Olympiakos?? No but I Like Gyros
By: Corey | October 22nd, 2007
Yes, I attend the Greek fest in my hometown of Binghamton NY every year, early June I believe, even though I currently live in Hamden CT in what can only be described as the “House That Beer Built”. That is a picture of the great metropolis of Binghamton, love it or hate it, it totally owns wherever your from. But to the Greek Fest in Vestal at the Greek Orthodox church! I love gyros and honey balls and hopa and all of that stuff, and I have a friend named Niko who is from Athens but knows squat about football, so Im not very knowledgeable about Olympiakos. (Disclaimer) I also dont assume the Greek culture starts and stops with gyro’s, im not ignorant.
Yes folks, this Wednesday Real Madrid takes on Olympiakos in the Champions League Matchday 3 in the Bernabeu. It will be on ESPN Deportes, but seeing as how I dont get that channel, I will have to stream the game. A win will solidify our standing as top dog in the group and gives us some seperation from the other 3 teams. Especially since Im pretty sure Bremen will beat Lazio, leaving those two with 3 and 2 points, while Olympiakos would have 4 and we would have 7. Im crazy with my numbers, I know. Watch this video real quick though, heres my ADD moment:
Horrific but awesome. Music is great too because…Its my inspiration for my transfer gossip pieces.
Johnny Cash is so good, enjoy this little diddy while you read away.Anyways, here is what I know about Olympiakos:
Olympiakos Team News
They have a good amount of foreign players, their fans are absolute maniacs (which is great) and we played them recently in the CL group stage, 2 years ago when Lyon topped the group. Here is their roster:
1 Leonidas Panagopoulos——M7 Luciano Galletti
G71 Antonis Nikopolidis——M8 Rodrigo Archubi
G74 Tomislav Butina——M11 Predrag Djordjevic
G87 Michalis Sifakis ——-M16 Marco Ne
D2 Christos Patsatzoglou—–M19 Konstantinos Mendrinos
D3 Didier Domi———M28 Cristian Raúl Ledesma
D5 Julio César——–M36 Yiannoulis Fakinos
D14 Michal Zewlakow——-F9 Darko Kovacevic
D15 Raul Bravo——–F10 Leonel Núnez
D18 Paraskevas Antzas——-F20 Lefteris Matsoukas
D30 Anastasios Pantos—–F22 Konstantinos Mitroglou
D35 Vassilas Torosidi———-F23 Michalis Konstantinou
MJahmir Hyka——–F32 Tresor Lomana Lua Lua
M6 Ieroklis Stoltidis
This will be the return of Raul Bravo, the bald left back who I think sucked balls. And they have Darko Kovacevic
of Celta Vigo and Osasuna fame. Lomana Lua Lua, of Newcastle and Pompey fame cant finish but his is quick and tricky, something Cannavaro and Metz arent great and defending against, thats more of a Heinze specialty.
Michalis Konstantinou, Cypriot international, is a proven finisher, while Didier Domi is a seasoned vet and use to play for PSG and Espanyol amongst others, while Marco Ne probably could have played for Arsene Wengers merry men, Julio Cesar use to be on Real’s books, and Micheal Zewlakow is old, but he has experience. Oh, and Luciano Galleti used to play for Zaragoza and Atletico. I dont know much about the Greek players, other then their keeper won Euro 04 with Greece.
I do know they like to attack through Predrag Djordjevic, who looks so old school its not funny. But he is a good player, skillful, creative, tempramental with a hard shot. He has to pick up the slack of loosing Rivaldo, with some help from Galleti and Cristian Ledesma. They beat Paionios 4-1 with goals from Lua Lua, Djordjevic, Stoltidis and Galleti. They currently sit 2nd in Greece, with 11 points from 5 games, 4 behind AEK Athens.
As far as tactics go, I couldnt really tell you, other then the play a modified 4-4-2. I expect Ne to lineup in midfield as a solid body, even though he isnt really an enforcer. Kovacevic will probably come off the bench, so Lua Lua and Konstantinou should start up front, and Raul Bravo and Julio Cesar will definately be starting in their former home. Djordjevic and Ledesma are a sure start too. But I dont have the squad list and injuries yet, when I get it from uefa.com ill update this.
Real Madrid Team News
Should I give you Real’s squad list. Doubt it. Injury report is more appropriate, and obviously Robben and Heinze are out. Will Robinho and Baptista return to the squad??? Well, look at this:
OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT
During today’s meeting in the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, the Board of Directors of Real Madrid decided to open an investigation prior to possibly fining the club players who, after playing in internationals with their respective national teams, decided to delay their reincorporation into the First Team. The Board has every intention of expediting the process and will determine the outcome shortly.
Hmmm, looks like the Brazil boys are gonna get a financial bitch slap. But, they were in training yesterday. Diarra, Canna, and Sergio Ramos took it easy though as they all had slight knocks. Here are some training pictures:
That all looks like so much fun. Im gonna do this, I dont know who will start, well I have an idea, but you guys let me know what you think the starting 11 will be. I will say we will win this one 3-1, Raul with 2 and Hig’s with a late goal as usual. Konstantinou with a poach in the box. My crystal ball is now telling me i need to go to bed, ill update this when i get more info, adios.
Update: Diarra and Cannavaro are out of Wednesdays game, meaning Gago and Michel Salgado come into the starting 11. Pepe is also still ruled out, will he ever recover from his injury? Also, here is Phil Ball’s column: http://soccernet.espn.go.com/columns/story?id=474717&root=europe&cc=5901&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1
Category: Team News
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Salgado-Ramos-Metze-Marcelo
Robinho-Guti-Sneijder
Higuain-Raul-RuudHow about that for size? It’s probable it will actually be Gago in the CM with Guti and the usual Ruud Raul pairing up front - which would probably be a smarter formation - But I’d be interested to see how the above might work. Most likely the same old: no midfeild engine, forcing Ramos to play up, leaving the defence vulnerable to counters. Sigh. I can’t wait until Schuster and the boys figure out a consistant and fluid formation.
p.s. Binghamton, ahhh. Home sweet home.
Posted from
United States
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Midfield is a little lightweight, not that Gago is pysically emposing either, but Sneijder and Guti cant defend much. The squad lacks players that can play in multiple positions, like a very versatile central midfield player (Redondo, Conciecao, Cambiasso). Ramos pushing up does leave us exposed, but then again so does Marcelo, when full backs push up wide players need to stay back. Olympiakos is not gonna press to much through the middle with Ne, but on the flanks they are strong.
And Binghamton is one of the greatest places on the planet.
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United States -
I’m still curious to see how Sergio Ramos would handle the center midfield position. He’s the one player that fits your description of playing in multiple positions. He has pace, excellent ball control, great long passes and good defending. We would be able to cover the right flank with Salgado or Torres, and we’ve got four options for centerback, when healthy (Pepe, Canna, Metze, Heinze - 5 if you count Salgado). So although ideally I’d keep Ramos at right back, he could be a step towards solving the glaring problem that is our midfield. I’d love to hear what you and everyone else think about this.
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United States -
Oh yeah, and I can’t remember where I read the quote (I thought it was Phil Ball, but I couldn’t find it) but did you read that Getafe’s coach said it would take the rest of the squad a long time to perform up to the skill of De la Red? And yet every time he gets on the field, he opens up plays, dominates the midfield and creates opportunities on goal? Every time I think about our midfield problems…
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United States -
Here it is - attribute it to Tim Stannard, who can be a bit tongue and cheek.
“According to John Jenson, Michael Laudrup’s number two, de la Red had played so few games for Getafe, this season, as he was simply too good for the rest of the side and needed to ‘lower’ his expectations of what his team mates could achieve when making passes, etc.
But with Getafe running on empty at half time and 0-0 against Murcia, de la Red was brought on and made an impact a few minutes later with a delightful cross that another sub, Kepa, slotted home.
‘This is a new sensation for me,’ joked Laudrup in the press room afterwards as he discussed his club’s first league win of the season. “
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United States -
Well I use to play Sergio Ramos in central midfield in FIFA 07 because he was so good at it. Right now he could play anywhere, and maybe a move to the center is best for the team, sometimes you wonder if his talents are wasted as a right back. Id have to see it to believe it though, but the idea is tempting.
As for De La Red, I harped on this all summer long, he is better then Gago, has just as much vision as Guti and could be as physical as Diarra with some weight training. For Laudrup, who was a skilled midfielder in his own right, to praise De La Red like that shows how good he is and how dumb Mijatovic and Schuster are. That move still leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, Real as a team still suffers from the hangover of Del bosque’s firing in so many ways and its terrible.
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United States -
I was with you all the way about De la Red: sending him away was pure bullshit, and now Madrid is feeling the void.
Posted from
United States
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