Greeks Abroad

A thread dedicated to all things involving Greek players abroad.

Here's something you may not know. The majority of Greek players abroad are in Italy (unless you consider Cyprus a separate country from Greece, which I sure as hell don't).

Kone, Bologna (scored some beauties last season, including the one below)

Lazaros, Bologna (did well last season)
Ninis, Parma (supremely talented, but will almost certainly be on his way out by this summer's end)
Torosidis, Roma (great player, but with Maicon in he may as well be on his way out)
Tachtsidis, Catania (he and his club are a perfect match; one to watch)
Moras, Hellas Verona (last week Balotelli was nowhere to be seen thanks in part to this man)
Gentzoglou, Sampdoria (solid player, but I've seen too little of him as of late to make any real judgements)
Oikonomou, Cagliari (don't ask me)
Katidis, Novara (a controversial player who plays with more guts than brains)
Potouridis, Novara (don't ask me)

Tzorvas and Spyrolopoulos have headed back to Greece, while Karnezis, now a Udinese player, is on loan at Granada, a team in La Liga. Karnezis has yet to feature and appears to be second choice to Roberto, who featured instead in a 1-0 loss to Real Madrid recently.

 

Fetfatzidis made the jump from the baby elephant graveyard to spendthrift's Genoa (is there a player they don't co-own?). This is the same team that once co-owned Sokratis and currently co-owns Tachtisidis. Anyways, he's a fantastic player, one of the best Greek players to ever emerge, but he will need time to adjust in Italy. Frankly, he needs playing time so as to develop his game further. I expect him to compete with Bartolacci for a place in the starting eleven, unless the coach is willing to have them share the field. Either way, he will be turning heads in short time thanks to his unstoppable dribbles, powerful shots, and cunning passes.

 

Yuri Lodigin, a Russo-Grecian, has proven himself to be quite the bargain signing.

http://russianfootballnews.com/top-10-summer-transfers/

According to the link, he has earned a player of the month distinction and is statistically considered one of the best keepers in the league.

 

Moras featured against Juventus today. He provided an assist from a corner kick, superbly knocking the ball down for a simple tap-in; however, he was beaten on Vidal's cross that allowed Llorente to score the winner. He looked well positioned to deal with the threat, but perhaps should have gotten tighter on Llorente. More than anything else, Verona gave Vidal too much time and space to make the cross. Overall, it was a strong performance despite the loss.

 

Ioannis Fetfatzidis featured against league leaders Napoli today. A number of websites rated him as Genoa's best or second best player today, with CalcioNew24 stating that he was the best player on either side of the pitch in the second half (source: click). All the websites I read were unanimous in rating him at 6.5. It was, more than anything else, a promising performance.

This is what TuttoMercatoWeb had to write:

(source: click)

Five days ago, Liverani, Genoa's head coach, stated that he was pleased with Fetfatzidis training during that past week and that Fetfatzidis will become a key player for Genoa (source: click). Only time can tell, of course.

Luckily I tuned in for this one. Figured I might get a glimpse of Fetfatzidis and also get a chance to watch the best team in the Series A so far. I wasn't disappointed. Pandev was the star of the show and Napoli deserved the win, despite slowing down a gear in the second half. It looks and feels like this is their season to finally win the Scudetto again.

Ioannis was in great form. His ability to control defenders and the ball, along with his penetrative passing, caught the eye on a couple of occasions. It was evident his command of the ball and space intimidated the opposition. He had a couple of standout moments, too. On one occasion, he threaded a superb pass to Gilardino after skipping past Napoli's midfield, although Gilardino may have been a shade offside (either way, the referee called it). Another time, he forced a fine save out of an outstretched Reina. It was a great effort on goal, but Reina had seen the shot all the way through.

Fetfatzidis has also matured a lot. There was never a hint of nonsense in his movement and passing in addition to his willingness to track back. That willingness saw him harass Pandev and Callejon, forcing their hands and stumping Napoli on the counter-attack. This is a performance Ioannis will surely build from; however, his diminutive size and his ability to make tough challenges for the ball will come under scrutiny. If he impresses all the more, teams will take notice and adapt tactically to him. I think we will see him struggling from time to time with the physicality of the Series A. Time will tell.

 

Bologna have had an unbelievably poor start to their season. They lost 4-1 at home to Hellas Verona. To lose 5-0 to Roma is one thing, but to lose 4-1 against a team which was recently promoted is another thing. Amazingly, Bologna out shot their opponents by almost double with 24 shots total, but only 8 hit the target. The team is in fragile mental state. This will only heap more pressure on Pioli. He's been one of the standout coaches in the Series A these past couple of seasons and one of the reasons why players like Diamanti play with the sort of confidence that have seen them produce moments of sheer brilliance. Pioli encourages Kone to perform bicycle kicks. He encourages Acquafresca to run through the Inter Milan defense. I'd hate to see him get the sack.

Kone was the only Greek on the pitch; Lazaros was on the bench and Moras is out injured for a month.

 

Bologna are just scrapping above relegation, but Lazaros has risen again. He's been in phenomenal form. Bravo. Kone grabbed a goal in a 2-2 draw with Inter yesterday, as well. There are rumours that Ballardini, the Bologna coach, might take over Greece after Santos steps down.