. As long as they take care of their own business, it matters not what the other superleague teams do, or what their professional agitators say in the media.

I wrote last week about the remaining games, and today I'll try to elaborate with what's expected for each game in order to win this title.

Pao - Atromitos
Pao - Levadiakos
Doxa - Pao
Levadiakos - Pao
Pao - Xanthi
Ergotelis - Pao

Out of this group of games, we can realistically expect 18 points. Neither one of these teams is can be considered a serious threat to Panathinaikos, even if some are in better form than others.

A determined Panathinaikos has the solutions to beat any of these teams 90% of the time. The other 10% is held for the weird conditions that can derail the most diligent of plans (injuries, iced terrain, red cards, etc.)

If we lose points in any of the above games, it's not the end of the world because we can make it up in the next group of games

Pao - Paok
AEK - Pao
Pao - Olympiakos

From this group of games, we can reasonably expect that Panathiaikos can get at least 5 points (two wins and one tie). If they win all three it would be super, but experience says that these three opponents are the most capable of winning or drawing against Panathinaikos.

If we lose any points in the games leading up to the biggest game of the season, Panathinaikos - Olympiakos, then we absolutely must win that game.

This of course assumes that Olympiakos wins every single game up to that contest, something that's unreasonable to expect, especially since they have been in horrible form all season long and they play games for the Cup and the Europa Cup. Panathinaikos doesn't have this burden any longer and they can comfortably concentrate on playing just one game per week, beginning next week.

If both PAO and Olympiakos win all their games until they play each other, Panathinaikos will be two points ahead in the league table. My own prediction is that Olympiakos will lose some points (just as I believe Panathinaiikos will too).

After that group of tough games, home stretch looks much smoother, and we can reasonably expect to win every single one of them to win the title:

Ofi - Pao
Pao - Aris
Pao - Panionios
Asteras - Pao
Pao - Panaitolikos

Winning the title in such season would be huge for the club. It will stop the slippery slope they have found themselves caused by the shareholder and fan antics (each only thinking of themselves, even if they pretent to do everything for their love for the club), by some disastrous court decisions (Votanikos stadium) aided by unscrupulous demagogues (Tsipras), and by the economic downturn.

It will be good for the morale of the fans, but also for the club's bank account, because the championship in Greece pays off with automatic inclusion in the Champions League Groups, that yield at least 15 million Euro. This can be the difference between selling or buying players in the summer, and it can send the opposition into their own spiral downturn.

The best case scenario for this season is:

Take care of business against the smaller teams
Beat Olympiakos at OAKA
Win the title
Send Olympiakos into economic woes without the certainty of Champions League bonuses
Force Olympiakos to sell players instead of buying
Force Olympiakos into an early summer schedule of qualifiers (the one that has plagued PAO for years)
Fortify Panathinaikos with at least three good players over the summer
Go into the next season with style and cofidence

This is not a science fiction scenario. Panathinaikos coach and players have worked hard to bring the team on top with half the season (and more) over, and there is no reason not to think that we win this title and reap the benefits.

Panathinaikos - Doxa Dramas 1-0

2012-01-18T15:01:00.002-05:00

88th minute is still a good minute, so I'll take any goals that it brings.

The final statistics tell the story of the game in partial: 72% ball possession for Panathinaikos, and 14 efforts on goal, 11 of which were on target but were either too soft, too easy, or blocked. Doxa Dramas had zero chances the whole game. Yes, that's zero as in nothing, none.

With Doxa playing 11 men behind the ball Katsouranis moved permanently in midfield after 75' (Vitolo did double-duty as a second CB when the ball moved to our defense) and the whole team just looked like they were running at a feverish pace as the clock ticked down. The good thing is that they never looked panicked and tried methodically to get the ball around Doxa's goal for a clean shot.

The result was a much-needed goal by Katsouranis at a time when the ball was circulating almost exclusively around Doxa's box. In a sense it was inevidable. Even though PAO didn't create as many clean chances as you would expect from dominating possession, but they did have half a dozen clean chances at open shots.

Good job by everyone to keep hustling despite the game looking increasingly like it might go south. In the end it was another game no one will remember at the end of the season, but it contributed three vital points for Panathinaikos who continue to have the advantage (a game less against Levadia) against Olympiakos in this race for the title.

Overall, the increase in intensity the players showed in the last fifteen minutes is what made the difference. They moved the ball well around Doxa's box and found many open lanes to take some good shots. Now, if they can just do this in spurts earlier in each game, we would not be stressing out in the end.

Video

The Players

Kapinos 7
I can't really rate Kapinos because he had the easiest afternoon he could ever have. He was never challenged and in the couple of occassions that the ball came his way he did well to quiet the play.

Marinos 7
He did very well defensively whenever he was isolated with any Doxa player and really helped developement down the wing, especially in the first half.

Spyropoulos 4
Watching this game I was reminded that there are certainties in life. Death, taxes, and Spyropoulos' first (or second) touch sending the ball five meters away so he has to chase it and lose it. Not really much help going forward and he was never really challenged on defense because Doxa could not get that far forward.

Bjarsmyr 8
Excellent positioning and good distribution by Bjarsmyr today. Game by game he gets his confidence built up and even though he was often underpowered one-on-one he fought hard to win the ball in the air and on the ground.

Katsouranis 9
Fantastic game by Katsourani who realized (or instructed by Ferreira - it makes no difference) that he could move forward in the last fifteen minutes. Even before that, the entire game he distributed the ball really well from defense. In the end, he made the difference on this one and sent us all on coud nine at a moment when we all thought that the win was getting farther and farther away.

Vitolo 6
Good job defensively and good distribution in midfield, but he never really did the something extra to get our forwards free (the way Katsouranis does from this position with his forward passes).

Cleyton 7
He looked really good in the first half and moved the ball well, despite the long pauses he had in his game.

Leto 7
He moved all round the box from the center to the right wing an gave lots of headaches to defenders. But in the end he was kept away from the box by a very dedicated Doxa group that attacked him by three and four players every time he had the ball, even in midfield.

Zeka 6
He had as many errors as he had good passes but overall his contribution and tenacity were positive contributions towards this win.

Quincy 1
He was the second player today that reminded me of the certainties of life: Death, taxes, and Quincy screwing up every play he got involved with today. Thats not too bad, but his attitude seems to be getting worst game by game. He seems to think that a couple of good dribbles that excite 12-year olds are enough and it's someone else's job to mark that opponent that he just gave the ball to, and it's ok if he doesn't run back to chase the player that dispossessed him.

Totse 3
He missed a sitter in the very beginning and after that he disappeared in Drama's populous defense.

Petropoulos 5
He didn't really do much on his own after replacing Totse, but he was a bigger force to recon with in the box, and his presence alone contributed in opponent's having a harder time getting to and clearing the ball out of their box.

Karagounis
He played int he last ten minutes and managed to increase the intensity of teammates and fans alike. Not that they needed any help with less than ten minutes left, but I don't want to underestimate the effects of psychology when a team is staring a pretty embarrassing tie at home with a few minutes to go.

Mavrias
His contribution in the last ten minutes was immense down the right wing. He looked strong and fast, and won many loose balls in the box. His biggest contribution was creating the winning goal. He lurked at the edge of the box during a corner kick, and won the ball from the defender who was trying to clear it. He send a wicket shot towards goal, forcing the goalkeeper to pull a difficult save but to spill the ball right into the lurking Katsouranis' feet.

Somehow, winning at the last few minutes must be really frustrating for Olympiakos "paragontes" and I can't help but feel double satisfied :)

Now let's watch the media host asinine statements from the person who is acting like the head clown for the Pireas team (Theodoridis) in 3, 2, 1, ...

Sorry, I could not help making fun of the poor guy after reading his pathetic drivel in the last few weeks. He personifies everything that's wrong with Greek football and that's the only reason he gets a salary from his team.

I like Panathinaikos' responce: 85' Goaaaal, Cleyton.... 88' Goaaaal Katsouraaaanis

PS: It was nice to watch the game without commentary (I hope the reporters enjoyed their strike). I turned on the music and as it happened when Katsouranis scored the amazing "Cortez the Killer" by the Dave Mathews Band was paying, making the atmosphere in my room overcharged. If you heard someone screaming, it was me!

Here is the song by the way (substitute "Cortez" for "Katsour" when you sing along):

Enjoy this ride everyone!

What's next

2012-01-16T10:33:00.003-05:00

In case you haven't looked at the program, there is reason to smile. From now until the end of February we play:

Pao - Doxa Dramas
Pao - Atromitos
Pao - Levadiakos
Doxa - Pao
Levadiakos - Pao
Pao - Xanthi
Ergotelis - Pao

After that, we'll have the chance to finish off this race if all goes well. We play back to back derbies at home (with AEK we play at OAKA).
Pao - Paok
AEK - Pao
Pao - Olympiakos

After that group of tough games, home stretch looks much smoother:

Ofi - Pao
Pao - Aris
Pao - Panionios
Asteras - Pao
Pao - Panaitolikos

As you see, there is good reason to keep our focus and to stop the whining about every little ref decision, and all the other distractions.

Until we begin the derbies, there is good reason to believe that we can win every single game one way or another. Reality says that we'll lose some points here and there, but even so, if we win the pivotal derby against Olympiakos at home the title will be very hard to lose.

The team needs to keep their intensity and focus, and to treat every single game as if they are playing play-offs. It's very important that we win each of the next seven games because the possibility of losing points goes up against teams like PAOK, AEK, and Olympiakos. If we do that, then we'll go to the derby in first place and a win against Olympiakos would be not only the finishing touch for the season, but a firm foundation for the future seasons as well.

Giannina - Panathinaikos 0-1

2012-01-15T15:50:00.000-05:00

Wild game!

On a half-frozen field it's a miracle that Panathinaikos escaped with the three points and no injuries.

Ferreira fielded a "gutsy" squad, leaving Leto on the bench. I say gutsy because if Panathinaikos had lost the three points the second-guessing would have been intense. In reality, the scheme didn't work and once Leto entered the game in the second half, Panathinaikos was able to move the ball toward Giannena goal with some merit.

It was a good game overall, and Gianina could have won it by a wide margin if it weren't for Karnezis' excellent saves on more tete-a-tetes that I care to count. In the end, a scrappy play and a half-baked Cleyton bicycle kick decided this game. To be fair, even though Giannina ended the game winning ball possession statistics, Panathinaikos had their own missed chances to cry about.

All in all it was an exciting. wild, and frustrating game to watch. Exciting because of all the missed chances and of course because Panathinaikos won in the end, and wild because the frozen terrain made each play unpredictable. It was frustrating too because Panathinaikos continued the streak of games where they can't string enough passes together in midfield to dominate.

It's evident that Panathianikos is going though a period of bad form, and this is probably the best time to have such dip in performance. Most of the next couple of month games are against teams with limited resources, the kinds that Panathinaikos can win even on their bad day. That's how it worked today, and hopefully the team is buying time until they return to playing up to their potential and until some of the key injured players return.

Having watched the last string of games that everyone would agree didn't "click" for Panathinaikos it seems to me that missing players like Boumsong, Lazaro, Roudolf, and Nini has been hurting the team on multiple levels.

Today Panahtinaikos was playing with a totally new defensive line, with only Vintra being present from earlier in the season. The depleted defense has hurt the midfield as well, not only because Katsouranis is now absent from an area where he made a huge difference in the first half of the season, but also because the cohesion has been lost and it's been very difficult to move the ball out of defense with authority and speed.

This movement of the ball with secure passes and speed from defense to offense was the strength of Panathinaikos in the first half of the season, but it's completely absent in the last month or so.

It would have been fair to speak of Ferreira's errors in choosing his players if we didn't win the game, but he made the right moves in the second half, most important of which in my mind was the injection of Marinos in the game. After this move, and the subsequent one to put Leto in solidified midfield and allowed Panathinaikos to move the ball toward Kipouros' goal. Fourlanos wasn't as helpful, but by that time Quincy's game had deteriorated to garbage time, so a tall DM (the ball sailed in the air a fair amount of time due to the frozen pitch) was justified.

The Players

Karnezis 9
Besides a couple bad clearances he was just about perfect. He looked nimble under his goal and was quick to attack the ball on the numerous times he came face to face with opposing players. He did well to keep the clean sheet for the third game, justifying Ferreira's trust in him. This was by far his best game with Panathianikos and I am beginning to feel comfortable with him under out goal.

Vintra 5
He had plenty of problems defending and it wasn't only the frozen terrain that he skated through in the first half.

Bjarsmyr 7
He held his position well in a game where Giannina players found themselves constantly behind our midfield in waves.

Katsouranis 6
I saw him out of position many times, but he could have won this game earlier if his brilliant header weren't deflected by Kipouros by an equally brilliant save.

Ioannidis 6
He played well, but he too found himself constantly exposed against two or three players (especially as long as Quincy was in the game).

Vitolo 5
He had good efforts in the first half, but neither him, nor Simao seemed able to keep Giannina players from moving the ball with ease all the way to the edge of Karnezis' box.

Simao 5
He did a lot of the dirty work in midfield and had good defensive plays when it came to man-v-man plays, but he too seemed lonely among a multitude of blue shirts in midfield.

Cleyton 9
It wasn't just the beautiful goal he scored with the bicycle kick that earned a "9" from me. It was his overall performance that impressed me today. He was the only one that moved the ball forward and had overwhelmingly positive passes to show for.

Quincy 4
It didn't look like he wanted to be out there, and I got the impression that he was more concerned about keeping himself upright on the slippery pitch than winning this game. He did have a couple of excellent shots from the edge of the box that tested the goalkeeper, and gave a few good passes that could had resulted in a score.

Mavrias 3
He played on the right wing and he too had couple of decent efforts away from the opposing goal, but overall his presence wasn't very helpful neither offensively (where he didn't give reason for defenders to worry) nor defensively where he left Vintra all alone most of the time.

Totse 5
For most of the game I found myself wondering if he was even playing, but he did get involved in the plays when the ball reached the box though and he was unlucky not to score today on at least two tete-a-tetes (or some would say "he should have finished better").

Marinos 7
He came in the game in 45 to replace Mavria, and helped a great deal in plugging the hole on the right of our midfield, helping Vintra defensively, and even moving the ball forward really well. It was a smart move by Ferreira, knowing that the game was going to be played on the right wing exclusively (since the entire left side of the pitch was icy and both teams avoided playing on that side).

Leto 6
His presence alone seemed to tilt the balance toward Panathinaikos since Giannina was overly concerned with him. There were over three players chasing him around all the time to keep him away from their box, something that allowed more space for other Panathinaikos players. His freekick delivery was also another positive contributino for Panathinaikos in the last half hour.

Fourlanos
The youngster looked energetic but none of the plays helped him. He fumbled with the ball a lot, and he had a heck of a time keeping himself upright on the ice.

Don't Panic

2012-01-13T12:46:00.003-05:00

As you noticed, I rarely write about games Panathinaikos plays for the Cup competition. It's not that I don't watch them; It's that I could not give a hoot about this silly competion and trophy. It's painful to watch PAO lose any game, but it's not the same for me as losing games in Europe or in the Superleague.

The Panionios game confirmed pretty much what I wrote last Monday. The team has no steam and so it's increasingly difficult to keep up the intensity through a whole game. Perhaps the reported light conditioning work that took place in the summer is responsible, perhaps the diminished roster due to injuries and shallow bench depth. I have no way of knowing, but it's evident in the games that the team is not firing on all cylinders any longer.

In one sense, I am actually not bothered by the Cup elimination. Given the special circumstances of this season, I thing it's best to focus on the one meaningful competition that can make a real difference for Panathinaikos. Winning the Superleague title this season is top priority, not only because of the bragging rights, but also because it will automatically guarantee over 15 million Euro for the team's coffers next season (by the automatic inclusion in the Champions League groups).

One think I only regret is that we weren't able to rest some of our players during the game with Panionios. I know the players wanted to win - as they should - but I think the elimination from the cum is a blessing in disguise.

But reading the online media I sense disillusionment over this elimination by the fans and the reporters who are beginning to get into "whining" mode again, trying to find out what's wrong with the team, why can't we get new transfers, why there is no leadership, and overall looking to assign blame.

Sure there is a lot of blame to go around for the club's condition this season.

In my book, all of the shareholders, the media, and the fans - especially the organized ones (yes, this might be the only space where fan responsibility for the team's condition is assigned) are to blame.

But I don't intent to be part of the whiners. The only reason I write this blog is because I love the game and Panathinaikos, and the only ones that I can't blame are the coach and the players.

These players and the coaching staff have been massively overachieving this season.

With no help from the front office, with major stars departing in the summer, with low budget summer transfers, and no real presence or power in the leagues' bodies (EPO, Superleague etc), these players have performed amazingly well this season. They pulled some beautiful games, have scored tons of goals, and they are leading the league!

Let's give them a break.

It doesn't really help them to be overly analytical and overly whinny about every game, every play, and every detail. They have a huge chance of winning the title in a few months and they deserve our support.

One of the things that I noted in the last few games is how it doesn't seem fun for the players any more. They don't celebrate the goals the same way they did a few months ago, they don't recover as quickly from errors, and they have began complaining at each other on the pitch for errors. I can only attribute this to lack of focus and stress.

Now is not the time to bitch and moan about every mistake this or the other player made. It's not time to keep whining for the lack of shareholder involvement, or for the lack of transfers.

Now is the time to support the PAO players and the coach.

Let's keep our eyes on the big price and keep support the players through highs and lows.

Panathinaikos - Kerkyra 1-0

2012-01-08T12:47:00.002-05:00

With the final whistle, the announcer said "stressful win for Panathinaikos" and that summarizes everything about the game.

Panathinaikos had one goal and at least three excellent chances to score again to go along with another couple half-chances. But the whole story of the game was that Kerkyra managed to finish the game dominating possession 54% to 46%.

I know very well that possession doesn't mean much in football unless you win, and the reality of it was that Kerkyra's possession was as impotent as it was noteworthy. For hoarding the ball so much, Kerkyra never really managed to become dangerous for Karnezi. In fact, Karnezis had one really good block from a difficult shot from within the box that ended up coming his way, but other than that Kerkyra had no real chances to show for.

So why was the game so stressful, even for me who caught myself looking at the game clock as soon as 75'?

It was a combination of PAO's inability to hold the ball with any authority, and a general panic that ensued on our defense every time the ball came close to our box. There were so many times the ball bounced in our box without someone being able to clear it, that gave the general impression that with enough of these fracas plays one will end up going in.

Panathinaikos' defense is not the strength this year, so I wasn't surprised to see that kind of panic by all our defenders now that the whole line has been decimated by injuries. Panathinaikos' identity this year has been ball possession and crisp passing that keeps opponents on their toes and unlocks defenses with ease.

I saw the latter on a few plays in the first half, but it's becoming a trend in the last few games that Panathinaikos players can't perform at the same level as they did earlier in the season. There were more errant balls in midfield than successful passes, and for that, we can blame a few error-prone players but also the lack of hustle off the ball to get into position.

I don't know if all the accolades have gone to the players heads so they don't feel like they have to out-hassle the opposition, or if they are really as badly conditioned as some reporters have implied earlier in the season. But the reality is that with few exceptions, Panathinaikos' players have gone through a stretch of three or four games where they play a more static football with many players unable to run with the same intensity for the game's entirety (Cleyton, Zeka, Leto, for sure).

The three points were the objective though, and it was achieved even if once again the "small" team can go home to spread some bragging rights about how well "they played Panathinaikos" in OAKA.

The Players

Karnezis 6
I don't know the reasons why Karnezis was chosen today instead of the very good Kapino. I hope it's not one of the boneheaded decisions by management to put pressure on the kid (perhaps contract negotiations, like it happened so many times in the past?), or if Ferreira wants to keep the youngster on his toes, but admittedly, I have no confidence in Karnezis after seeing him give away two games to oppositions single-handedly. He wasn't pressed at all today so all is well, and for the first time in 9 games Panathinaikos didn't concede a goal. Even though I think this had to do more with Kerkyra's inability, it does go down as a check on the positive column for Karnezi.

Vintra 5
Vintra did manage some critical stoppages on defense, but overall he was sloppy with the ball and looked nervous. He had his usual passion but this and his powerful runs are not conducive to Panathinaikos' new possession football game so he looks a little out of sorts.

Spyropoulos 5
I could just copy and past the Vintra rating here. He didn't find himself as much out of position as Vitnra did, but he didn't help as much offensively either.

Bjarsmyr 5
A very quiet first game, and an error-free one from Bjasrsmyr. I hope this begins building his confidence because we'll be seeing a lot of Bjarsmyr in the next couple of months with three other Central defenders unable to help (Boumsong and Sariegi injured, and Kante playing in Copa Africa).

Kante 5
He had many good last-minute stoppages but looked weak on high balls and very panicky. I was amazed at how many jumps for headers a player can mis-time in game seeing Kante's headers hitting the crown of his head and sailing sideways or backwards.

Simao 7
Those who made their internet "fan" reputation making fun of Simao's ball handling skills are probably revising their stance after the kid showed incredible improvement in ball possession and distribution to go along with his tenacity as a DM.

Vitolo 6
Vitolo looked good in midfield both defensively and offensively in the first half, but in the second half he didn't help as much. He trailed the play way too many times, and failed to organize the game or to distribute the ball forward in the way his position requires. His contribution was overall positive though.
Added Monday: After looking at the highlights, I realized that Vitolo gave the forward pass to Cleyton, a pass that allowed Cleyton to come face to face with the goal before he passed to Leto who scored. So Vitolo did contribute considerably on offense and I increased his rating to 6.

Cleyton 7
With Kerkrya playing their defensive line very high, Cleyton had ample room to run and pass in open space. For sixty minutes that his legs could carry him, he helped both defensively and offensively, and it wasn't by accident that ball possession was lost for good when he got tired. He missed a couple of chances but his effort and assist to Leto were exemplary.

Mavrias 6
For a 17-year old in his second start for PAO, Mavrias was very good. He played as a LM with power, speed and skill. He managed some good plays even though he helped Spyropoulo on defense more than Spyropoulos helped him on offense.

Zeka 5
Defensively he was good in midfield but he had more errors than positive plays overall.

Leto 7
He is a force to reckoned with, and he was a real pain in the behind for Kerkyra all game long. He missed a couple good chances to score a second goal, but he was creative up front and scored the winning goal and finished the game without being booked. Noteworthy is the fact that he wore the captains armband today, a well deserved honor.

Marinos 6
He replaced Cleyton early in the second half and did well to hep Vintra defensively. He did a lot of running and actually missed two really excellent chances to score.

Roudolf
He came in the game for the last fifteen minutes and didn't really help either with maintaining possesion or being dangerous on the counter at a time when Kerkyra was playing the ball almost exclusively in our half. He had way too many errant passes to go along with his good defensive contribution in midfield

Karagounis
In the last ten minutes the Ferreira was desperate for his players to hold on to the ball and Karagounis helped quite a bit in that respect. He calmed the whole team and won a lot of meters on the field, holding on to the ball and distributing correctly to teammates.

The bottom line
We won this one, but if we keep playing like we played today (and the last couple of games) it's a matter of time before we'll pay for it (again).

The team needs to go back to playing fundamental football with short passes and constant movement off the ball. Today, everyone looked static and Kerkyra midfielders managed to get to the end of every loose ball and errant pass.

The team also needs to work on pressing the opponent in critical spurts. So far this season with only a few exceptions, Panathinaikos doesn't seem capable of putting another gear in to press and win the ball in the opposing half.

It's going to be a tough couple of months with all the injuries and frequent games, but let's hope we keep winning until some of injured players begin playing again. Players like Ninis, Lazaros, Quincy, Boumsnong, and even Sariegi can make a huge difference in our game.

Panaitolikos - Panathinaikos 1-1

2012-01-04T17:31:00.001-05:00

Happy New Year everyone!

The first game of the new year for Panathinaikos was forgettable, and most of the time it hurt my eyes to watch. The incredible amount of errant balls in midfield reminded me of the dysfunctional team of yesteryear. I think at some point the announcers mentioned that there were over sixty "erros" made by Panathinaikos players, and about the same number for Panetolikos.

This little statistic provides an accurate picture of the entire game. Both teams were balanced on just about everything on the pitch. Even if PAO had a bette possession stats, it didn't mean much because this possession was mostly meaningless around our half our in centerfield. Very few times Panathinaikos players were able to exchange meaningful forward passes, and even fewer they managed a shot on goal at the end.

The two teams took what they deserved from the game, with Panaitolikos probably feeling bitter that they were equalized at the very last minute of extra time and at a moment Panathinaikos played with ten players after Boumsong was injured and could not continue.

Overall, this was a forgettable game for Panathinaikos in a stadium that had a wonderful festive and "rural" atmosphere. The fans were there to push their team but they were civilized (with the exception of a few profanity laced chants) and even expressed their support for the injured Boumsong as he was carried off the field.

Today's performance will throw fuel in the argument that Panathinaikos is not the same team without Leto. I don't know if that's entirely true, but today it was evident that without the skilled Leto and Quincy up front, most passes to our forwards were easy pray for the defenders who didn't have much difficulty dispossessing anyone who approached their goal.

I have decided to begin my player rating again, but as a word of warning to my reader friends, I won't be overly critical to players that seem to me to be trying their best this year.

The Players

Kapino 7
He was solid once again, and kept me excited about his future with the way he smothers the ball instead of spilling it, and wit the way he commands his box from edge to edge on forward through-balls. He had no responsibility for the goal as the opponent had all the time in the world to go around him.

Vintra 4
He was preferred today for the right fullback position instead for Marinos, and I am afraid with his performance he can't make the case for keeping that starting spot. He looked nervous at times, and his sporadic runs down the wing didn't end in good crosses. In fairness, in his best effort forward he was fouled in the box by a very sloppy defender, but the referee didn't call the penalty.

Spyropoulos 5
He had good and bad moments defensively, but he didn't really help forward with runs or crosses.

Boumsong 6
First I should say I hope he feels better. He broke his toe during the game and had to be carried off the field. He will miss at least a month and maybe more. He was strong while he played, but he did lose the through pass that allowed Panaitolikos to score.

Kante 4
He too looked nervous out there and missed several assignments. I think one of the reasons he has been starting over Sariegi in the last few games is because we needed better defense on high balls. But even today, with both Boumsong and Kante in the game, every set piece that ended in a high ball caused mountains of problems for our defense.

Simao 7
Solid game by Simao who was the only player that won more defensive battles that he lost in midfield.

Katsouranis 5
He looked flat in midfield, but even so he managed some good through balls forward that could have been dealt better by our forwards.

Karagounis 2
It was kind of sad to see Karagouni play such a bad game but time, the game, and his reputation have caught up with him. He could not round opponents to save his life, and it's evident that he is not the "direct football" type of player. To add insult to injury, the referees seem to have an agenda now never to give Karagouni a foul unless his leg is chopped off. I do think the referees are justified to caution him when he complains so animated, but there were at least three blatant fouls that the referee didn't call.

Cleyton 5
Cleyton had a couple of positive moments (the assist on the equalizer was brilliant), but for huge parts of the game he dissapeared completely. He could have done better with the ball on a few counter attacks where there were better options than the ones he made.

Zeka 4
He was strong defensively in midfield, but he had way too many errors. He either gave away the ball too often, or he lost it after unsuccessful dribbles. I get the feeling that he plays out of position though. He strikes me more as a box-to-box midfielder than a right winger, and today he played on the right wing almost exclusively.

Mavrias 5
Mavrias looked energetic in the first half, playing down the left wing, but he completely disappeared in the second half. He is another academy prospect that has been groomed for a couple of years for the first team, and today was his first start. He showed good skill with the ball, some speed, and enough strength to keep defenders from crowding him off the ball. Let's wish him best of luck and many more starts to come.

Petropoulos 2
I don't know what it is with all the young players who look amazing until they sign the big contract they are after. I watched it happen to Petropoulos too. He used to look good, with speed power and good finishing in the box, but now, and especially this game, he looked sluggish and even underpowered.

Marinos
He played as a right midfielder in the end of the game as a sub, and did well to maintain possession and to contribute creatively. With Boumsong gone and playing a man down, he had the difficult task of covering the entire right side, something he did well.

Totse
There is this general idea floating in Panathinaikos fans' heads that he is not the right person for the job, but to me he looks like a very useful player. Today, he came in as a sub in the last quarter of the game and found himself face to face with the keeper twice and scored once. He could have scored a second goal if it weren't for an amazing, instinctive flick of the arm by the goalkeeper, Blazic, who deflected the ball in what looked like a certain goal from two meters away.

Ferreira
For all the good he has created for PAO this season, this was not a good game for Ferreira. It's easy for me to see of course, but I am sure he too realized after the game that Marinos would have been a better option instead of Vintra, and Totse should have started the game. I am sure he regrets throwing in the game Petropoulos before he put in Totse, and he might even be second guessing his use of Karagouni. But the coach too is entitled to some bad games here and there, and if it weren't for the plethora of errant passes, the two points might not have been lost. Also, his decision to declare Leto ineligible for this game turned out to being a huge factor in the game, given that Quincy and Rudolf both got injured in practice this week.

Leto
I know Leto didn't play this one, but I wanted to point out that his nerves cost his participation in this game. Not saying that we would have won with Leto, but after watching the game I am convinced that his presence alone would have made a huge difference today. The reason he didn't play today is because he amassed four yellow cards in the first half of the season. I think one of them might have been for diving (can't remember) but most of the cards he gets are for complaining to the referees for not giving him a foul when he thinks he deserves one, and even sillier, afte complaining to referees that his defenders should be getting booked. On that second part, he has a point, because it seems that refs allow his opponents to play rougher than usual, but there is no reason for him not to be smart about it. Perhaps now that he has matured as a player and has even changed his position and the way he plays with the ball, it's time to work on the mental aspect of his game.

What's next

Well, what's next is good and bad. First, we have the easiest of schedules all the way to the end of February. On the other hand, the thin bench might end up making some of these games even more of an adventure than we like.

With Boumsong out for over a month, the only Center Backs left are Sariegi and Kante. Both seem to be in not the best of shapes with Sariegi being benched in favor for Kante, who himself hasn't done much to convince that he deserves the starting spot.

To add to the problems, Kante is going to join the Mali national team for the Copa Africa so the only two Center Backs left available for several games are Sariegi and Bjarsmir.

Panathinaikos' defensive line gets even weaker, and it looks increasingly possible that Bjiarmir will be called to start at CB. Do you remember him? Yes, he is still with the club having found no way to break his contract and has registered exactly zero minutes of playing time this year.

Last time I saw Bjarsmyr was under Ten Cate and Nioplias, and he looked really bad for a CB. By bad, I mean he could not dispossess an opponent to save his life, and he looked extremely nervous out there on the pitch. He is too soft and easily pushed off the ball by more powerful opponents, and he tends to backtrack and watch the ball carriers instead of attacking the ball. I hope he has improved dramatically, but just in case, someone please let Ferreira know that Vintra played CB well under Ten Cate, and it might not be a bad idea to call on his services again, especially now that Marinos looks like he is not a liability as a RB.

Panathinaikos - Asteras Tripolis 3-1

2011-12-17T14:40:00.004-05:00

A pleasing game for everyone to go with the Christmas spirit that's around the corner.

Panathinaikos got another win, scored three goals again, Leto scored two, and the opponent can go home to tell a story of a glorious defeat.

To be sure, Asteras deserved better for the most part, but Panathinaikos was too good when it counted. The first two goals came from set balls (feekick and corner), and the third one through excellent open field play where a midfielder (katsouranis) found himself in excellent position in the box in a counter-attack. What's more, Katsouranis had a choice of two open players in the box. He chose the closer Leto, and Leto didn't waste the chance to score his second goal.

This is really the story of the game. Many would choose to focus on Asteras controlling the midfield and missing some excellent chances to score, but I think at some point Panahtinaikos players didn't take this one too seriously. After scoring the first goal, and watching Leto and Quincy perform some circus tricks and back-hills (as exciting they were to watch), I knew that discipline was breaking down.

Panathinaikos paid for their lax attitude, especially in chasing lose balls in midfield, but it didn't cost them because Kapino was in excellent form, performing some truly amazing and difficult saves on open shots from within the box. It was good to see the kid once again perform so well, even though in the end he did concede one.

I always thought that "luck" has a lot to do with excellent goalkeepers, and Kapino seems to be proving my "theory". I compare him to Karnezi who would see the ball land in his net on some improbable shots, while Kapino seems to have a force field of kryptonite that keeps his goal safe. Opponents shoot to the birds and the ball bounces his way in the vast majority of plays in his box.

But his ability has a lot to do with his good luck. He constantly keeps his feet moving, carrying him to the path of the ball at all times, his reflexes are top-notch (that save on the first Asteras shot to the post was truly world-class), and his explosiveness to get to the ball anywhere in his area force opponents to try to put a little extra behind the ball, causing them to miss.

Other that that, I don't have much to say about this game. It was a typical contest with Panathinaikos knowing they'll take the three points one way or another, and with Asteras winning some bragging rights through overexerting themselves throughout.

In the end, the roster quality of Pao, and the excellent work by Ferreira to drill ball-possession and set pieces, and to find a winning formation made the big difference in this game.

Kapino was great, Simao was amazing, and the rest (with the exception of Spyropoulo/Kante/Marino/Quincy who all looked flat) had spurts of goodness, times of sleepiness, and moments of brilliance that were enough to create a three-goal lead before Asteras scored. Katsouranis and Leto had a leading role in this comfortable win.

Leto has really matured as a player, and the new position Ferreira assigned to him maximizes his skills. He can chose his own space and ends up constantly on one-on-one situations where his dribbling gives him the advantage. It's kind of funny to watch him walking leisurely when we defend though, especially when he tries to preserve energy late in the game. I was laughing watching the game because with Leto, when we defend it's as if we play with ten players, but when we attack it's as if we play with twelve!

There will probably be other reports (and many Eors in Panathinaikos' forums) that scream about how bad our defense was, how Asteras deserved more goals, and alarms sounding about allowing so many chances to a smaller opponent.

All probably justified, but I am not in the mood to complain after my team won 3-1. I can't complain that my coach choses to not put defenders in the game every time the fans get nervous. I suffered through years of defensive football and coaches who managed the games with poop in their pants, so I will go the other way and give Ferreira credit for placing more emphasis on offensive development and scoring.

I know that if I want to see four green players in the box in a counter-attack, something must give. I am referring to the third goal where Roudolf run with the ball all the way to the box pulling four players before Katsouranis interjected and passed the ball to the wide open Leto for the score (with Mavria also even more wide open). With a more defensively minded attitude we might not have seen Katsourani in the box in such a play. The coach would have pinned him back to defend in midfield.

These kinds of plays I want to see more of. These kinds of plays is what we've all missed over the last decade. I want to see more even it means midfielders leave some open space for opponents in midfield, and even if it means the opponent will score one here and there.

In the end, it's a matter of view-point. We can choose the easy (and very shallow) criticism of our defense and our players, or we can choose to celebrate the positives. Sure we'll pay for our defensive problems one of these days, but my experience tells me that we'll have more rejoicing attacking moments than grief.

Remember the Cyberfish motto: Positive attitude begets good karma :)

Merry Christmas everyone!

Panionios - Panathinaikos 1-2

2011-12-11T12:09:00.001-05:00

Good game and a good victory for Panathinaikos.

Besides a five-minute period in the opener when Panionios pressed and forced some serious errors in Panathinaikos' defense to score, the rest of the game was a monologue for the green team that ended the game with overwhelming ball possession (62%), 15 efforts on goal (against 6 of Panionios), and the much needed three points to keep ahead of the competition.

This team really reminds me of the 1995 Roca squad. Nice, crisp passing, and a confidence that helps the players keep their cool even if they are behind in the score.

Like I said in answer to a friend last week who correctly pointed our that our defense is flailing at times, this is nothing new this year. Actually, it seems like our defense acts exactly the same as in previous years.

The difference this year is that we can overcome a defensive boo-boo here and there because we can dominate possession, and we can create a multitude of chances to score each game. Today, besides the goal Panionios made, there were maybe a couple of moments when they even came close to scoring. Sure they lobbed the ball to our box hopping someone will miss an assignment, but they had just about zero clean shots towards out goal.

On the other hand, I can count at least another two or three huge chances and another half dozen that were threatening towards Panionios' goal.

Panionios played a typical "small team" game, hoping to score early (something they did) and then parking ten men behind the ball in hopes the game will end before Panathinaikos converts the inevidable goals. They spend the majority of the game running like crazy to catch-up with the ball, and even employed last century tactics, man-marking Leto everywhere in the front half (with two or three other players converging whenever he had the ball).

But it was all in vain against a very skilled and well drilled Panathinaikos team.

Once again, it was a joy watching the players exchanging the ball with such ease and creativity on offense. There were moments when it looked beautiful with a green shirt running with the ball while two and three other teammates darted diagonally against Panionios' defense. The final passes didn't always work out in such a speedy deployment, but it worked enough times to throw all of Panionios' defensive plans out the window.

I spent the majority of the first half frustrated at the referee who called fouls against Panthinaikos for the slightest contact, while he let some pretty blatant fouls without a call if they were for Panathinaikos. My suspicion was erased when he called the very clear penalty on Leto (I don't think he had a choice anyway). At least I know his errors weren't intentional.

I liked how the team reacted after faling behind a goal. Instead of getting all stressed out like in previous years, they put the ball down and attacked Panionios from the right, from the left, down the middle, with crosses, low passes in the box, and long range shots.

I also liked the team's attitude passed by Ferreira who was in the hospital with high fever today (feel better coach). After scoring the second goal, there was no panic or any intention to play a tight game in the back. The next substitutes were the 18-year old wing man, Mavria for a more sure-footed Clayton, and Karagouni for the tired but more capable defensively Zeka. No second DM, and no defensively minded midfielder.

The result was a few wild lobs by Panionios in the box, but also a couple amazing open chances to score at least three more goals for Panathinaikos in the end.

Panionios wasn't all that bad. They were well prepared to block Panathinaikos' strengths and very well organized in their half. The fact that they broke down so many times can be attributed to the good football an individual skill of the green players.

It wasn't a perfect game, but it was good enough and entertaining to me. Let's not forget where the team is coming from before people begin criticizing the defense or the fact that we concede some easy goals or with individual errors by some players.

This is the fist year in over a decade when we see genuine attractive football by our team. Up until this year, and despite a huge sum spent on big name players, we played a lackluster game with as many weaknesses as strenghts. Up until this year Panathinaikos was a team that played a tight defense with pottent counter-attacks.

In a short few months Fereira has transformed a diminished squad into an fast and furious attacking machine that plays with confidence, always keeping an eye towards the opponent's goal line. We went from last summer's epitaph to serious contenders for the title, playing attractive football.

Best wishes to the coach for a quick recovery.

What's next

There is no reason why we can't win the next eleven games. Anything can happen in football, but anything but a win in the following games would be considered a major upset:

Panathinaikos - Asteras Tripolis
Panaitolikos - Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos - Kerkyra
Giannina - Panathinaikos
Panathianaikos - Doxa Dramas
Panathinaikos - Atromitos
Panathinaikos - Levadiakos
Doxa Dramas - Panathinaikos
Levadiakos - Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos - Xanthi
Ergotelis - Panathinaikos

Aris - Panathinaikos 3-1

2011-12-04T14:29:00.001-05:00

First loss of the season. It was a good game with Aris dominating for most of the game. Panathinaikos managed some good ball possession and play in the first half up until the equalizer by Boumsong, but after that they had no solutions against Aris' incredible hustle to get to the end of every loose ball. Overall, Aris looked like they had one extra gear above Panathinaikos and the final score reflects that, as well as the countless individual errors on easy passes that PAO players had.

We were not going to win every single game in the season, and losing against a better opponent is part of the game. I hope everyone doesn't overreact and that the team finds a way to put this behind them and move forward. There is a long road until the end of the season and the road bumps will be many. Ultimately, the club need to keep their eyes on the prize and to find a way to overcome bad games like today.

Congratulations to Aris for playing an excellent game. I have no problems with the players or the coach. They tried and didn't seem for a moment that they didn't care.

Last note: I enjoyed both teams getting into a dance after their goals. Boumsong had a nice vintage "swing" kind of knee dance, and the Aris players had their own fun little dance.

Just watching that, at the end of the game I could not help wondering how nice of a game soccer is, if it weren't for all the idiots who think they must win at all cost, and all the idiots who work behind the scenes to make sure no one else wins.

The Crooks Are Back!

2011-12-04T09:49:00.001-05:00

Panathinaikos pulled five points ahead and all of a sudden the red team that feels they are entitled to the championship every year have began moving the behind the scenes machine that influences the referees.

They can't stand watching fair and 50-50 officiating and they paniked watching their (pathetic) investment looking like crap on the field, and they can't stand the idea that they won't be entitled to the multi-millions of next year's Champions League.

This article by Gazzetta sums up clearly how the system works (at least the part that's obvious):

Μετά από μερικές… άνοστες διαιτητικά αγωνιστικές, το πρωτάθλημα πήρε φωτιά και το gazzetta.gr δίνει τη σφυρίχτρα και το πληκτρολόγιο στους ειδικούς. Ο… Fifty (Per)Cent έρχεται να μας τα κάνει "πενηνταράκια". Σα να λέμε 50-50. Αντέχετε;

Σφύριγμα έναρξης!

Στο ποδόσφαιρο και δη στο ελληνικό, η μπάλα παίζεται πρώτα εκτός και μετά εντός γηπέδου. Ως εκ τούτου, τα μηνύματα που αχνοφαίνονταν το προηγούμενο διάστημα, έγιναν πολύ πιο ξεκάθαρα την εβδομάδα που ξεκίνησε τη Δευτέρα.

Η λήξη ++++του αγώνα με τον Αστέρα Τρίπολης που έφερε τονπρωταθλητή Ελλάδος στο -5 προκάλεσε την … Ολυμπιακή εκστρατεία. Σαν ένα σήμα κινδύνου, ένα allert προκειμένου να γυρίσει το κλίμα και να ασκηθεί αφόρητη πίεση στους εμπλεκόμενους γύρω από τη διαιτησία.

1) Το πρώτο μήνυμα εστάλη σχεδόν με τη λήξη του αγώνα. Παρ' ότι η διαιτησία του Κύρκου κρίθηκε από την κοινή γνώμη εξαιρετική, και το αποτέλεσμα "αποφασίστηκε" από την τραγική απόδοση του Μέγιερι, τα ηλεκτρονικά και έντυπα Μέσα Ενημέρωσης που πρόσκεινται στον Ολυμπιακό ξεκίνησαν μια συντονισμένη επίθεση προς τον διαιτητή φωτογραφίζοντας τον ως (συν)υπεύθυνο για την ήττα, με αφορμή κυρίως τον μη καταλογισμό πέναλτι υπέρ του Αβραάμ Παπαδόπουλου, με το σκορ στο 2-0.

2) Λίγες ώρες αργότερα, δηλαδή το μεσημέρι της Δευτέρας έγινε γνωστή και η επιστροφή του Σάββα Θεοδωρίδη στονΟλυμπιακό. Στις πρώτες του δηλώσεις αναφέρθηκε εκτενώς στη διαιτησία, ζητώντας το 50-50, ενώ στα πρωτοσέλιδα των ερυθρόλευκων εφημερίδων την επομένη δέσποζαν δικές του τοποθετήσεις σχετικά με τις κίτρινες κάρτες, τα πέναλτι και τη "δήθεν εξυγίανση"…

3) Ίσως η σπουδαιότερη απόφαση, όμως, μια απόφαση που είχε ουσία και επικοινωνιακό χαρακτήρα συνάμα ελήφθη από τον Κύρο Βασσάρα. Ο αποκεφαλισμός του διαιτητή Κύρκου και ο υποβιβασμός του στη Β' Εθνική λειτούργησε στα στενά πλαίσια της διαιτησίας ως επίδειξη δύναμης. Και μήνυμα για τους επόμενους διαιτητές που θα έκαναν παρόμοια λάθη (;).

4) Η καταιγίδα όμως δεν είχε ολοκληρωθεί. Με απόφαση Βασσάρα, επιστρέφει στη διαιτησία ο Δημήτρης Καλόπουλος, ο οποίος πέραν των γνωστών αποφάσεων στο ντέρμπι της ντροπής (19/02), έχει και μια σημαντική λεπτομέρεια να αντιμετωπίσει: Εκκρεμεί εις βάρος του κακουργηματική δίωξη για δωροδοκία.

5) Η υπόθεση Καλόπουλου σηκώνει θύελλα αντιδράσεων από τον Παναθηναϊκό, απάντηση σε υψηλούς τόνους από τον Ολυμπιακούς και χαρτοπόλεμο διαρκείας. Ανάμεσα στα άλλα, η ΠΑΕ Ολυμπιακός υποστηρίζει στο θέμα Καλόπουλου πως "σεβόμενη τους κανονισμούς, δεν σχολίασε και την αδικαιολόγητη απουσία του, για ένα ολόκληρο δεκάμηνο, από τους πίνακες".

6) Η θύελλα συνεχίζεται αδιάκοπα και τα ερυθρόλευκα έντυπα συντηρούν το θέμα περί διαιτητικού κυνηγητού απέναντι στον Ολυμπιακό. Αποκορύφωμα, τα πρωτοσέλιδα της Παρασκευής που κάνουν λόγο για ωμή πρόκληση με την τοποθέτηση του Παππά στο Ολυμπιακός-Παναιτωλικός και του Σπάθα στο Άρης-Παναθηναϊκός.

Ήταν ένα πενθήμερο-φωτιά που θα θορυβούσε ακόμα και τους πιο άμεμπτους διαιτητές. Κανείς δεν προσπαθεί από αυτή εδώ τη γωνιά, να δικαιολογήσει τους διαιτητές, ειδικότερα όταν ακόμα και τυφλοί θα αποφάσιζαν με περισσότερη δικαιοσύνη για τις πεντακάθαρες φάσεις, ωστόσο και πάλι κανείς δεν πρέπει να ξεχνάει ότι οι διαιτητές είναι άνθρωποι, επηρεάζονται και ακολουθούν τα σημεία των καιρών γιατί είναι καριερίστες. Αν σταματήσουν να σφυρίζουν θα χάσουν το ψωμί τους… Αν σφυρίζουν… κλέφτικα, θα χάσουν το ψωμί τους οι ποδοσφαιριστές που αδικούνται. Μπρος γκρεμός και πίσω ρέμα…

Μην ξεχνάτε ότι μόλις ξεκινήσαμε στο θέμα της διαιτησίας. Θα επανέλθουμε και για τους άλλους, αφού πρώτα δούμε τονΣπάθα απόψε να επιστρέφει στον τόπο του εγκλήματος…

Just to add to the article, one major component of the campaign that is the scariest one: the threat of violence against the referees through indirect measures. Yesterday, someone put a bomb and destroyed the old ref's, Daloukas, car. For the record, Daloukas was the referee last year in the game Aris - Panathinaikos and was vilified by Marinakis for calling a (pretty easy to call, really) penalty on Vintra. Panathinaikos won that game with the penalty and Marinakis came out in public and characterized Daloukas' officiating as "crime against Greece". Following that, Daloukas was axed from the referee tables (a clear sign that Olympiakos controls the referee-appointing centers) and hasn't played a game since then.

Also as a reminder, this was the second time Daloukas' car was bombed. In every case the media seems to be quiet - probably all afraid that they will be the targets next.

It all comes at the tail end of an amusing coverup of the match fixing accusations revealed through the government's surveillance. Three minor (or major) characters went to jail, but I don't know how many of you noticed that the independent sports prosecutors were removed last week from their posts after "the request from the Superleague".

All in all, the above events show us the road of how the superleague will proceed from now on. It started with laughable and blatant favorable calls that favored Olympiakos in yesterday's game against Panaitolikos where the second goal was at least three meters offside (that was not called). It remains to be seen how it will influence today's game Aris - Panathinaikos.

The good news is that Olympiakos officials are panicing watching Panathinaikos' back, and they look desperate. I just hope the government is doing its job with their impressive surveilance because now is the time to catch them with their pants down.

Panathinaikos - OFI 3-1

2011-11-27T19:12:00.001-05:00

Another enjoyable game for Panathinaikos fans! While the team didn't look like they were firing on all cylinders they managed a very comfortable win to go with some other side-benefits.

Positives:

Three goals (again)
Well organized team work that allows everyone to contribute
Several good chances to score a couple more
Leto scored again (leads the scorers table with 11 goals so far)
Simao had a monster of a game both defensively and creatively in midfield.
Zeka scored for the second game in a row
Very few chances allowed for OFI (only one serious one, and one long shot - that's it)
Cisse's smile in the stands!
Excellent ball possession with quick, crisp passes
Full use of the entire field, from side to side and from back to front
The game ended with three "Academy" youths under twenty in the lineup (Kapino, Mavrias, Fourlanos - who made his debut as a second DM next to Vitolo after Simao was subbed)
Five points ahead of Olympiakos (who lost in Tripoli today), and one point ahead of AEK (who has played two games more than PAO).
Good officiating once again. It could be me, but it seems like the referees play without much pressure to help anyone in the league this season (wiretapping and a couple of jail terms worked it seems).
Standing ovation for Simao during his substitution
Fun, and new dance after Cleyton's goal

Not so positive:

Conceded a goal once again
A little lax on man-marking in midfield
The dance celebration needs a lot of work. The players were not very well synchronized

One of the biggest stories of the year is how Panathinaikos scores with ease.

Reporters keep mentioning how the team scores often on the first or second chance they get in a game. But they miss the point. (Added Monday: a few hours after writing this, I watched with amusement the NovaSports sports show with Karpetopoulo and the other guy, and they mentioned that same fact but seemed dumbfounded as to why Panathinaikos scores early and with fewer chances. They also revealed what you have read in this blog last week: Panathinaikos plays a 4-4-2!. Maybe they need to be reading my blog :)

The point is that Ferreira has transformed the team this year by working hard to establish "high percentage" plays all over the field.

The team moves forward by utilizing high percentage passing ( the constant movement off the ball helps), and the ball doesn't just get lobbed forward or in the box unless there is a good chance for a high percentage shot on goal.

Take a look at the first goal against OFI. Leto takes the ball on the right wing and has a couple of players in front of him. He dribbles and at one point he has a good chance to take a crack at a cross in the box. But he doesn't cross. He looks up and sees only one green shirt in the penalty area. He knows that that would be a "low percentage" chance for a score, and that his cross might even be blocked by the two defenders in front. He turned around with the ball to buy enough time for Zeka to run to the near post and gave the ball to Katsourani who was wide open.

Thus: a dificult cross into the box for one recipient double-marked player became a high-percentage cross by an open player, aiming at two green shirts in the box. The result: open cross - unimpeded header, and a better chance at a rebound. Score by Zeka!

That's the real change this year. It's really simple, and beautiful. The team passes the ball around with security, and avoids fancy low percentage plays that would allow the opponent to gain possession. The players move the ball from side to side to an open teammate until they are certain they can get the ball in the box for a high percentage shot or header. If they chance is not there, they just pull the ball back to midfield and try again.

This way, Panathinaikos players keeps overwhelming possession on the pitch and patiently works the ball around until they find a weakness. This is exactly the picture of the game against OFI. The Cretan team parked ten players behind midfield and hoped Panathinaikos will get impatient. That never happened and the end result came naturally.

Another nice wrinkle to Panathinaikos' game this year is the sudden change of pace. The midfielders pass the ball around in little triangles and from side to side, seemingly content to slow down the game, but every once in a while when the chance is there, a quick vertical pass (more often from Katsourani and by Cleyton to a lesser extend) gets the blood flowing and the quick forwards wrecking havoc on the opponent's defense.

Ferreira is doing a great job this year, and so are the players who work hard and seem to have tons of fun out there. Their enthusiasm is contagious and it's fun watching the games.

Simao was excellent once again as the sole DM, and I cannot say a bad word about anyone. I should mention the good game from Katsourani, Boumsong, Zeka (until he got tired), and Quincy with all the rest close behind them in performance.

Olympiakos - Panathinaikos 1-1

2011-11-19T14:27:00.001-05:00

Good game. Panathinaikos took what they needed, the one point, to leave Olympiakos staring at their back, lagging two points behind.

Kapino, Simao, Zeka were excellent, Marinos in the first half, and Sariegi/Boumsong most of the game played very well. Ferreira made the right move to put Vintra in, moving Zeka to the center of the field at a moment when Olympiakos looked like they were about to camp in PAO's half. After that, Panathinaikos clogged the middle and with the exception of several lobs forward and a couple of individual errors, didn't sweat much.

Kapino at 17 was baptized by fire today and he came out shining. Kudos to the kid for keeping cool and pulling at least two amazing saves. He was error-free for one more game and showed off his very sound fundamentals, smothering the ball with ease, coming off his line only when needed, and keeping cool all game long.

It seems like jailing a few of the fat cats for match fixing has put everyone in their place. Marinakis was a "panagitsa", the fans were good boys, and the ref played very well. The only exception was a blatant offside that was not called, allowing Kapino to make a fantastic save low and to his left on a Djeabour clean shot.

The Secret of Success

2011-11-03T10:07:00.003-04:00

It's amazing how Panathinaikos has transformed its game to be exciting and forward looking in the past few games. We've watched performances we haven't seen in over a decade, and the game against PAOK was arguably one of the most dominating and good-looking games I ever remember against a strong opponent.

Barring some flashes of brilliance here and there in previous years, I don't remember such a good streak of games from PAO.

A reporter asked Ferreira as he was heading to the locker room after the game with Ergotelis "what's the secret of this success". Ferreira laughed and said "there are no secrets. Only hard work". The directness and honesty of his answer is probably one of the secrets that has transformed the team for the better.

But the more I thought about it, the more I realize that there is a "secret" that no one has really touched upon in the mainstream (such it is) sports media. I started by thinking not what extra we have this year, but what's really missing that could make the team better.

For the past decade (I could actually go back 15 years to the Rocha team) we've had stable ownership. That's not present now and the team plays like a modern European club. Could this be the reason?

Many "organized fans" would jump from joy here yelling "I knew it was all Tzigger's fault", mainly because that's the "party line" and because it probably vindicates the venom spewed at the previous owner.

I would agree in part (sans the hatred for the previous owners).

I think the secret of Panathinaikos' success so far is that there is no one to mingle in the team's business in the locker room, the training ground, or the pitch.

This is really the first team since Kyrasta's team where the coach is the boss. No General Manager, no Football Manager, just the coach and the players.

We should be giving credit to the front office turmoil and to Gontikas for letting the coach and the players work the way they want.

I think this is the big secret so far.

We've had better players before (last year) and tanked, we've had good coaches before (I refuse to think all 20 coaches in the last ten years were duds), we've had plenty of Football Managers before, but we never had a team like we've seen in the last few games.

I hope whoever buys the club reads this blog, or at least has the sense to realize this themselves so they don't try to "improve" the team by installing "football managers", "assistant coaches" and the such.

Now that it looks that there might be a new ownership status, I hope they stick to paying the bills and leave the coach and players alone to work and plan for the future.

It's 4-4-2

2011-10-30T21:46:00.000-04:00

I am always amazed reading or hearing Greek reporters writing really strange things about Panathinaikos, exposing either ignorance on their part, or the fact that they don't watch the games, or that they don't know what to watch for when they watch.

I read and hear over and over that Panathinaikos plays without strikers. This reporter here even says about Ferreira and the win in Touba:

"Νίκησε την αδυναμία της έλλειψης επιθετικών παίζοντας ένα ακατανόητο σύστημα, κάτι σαν το 4-6-0 του Σπαλέτι με τον Τότι στη Ρόμα, γεμίζοντας το κέντρο και μπερδεύοντας τον αντίπαλο." (He beat the weakness of the lack of strikers playing an incomprehensible system, something like the 4-6-0 of Spaleti with Toti in Roma, stuffing the midfield and confusing the opponent. - my translation)

Don't get confused and don't read what these reporters say. Panathinaikos didn't play anything remotely close to 4-6-0. Against PAOK, Panathinaikos played a very nimble 4-4-2 with Simao often in front of the stoppers, with Zeka, Katsourani, Clayton in midfield from right to left, and with Quincy-Leto the two forwards.

There is nothing fancy, nothing unusual, and nothing confusing in the system Ferreira is using, and this is the big secret. Simple football can be beautiful.

I think it's a case where reporters get confused. They expect something to happen (a team must have a "heavy" center forward) and if it doesn't, they get all confused and they assume that something unusual is going on.

If you watched the game, you would notice that Panathinaikos moved the ball masterfully from all angles towards PAOK's box, and when the time came for the final cross or pass, there were always more than two or three players waiting to score.

Several players get to fill the Center Forward role at different times. If Leto is out wide, then Quincy or Cleyton, or Katsouranis (less often) wait in the box. If the ball is wide, Leto is in the box, but he is rarely alone.

Zeka is more active running down the entire right wing with Marino overlapping (nicely today), and Quincy or Leto usually run down the left wing with Spyropoulo staying put on defense, but with Cleyton providing support.

The myth that Panathinaikos plays without forwards is just a myth. Don't get fooled. Watch the game and see the clearly delineated lines of the 4-4-2. It's more noticeable when PAOK tries to move the ball, and less evident when we attack because Panathinaikos players move around like bees over a flower garden.

Update:
I wrote my blog yesterday, and today I found another misleading article (complete with a very wrong formation chart) on a "serious" media outlet by someone who is probably getting paid to write what he writes. They probably read the other article about 3-6-0 and thought they should jump on the bandwagon.

Both articles write that Panathinaikos plays without "επιθετικούς" and that's their big mistake. Leto and Quincy play as the "forwards" they don't play as midfielders in our 4-4-2. The fact that they don't fit the body mold the reporters consider "forwards" doesn't mean that Panathinaikos plays with 6 midfieders and no forwards.

For the last time: Panathinaikos played a very clean 4-4-2 in the last two games. It looks like this:

---------------------Kapino-------------------
Marinos--Boumsong--Sariegi--Spyropoulos
---------------------Simao--------------------
-------Zeka----Katsouranis---Cleyton-----
------------------Leto----------Quincy-------

PAOK - Panathinaikos 1-3

2011-10-30T16:23:00.004-04:00

It's been at least a decade since I really enjoyed watching Panathinaikos play game in and game out, and it's funny that it happes now that I hate the entire league more than ever, and that the team has nothing than uncertainty off the field.

But on the field the coach and the players are in control, and Ferreira's squad has transformed from a borring and slow phalanx to a nimble and powerful armada.

This was a beautiful game to watch for Panathinaikos fans. Even before the three goals were scored, I could sit comfortably on my chair, confident that this game wasn't going to be lost judging by the way the players exchanged the ball with ease making the PAOK players run like crazy to gain possession. And when they did, one white jersey found themselves surrounded by at least two bulldogs attacking to get the ball back.

Many cite this or the other player as the reason PAO wins and plays such nice looking football this year. But I see two team attributes as responsible: movement off the ball that allows everyone to play one-touch football, and controlled pressing that doesn't let the opponents organize no matter where they are on the field.

Sure Leto, Quincy, Kapino, and Zeka make excellent individual contributions, but the direct football that's so evidently worked in practice makes everyone elevate their game to a higher level. Thus, Marinos looked like an excellent modern Fullback, and Sariegi looked like a top notch Center Back.

Individual effort is still there and in the end it does make a huge difference (two goals came from masterful freekicks, and smart passing by Zeka/Katsourani resulted in another one). But the ball control made sure that Panathinaikos never really felt the pressure in the notorious Touba. It was fun to watch the ball moving around as if it were a Pin-Ball, and to see that in the last five minutes of the game the team could just circulate the ball around, not allowing PAOK the time of day to hope for something better from this contest.

There were times when Panathianikos looked like a modern European club, with speed, tenacity, and skill, and there were moments when the ball was lost in small-space little exchanges that made PAOK defenders look like they needed dramamines. The best part of the game was the celebration on the first goal though! Clayton, the scorer, waited for the entire team to circle around him to do a really fun little Brazilian dance.

The joy and confidence the players show, along with their really, and I mean REALY, excellent ball circulation in midfield is the best investment for the club's future. Sure there will be bad games, and sure we'll lose some, but this team is finally fun to watch no matter what.

It was also nice to see the 17-year old Kapino look like a veteran goalkeeper in one of the most intimidating stadiums. Kudos to the kid, and kudos to Fereira for trusting him. I am glad he is also getting baptized by fire in some tough games. He looks confident and so far he has shown incredible maturity, making always the right decisions. He commands his defense with authority beyond his years, he comes off his line to claim through-balls with perfect timing, and he showed excellent skill in high crosses when he cames off his line when it's appropriate, and most of the time he just claims the ball securely (I haven't seen him punch it once yet), or he stays put when it's cleat that he can't get to it. He also looks like a solid shot-blocker, being in the right position and spilling the ball to the side on low shots when he can't smother it (which he does securely). Excellent all around fundamentals and excellent concentration!

Speaking of Ferreira, I think by now everyone (unless they are weird or clueless) is tipping their hat to his work and the team he fields. I want to commend him for not being stuck up with side-agendas like many coaches we've had. If the 17 year old plays well, he keeps him in. If a 4-4-2 suits the players better, he keeps it going. If a player acts up (Simao), he doesn't take it personally. Let's hope that if someone buys the team that they won't go on an ego-building trip buying players and messing up a good team. Whoever buys the club must make Ferreira their best advisor an close their ears to all the other "brown-nosers" and player agents who undoubtedly will bunch up around them for scraps.

Maybe the turmoil in the front office, and the absence of all the suits that die for attention, has finally allowed the coach to work without distractions and the work shows on the pitch.

Ferreira is not competing for the limelight and doesn't try to outsmart himself with fancy tactics and surprising personell decisions. It looks like he works his players hard in practice and then he let's them be the protagonists on the pitch by placing them in positions where they can maximize their individual skills.

Speaking of the players now, everyone looked excellent out there. It almost looked like Panathinaikos plaid with 12 players the way they run in empty space to make themselves available for a pass, the way they hassled to win the ball back whenever PAOK had it (and won the vast majority of the loose balls in midfield), and the way they run to cover each other when defending.

I thought Zeka was amazing today. He is the kind of player I want on my side, with Herculean stamina, tenatious marking, crisp passing, and surprisingly good skills with the ball (besides finishing of course). Leto was once again a pain in the opponent's behind, and Quincy was another thorn on their side. Leto played again the free-striker role and excelled once again. For the part of his career I've seen him play, he's been confound on the left line, assigned to create for others. Now he doesn't have to waste any of his energy chasing back opposing fullbacks and can channel it instead on what he is best at: attacking defenses head on (more kudos to Ferreira for this as well).

Marinos, Simao, Kapinos, and Sariegi were also excellent today, while Katsouranis started the game shaky, but became a major contributor in the end.

Let's hope Panathinaikos continues to treat us to this kind of football until the end. I really like what I am seeing right now! I hope you enjoy it too.

Xanthi - Panathinaikos 2-3

2011-10-16T21:29:00.003-04:00

I can't help but smile watching our team this season so far. With the exception of the European games, the team has performed as if there is not a problem in the world. The players seem confident of themselves, Ferreira seems to be pushing all the right buttons, and they are disposing of the smaller clubs almost effortlessly.

It is noteworthy that Panathinaikos played once again a man down after yet another referee pulled out a red card with such ease that we have to be worried.

No, I am not saying that referees should not be showing red cards to Panathinaikos players when they deserve it.

I am saying that if they are so quick to pull out a red card for a play in the middle of the field where two opposing players were trying their hardest to contest for a loose ball, then they should be just as quick to pull that red card on a play when an player fouls an opponent to deny him an obvious opportunity to score.

Early in the first half Leto is dropped by the goalkeeper just as he has passed the ball around him and its a simple three step affair to get behind it and to send it to the empty net. This is the definition of a red card that was transformed to a yellow by a suddenly very lenient referee.

What I am saying is that if the referee is of the lenient type, then I expect, or better yet, I demand that he shows the same kind of leniency on two Vitolo fouls somewhere in midfield that invoked his two yellow cards. I expect the ref would show the same leniency he showed Swani when the upended Marinos with cleats making contact on both tof Marinos legs.

I expect that if a ref is so quick to show two yellows to a Pao player, they would be just as quick to show the same to Olympiakos players in other games.

Today's referee was actually laughable the whole game.

With such officiating we'll never see decent football in Greece. And it will be hard to convince the fans that the referees are not assigned to make sure that Olympiakos wins the title and another twenty million from the CL groups.

Just because we won today doesn't mean that we can ignore the scourge of Greek football (incompetent and dangerous referees).

As for Panathinaikos, I am liking what I see in this young season. I love the freedom our midfielders and forwards have to create, and it looks like the players are actually enjoying themselves out there.

I don't remember the time when our players played with such "air" in the past. Perhaps in the Kyrastas era, and a few games under Anastasiadis and Markarian. Beyond that, and for the past decade the team looked like they were playing constipated out there. Even in the best of days the team as a whole looked "stiff" with players trying their hardes to fit into very strict roles and areas.

For example, Leto was always confound to a "winger" role on the left wing, rarely changed sides, and always played away from the box. Now we know that Leto is a multi-talented player that can wreck havoc with his skills at any area of the field, and especially in and around the box. Opponents can't just stack their right side with midfielders and defenders to stop him now that he is allowed to just find the open space and to attack from everywhere.

This team is coming along well and I like their spirit and the way they play. Panathinaikos hasn't reached a level of game where we are guaranteed wins everywhere, but they have reached a point where they are enjoyable to watch for the most part.

To be sure, the team has weaknesses, but their fight and character makes up for it up to now in the Superleague. It's not a small feat to play decimated by injuries to some key players two games a man down and still win comfortably.

It would be good to remind ourselves that the team has been playing through major problems.

Beyond the ownership and "organized fan" problems, both our starting strikers were injured today, Vintra got hurt early on, Vitolo got ejected, both our number one and two goalkeepers are out, Ninis, Lazaros have been nursing long-term injuries, but it seems we have the resources to overcome.

Leto and Quincy have been a joy to watch, Kapinos (playing goalkeeper for Panathinaikos at 17 cannot be taken for granted) has been a pleasant revelation and the rest of the team are worthy of praise for today's win.

The only dark spot in the whole game were the "entitlement kids" of a certain gate that think they "own" Panathinaikos and can raise havoc with impunity. There were a couple of thousand PAO fans in the stands today and most seem to have a political agenda that they don't want to let go no matter how much it harms our club. I hope whoever comes and buys the club dismantles this pathetic group of whiners.

This is a young season that started with the lowest of expectations, but we are all can rest easy that this could end up being a good season after all.

There were whispers by the coach and players today that the club could content for the title. I think it's still early to know, but the players and the coach seem to believe in the dream so let's support their effort.

Added 10/18/11:

After I wrote my report, I was happy to see someone on Greek TV who saw the referee of the game as the joke he was:

The errors will continue. Greek football had an opportunity to clean up the house this summer with all the revelation and wiretaps about fixed matches.

Unfortunately, the state has more important things to worry about and the embedded crooks have found alibi out of punishing one chubby guy while the others (and non-chubby ones) have remained to continue controlling refereeing.

For the record, the referee inspector who was in the stands gave the referee a good grade!

Atromitos - Panathinaikos 1-1

2011-09-17T18:17:00.003-04:00

I'll stick with my philosophy that over-criticizing or over-analyzing the team's negatives right not is not constructive for the club's well being.

What I had to say about Karnezi and his ability to play for Panathinaikos I said it last year when he inexplicably caused our elimination from the Greek cup against AEK. I mentioned he needed to be loaned out to gain some experience before he returns to play for PAO.

Unfortunately, and through no fault of Karnezi, he is still playing for PAO and managed another blunder that cost the team dearly. Sure it wasn't all his fault that the Atromitos player was put through face to face with the goal, but an good goalkeeper would have cleared with the head outside the box or would have conceded the goal, knowing that with 11 players Panathinaikos would still have excellent chances to win the game even a goal down against a team like Atromitos.

Other than that, playing a man down the players rallied, composed themselves and in the end managed to snatch a point from what looked to be a hopeless game until Leto equalized in 86'.

I liked the spirit of not giving up, and the air of superiority that our players showed. They played with ten players but for most of the game I saw them running more to make up for the deficit. So, reason to cheer number one: the team shows resilience.

Reason to cheer number two: the team has some left-over quality and "modern" footballers that very few teams in Greece have or can cope with: Leto, Quincy, Roudolph, and Zeka are fun to watch. I should also give lots of credit to Fereira for liberating Leto from the limited role as a pure winger. With Leto roaming all over the offense, with Quincy moving and dribbling just as well, with a very modern midfielder the likes of which we have never had in Zeka, and with what looks like a very good addition at CF (Rudolph) the team seems to be working well forward. At the same time the defense seems disciplined enough and the ball moves forward with good speed at times.

I know most fans want midfielders who can dribble lots and who can thread the ball to the forwards. Zeka is not one of those midfielders, but he is a workhorse that never lets up and he has enough football skills to move the team forward with speed. He is a modern midfielder that plays all positions and we are lucky to have him on the team right now when our other quality midfiedlers are either aging or injured.

With Leto/Quincy swapping positions on offence and playing more the interior offensive role than the traditional winger who hugs the line type, Panathinaikos can attack without having to commit the fullbacks as much forward. Quincy has enough speed, dribbling ability and football smarts that he seems like the perfect compliment to Leto. What I saw in the first few games this season is that he also fights hard to win the ball back when he loses it and he doesn't neglect to mark when we defend.

This was Rudoph's first forty five minutes and he looked good to me. He has plenty of speed and sound fundamentals to give me hope that he can be a real contributor. His body type, moves, and reactions in the game remind me of the great Warzycha. He looks like a "fighter" who can stop the ball on a dime - a skill that's absolutely necessary for a striker - and who can contribute in the creative aspects of the game. Of course a Panathinaikos striker must be above all a scorer, so we'll see how he does in that respect when the season is a little further along, but for the first forty five minutes I saw, I like the addition.

I would remiss if I didn't say a word about Kapino. He is a young goalkeeper who was called abruptly to guard the sacred Panathinaikos goalposts and in his fist game he looked excellent. He didn't really have much work (kudos to the defensive work of the team to shield him), but the few times he was called to react he showed good reflexes and excellent space perception when he came off his line to stop low through balls. He didn't get tested on high balls but he looks like he has the height and body mass to be able to cope with them. I don't expect him to be Oikonomopoulos in his fist season, but I welcome his poise and maturity he showed in his debut. In all the calamity that is plaguing our club, it's nice to have such young players to watch on the pitch.

It's unfortunate that Kapino was unable to follow the preseason work with the rest of the team, playing instead some meaningless games with the youth NT (yet another way Greek football manages to screw up it's young talent). So I don't know if he can play a whole season, but I would love to see him play more this season and maybe split time with Kotsoli. I think he could turn out a real gem.

As for big picture of leaving a point behind in the fight for the championship, the way the game began with the Kotsolis injury and the Karnezis blunder, it's not a big deal. We were lucky we were playing a really bad team in Atromitos (if I read another rumor about Donis coaching PAO I will probably barf), but through wins and perceveirence we can hope that something good can be had out of this season. If not a championship, maybe some fun games, and at the very least the emergence of some good talented players that we can enjoy for years to come.

The Roots

2011-09-16T17:12:00.001-04:00

The whole mess with the fixed games for the most part, and the idiocy of the board members of Panathinaikos have left me completele numb and unable to follow or even watch any Greek football games.

Long time friends here know that I usually watch every single Panathinaikos game during the year and follow every single rumor over the off season. I agonize over tactics, over form, over pre-season, and the overall performance of the team.

But things have changed for me this year.

The summer went by without the usual agony over the transfers (I already knew what was going to happen), the friendlies seemed completely uninteresting, the European games simply verified what I already knew was going to happen but was afraid to admit, and the Superleague games seem meaningless.

Except, last time I watched the game against Giannina, I found myself getting excited once again. I found myself twitching my leg every time Leto was about to shoot - as if I was about to shoot the ball myself, and grinding my teeth whenever opposing players seemed to beat our own on defence - as if they were going by me.

To be sure, the game felt meaningless because I don't expect much from this season, but at the same time the game was exciting for once just because it was a GAME! And in this last word I am beginning to find some meaning in this seemingly hopeless season/board/league.

It's like in real life when we find more meaning amidst the worst calamities.

I love Panathinaikos despite the wins or losses. I love the game even when we don't win the league. I love the play and the players on the pitch more that I care for the board or the actual pathetic Greek football league.

As soon as I shed from my mind the fixed games and the rigged league and the pathetic shareholders and the clueless reporters (such they are), "organized fans", and the violence, the game seems like fun again. I don't care if we win the league or break records. All I really want and enjoy is to watch the 90 minutes of "αγών¨ on the pitch.

The players seemed unaffected and played with pride last contest, and playing their game, they are giving me a new start this season. As long as they play hard every game I'll be there as a Panathinaikos fan.

And with that realization, I am looking forward to watching the game against Atromitos.

From my end, I am going to give it a break with the analysis so as not to contribute to the already existing turmoil. There is really no reason to overanalyze every single player and every single move by the coach. If a player makes a costly mistake, it's not the end of the world. I'll try to focus on the positives and do what I believe is good for the club at this crossroads.

The game is better without the clowns who own and pretend that they don't, and without those who pretend that they want to own but they are afraid to say they don't. I don't listen and I don't read their drivel any more. Ignoring them is my answer.

The coach and the players have my full attention.

I am finding my roots: Στις χαρές και τις λύπες μαζι!

The Fake Rolex

2011-09-07T17:06:00.004-04:00

A friend posted a nice comment in my previous post and it prompted me to come up with a response:

Ela "anonymous", thanks for the comment.

Tip of the hat for the years at Leoforos from me and for mentioning some giants. I too spent a little time with my behind on the "felizol" in Leoforos, albeit a bit later than you.

You know, you are right. Somewhere deep inside I knew all these years that the whole thing is rigged.

But I like watching the game. I really enjoy watching Panathinaikos above all other teams; I enjoy the tactics, the dribbles, the goals, and all that make the game so much fun.

But now that I know FOR SURE that it's really really rigged to benefit ONE team and a posy of shady unemployed millionaires with small clubs, it's hard for me to focus on the players or to blame them for anything.

It's as if I had a Rolex that I always suspected it's a fake. Year after year I went through enjoying it because I had the hope that perhaps it's really a Rolex until one day someone came along and proved to me it's really fake and I should stop pretending. I can't take it seriously any more, but I can't just blame the second hand for not being performing like one should be performing in a genuine Rolex.

Maybe soon I'll get over it and realize that it's ok to enjoy the thing even if it's not genuine.

Maybe given a little time I'll get back to what's really exciting about the game and the club. From this blog I'll keep focusing on the game itself and hopefully I'll forget soon all the quiters (Tziggers, Vgenopoulous, Pateres et al), the instigators (organomenous, newspapers et al), and all the cheaters who lead the other so-called Greek football clubs. I never cared for them and now that they have become the protagonists in place of the players, I am disgusted.

I want so bad to enjoy the game again but these characters are depriving me of the pleasure.

We Won't Get Fooled Again

2011-09-06T14:16:00.002-04:00

The classic song by The Who that sings "The new boss is the same as the old boss" and "we won't get fooled again. No No. Won't get fooled again" got stuck in my mind in the last few days as I ponder the chairman and the board announcements, "leaks", interviews, resigning, and all that I care less about.

If you missed it, the Vardinogiannis family decided to call it quits. Well, goodbye.

I've already lost my apetite for Greek football now that there is plenty of proof FOR ME that the league is rigged to the bones, so all the shareholder antics leave me completely cold and who buys the shares is irrelevant in such a league.