AEK Athens 0-1 Omonia Nicosia
I know I said we should just pretend this never happened, but then I saw a statistic showing we had the majority of possession. I also found some video clips that I think are worth sharing:
That isn’t a horrible performance, is it? Sure, we lost. But the offense showed some really nice one-touch passing. We had trouble finishing, but it’s early in the season. Blanco is rusty, but he’ll get better. It’s also worth noting that Edinho did not play, and he was a central part of our attack last season. The really bad news concerns our midfield and defense. We looked susceptible to quick counter-attacks, and Omonia’s only goal was a result of a really bad step by central defender Majstorovic. In essence, we had a weak spine. But our two biggest signings of the Summer, Kygriakos (center back) and Basinas (holding mid), were meant to correct exactly that, and neither of them played. So it’s a bit too early for panic.
A rusty, less than full strength team lost to a team that came to win and played their hearts out. In the meantime, we showed some real technical flair and our demonstrated weaknesses have already been addressed in the transfer window. We’ll be fine then.
August 17, 2008 at 2:41 pm
Just a few comments Mike (sorry for the long post),
OFFENSE:
AEK may have had a majority of possession, but that means nothing when you barely have any chances to score a goal. I haven’t seen the entire game (just highlights) but reports in Greece are labeling this the worst AEK performance in at least 4 years. Now as we know, Greeks like to exaggerate but this performance was shameful.
Reports are mainly criticizing Donis for his insistence on playing a 4-3-3 when he doesn’t have the players to play it. Blanco has looked like a completely different player ever since Donis took over. Blanco didn’t forget to play soccer in one summer. So what is going on? Well, Blanco is now the CF (center forward). Basically, the role of a CF is to hold the ball up and pass to the flanks to open up space, present a major threat in the box for aerial balls, and try to finish off easy chances when presented. Blanco cannot hold up the ball, is too short to challenge for headers against tall CBs, and sometimes his finishing is less to be desired.
A MUCH better player for the CF role, would have been Lymberopoulos… Perhaps Edinho can take on the new role, but again he has barely trained with the team so it’s going to take him a while to get into the mentality of the system.
Another problem with the system is having Rivaldo as your main “playmaker”. In this system, you need a very fit player who will not only help the attack, but is also willing to go back and retrieve the ball to set plays up. As we all know, Rivaldo is 36 years old and isn’t a cardio machine.
DEFENSE:
If you ask me, AEK will continue to be susceptible to counter attacks and fast teams. Majstorovic is SLOOOOOW and Kyrgiakos is pretty slow as well. Not to mention, Basinas likes to stroll around on the pitch when he gets a little tired (we all saw it with the NT and his last year at PAO) and Rivaldo… well enough said.
Also, I woudln’t count Omonia out yet since they played with their B squad in Athens and will look to do some damage with the Aloneutis (former Larissa player/ Bundesliga player) and Okkas (former PAOK, AEK, and Olympiakos player) in Cyprus. Some even consider Omonia a better team than Anorthosis (the team that stomped Olympiakos). Add that to the fact that Omonia has not been beaten at home for over 15 games and things don’t look good for AEK.
POSITIVES:
But hey, all is not doom and gloom.
1) You guys got Scocco who in my opinion is an EXCELLENT signing. He knows how to score, make runs, set up plays, and take on defenders. I repeat, EXCELLENT signing. He’s probably the best transfer signing this summer (aside from Gilberto Silva).
2) Saja is an EXTRAORDINARY keeper!!!
3) Also, Kyrgiakos, although may be slow, he is still a TOP defender and perhaps one of the top two in the league. You just need to pair him with a speedy defender in case he gets burned on a counter attack.
4) Rikka has shown some really great things during preseason. I have a feeling that he could really challenge Basinas’ spot in the starting 11 by the end of the season.
August 17, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Wow, teddy, feel better now that you got that anti-AEK tirade off your chest? Lyberopoulos is done. Although Blanco is rusty and not great at holding up the ball, your insistence that Lyberopoulos would be better in that role speaks more to your own prejudices (that Lybe is greek and came out of PAO) than it does from any real analysis of AEK’s current needs.
You mention what has been widely reported, but fail to mention that it also is widely reported that Blanco is no longer a guaranteed starter. Indeed, Edinho’s injury is the only thing that ensured Blanco such an extended role in that game. Otherwise, Scocco would have played there. But even if Blanco is more cetnral to Donis’s plans that I am giving credit for, strikers are notoriously subject to lulls in form. It’s absolutely absurd to judge him on one game, particularly since he was the Greek league’s top scorer last season.
Like I said, and which you on a good day would readily acknowledge, it is far too early to draw any conclusions for one game at the start of the season.
We’ll be fine, and we’ll have done it with a lot less money than you (PAO)splashed out this Summer.
August 20, 2008 at 12:26 pm
Just herd that we’re only getting 1100 tickets for the game in Cyprus…
August 21, 2008 at 5:56 pm
Yeah, thats what Ive heard. Its a pretty tiny stadium they have there from what Ive seen.