ECQ Italy vs Greece

[Don Giovanni]

Any reason why the NT are where they are

I wish this were a joke. So, it looks like we're going to see this:

Vlachodimos
Bakakis---Kourbelis---Siovas---Stafylidis
Siopis
Mantalos--------------------Bouchalakis
Bakasetas
Donis---Koulouris

Limnios is another option who might start in place of either Donis or Koulouris. Hatzidiakos might start at CB and Kourbelis might start in place of Siopis. For the life of me, I don't understand how Siopis and Bakasetas can earn starts with Greece. Siopis couldn't cut it Olympiakos where he only played twice. He has less than 200 professional caps. He has played only once in Europe. This is a disastrous choice.

[Dean97]

I can’t believe Fetfatzidis is not being considered to start. I don’t mind Siopis i think he is decent. He’s probably the best at pressing. Has lots of energy aswell. Plays with passion too. Is not bad on the ball either. The problem is Bakasetas. He will kill any attack we try to make. I’ve said it before he is the worst player to ever put on a Greece jersey. Fountas or Bouzoukis should’ve been selected over him.

I don’t mind that diamond formation. Just take out Bakasetas and put Fetfatzidis there or Mantalos.

[Don Giovanni]

I keep reading different reports with different ideas. I don't envy being in Van't Schip's shoes.

Paschalakis is not only replacing the injured Barkas, but it looks like he might get the nod to start! I wonder if Vlachodimos is not fluent in Greek and whether that might be the reason for the communication issues he had against Bosnia. Paschalakis is also more mature, bigger and more athletic.

Vrousaj and Zeca might also start, which would mean that Bakasetas and Siopis will be on the bench.

What does seem certain is our back four and the fact that Bouchalakis, Mantalos, Donis and Koulouris will somehow fit into the scheme of things, be it in a 4-4-2 or a 4-2-3-1.

Also Retsos played for the U21s today, so he's not going to play in this one. And it was probably for the best Bouzoukis stayed with the u21s where he made a difference today.

[Don Giovanni]

Sky Sports Italia claims they'll play a 4-3-3:

Probable Italy Starting XI (4-3-3): Gianluigi Donnarumma; Danilo D’Ambrosio, Leonardo Bonucci, Francesco Acerbi, Leonardo Spinazzola; Marco Verratti, Jorginho, Nicolo Barella; Federico Chiesa, Ciro Immobile, Lorenzo Insigne.

Sky Italia called the right line-up last time. With D'Ambrosio at RB, I think that will mean we won't be overloaded on our left flank as much as would be the case with Florenzi. Acerbi is a tall defender, but not especially quick, something we can use to our advantage. Barella is a very promising player known for his industry and lofty left-footed passes. He scored the opener that last time we played after making a late run. He and Chiesa will be a major source of problems for us. Immobile is more of a poacher than Belotti and does less running.

Whoever plays in the middle will need to aggressively press Veratti and Jorginho, as well as Bonucci and Acerbi, to prevent Italy from playing too comfortably in possession. If we can force Donnarumma to play more passes than he'd like to, then we'll be on the right foot. Van't Schip will need to find the right balance of players and strategy to do so. The front line especially will need to press aggressively with a lot of hard running if we are to stand any chance in this game.

[Reaper]

Paschalakis is not only replacing the injured Barkas, but it looks like he might get the nod to start! I wonder if Vlachodimos is not fluent in Greek and whether that might be the reason for the communication issues he had against Bosnia.

I doubt it is a language problem. Vlacho was in Greece two years and most Greeks speak fluent English.

I think it is more to do with Pascha's poor form. He has been dropped from PAOK's 11 and his agent probably explained to Van Shit it would help get his career back on track if he started instead of the starting Benfica keeper.

[Dean97]

To be honest there isn’t much difference with all the keepers we have. Does Paschalakis deserve to start? No. Vlachodimos is not that much better than Paschalakis and same can be said with Barkas etc.

We have a problem in creating. Who we put in midfield is the big key. Bouchalakis seems certain to start. I’m not overly convinced Bouchalakis can do the job but I’d rather him there than Samaris. If we play Zeca next to him we won’t be effective going forward. Siopis I think is slightly better going forward. We need to provide service to Donis and Koulouris. If we can do this consistently then it’s up to the front 2 to finish it off.

Mantalos or Vrousai would have to play a bit deeper in midfield to get the ball moving effectively to the front. Bouchalakis isn’t as technically gifted as Mantalos or Vrousai, even though they aren’t that technical themselves.

Playing a diamond is a good idea in my opinion. It’s just that Fetfatzidis should start over Bakasetas. We always here that we might play this or that but we also end up playing 4-2-3-1. Hopefully he sticks with a 4-4-2 diamond. Congest the midfield a bit so Italy haven’t got too much freedom. Also helps us keep possession more. Also with 2 upfront Italy’s defence now have 2 to deal with not one. I agree with Don we have to press hard if we want to have a chance to score. We should have a high line and out of possession we should be dropping back fast. In possession we should look to break forward fast aswell because we all know when we have the ball there aren’t many option available and by instructing the team to move forward to create options is the best way to create chances.

[Greekfreak]

IMO a diamond formation is a mistake. Teams have burned us this entire campaign bombing along the wings with impunity. But in actuality, the real problem will not be the formation, but the lack of playing time for the team. A lot of these players are playing together for the first time as a whole. And there's nothing to say they'll all remain, because the coach has already said this is a de facto "trial" period so changes will be made constantly.

If we went 3-5-2, I think this could work--too often the extra man at the back is wasted.

[Don Giovanni]

Van't Schip reportedly settled on a 4-3-1-2. That's the system Tachtsidis plays under and dictates at Lecce. In this case, we will see Bouchalakis play in the "Tachtsidis" role. Kourbelis will play in the middle, while Hatzidiakos will now start at CB. Zeca completes the midfield trio. Bakasetas will play as the δεκάρι, while Limnios will lead the line together with Koulouris. My guess is that Limnios will track back on our right. We're beating a dead horse with Bakasetas. He has a decent shot from range and can head the ball, but I'm surprised he's getting the nod ahead of the much more cerebral Mantalos. I think Donis and Fetfatizidis should lead the line. The wing-backs inspire no confidence. Paschalakis is being given a chance to earn a move abroad I think. He doesn't deserve the number one jersey, let alone a place in the squad.

[Greekfreak]

I was a fan of Bakakis for a while but he's regressed where he should have improved. Just too under-sized, and under-skilled as a defender to actually help us on defense. When he's on the field, even for AEK, I feel we've already had a man red-carded. That's how it seems sometimes. Occasionally he chips in a good cross, and he has a bit of good acceleration, but ultimately he's not talented enough to be truly effective.

I think if we're lucky, we'll earn a draw. Italy usually outclasses us, and this will be no different. I only hope the boys can at least attempt some attacking football.

[Don Giovanni]

IMO a diamond formation is a mistake. Teams have burned us this entire campaign bombing along the wings with impunity. But in actuality, the real problem will not be the formation, but the lack of playing time for the team. A lot of these players are playing together for the first time as a whole. And there's nothing to say they'll all remain, because the coach has already said this is a de facto "trial" period so changes will be made constantly.

If we went 3-5-2, I think this could work--too often the extra man at the back is wasted.

If we find a way to make an extra CB count for something, it would be something we can adopt on more regular basis. We used to play it a lot under Rehhagel with a great deal of success, but at times it kept us pinned back too deep, like we saw against Sweden and Nigeria. Fernando Santos I don't think ever entertained a back three except for once in a friendly against Belgium.

The problem you raise is the issue that Rehhagel had against Sweden. The closest thing to any team doing something like this nowadays in which they can make use of the extra CB higher up the pitch are newly promoted EPL side Sheffield United. They get one of their three CBs to overlap and overload on the wings.

[Don Giovanni]

Greekfreak

If we get a goal, I'll chalk that up as progress even if we lose by some margin.

[Greekfreak]

If we find a way to make an extra CB count for something, it would be something we can adopt on more regular basis. We used to play it a lot under Rehhagel with a great deal of success, but at times it kept us pinned back too deep, like we saw against Sweden and Nigeria. Fernando Santos I don't think ever entertained a back three except for once in a friendly against Belgium.

The problem you raise is the issue that Rehhagel had against Sweden. The closest thing to any team doing something like this nowadays in which they can make use of the extra CB higher up the pitch are newly promoted EPL side Sheffield United. They get one of their three CBs to overlap and overload on the wings.

In '04, Otto worked out brilliantly how to always have an extra man on against however many attackers they were facing. It also helped that Zagorakis, Karagounis, Vryzas, Fyssas, and Seitaridis had the tournament of their lives. That doesn't always happen when you want it to. Sadly our talent pool has dwindled to the point of diminishing returns. Zonal Marking did a great article about this years ago.

http://www.zonalmarking.net/2010/03/...-2004-tactics/

They didn't need 5 at the back against Sweden in '08, even if we had some key players retired between then. He also mistakenly kept faith with a nucleus of players that really should have been retired by then.

[Reaper]

.....................Paschalakis

Bakakis ..Hatzidiakos.. Siovas.. Stafylidis

Kourbelis..... Bouchalakis .......Zeka

Bakasetas ........................Limnio

............ Koulouri.....................



The usual dog shit klika rewarded..

[LoneHorseman]

Fetfa and Donis, two of our more faster and creative players not in the lineup. Instead Bakasetas and Limnios . Van Ship, you are

a bigger fraud than Skibbe or Anastiadis and that's saying something.

[Reaper]

Fetfa and Donis, two of our more faster and creative players not in the lineup. Instead Bakasetas and Limnios . Van Ship, you are

a bigger fraud than Skibbe or Anastiadis and that's saying something.

G, just look at the guy's CV. I would find it difficult to find such an inexperienced coach even if I tried. Grammenos...