Suggested Call Ups/Starting 11

[Don Giovanni]

I find it very difficult to imagine anyone other than Donis starting as our striker against Italy. I'm doubtful he can finish the 90 minutes and I think that would be perfect for Mitroglou to then enter the game.

[Amorgos]

Lykogiannis started and played for Cagliari who beat Napoli AWAY from home! Could be a consideration for Italy match, we could potentially have him at LB and push Koutris or Tsimakas up... just an idea

[Dean97]

Yeah Lykogiannis is good. Would be a solid back up to either Koutris or Tsimikas who are more adventurous going forward.

[Don Giovanni]

I saw a bit of that game that Cagliari won, but not a whole lot. There was one moment where the ball was played back to him, it flew in high and dropped over his shoulder, and as he attempted to bring it down he played it out of bounds for a loss of possession. It's not easy to bring the ball under control when it flies in over the shoulder like that, but he's not a skillful player to begin with. His defending is very hands-on and physical; like most Greek defenders, he's a good man-marker. He's an all-hands-on-deck type defender whose a good option off the bench if we want to secure a result or if we play very difficult, strong sides who will put us under constant pressure. That's why he plays at Cagliari. He is purely a full-back, he's not an option to get forward. He's a good option for this Italy game. He was teammates last season with Barella, who is likely to start for Italy on the right of their midfield. I'd treat him as a back-up to Tsimikas. I'd certainly prefer him to Stafylidis, Koutris, or Giannoulis as things stand for the next two games.

So far, Donis, Fetfatzidis, Pavlidis, Koulouris, and Mantalos look the best options to consider for starting roles in the attack. I think Pavlidis will be overwhelmed against Italy. Not mature enough. I like Donis for his pace. Koulouris is a classic poacher. Mantalos and Fetfatzidis have those creative juices. Fetfatzidis is in the greatest form of his life. Mitroglou looks confident and is having fun with his football. He's a thrill to watch too, but he lacks fitness and he's racing to get fit in time for the Italy and Bosnia games. Hopefully he's available as an option off the bench. Vellios is a name that is being considered too. He can score, but I just don't think the confidence is there yet to play for Greece like he does for Atromitos. I'd only take him if Mitroglou is unavailable and I would consider off the bench. He reminds me a bit of Vryzas.

In the middle, Zeca is a definite starter. After that it's a little up in the air. Kourbelis I think should start. He and Zeca were teammates at Panathinaikos and I think the two form a good defensive duo in the middle to grind at the opposition and protect the defense. Galanopoulos I don't think is really an option to start. Even for AEK, he's not a regular starter and more of a bench player. Samaris seems to be racing to get fit. I don't think he'll be fully fit by the time we take on Italy, but hopefully we can rely on him as an option from the bench at least. Retsos too can play DM, but this might not be the right game to make that sort of change. The problem is, if both Zeca and Kourbelis start in the middle, Greece will struggle on the ball.

I know I sound like a broken record, but one of Tachtsidis or Bouchalakis must start. Bouchalakis is a safer pair of hands, but he doesn't make the difference we need from a player like him. He needs to get on the ball and take command. Tachtsidis to his credit, is willing to do that, but he still has weaknesses in his game that can make him a liability. Even the penalty he conceded against Napoli, I said he was unlucky, but really he needed to win that header. No reason for him not to get closer to his man and clash heads a bit if need be. He's not using his size well. He's being timid. These are two players who have stop being timid and who really need to man up. Greece needs one of them to step up to the plate. Without them, our defense will crater under excess pressure. I'd pick Tachtsidis, but we need to keep him away from the Greek penalty area (let him protect the zone outside the box) and try to get him to defend higher up the pitch, not deep in our half. We need one of those two. Just look at the difference Fotakis made against Germany. We need that type of player in the middle.

In the back, Tsimikas has to start. If he struggles, we need to have Lykogiannis or Torosidis come in. The fact Lykogiannis played against Napoli and his side won I hope raises his profile a bit with Van't Schip. At right-back, Retsos. I'm worried he won't get any games in at Leverkusen, though. We can't start Torosidis, he's too old. Bakakis is not trusted by his teammates. I hope Retsos gets at least a game under his feet at Leverkusen. Hopefully Van't Schip speaks to his fellow Dutchman, Bosz, the Leverkusen coach, and convinces him to give Retsos some time. Bosz is saying he's not planning to rotate in the next couple of games. Would it hurt to play Retsos against Augsburg and maybe put him in the frame to play against Juventus? It would be beautiful for Greece if he did. There's no way we can start Natsos against Italy. Not a chance. Worse comes to worse, we'll have to pull Zeca to RB or play Bakakis. I trust Zeca more than Bakakis, but he's of far greater use in the middle.

At CB no surprises. Manolas and Sokratis have to start.

In goal, Barkas I think needs to keep his place. Vlachodimos had some chances, didn't make the most of them, and he'll just need to continue impressing at Benfica as things stand (although in time I fully expect him to become our number one).

We could go 3-4-3, but I think Italy would pin us back and that formation will get tortured under the duress of Italy's onslaught. It's also a radical change for our players. I think something like a 4-3-3 works. Mantalos is decent at tracking back, Fetfatzidis might stand a chance against a smaller RB like Florenzi. I'd probably prefer having those two tuck in more and letting Italy's wing-backs get forward, thus adopting a 4-3-2-1 formation. We can always get Kourbelis and Zeca to double up the wide areas, Tachtsidis/Bouchalakis and Mantalos can protect the top of the box. Fetfatzidis and Donis should be given freer roles a little higher up that way. The result will be something like a 4-4-1-1 when we defend at times. So basically a 4-3-2-1 with Mantalos dropping deeper into the middle would be a good idea. I think Samaris would be a good option to play in lieu of Mantalos if we intend to play a more defensive approach, but Samaris I think won't be fit enough for this one and Mantalos might prove to be a great option on the counter.

[Dean97]

I definitely agree with your last paragraph Don. Apart from mentioning Samaris we should play a 3-4-3. Having Mantalos and Fetfatzidis tucked in and Mantalos drop deep to defend the middle areas is a good idea. Fetfatzidis and Donis should have free roles. I’m starting to think playing Donis at ST is a good idea. If he gets in behind the defence with his pace we could score. Pelkas loves to play centrally. He gets more involved in the game and you get the best out of him there either as a CAM or CM. He doesn’t like playing on the wing. Even though I think he would be good there. He doesn’t like to or want to play there. Sometimes if a player doesn’t like playing in a certain position your not going to get the most out of him. Pelkas with his pace and technique would be good there but he doesn’t see it the same way. He should come off the bench to add some energy to our attack.

Zeca has to start in the middle. Against quality opposition he is needed for the running and tackling. Like how Maniatis was used for. He shouldn’t go anywhere near RB. Look what happened in the first game against Italy. He should either be partnered with Galanopoulos or Mantalos in my opinion. If Kourbelis starts we become more solid defensively but very dull going forward. We need a balance there. Galanopoulos can provide that. He can be useful in defence and attack. Also has great energy. I don’t think we will see him start or even called up.

[Don Giovanni]

Pelkas appears to be injured.

We don't have enough quality in the attack to really trouble Italy enough to justify a bold attack. Our best bet is to beat them for pace by exploiting the space they leave behind their defense and by pressing them. Basically what Liechtenstein did to us.

The 3-4-3 would get mangled against Italy, unless we deliberately leave space on one of the flanks and have proper cover in the middle, but that's a big risk. If we did that, our objective would be to surprise Italy and aim for one or two early goals. The risk is there's a stronger chance we'd concede. At some stage in the game, likely by half-time, we would need to change shape and personnel to accommodate a more defensive system in order to maintain any lead we hope to gain from that system. Given the lack of familiarity our players have among themselves already, introducing a new system in the form of a 3-4-3 would upset the balance even more. I don't think it's a good idea. Just look at the problems we had when we played Siovas at half-back. He didn't even he do his job properly and looked lost.

I think a balanced approach would see four at the back, three to four midfielders, and two to three attackers. Something along those lines is more familar to what our players have been used to date. The safest bet is a more defensive 5-4-1 (5-3-1-1) and looking to make changes late in the game to affect the scoreline. Because we're playing away, that's a likely possibility.

[Don Giovanni]

Sure enough, Van't Schip is looking at loads of CBs, which means we're probably going to play a very defensive shape (e.g., 5-4-1):

https://www.sportime.gr/parafootball...s-proepiloges/

Στις προεπιλογές Φαν’τ Σχιπ για τα ματς με Ιταλία, Βοσνία, μόνο σε επίπεδο στόπερ, βρίσκονται και οι Χατζηδιάκος, Λαμπρόπουλος, Χατζηϊσαϊας, Τριανταφυλλόπουλος. Μια τετράδα δηλαδή. Στις προεπιλογές (δεν είναι δηλαδή δεσμευτικές).

https://www.sportime.gr/podosfairo/e...-en-ptisi-vid/

Ο Κώστας Τριανταφυλλόπουλος κλήθηκε στην Εθνική Ελλάδας για τα ματς με Ιταλία και Βοσνία, με τον ίδιο να μαθαίνει τα ευχάριστα νέα και να αποθεώνεται εν πτήσει!

[....]

Μάλιστα, ο διεθνής στόπερ έμαθε το χαρμόσυνο νέο κατά τη διάρκεια της πτήσης της ομάδας του κι οι συμπαίκτες του τον αποθέωσαν με τον ίδιο να τους ευχαριστεί.

Kostas Triantafyllopoulos... Dimitris Hatzisaias... Even Lambropoulos to me is not good enough for this level. Karabelas and Vyntra types, the lot of them.

Hatzidiakos looks to be the one decent player in that list. He's a half Dutch, half Greek player based at AZ Alkmaar and current u21 player. I know too little about him to make any judgement, but of that bunch he plays at the most respectable level and he seems to be doing well.

[Don Giovanni]

De Rossi will be called up to play for Italy.

[Dean97]

Sure enough, Van't Schip is looking at loads of CBs, which means we're probably going to play a very defensive shape (e.g., 5-4-1):

https://www.sportime.gr/parafootball...s-proepiloges/



https://www.sportime.gr/podosfairo/e...-en-ptisi-vid/



Kostas Triantafyllopoulos... Dimitris Hatzisaias... Even Lambropoulos to me is not good enough for this level. Karabelas and Vyntra types, the lot of them.

Hatzidiakos looks to be the one decent player in that list. He's a half Dutch, half Greek player based at AZ Alkmaar and current u21 player. I know too little about him to make any judgement, but of that bunch he plays at the most respectable level and he seems to be doing well.

Are all those Cbs called up? That’s disappointing if that’s the case. Kourbelis could easily be a backup CB to Manolas, Siovas and Sokratis. No need for 7 CBs.

I understand Retsos and K.Papa haven’t played but also Risvanis is better than the 4 mentioned. I agree Hatzidiakos is a good player. Trianta and Chatzisaais are not good enough.

[Don Giovanni]

Hatzidiakos and Triantafyllopoulos will be called up. The other two are names in the air.

[Dean97]

Hatzidiakos and Triantafyllopoulos will be called up. The other two are names in the air.

Ok that’s sounds a bit better. Apparently Trianta has been playing well in Poland. He has scored a goal aswell. I get a feeling we will be playing 5 at the back. Risvanis is overdue a call up in my opinion. Retsos and K.Papa are our next best from Sokratis and Manolas in my opinion.

[Greekfreak]

5 at the back is ridiculous, even as shitty as we are. When you say 5, you really mean 10, as in "We're expecting to take it up the ass." Not a winning mentality at all.

Personally I'd go with 4-4-2. Mantalos will not track back defensively, and TBH I don't expect attacking players to do so and be very effective up front. Yes, they should pull back and get themselves in a passing position, but there's no reason for them to be anywhere in our bottom third except when helping out against a corner.

[Dean97]

The players should be given instructions and they should abide by them. If the coach tells Mantalos that he is playing CM and that he must hold or make runs depending on the situation then he needs to do it. It shouldn’t be whether if he want to track back or not. If he plays as false 9 as an example and he is told to track back he should do it. The coach knows best not the other way around.

[Don Giovanni]

Agreed that Mantalos would have a hard time tracking back. Likewise Fetfatzidis.

Our best bet when we don't have the ball would be to keep Fetfatzidis a little higher up, but centrally, where he can press from behind Italy's middle and maybe catch them napping on the ball. It's a spot where he can find space easy and run into any direction he wants on the half-turn. He can be effective in more or less a free role. That's the 4-4-2 you speak of GreekFreak and it makes sense.

Mantalos would need to drop more into the middle and try to shield the defense, as opposed to chasing the wing-backs. The worry, however, is that Mantalos, Tachtsidis or Bouchalakis won't do a good enough job of harassing the opposition and shielding the defense, that we could see gaps emerge or that they'll commit weak challenges that will allow them to get beat.

In that case, there is a rationale to start Samaris, Retsos, or Galanopoulos over Mantalos (or the other CM) because we would need players more suitable to shielding the defense. Between Retsos, Galanopoulos and Samaris, it's Samaris and Retsos who is better at providing balance and who has more experience. The problem is that Samaris appears to be injured and won't be fit in time and Retsos hasn't been playing at Leverkusen. Galanopoulos' lack of experience and quality on the ball is a real issue too.

I think going with two DMs would be a problem. The ball won't be able to move forward to Donis and Fetfatzidis if we have players like Samaris, Galanopoulos or Retsos trying to feed them possession. We absolutely need one of Tachtsidis or Bouchalakis, but Mantalos isn't a bad option over those two. He doesn't have the same quality in his passing range, but he's a better option at actually getting forward and countering, thus offering better support to Donis and Fetfatzidis in the final third.

The rationale for five at the back is that it may prove a better tactic than doubling up and defending the wings. Instead of Kourbelis moving in front of the LB and Zeca in front of the RB, we'd see Kourbelis drop back into central defense and Zeca remain in the middle. This way if a gap emerges, then one of the CBs can step forward and fill it. Likewise, the extra man at the back give us reinforcements out wide where Italy will double up, so if Italy beats our full-back or the Italian attacker plays it to his supporting wing-back, we have an extra CB who can confront the player on the ball. That in turn frees up Zeca to remain in the middle instead of being reduced to the wide right as would be the case if we go four at the back and if we have none of our wide forwards tracking back.

I think it's better to avoid playing five at the back if it can be helped. I think Samaris won't be 100% fit and that we'll likely need Mantalos. Between Galanopoulos and Mantalos, I'd prefer the latter. Retsos might be worthwhile to consider.

[Greekfreak]

The players should be given instructions and they should abide by them. If the coach tells Mantalos that he is playing CM and that he must hold or make runs depending on the situation then he needs to do it. It shouldn’t be whether if he want to track back or not. If he plays as false 9 as an example and he is told to track back he should do it. The coach knows best not the other way around.

Unless we plant a bug on his shoulder, we can't know what the coach has instructed his players to do, but I seriously doubt any coach of any repute can see the value of demanding his CAM track back further than he would be of value when his principal function is to distribute and contribute offensively. That's what we have DMs for. To provide cover for more offensive-minded players who should be looking forward more than the other way around. Mantalos is not a particularly fast (or sturdy) player, nor does he really have the legs for a full-on press for 90 minutes. I don't even want to see Samaris on the bench, he's horrendous.

Anyway, it's a moot point--unless Italy have an off-day, they're a side that since 2010 has undergone a cyclical transformation and they're shaping up to be a world-beater once again, and we're badly mismatched. However I would like to see us play some attacking football and get the fuck out of our shell. In 2019 no team that's worth a shit is playing like a Mourinho squad.