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Olympiakos has had chances, none too great, but none the less they're getting forward, but Meriah felled Kane inside the area and Tottenham have stolen into the lead.
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Podence was beaten to the ball and OSFP got caught outnumbered at the back for Tottenham's second goal. Bouchalakis tried to fill in the gap up top as OSFP aimed to get forward, but with Omar forward too it left a void in the defense and that gave Moura space in the middle to score. Tottenham have only had two chances and both have gone in.
Masouras almost responded at the other end, but couldn't connect. Tsimikas with a great cross. Both are playing fine games.Comment
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What a goal from Podence! Why didn't OSFP invest in Fetfatzidis the way they have in Podence? I look at Fetfatzidis now, it's sad to have seen his talent wasted and yet here we are developing options for the Portuguese; Podence, Semedo, and Sa.Comment
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Media dislike him and general lack of belief in him by Olympiacos from way back. If he was a CB with the same talent, he would be in the prem by now. Greeks have problems accepting the small agile type of players.Originally posted by Don Giovanni View Post
Sadly the one the Greek media have agreed to like is Pelkas and before him, they were fairly warm to Salpi..Comment
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Meriah gave away a pen Cisse would not have.Comment
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It's 2-2. Valbuena with a clever dive and suddenly OSFP look like they can win this game.Comment
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Not a bad result. From 0-2 down it felt like OSFP weren't only set to lose, but that Tottenham was going to continue running away with it. Podence scored a fantastic goal. And Valbuena's experience and quality drew OSFP level.Comment
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If Olympiacos had a killer up front - someone of Semedo's pedigree, we could have scored a few more.
Karaiskaki = £800,000,000
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I recall that Valverde wanted another Mirallas on the other wing, but Kazim-Kazim, an Anglo-Turk, never lived up to expectations. And then Abdoun, another Muslim, eventually forced his way in. Abdoun was good, but nothing extraordinary. It was very frustrating to see Fetfatzidis' development side tracked so that Abdoun and Kazim-Kazim could be brought in. I remember OSFP lost at home to Kerkyra and Fetfatzidis wasn't even in the squad. He wasn't part of the Europa League squad. It was extremely disappointing.Originally posted by Reaper View Post
He we are, ten years later, and Fetfatzidis rips Panathinaikos to shreds. Abdoun never looked half as good as Fetfatzidis did last week. If Fetfatzidis gets into proper shape, he'll be impossible for most clubs in Greece to stop.Comment
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We said all that years ago. Not only did the Greek press have it in for Fetfa, so did many actual fans - even Australians/Canadians/Americans with Greek heritage willing to insult strangers on a forum who thought fetfa should be championed. Whole thing was bizarre. Fetfa is/was gifted. It is clear. Problem for him was he was born in Greece and not Spain/Turkey/France/Portugal/Italy/North Africa.. He was born in the one Mediterranean country where this type of player is looked upon with suspicion rather than admiration.Originally posted by Don Giovanni View PostComment
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Fetfatzidis is a very rare player to have. Especially in Greece. I still to this day don’t believe how much EPO, media and fans have neglected him and ignore all his talents. There is no one like him. He’s a special talent. It’s a shame Greece and Olympiakos didn’t do much with him and his development. Should’ve left Greece at 20. I’m a true admirer of his abilities. By far the most advanced and talented player of all of Greece.Comment
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Except since that car accident. He hasn't been in good physical condition for a long time. He had that one shot on target against Liechtenstein that was too weak. The next shot he had, he put some power on it this time, but in doing so he had less control on his shot and missed the target by almost a foot (probably because he hit it with his toe).
He has unique ability. Even Fortounis when he scored against Armenia there was no real swing to his hips; he pushes the ball ahead into space while yo-yoing the ball between his feet. Fetfatzidis is all about his hips and only needs one foot to cut and dash across with the ball. The way he can just suddenly turn directions is not something any other Greek player can do. Only Ninis comes close to that ability.Comment
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Great game by Olympiakos. I was impressed with Tsimikas, big game from him. Valbuena is outstanding
Don Giovanni Watching Bouchalakis... something you said a few weeks ago about his involvement. It’s becoming clear to me at an Ethniki level, you can only play one of, Samaris, Bouchalakis or Kourbelis, they are almost identical players and provide little movement and speed, I thought Bouchalakis was bit stagnant in this game.
Whilst Oly did well, they ran out of legs towards the end and nearly copped it.
Podence was a rocket today... might even get offer for him soon if he plays like that in CLComment
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When Tottenham scored their second goal, it was partly because Bouchalakis got forward to join the attack, thus stepping out of his position which left space in the middle for Moura to score from. There may have been instructions from the bench for him to sit back more as a result so there wasn't a repeat of that problem.
One thing I noticed about Bouchalakis over the years is that he no longer tries to do fancy things with the ball. He sticks to football basics, which seems to explain why he plays a quieter role now. But it also has to do with Guilherme and, moreover, Valbuena taking on the bulk of the passing responsibilities.
He has to step it up more and take charge. He has to want the ball and not dawdle on it, but to play it with authority (like those one-touch passes he made against Bosnia). I don't think he has the self-assurance to do that yet. He'll need more games under his feet before he looks like a good fit for club and country. He has to grow more confident and comfortable with his role in the team.
As for Samaris and Kourbelis, they're more athletic and cover ground more quickly. Zeca and Galanopoulos are very similar to them. None of those players are as good passers of the ball as Bouchalakis, but they can do the dirty work that would free him up so he can focus more on connecting the play. Tachtsidis, in my view, is the better option over Bouchalakis though.Comment
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Spurs didn't look right. Can't have a big body like sanchez at right back. Why did they sell trippier? Second question, How is alli worth more than twice moura? From the starters, the brazilian is the only one that can beat his man 1 v 1 at a high rate. No surprise that in a narrow set-up, he's the one that stood out for spurs.
I'd say this was podence best game for oly. Not to repeat myself but if scoring becomes the norm for him, he's gone. He's already one of the better dribblers and has enough stamina about him. His chemistry with valbuena is impressive. Valbuena who's making me eat my own words. Dude has come to play. When he went off, podence struggled to link up and oly couldn't threaten.
Oly need to keep this core. It will be easier for new additions, no to mention their greek players who benefit from having better teammates.Comment
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