Well, let’s face it, Xanthi is never an easy challenge. After they beat Aris 2-1 last weekend I really doubted our chances with them despite our recent run of good form.

My fears were confirmed early, or at least I thought so. We went down very early, in the 8th minute, after a severe mistake from Araujo. The first twenty minutes were generally very scary for AEK fans as we failed to take control of the game and Xanthi continued to come close to scoring.

As Blanco said after the match, however, the Xanthi must have acted like a slap to the face of the AEK players who quickly woke up and soon after going down earned a penalty. Unlike Djebbour a few weeks ago Blanco’s penalty was a direct one which went straight to the goal. After this we began to slowly take control of things however it was still a slow process.

The final twenty minutes of the first half saw us take a little more controlled and in the final minute of extra time a left footed Djebbour cross was knocked smoothly into the net by Leonardo. The goal meant that despite the cold and the rain us AEK fans saw the first half close with smiles on our faces.

The second half was delayed by twelve minutes due to the rain but when it did start we were treated by a much more confident display from the AEK players. Sure, Xanthi still managed to create some danger but the possession was largely controlled by us. Even Makos, who once again had a terrible first half, was able to provide a little more to the game (though his performance was still far from satisfactory).

Our third goal was off of a lovely counter attack (our counter attacks generally were very good today and another golden opportunity off of one earlier in the game could have resulted in a goal had Scocco not wasted the chance with a useless pass). Georgeas set up Blanco perfectly who only had to tap the ball into the net. That meant that Blanco now had two goals in the game! (yes people, Zorro is back!).

Saja was keeper today since Arabatzis injured his wrist in last week’s derby. I honestly wasn’t too confident when I heard this would be the case and while it wasn’t Saja’s worst performance with AEK it was far from flawless. Once again his clearances were terrible and Xanthi had a chance to score a goal similar to the one scored by BATE in OAKA.

Our defense was alright though we were caught off guard on a number of occasions and we left too many gaps, especially where Araujo should have been marking. Thankfully, Xanthi didn’t capitalize however they could have.

Geraldo, from what I could see, had a great game. He was solid and defended well and the same could be said for Georgeas who also provided quite a bit offensively.

Araujo would have had a flawless match were it not for his terrible mistake. He defended with strength and is not afraid to throw his weight around in order to get the ball. Sure, that may be why hes already received a number of red cards and many yellows but defenders need to be tough if they want to get the ball so I’m not complaining.

Majstorovic was good defensively I believe but his speed continues to be his weak point. He had a couple of chances to score from corners but unfortunately all his headers failed to hit the target.

Makos was disastrous. Lost the ball every time he got it and failed to make even the simplest of passes. Yet, Bajevic continues to play him.  I’ll admit it, his second half performance was much improved but he has to show alot more if we wants to prove he deserves the starting spot. Unfortunately, Jahic was out due to cards (he will be out next match also after collecting ten yellows!) so our options were limited.

Kafes had a decent game though he didn’t contribute as much as against Giannena as far I could tell. Still, our midfield is much more confident when he is in.

Leonardo scored that important goal for us but I really didn’t see much of him until the match progressed. I had actually completely forgot he was in the starting XI. It had been since before Christmas (the match with Panionios where he also scored I believe) since he last started so he may have required a little time to find his place in the team once again. Overall though, it was a decent performance from him. He was involved in the switches with Scocco often (nromally Manduca’s job though he was out for this one) and they seemed to have worked well.

Scocco played well. I wouldn’t say this was his best match but he managed to contribute once again to the team (he had a great direct free kick just miss the cross bar) and he was very active in our counter attacks.

Blanco played more attack this match compared to last week and he seemed to be in form. Aside from scoring two goals he was actively involved in the plays up front and is able to control things well when the ball is at his feet even though he may not have the technical ability of Scocco. Djebbour also had a good game but he wasn’t as much of a goal threat as he normally is. Still, he provided that wonderful cross to Leonardo which made all the difference.

Well, so far in the second half of the season we have had three wins and three draws. Not bad at all considering our poor performance in the first half of the season and the fact that we have already played both PAO and Oly away and have managed to take four points from those two matches. 3-1 is a very pleasing result here considering how we were wrongfully affected by the ref in the first half of the season against Xanthi. Scocco said they wanted revenge and it looks like they got it.

We now, temporarily sit in fourth place. Aris were down at home 1-0 to Panthrakikos at half time! However, the game could not be continued due to terrible pitch conditions so if the weather allows it the game will be resumed today with the same score and only the second half will be played. If Panthrakikos can hold on to the slender lead, we will finish the week in fourth place.

Generally this was a great weekend to be AEK! Firstly, the second game with our new basketball coach and already a second win! What is more impressive is it was a home win without fans to Panionios, one of the toughest basketball teams in the league. Not only did we beat them, we beat them with the impressive score of 89-56 after the score was tied 28-28 at half time. It was a superb performance by AEK and things can only get better from here on. Hopefully we continue and finish the season with a chance of some European basketball next season.

Our handball team also got an impressive win. They beat current leaders, PAOK (who hadn’t lost a game yet this season) with a score of 26-25! Certainly a great weekend to be AEK! Hopefully we see more of this from our teams.

Well, all I can say is we were lucky. PAO had a few incredible chances to score a few goals but were either stopped by the post or Arabatzis. But, they never should have won in the first round against us so it’s all good

We started without Makos which was great news. Our starting XI was Arabatzis, Araujo, Majstorovic, Geraldo, Karabelas, Manduca, Kafes, Jahic, Blanco, Scocco, and Djebbour. Arabatzis made some critical saves and generally had a good game. There was very little he could do to change the outcome of the match.

Araujo was on and off. He controlled Leto with ease but let some players slip by and was a little dangerous at times.

Majstorovic, though he made a few mistakes (accidents really, not his usual sloppiness) which could have led to goals, was a great defender for us today. Cisse, who I was very worried about before the match, did very little, partly because of Majstorovic. Geraldo also had a good game. There was little else he could do, but he defended well.

Karabelas was our problem today. Against other attackers, he was fine, but when he came up 1 0n 1 with Salpigidis he was left trailing behind him on every occasion. This, unfortunately, led to many dangerous chances being created for PAO but with some luck few of them went in.

Our midfield could have been better. After the first ten minutes they died down and could not string together simple passes. Kafes was alright, as was Manduca, but Jahic needed to raise his game to a higher level. Perhaps it was just me but I wasnt too impressed with him.

Our attack was dangerous at times, when they managed to get the ball. I would say Djebbour was our most dangerous man up front and had some great chances. However, he hardly ran and rarely chased the ball or applied pressure, unlike Scocco or Blanco. Scocco did not have a fantastic game and I was expecting him to be more involved in this derby. He might have been trying but he rarely managed to create the pressure he normally does despite PAO’s weak defense.

Blanco was playing completely out of position. I’m not sure yet if he was instructed to do so but he rarely ventured forwards and rather played a right midfield position. He helped out defensively however what I was pleased to see from him was some nice balls he sent occasionally for Djebbour which passed PAO’s defense with ease.

Generally, it really wasn’t a fantastic performance, not compared to what we saw in Karaiskaki. Our players started strong and were winning each ball. We were rewarded with an early goal in the 9th minute after a mistake from Katsouranis and we had possession for much of the time. However, shortly after our goal things died down for us and PAO began controlling the game. They scored from a free kick outside our box and created a few chances after that as well which (luckily for us) couldn’t find the back of the net. Salpigidis was their most dangerous man up front and was involved in almost every opportunity for them.

Honestly, we were lucky but it’s fair considering we should have gotten one point when we played them earlier in the year.

The referee was terrible. PAO should have gotten a red after some dangerous and disgusting tackles by Vyntra. Many questionable calls from the ref, mostly in PAO’s favour. I’m not making excuses here but there was plenty of diving from the PAO players which led to many dangerous free kicks outside our box.

Our subs today were Makos (not his worst game, he managed to do a bit), Lagos (showed promise but maybe he was a little to excited and not concentrated enough), and Guerreiro (who came on for Scocco though I would have taken off Blanco).

Well, one point. Three would have been better but really, this is probably our hardest game of the year (except perhaps PAOK away). Fortunately, those team’s nearest us in the standings all messed up this weekend. Aris lost to Xanthi (!), Tripolis lost to Levadeiakos, and Atromitos lost to PAOK. We now sit in the fifth, one point ahead of Tripolis.

Our basketball team won away to Trikala this weekend. Our first away win this season, and the first game with our new coach. We didn’t play great for much of the game but in the fourth quarter we really picked things up and Trikala could do little to hold us back.

Our volleyball team also beat PAOK, 3 sets to 2.

Well, it wasn’t a pretty win, but at the end of they day it was a well deserved three points. One goal was scored from Djebbour (who was superb today) and two from not Blanco, not Scocco (he didn’t play in the end), not Leonardo, Hersi, or Guerreiro, but…. KAFES!

No videos up yet, I’ll get some tomorrow. It was a freezing (literally) night tonight, with a mix of snow and rain towards the end of the game. Luckily though, the players weren’t affected too much.

As could have been predicted before the game, PAS held back and played the counter attacks. This proved to be a nightmare for us as we could not handle them once they took off. Unlike with Iraklis, where we managed to cut off many of their counter attacks before they develloped, we could not stop PAS on the counter at all today and some luck (along with some poor refereeing) helped us not concede earlier.

We scored first, a powerful header by Djebbour off of a Georgeas cross. His header was clocked at 60 km/h.

PAS tied things up ten minutes into the second half and the players seemed to loose concentration and and focus as the fans started to loose patience. Eventually, things tightened up and we started putting the pressure on PAS again. We scored the much needed (for the players and the fans) second goal which came from Kafes. Leonardo had a freekick outside the box which he passed on the ground to Gentzoglou who, with a nice back heel, placed the ball in the centre. Kafes saw the ball and shot and with so many players crowded in the box and the shot nice and low the PAS keeper could not react quick enough.

Kafes scored out third in extra time, a well placed shot after another back heel, this time from Lagos. This third goal sealed the deal on a much needed win and we now continue our unbeaten streak in the second half of the season.

So, we started with Arabatzis in nets, Georgeas (don’t forget, Araujo was out with a red card from last weekend), Majstorovic, Gentzoglou, and Karabelas completing our back line, Makos, Manduca, Kafes, and Hersi making up our midfield, and Blanco along with Djebbour were up front.

Arabatzis had a decent game. There wasn’t much he could do (or anyone else for that matter) with PAS’ goal, but he collected many corners with confidence tough was never really tested with any tough shots.

Georgeas had a good game though made some mistakes and could not handle PAS’ left wing on the counter attack. Majstorovic had a very good game, cleared many balls with confidence though he was also caught on the counter attack. Gentzoglou had a good game and made some critical tackles to keep us in the game. Karabelas was very good, defensively and also offensively, contributing some good runs up the wing.

Our defense was good for the most part except the counter attacks. This is the first time I’ve seen us truly exposed like this this season so hopefully it was a one off thing. Either, we must be more prepared.

Our midfield was alright. Manduca and Hersi (especially Hersi) both had good games but Makos was worse than usual (usual meaning terrible). He did have one nice shot which was barely saved but the rest of the game he lost the ball many times. There were a few promising aspects of his play, some decent passes and he was able to travel with the ball better than normal, but he was still a big problem for us today. He received many boos from the fans which really didn’t  help. Kafes was good today and obviously provided a threat up front.

Our offense was one of the better aspects of today’s game, especially Djebbour. Towards the end of the match we had numerous top class chances to score but couldn’t either because of poor finishing or great goalkeeping from the PAS keeper. Djebbour was quite something today. He scored a goal and had numerous other chances to score and also set up Blanco with a superb cross across the pitch straight to the Argentinian’s feet. This left Blanco head to head with the keeper however, as is typical of Blanco this season, he couldn’t finish it.

Our substitutes were Lagos, Leonardo, and Roger. Lagos was superb! Hopefully the guy will get more playing time now. Roger I honestly did not see enough of. Leonardo had a good game, surprisingly. Not fantastic, but good.

The Originals painted (with spray paint) all the seats where the sit Yellow and Black! An impressive feat and I must say, it looks great! However, with the derby with PAO coming up next weekend, I wonder how the PAO fans will feel. Let’s see what happens there. If they leave it it would be great, add some character to the stadium. I can’t see them leaving it though.

Sorry for the rushed post but school starts again tomorrow since exams are over and I have to get up early once again

Oh, a couple more things to point out. Six Greeks made up our starting eleven, a great number to see! Also, believe ti nor not, PAOK beat Olympiakos in Karaiskaki! Edinho scored the only goal of the match!

Sorry for the delay for this one. AEKMAN74 posted a good summary of the game which you can check out as well.

Well, my Father and I decided that since I only have half a year left in Greece before I, unfortunately, have to return to North America for university (don’t get me wrong, I love North America, I just don’t know how long I’ll be able to stay away from AEK) we’d go up to Thessaloniki and watch this one so I could experience a proper away game.

In the end it turned out to be a great experience, one which fortunately had little trouble between the AEK and Iraklis supporters. It was very cold up north, with some people even saying it was going to snow, but that did not take anything away from the excitement and the atmosphere that night. Around 1,800 AEK supporters showed up from all over the country (some from Athens, a particularly loud bunch of guys from Serres, some local supporters from Thessaloniki) and they created a rather festive mood, despite our team’s far from spectacular form.

Thanks to the wonderful planning from the guys over at Superleague, the PAOK game (which they won 1-0 against Tripolis) was ending at the same time Iraklis supporters were heading to the stadium. Of course, this resulted in a number of clashes but it thankfully never reached the AEK supporters.

Below are a couple of pictures I took from the game.

Considering there wasn't a huge number of them they made a fair bit of noise.

We made some noise ourselves

A view of the stadium before the match

Now, for the match itself. In the past three years we’ve won in this stadium (all 1-0 wins) but it’s never been easy. I honestly didn’t expect this one to be easy as well. Before the match, if I had known this would have ended in a draw I would have been relieved.

Unfortunately, however, we could have left Thessaloniki with all three points to place ourselves in fifth. Sure, Iraklis also could have done the same but there is little doubt that overall, we were the better team.

We lined up with a lineup similar to that which we fielded against Oly. Arabatzis as ‘keeper, Araujo, Majstorovic, Geraldo Alves, and Georgeas took care of the defense, Kafes and Jahic were the defensive midfielders with Manduca and Scocco taking the offensive midfield roles, and Blanco and Djebbour were upfront. A pretty solid lineup considering what we have to work with.

Our problem last week was our lack of a midfield, due mostly to the exclusion of Kafes (injury) and Jahic (too many yellow cards). Immediately, a difference was seen on Saturday with those two guys, especially Kafes, back in the midfield. They stopped the Iraklis counters early or at least stalled them for our defense, and they helped to drastically improve the transition of the ball from defense to the attackers. Honestly, from where we were sitting the view was terrible, so I don’t know how much of a role these two midfielders actually played, but I do know that were getting the ball up much more effectively than last week.

Arabatzis had a good game but could do little to stop Kone’s (yes, the former AEK player who refused to celebrate out of respect; he says he still has very fond memories of his time at AEK) fantastic shot.I think very few ‘keepers would come close to saving it. Arabatzis did make another save in the dying minutes of the game, just like against Oly, to keep us in it, so he certainly deserves credit.

Our defense was good. They were beaten often on the 1-on-1’s  but they were quite solid when it came to stopping the counter attacks which was mandatory with this Iraklis team. Unfortunately, Araujo got a red card for his second yellow late in the match but the boys were forced to play rough or else there would have been no stopping Iraklis.

I already mentioned our defensive midfielders but the more attacking guys, Scocco and Manduca, also did their job. They got the ball up and dangerously close on another of occasions and only a lack of either luck or concentration (or, of course, both) kept us from scoring another goal or two.

Blanco was not the main man in our attack on Saturday. That honor would have to go, without a doubt, to Djebbour. He scored a fantastic goal (which I will post further down) and was dangerous, as we’ve been seeing these past two weeks, when on the ball. It’s a shame he wasn’t here the first half of the season, we really could have used him.

I’m just dreaming of when Nemeth will return and play with us (if he ever does come back). Nemeth and Djebbour, with Blanco ready on the bench, would be deadly for any team. With Pao’s weak defense, these guys could easily do some damage in two weeks.

One thing which many noticed from this game was our playing style. I don’t know what it was, but the whole team was playing with a fantastic fluidity. We were passing the ball nicely, there was alot of one touch passing going on, it was overall a nice style of football we saw. We really did play some good football and only due to luck didn’t come away with a win. As everyone has been saying in the press, AEK was the better team on the pitch that night, even though Iraklis did come very close to scoring on a number of occasions.

Now, some highlights.

As you will notice, Djebbour missed a penalty…with three minutes of time remaining! I really don’t know what he was attempting with that shot, but he really should have done better. He apologized to the fans but that really isn’t enough. He had a solid chance to place us firmly in fifth spot but it was wasted. Hopefully, he learned his lesson and won’t try a stupid shot like that again. By they way, Blanco had already been subbed off by this time which is why he didn’t take the kick.

Well, fortunately, Kavala tied 0-0, once again, with Oly. This is the ideal result for AEK since it now keeps them two points behind us. It also leaves Olympiakos now trailing Pao by seven points, meanwhile they are only ahead of PAOK by three. I’m loving it.

The Oly fans (10,000 of them were allowed to go up to Kavala) caused a bunch of trouble in the city and the stadium, running around like a bunch of hooligans, running on to the pitch numerous times, and clashing with police. Of course, if this was a fair league, they would have been punished for their disgusting hooliganism (that’s all they’ve ever been). At least one home match without fans would have been the norm (that would mean no fans at home when they play PAOK at home next weekend… considering how terrible they played yesterday I would have said a sure win for PAOK there), if not more, and perhaps a heavy fine. Of course, we know this isn’t a fair league, and they will get away with no punishment at all.

So, after our incredible win only five days earlier people were expecting similar things from last nights game. We thought we were going to get it also after building a healthy 3-1 lead with plenty of time left. The final score? 3-3

One thing was to blame for this result more than anything else. Our midfield. Kafes was out injured and Jahic was out due to cards. That left Makos, Nsaliwa, and Gentzoglou as our options for central midfield. Who did Bajevic (the hero from our derby win who is now being held as someone responsible for our result) decide to go with? Makos and Gentzoglou… big mistake.

Makos was terrible, or worse than that if it is possible. I feel bad for the guy. He tries hard, shows the passion, and clearly cares for AEK like he says, but he must not play another game for AEK. Our midfield was non-existent yesterday. At least we know Nsaliwa can handle the position good enough even though he may not be a star player. Whenever Makos got the ball he would loose it by either loosing possession or giving away the ball with lazy passing. I hate to say it  but the guy is not for AEK. He was good at Panionios but he killed us yesterday.

Gentzoglou wasn’t as bad, and at least he scored a goal. But he was not enough to make a huge impact on our midfield. Without Kafes we were clearly hurting. He isn’t the greatest midfielder Greece has ever produced but he holds the ball well and can control it until he sees a good time to get it up. He’s also a fine defender and can stop the counter attacks early, something which our midfield failed to do on many occasions.

Its a shame our midfield was so poor yesterday since our attack really was quite good. They created chances whenever they did manage to get the ball (normally due either to Scocco playing the ball up or a long ball from Manduca) and were very dangerous. Blanco stayed behind during the week to practise finishing and it payed off after he nailed in a sitter which he may actually have missed a few weeks ago. Scocco again was superb and Djebbour showed promise but I think he needs one or two more games with the team. He gets the ball alot but holds on to it too long and instead of taking the chances he gets he tries to make things harder for himself. With a couple more games we should start to see him finishing off those chances on his own.

Our defense was alright but it wasn’t as tight as we needed. Atromitos deserves credit, they do have a good offense. That 3-0 home loss to Aris would have been different had Sifakis not pulled off some incredible saves. Karabelas and Araujo both had good games and Geraldo was solid, but Majstorovic was back to his old games of passing the ball back to the keeper and waiting until the last possible second to do so. The whole defence started the passing the ball at the back for a minute before getting it up tactic which we saw so many times last year. The fans were not impressed, neither was I, but I guess that’s largely due to the fact that we didn’t have that midfield that we so badly needed in order to get the ball up.

Atromitos scored first in the game but thankfully, probably because of the win on Wednesday, the fans only started singing louder rather than booing. We scored soon after to tie things up and Scocco gave us the lead just before half time. Blanco gave us the nice 3-1 lead during the second thanks to a perfect pass from Scocco (this guy really is incredible). However, things changed quickly after that.

Firstly, check out the video below of the goals.

If you had time to watch the video you would have noticed that Atromitos were awarded a penalty. Was it a deserved call? Absolutely not! However, they were given the penalty, Atromitos scored, we lost our momentum and Atromitos scored another one a minute later. Could this all have been avoided? Easily, if the ref hadn’t awarded them a fake penalty. Funny thing is, the ref wasn’t even sure if he was awarding the penalty for Makos or Majstorovic. When asked why he gave the penalty he first he said Makos, ten minutes later he said Majstorovic. Ah, you gotta love refs in Greece.

Anyways, by this point, the damage was done. We had trouble getting back in the game, something which was certainly by Atromitos’ dirty tactics of a player falling every minute complaining of a cramp. Around seven players must have fallen resulting in breaking up our momentum and wasting time. Every substitution they made also wasted another minute as the Atromitos players took five minutes to walk off the pitch at a leisurely pace while stopping to say hello to everyone on their way out.

One other problem which seriously affected us today was our weakness in the air. Every free kick and corner we had the Atromitos defenders got their heads to the ball first, even Majstorovic couldn’t do anything. Lately that’s where we were stronger, but not yesterday, and it really hurt us since we had many chances to score from corners or free kicks just outside the box.

There was some tension between the fans and Donis. Donis didn’t understand why the AEK fans were treating him so poorly (mmm, maybe because we saw some of the worst football in the history of the club and if it wasn’t for Dusan we wouldn’t have ended up where we did last season?) and he was saying beer cans were being thrown at him. The reporter on the radio, however, said there wasn’t one can thrown on the pitch.

Despite all that was mentioned above, AEK got what they deserved. Atromitos hit the post and had that went in things would have been different. At the end of they day though, we didn’t play our greatest game possible. I don’t know if the players were too cocky after our last match, or the midfield was really our weakness but its a shame, no matter what the reason was. The fans showed up, 15,000 of them. Not a huge crowd but much better than it normally would have been. It was a cold night yet the atmosphere from the AEK fans was still great, the best I remember since last season. 15,00 fans sounded like 40,000. They supported the team well but in the end we left with memories of why this is our worst season yet, rather than memories of the remarkable victory they pulled off five days earlier.

So our players went into this game after the first half of what has been the worst season in AEK’s history. Few fans were expecting such a win and such a pleasing performance from our boys. But, they pulled it off (whether the 150,000 Euro bonus they were promised helped at all I dont know) and we have begun the new decade with a fantastic win!

As for the game itself, we were treated to a wonderful display from our players, considering everything that had gone on recently (the players not being payed on time, no president, major financial crisis, fans booing the players at home on a regular basis). The starting lineup consisted of Arabatzis, Araujo, Majstorovic, Alves, Karabelas, Jahic, Kafes, Manduca, SCOCCO, Blanco, and Djebbour (sorry for highlighting Scocco, it really was a fantastic team effort but he deserves the credit).

Arabatzis: well, this was his first derby despite him being with the team now for seven years. Some, including myself, were wondering about this decision by Bajevic but in the end it turned out to be the right choice. He was confident and when he went for the ball he made sure he got it. He also pulled off an incredible and critical save to keep us in the lead with minutes left.

Our defense wasn’t always the greatest (not that they were bad in any way though) but what I loved from them today was they showed passion and got to every ball first and when they didn’t they stuck with who they were marking and made sure they did their job. Majstorovic pulled off a critical slide to get in front of a shot from out side the box. Arabatzis was in a poor position and the shot easily could have gone in had Majstorovic not slid in front of it. Karabelas played well and was generally solid, and he was never afraid to do whatever was needed to get the ball (a risky mindset when playing in Karaiskaki since we all know how quickly the refs will give cards). Araujo had a nice shot and made it up often to help out. Alves was rarely seen but I guess he was doing his job for the most part. We were the dominant team in the air and got to every ball before they did.

Our midfield controlled the game well. The transitions from defense up were smooth and calm. The players focused and made good, smart passes. They didn’t give it up, they didn’t panic, they did their job. They also helped to get back quickly when it was time to defend. Manduca didn’t have his best game today but his crosses and corners were good.

Offensively was where we shone today. Sure, we didn’t create as many chances as Oly did but when we did create chances we looked deadly. The score easily could have been 4-1 had Djebbour had the composure required to finish properly. Nonetheless, whenever we made it up we got the ball infront of the net and create fantastic chances. Blanco didn’t do much but he was running alot, helping defensively, and he did send out some good passes which could have resulted in goals.

Scocco was superb. If he goes to Pao in the end, all hell will break loose with the AEK fans. His technical abilities are absolutely incredible. He got the MVP of the match and he definately deserved.

However, despite Scocco’s incredible performance, it was a great team effort from every player. They played with passion that we hadn’t seen in a while and in the end that is what separated us from them.

Lagos, Makos, and Tachtsidis were our subs. Makos had a decent game but I really can’t remember seeing much of him. Lagos wasn’t bad at all and had a great chance. He shot well, Nikopolids just managed to get to it though. Tachtsidis also had a pretty good game from what I remember.

Well, as AEKBaltimore said its been 15 (yes, FIFTEEN) years since we beat Olympiakos in Karaiskaki. We witnessed a historical day for our club and we saw what is possible from these guys. Hopefully the shareholders saw this and realize what incredible potential lies within this team. They fought hard and did what was needed for the club. Hopefully management will now do the same.

After the game I, along with my father and a friend (who don’t tell anyone but when he first came to Greece he was an oly supporter. He had no clue but after watching AEK play last year at some of the games he realized what it is to be AEK and now hes a diehard AEK supporter) went to Holiday Inn hotel where the bus drops off the players. Eventually many others showed up as well, it must have been around a thousand. We were singing, celebrating, flares and firecrackers were going off everywhere, it was something I’ll never forget. Eventually the players came and the celebrations from the fans were incredible. Dimitriadis came out of the bus and the fans picked him up and starting throwing him up and down while singing his name. Spirits were high, tourists were filming us from the bedrooms wondering what the hell was going on, it was incredible. Fifteen years since weve seen anything like this but it happened again today. A fantastic day to be an AEK supporter, we saw what it means to be AEK. Today was somewhat symbolic of the formation of the club. Refugees from Konstantinople, few had homes, they were treated terribly, they were forced to take whatever jobs they could get, life was tough, yet a Sports club was formed and now it has become one of the greatest in the country (in my opinion, the greatest).

This is what it means to be AEK. Its a day we will all remember and will hopefully signal better things to come while helping us to forget these past few months.

“KAFES” TERTİBİ

Kafes tertibinde ilk sonuç çıktı. Kafes operasyonu adı takılan soruşturmada, 2 Albay ve bir yarbay için tutuklama kararı çıktı. 18 ve 20 Kasım tarihlerinde İstanbul Nöbetçi 12. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesine sevk edilen 3 subay, mahkemece serbest bırakılmıştı.

12. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi, Kafes operasyonu iddialarıyla ilgili soruşturmayı yürüten Ergenekon savcılarının itirazını kabul etti. Savcılar, daha önce yine İstanbul Nöbetçi 12. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesince serbest bırakılan 3 subayın serbest bırakılmasına itiraz etmişlerdi. Mahkeme heyeti, Ergenekon savcılarının itirazını kabul ederek, nöbetçi hakim tarafından 18 ve 20 Kasımda serbest bırakılan iki albay ve bir yarbay hakkında ”yakalama” kararı çıkarttı.

Poyrazköy kazılarında bulunan mühimmat üzerine yürütüldüğü iddia edilen soruşturmada, Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı’nın sorgulandığını Ulusal Kanal ortaya çıkarmıştı. Soruşturmada, Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı’nda görevli 100 Kurmay Albay ile Tuğamiral ve Koramirallerin isimleri ve görev yerleriyle geçiriliyordu. Sorgusu devam eden askerlere, Ergenekon sanıklarıyla ilişkileri sorularak, bağ kurulmaya çalışılmıştı.

İşte bu operasyon, Taraf gazetesinde “KAFES Eylem Planı” manşetiyle verilmişti. TARAF’ın haberine göre KAFES eylem planı çerçevesinde, Deniz Kuvvetleri’ndeki bir cunta gayrimüslimlere yönelik eylemler yapmayı planlıyordu. Medyada yer alan haberlerde günlerce Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı hedef alınmıştı.

“KAFES Eylem Planı”, Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı’na e-posta yoluyla 3.5 ay önce gelen bir ihbar mektubuna dayanıyordu. Deniz Kuvvetleri bu suçlamayla ilgili bir soruşturma başlatmasına rağmen Ergenekon savcıları da aynı konuda soruşturma başlatmıştı. Soruşturma, Emekli Deniz Binbaşı Levent Bektaş’tan elde edildiği ileri sürülen CD içeriği üzerinden yürütülüyordu. CD içerisinde, “KAFES Eylem Planı”nın yer aldığı, alt görev başlığı bölümünde de hücreler şeklinde örgütlenildiği ve 40 deniz subayının isminin geçtiği iddia ediliyordu.

Ulusal Kanal

Genelkurmay’dan Kafes Tertibine Açıklama

“KAFES” TERTİBİ

Aydınlık kapak 1166

Kafes tertibinde ilk sonuç çıktı. Kafes operasyonu adı takılan soruşturmada, 2 Albay ve bir yarbay için tutuklama kararı çıktı. 18 ve 20 Kasım tarihlerinde İstanbul Nöbetçi 12. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesine sevk edilen 3 subay, mahkemece serbest bırakılmıştı.

12. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi, Kafes operasyonu iddialarıyla ilgili soruşturmayı yürüten Ergenekon savcılarının itirazını kabul etti. Savcılar, daha önce yine İstanbul Nöbetçi 12. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesince serbest bırakılan 3 subayın serbest bırakılmasına itiraz etmişlerdi. Mahkeme heyeti, Ergenekon savcılarının itirazını kabul ederek, nöbetçi hakim tarafından 18 ve 20 Kasımda serbest bırakılan iki albay ve bir yarbay hakkında ”yakalama” kararı çıkarttı.

Poyrazköy kazılarında bulunan mühimmat üzerine yürütüldüğü iddia edilen soruşturmada, Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı’nın sorgulandığını Ulusal Kanal ortaya çıkarmıştı. Soruşturmada, Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı’nda görevli 100 Kurmay Albay ile Tuğamiral ve Koramirallerin isimleri ve görev yerleriyle geçiriliyordu. Sorgusu devam eden askerlere, Ergenekon sanıklarıyla ilişkileri sorularak, bağ kurulmaya çalışılmıştı.

İşte bu operasyon, Taraf gazetesinde “KAFES Eylem Planı” manşetiyle verilmişti. TARAF’ın haberine göre KAFES eylem planı çerçevesinde, Deniz Kuvvetleri’ndeki bir cunta gayrimüslimlere yönelik eylemler yapmayı planlıyordu. Medyada yer alan haberlerde günlerce Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı hedef alınmıştı.

“KAFES Eylem Planı”, Deniz Kuvvetleri Komutanlığı’na e-posta yoluyla 3.5 ay önce gelen bir ihbar mektubuna dayanıyordu. Deniz Kuvvetleri bu suçlamayla ilgili bir soruşturma başlatmasına rağmen Ergenekon savcıları da aynı konuda soruşturma başlatmıştı. Soruşturma, Emekli Deniz Binbaşı Levent Bektaş’tan elde edildiği ileri sürülen CD içeriği üzerinden yürütülüyordu. CD içerisinde, “KAFES Eylem Planı”nın yer aldığı, alt görev başlığı bölümünde de hücreler şeklinde örgütlenildiği ve 40 deniz subayının isminin geçtiği iddia ediliyordu.

Ulusal Kanal

Genelkurmay’dan Kafes Tertibine Açıklama

Gitme, gelme, yapma, etme, derken
Bir sıkımlık saltanatımız da bitti
Gönlüm şimdi sarı bir kızda
Kurban olmalı mı yeni aşka

Yapsam yapamam kazsam kazamam
vursam vuramam şaştım bu işe
Subay mı, er mi bilmem ama
kafesteyim ben kafeste

Darbe için acaba çok mu erken
Yapar mı yapmaz mı yoksa derken
Günlüğüm şimdi yeni bir kuyuda
Kurban olmalı mı bu cuntaya

yatsam yatamam, kaçsam kaçamam
kalksam kalkamam şaştım bu işe
küçük mü büyük mü bilmem ama
kafesteyim ben kafeste

Kod adı ‘Kafes’ olan eylem planının gayrimüslimlerle ilgili yönüne özellikle değindim. Çünkü Taraf gazetesinde yayınlanan planın o bölümü, Hrant Dink, Rahip Santoro ve Zirve Yayınevi cinayetlerine açıklık getiriyordu.

Saldırılar birer ‘operasyondu’. Yani planlı, programlı, organize silahlı eylemlerdi.

Amaç da Hükümet’in meşruiyetini bilhassa Batı ülkeleri karşısında yok etmekti.

***

Plandaki bir başka dehşetengiz nokta ise Rahmi Koç Müzesi‘nde patlatılacak olan bombaydı.

14 Kasım 2008 günü, müzeye bağlı Uluç Ali Reis adlı eski denizaltıda patlayıcılar (TNT kalıpları, vs.) bulunmuştu.

Ancak müze yetkilileri Emniyet’e haber vermek yerine, nedense Kuzey Deniz Saha Komutanlığı’nı aramıştı.

Buradan gelen ekip, patlayıcıları götürmüş, daha sonra da, ‘adeta delilleri yok etmek için’ malzeme imha edilmişti.

Durumu inceleyen savcılar ise askeri rapora inanmadılar. Patlayıcılar eskiden kalmış olamazdı. Ortada apaçık bir saldırı hazırlığı vardı.

‘Kafes’te de zaten böyle yazıyordu: Hatta eylemin büyük yankı uyandırması için, müzede çok sayıda çocuk varken patlama gerçekleştirilecekti!

(Yani az daha çocuk katili olacaklardı. Bazıları zamanla düşmanına benziyor galiba.)

***
Bu korkunç plan ortaya çıkınca ilginç tepkilere şahit olduk. Örneğin biri ‘Bu adamlar deli mi’ diyordu.

Hayır, deli filan değiller.

Darbe atmosferini oluşturmak… Bir grubu harekete geçirmek ve başka bir grubu suçlamak için tam da böyle şeyler yapılmıyor mu?

Hem Türkiye’de, hem dünyada…

Dünyadaki en esaslı örnek, İtalyan Gladio örgütünün 2 Ağustos 1980′de Bologna kenti tren istasyonuna koyduğu bombadır.

85 kişinin öldüğü, 200′den fazla kişinin yaralandığı bu korkunç eylemin amacı, solcuları suçlamaktı!

Bunun için de askeri istihbaratın başı olan Gladio’cu General Pietro Musumeci uygun yerlere aramalar sırasında bulunacak sahte deliller yerleştirmişti.

Neyse ki gerçek ortaya çıktı.

***

Bizdeki Danıştay Saldırısı (17 Mayıs 2006) da bundan çok farklı değildir.
Öncelikli amaç saldırıyı İslami kesimin üstüne yıkmaktı. Eğer Alparslan Arslan yakalanmasaydı; başaracaklardı da…

Hatırlayın: Herkes rolünü ne de güzel oynamıştı!

Cumhurbaşkanı Ahmet Necdet Sezer alelacele saldırının ‘Laik Cumhuriyete’ yapıldığını ilan etti.

Ergenekon dostu medyacılara göre bu ‘Türkiye’nin 11 Eylülü’ idi.

Böylece Ankara’nın laikçi orta sınıfı galeyana geldi. Arslan’ın öldürdüğü Danıştay üyesi Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin’in cenazesinde bakanlar yuhalandı.

Saldırının asıl büyük hedefi ise o günden başlayarak, tansiyonu yükseltmek ve AKP’yi sindirerek, Mayıs 2007′deki cumhurbaşkanlığı seçimini kendi adaylarının kazanmasını sağlamaktı.

***

Peki, “bu adamlar deli mi?”

Her şeyi söyleyebilirsiniz: Bu adamlar vicdansız. Bu adamlar ahlaksız. Bu adamlar katil. Bu adamlar acımasız.

Ama kesinlikle deli değiller.

Biz sıradan vatandaşları dehşet içinde bırakan planları gayet soğukkanlı bir biçimde yapıyor ve uyguluyorlar.

Atatürk’ten, laiklikten filan bahsetmelerine kanmayın. O laflar çaylakları kafalamak için.

Öyle ulvi bir amaçları filan yok: Sadece güç ve itibar istiyorlar.

Bir de imtiyazlarını kaybetmemek!

EMRE AKÖZ-SABAH

Taraf Gazetesi’nin yayınladığı Kafes Eylem Planı, Ordudaki cuntanın millet iradesine dayalı bir Türkiye istemediğini açıkça ortaya koydu. İşte korkunç plandan dehşet veren detaylar…

İLK HEDEFLERİ HÜKÜMETİ DEVİRMEK

2. İhanet planına göre cuntanın öncelikli hedefi hükümeti devirmekti. Ergenekon Silahlı Terör Örgütü’nde ortaya çıktığı gibi kurban olarak da azınlıklar seçildi. Gayri Müslimlerin önde gelenleri öldürülecek, Ak Parti’nin uluslar arası arenada desteğini kaybetmesi sağlanacaktı.

İddialara göre “düşman unsurlar”ın başında gösterilen Ak Partinin nasıl tasfiye edileceği aşama aşama planlandı. Ak Parti iktidarına ömür bile biçilmişti. Kafes Eylem Planında görev alanların vazifesi buydu ve 2011′de Türkiye’de Ak Parti devrilmiş olacaktı.

NİHAİ HEDEF MİLLETİ DEVİRMEK

Ancak bugüne kadar bir partiyi devirmek hiç bir zaman cuntacılara yetmedi. Bu yüzden ülkeyi Kafes’e alma planının nihayi hedefinde de millet vardı. Azınlıklara yapılan saldırıların hesabı, irtica kılıfına sokularak, fatura islamı yaşama gayretinde olan dindar müslümanlara kesilecekti. Cuntacılar da nüfusunun yüzde 98′i müslüman kimliği taşıyan bu ülkede, terörle mücadele adı altında milletin başını kolaylıkla ezebilecekti.

CUNTA DEVLETİ YIKIP KENDİ YAPILANMASINI KURACAKTI

Dehşet veren planlarla dolu “Kafes” ihanetinin dikkat çeken bir yanı daha vardı. Hatırlanacağı gibi 2012 yılında yapılacak Cumhurbaşkanlığı seçimlerinde Cumhurbaşkanını doğrudan halk seçecekti. İşte cunta bunu kabullenemiyordu. İddialara göre Ak Partiyi devirdikten sonra cunta acil olarak Anayasayı da değiştirtecek ve millete verilen bu hakkı elinden alacaktı.

Özetle Kafes daha önce defalarca tekrarlanan askeri darbelerin bir kopyası olacaktı. Cunta bu planla Son dönemde içeride ve dışarıda güç kazanan demokratik Türkiye’yi yerle bir edecek yerine de cunta anayasasıyla yönetilen bir devlet yapısı kuracaktı. Millet şimdi görev verdiği herkesten bu ihanetin hesabının sormasını bekliyor.

45 minutes in and we’re leading this one 1-0! Blanco scored a penalty (certainly the correct call) to put us up and we now are in a great position and the win is definately possible.

Conditions are terrible in Minsk. It is extremely cold (near zero degrees celcius) and the pitch is extremely wet. Our players are sliding all over the place, which doesnt help players like Scocco.

We’re playing a very good game, compared to what we saw over the weekend. Our players are fighting hard, winning every ball, and are clearly in this for the win and nothing less. We’re working well together as a whole with pretty much everyone playing a role.

Our starting lineup was Saja, Jahic, Arce, Majstorovic, Juanfran, Kafes, Nsaliwa, Scocco, Nemeth, Blanco, and Manduca. Everyone is playing quite well, including Juanfran, but I really must point out Nsaliwa in particular. He hasn’t played in a while but he is playing extremely well at the moment. His tackles are incredible, ball control, through balls, he’s playing great generally. Nemeth is also playing well and had some great chances.

We are dominating possession and had many good chances. We have been caught on the counter attacks a couple of times and have given up some dangerous free kicks at times, but we’re holding on.

Now, time for the second half!

A resurgent AEK overcame a depressing 4-0 thrashing to Everton two weeks ago to grind out a surprising but deserved 1-0 victory over Portugeuese powerhouse club Benfica FC.

The night started dismally for AEK.  Playing what I believe was a 4-2-3-1 with Saja in goal and Juanfran, Arce, Marjstorovic, and Gorgeas in the back, Kafes and Jahic in defensive midfield roles, Manduca, Scocco and Hersi forming a three-man attacking line and Blanco playing lone goal-poacher up top, AEK struggled for possession early on.  Worse, Benfica’s attack cut through our midfield over and over again like a hot knife through butter with surging run on the left by Di Maria a particular problem.

Benfica, employing a 4-1-3-2 with Cezar in goal, Peixoto, Luiz, Luisao, Pereioa in the back, Garcia shielding the back four, Di Maria and Ramires on the wings, Animar in the hole and Saviola and Cardoza up top, immediatly asserted control of the match with quick passes and well-timed runs.

AEK’s weak start, which the English commentators on GolTV derided as reminiscent of the match against Everton, almost reached a disastrous climax in the 13th minute.  AEK had conceded their first corner, and readers will remember that corner kicks were the occassion for Everton’s first two goals.  This time, the marking at the back post was tight and competent.  The zonal marking at the top of the 18-yard box, however, was missing this time, allowing Benfica to fire off a searing volley that mercifully hit the post.  Disaster averted, but just barely.  Note to Bajevic: please spend more time training this team how to defend corners.

I did not lose hope in those first, harrowing 15 minutes though, because two things were happening.  First, Hersi, seemingly single-handed, was  trying to assert some control over the match for AEK.  He was making fantastically quick runs, controlling the balls well, taking on and beating defenders and distributing brilliant passes including the 20th minute delivery of an absolutely perfect cross to Blanco, which the lone striker somehow managed to head just wide of the far post.

Hersi was not completely alone in trying to rally the troops.  Gorgeas too played with a lot of heart, though a little less brains and finesse.  His play was decidedly mixed, decisive and well-time slide tackles followed immediately by clumsy, rash, studs up challenges that earned him an early yellow in the 10th minute (that would almost cost us dearly later).  Still, his passion was evident and he is earning the respect of the fans through such fearless play.  But the best defenders are often successful at their jobs more for the stuff we don’t see than for what we do see.  Successful slide tackles look great, but the best defenders know their job is all about positioning and closing off opportunities.  And that is precisely not what was happening on our right side (Benfica’s left).  Gorgeas was not protecting his patch of the pitch and Di Maria was having his way with that flank, sliding perfect passes in front of our goal and lobbing crosses into dangerous territory.  Arguably, one of the things that started to turn this match after the first fifteen minutes was Gorgeas focusing less on pushing upfield and more on his defensive duties (besides, Gorgeas’s offensive forays were feckless; as just one example he had a fantastic chance on goal in the 16th minutes which he softly delivered right into the waiting arms of Benfica’s keeper).  But, to Gorgeas’s credit, DiMario was largely neutralized in the second half.  I am not currently a huge fan of Gorgeas but I am starting to recognize tremendous potential in this player.

Juanfran, in the other full-back role, also started the match shakily.  Indeed, a horrible pass in our backfield in the 11th minute almost cost us the match, but he turned his game around quickly, started making some excellent tackles and some even better runs down the flank that troubled Benfica’s defense enough to pull them thin at a few points.

But the game took a dramatic turn in the 20th minute.  First, Hersi sent a perfect cross to Blanco, as I mentioned above.  Mere moments later, Hersi again.  He received the ball in the midfield, controlled, looked around, played the ball out to the left to Juanfran’s feet, Juanfran drove down the flank and sent a brilliant cross right into the box that was barely headed away by a Benfica defender.  But Benfica were starting to look rattled, and AEK, led by Hersi, was starting to find their sea-legs.  Even the commentators had taken a break from moaning about what crap competition AEK were to note that “wait a second, we might have a game here.”

As Hersi continued to call for the ball, beat defenders and lay off nice passes, Scocco had taken it on himself to hustle back and help defend.  Scocco has taken some flak from fans for not always contributing enough on the attack, but this guy was plenty busy running the length of the pitch, firing off a laser one minute (his strike from outside the box in the 16th minute was barely controlled by the keeper) and hustling back to make a tackle outside our 18-yard box the very next moment.  Blanco too contributed well in defense.  In fact, every aspect of Blanco’s game was perfect, except of course for his finishing, which is what we need him for the most.  But his positioning, his tackling and his passing were all nearly flawless for the entire match.

From the 20th minute on, we looked the better team, but our old finishing problem returned, and not just for Blanco.  Although Blanco missed some great chances, Gorgeas (16th minute), Scocco (17th) and even Hersi (who took one too many touches in the 34th minute) blew great opportunities as well.

But the lads kept attacking, and as the pressure on Benfica mounted, their defense got stretched and their midfield got pushed back and our side gained more momentum.  Meanwhile in our half, Majstorivic has seized control of a large slice of the pitch as was assertively clearing the ball anytime it came anywhere near him and sticking his head out at any ball delivered in the air.  In other words, even when Benfica had glimmers of an attack building, it didn’t last, and our midfield was finally able to focus collectively on building an attack.

Which brings us to Manduca.  I can’t figure this guy out.  He has a terrific season in 2006/07 only to look like surplus to requirements last season.  But last night, he was starting to look like a valuable asset again.  But perhaps whatever shortcoming may have been on display have been erased from my mind by one absolutely perfectly delivered corner in the 43rd minute that found the bald head of a certain #5 Majstorovic.  Case settled, right lads?  No more complaining about Majstorovic.  Arguably, last night, he once and for all established himself as the back bone of this team.

So was it Hersi?  Or was it Majstorovic that proved the game changer for us?  Or was it the defensive contributions of Scocco?  Or was in our fullbacks finally playing some decent football.  For the first half, it was all of these things.  It was tewenty-five minutes of finally seeing this team gel and show how they can play together.

For the second half — and this is both good news and bad — it was all Saja.

50th minute – fantasic, game-saving fingertip save by Saja

50th minute – moments later, rushed off his line for a dangerous air ball

52nd – another quality, game-saving fingertip save

67th – denied searing free kick

74th – fantastic reflex save

And there was more in between and after, but you get the idea.  He easily earned himself the man of the match, but the team must ask themselves in the days ahead, why he was so busy for a thirty minute stretch of the second half?  We easily could have lost the match here.

In the 68th minute, Kafes went off with a leg cramp, replaced by Greek NT U-19 player Savvas Gentsoglou.

We had our own chances too in the second half, but we still could not finsih.  In the 76th minute, for example, Scocco delivered a brilliant chip cross to Manduca right in front of the goal, but somehow Manuca hit it with the top of his head rather than his forehead.  Frustrating stuff.

In the 77th minute Leonardo came in for Hersi.  The crowd showed their appreciation for our #3, a hero today.

In the 85th minute, we had our biggest scare of the match.  Gorgeas, who overall had a fine match but who, as I mentioned, had recklessly and needlessly earned a yellow in the 10th minute, was back to his old ways, committing ill-timed tackles.  He got caught on the second of these in rapid succession and was booked.  Sent off, AEK had to play what turned out to be 9 minutes a man down against one of the best teams in Europe while holding onto the slimmest possible lead.

But we did just that.  In Gorgeas’s absence, the young Gentsoglou covering the right back spot, got stuck in with some hard challenges that were unquestionably late but which were intended to show Benfica the back line was no weaker with the loss of Gorgeas.  The lad got himself a yellow but the look on his face showed he knew what he was doing.  Good boy.  The gaffer took Scocco off in the 88th and put Karabelas in.  In the 89th Juanfran headed clear a very dangerous Benfica cross into our box.  And then we waited.  And then, unbelievably after losing two Athens derbies and an earlier Europa League fixture to Everton, we were victors, our season and our Europa League Campaign renascent.

Well, there has been quite a bit of discussion in the post AEKBaltimore put up. Since the match alot has happened, most regarding the horrendous officiating at the match. But first, a review.

For everyone who has been following AEK you know how incredibly unlucky we tend to be, especially when it matters most. We saw that once again many times during this match. For the first forty minutes we pressured constantly except for a few counter attacks by Olympiakos. We dominated in terms of passing and we were all over the pitch, including in their own box. However, as is typical with AEK, we saw chance after chance but no goals were produced. How we continuously manage to do this really puzzles me. After all, we do have SCOCCO, BLANCO, and NEMETH up front. Just hearing those names together should send shivers down the spines of any defenders in Greece. But they still can’t manage to score more than one goal each game. What happened to the times when we would win most games by scores of 4-0 I will never know.

Obviously we never did manage to capitalize on our chances and when this happens the opposition is bound to score a goal before us. And, of course, that happened. The first Olympiakos goal came late in the first, scored by Torosidis (who is in incredible form right now). Of course, the goal came at a horrible time for both the players and the fans.

So, after many chances for us and one or two for them the score was AEK 0-1 Olympiakos at half time. Nonetheless, AEK came out strong in the second half once again producing some fine chances to score. Yet once again we could not get that final touch, just to knock the ball a little bit further and into the net. Instead, Olympiakos scored again, and again the goal was scored by Torosidis.

Our boys kept trying hard but only managed to score one goal, by Nemeth. Not enough even to salvage one point.

By the time the game had ended AEK had fifteen chances on goal compared to Olympiakos’ three (it might have been slightly higher). That statistic proves two things. Firstly, our forwards need to start scoring more and capitalizing on chances or else we will be drawing or loosing at home to teams like Kavala and Panthrakikos. Secondly, it is clear that our defence could be much stronger. When a team managed to score two goals from three or four solid chances clearly the defence needs to tighten up.

Now, time for the player reviews. Saja did not have much to do this game really, and the goals he let in were not his fault, especially the second one. Other than that, not much more can be said about him, though he made some incredible saves once again which helped to keep us in the game.

Araujo was absolutely incredible, and easily one of our best players on the pitch. His defending was as solid as it could be, he was everywhere he could be, his ball control was spectacular, and the runs he made left Olympiakos players only staring after him.

Both Majstorovic and Jahic were average at best. Although we now have Nemeth, we clearly miss Kyrgaikos’ presence back there. We are still horrible in the air when defending corners and free kicks for the opposition. But they are still strong players and will do… for now.

Juanfran was horrible! It was disgusting to see him play for us. He provided nothing to the team. All his runs were predictable which made him easy to defend. He provided few good passes, he was slow, he could not defend, and it was his poor marking which made Torosidis’ first goal an easy one to knock in. Rumors are saying Georgeas might start at left back. I personally wouldnt even mind if Pavlis, or even Arabatzis start at left back. Anyone but Juanfran. It’s incredible that he receives far more than Saja or Blanco and has a nice contract to satisfy him (all thanks to Demis).

Makos was sub par. He did little this match and he defended Torosidis poorly on his second goal (had he tackled Torosidis though, he most likely would have received a red card because of his previously recieved yellow, a card he should not have gotten). I think we should still keep Makos, but perhaps give a month or two with the youth team and see how he improves. He’s a good guy, a good player to have on a team, but his level of football just simply isn’t good enough for what AEK needs.

Kafes was good, nothing special, but a solid player, had some chances on goal and overall a fine player. Not much more to say about him.

Geurreiro played a fantastic match. His fitness still isn’t one hundred percent but his ball controll and passing are all excellent. A fabulous player to have on our squad and once his fintess improves he will be a key player, if he isn’t already. He also likes to prompt the fans to cheer which is always a great thing to see from a player on the pitch.

Ah Blanco, whats happening? Two years top scorer now only one goal. Although, for some reason, Blanco was playing on the wings for this match. I have no clue who ordered him to play there but it is not his position. He is a goal scorer and little else. Im fine with that, its why we have him. He is no Rivaldo or Scocco. He has some decent ball control and mediocre passing skills but the wing should be players like Guerriero. Nonetheless, good old Ismael worked hard all game and was all over the pitch and had some decent chances on goal. I still have faith in him. Who knows, maybe this weekend we will start to see some signs of the Blanco we know. Especially with Nemeth gone for a while and an open spot in the centre again.

Nemeth was fantastic. He had so many chances on goal, some really easy ones I must say, but was unlucky not to score more than one goal. He worked hard and played with passion, clearly wanted the win, which is a great thing to see. Not much more to say, he is a fantastic player (but the whole world already knows that) and we are lucky to have him if only for a year.

Scocco played a good game. He didnt do as much in terms of creating chances but his ball control was fantastic and he managed to get past many Olympiakos players before he would eventually be pulled down by a dirty tackle.

Our substitutes, Leonardo, Manduca, and Pavlis, provided little for the team. Manduca wasted many chanes, and both Pavlis and Leonardo showed nothing special.

Highlights video below:

Now, for the officiating. It was horrendous. The calls made against us, and the calls not made for us were incredible.

This video below shows some of the main ones:

PAE AEK has stated that if the ref is not punished they will take the match to UEFA so it can be reviewed properly. I truly hope this happens. The ref has apologized for the mistakes he made but what difference does it make? None.

The damage is done, and whether it really was an accident or the ref is really that poor or the calls not made were intentionally not called cannot be proved right now. Either way, the officiating is just horrible in Greece or refs are being bribed. Seeing as this has been going on in Greece for years, and corruption occurs at every level in the society of Greece, I would not be surprised at all if it was corruption. Why other people find it so hard to believe I cannot understand. It has happened in Italy, France, Portugal, Albania, Greece, and many other countries in Europe. And these are only the cases that have been proven. Until anything is proven though here in Greece we will continue to play games against refs who seem to be determined to make sure our team does not win. There is only so much we can do at this moment in time.

Now, we have another huge derby in only a day, and after that we play Benfica midweek. Huge games. Whether we are ready for the or not I do not know. Either way, this is AEK, and we support AEK win or loose. This weekend will be a tough match but despite our loss against Olympiakos we showed alot of promise, especially in terms of passing as well as creating chances. Also, PAO will have Cisse and Karagounis more than likely on the bench, as well as other players who will be out due to injuries. Seeing as both teams have decent defences at best but strong attacking players I would not be surprised to see a few goals scored this game. Hopefully, we come out with more than PAO.

By the way, AEK play Thrasivolous for our first Greek Cup game.

Well, our match in Giannena starts in a little under an hour. Our most likely starting lineup is said to be Saja, Araujo, Majstorovic, Arce, Juanfran, Jahic, Guerreiro, Hersi, Manduca, Nemeth, and Blanco. We will be going 4-4-2 with Blanco and Nemeth up front. A good line-up in my opinion, very strong, with some experienced players. Kafes, Makos, and Leonardo will all be excluded from the starting lineup due to their poor performances against Everton (well, except Kafes). Scocco will not be in Giannena due to the red card he picked up last weekend.

There are so many AEK fans up north that they are sitting wherever they can get tickets since the tickets for the gate where AEK fans are meant to be placed are sold out. Its definately great to hear that AEK supporters are still supporting their club even after loosing 4-0 earlier this week.

Hopefully we get a strong win today, however this is never an easy stadium to play in. A good win here will definately give us some momentum for the derby against Olympiakos later this week as well as allow us to keep up our good record in the Superleague.

Some important comments to mention about yesterday’s match.

Firstly, our to team put on a good performance. Even now more can be improved on. but it was a solid game for the most part with some enjoyable football.

This is definately a good result. On paper, Iraklis are certainly not a pushover this year with some pretty impressive signings being made for them over the summer. At the end of the day though, three points is three points, regardless of who we play.

So, the good aspects of yesterday’s match: Scocco, Kafes, Leonardo, Juanfran, Majstorovic, Geurrero, Alves, Jahic and Makos (who was very good, along with Kafes).

The great: Nemeth, Araujo, Saja.

The bad: Blanco.

The players I said performed good all performed at a very high level, the kind of level we expect. They all gave as much as they could, they played their positions well, and got their job done. The ones who I said were great were fantastic and a joy to watch. The one who played bad, well, I think its kind of obvious. Blanco’s main role has always been to score, not set up goals, not make space. However, he isnt doing that at the moment.

Nemeth was slightly dissapointing actually, but thats only because I was expecting so much of him. Without bearing that in mind, he was fantastic. Saja saved us a few times and made some incredible saves, as usual. Araujo played some fantastic defence. The guy is tough, slide tackles with perfect precision, and is a very intelligent and confident player. Such a relief to see since right back was always a weaker position for us in the past.

Kafes and Makos both played a really good game and contributed much to the match. I must say this was one of, if not the best performance from Makos yet.

Leonardo showed some excellent ball control as well as speed but his passing and his crosses were always very poor. Most of the time he over shot everything. I dont know if we was nervous, but I know this is not the usual Leonardo we were seeing at Levadeiakos. His crosses are normally fantastic.

Blanco missed many chances which he should have scored, including a penalty! I dont know what it is, but he just is not performing well lately. He can’t score goals which he would normally knock in with ease. Ive said it before, and Ill say it again, though. I am sure he will return to his original self soon.

Scocco had a good game. Not fantastic, but he did prove time and time again why he is on the team. Great ball control, helped bring the ball up alot. I still think though that he should be playing as a main striker. Other people believe this as well. He got a red card early in the second for kicking the ball away when he was called over by the ref. Unfortunate way to get sent off, but hopefully he wont be too affected by it. Either way though, he does not seem happy playing where he is playing on the pitch. He’s getting the job done, but I believe, as we saw at the Vaslui game, that he wants to score. I personally don’t see a problem with this because clearly he has no problem with doing that.

The team played a good game of football. Defence was tight for the most part. Juanfran was a little weak on the wings though. We were constantly bombarded along the left wing, not so much on the right though.

Our passing was smooth yesterday and at times it was fantastic to watch.

The fan support at the game yesterday was absolutely fantastic. The singing was fantastic at times, and the support never stopped.

Kafes got MVP of the match.

We got a good win tonight at OAKA against a team that could have put up some difficulties. Unfortunately though, its quite late here, so I dont have time to post a review right now. Either I’ll write it tomorrow or perhaps if either AEKMAN74 or AEKBaltimore watched the match they’ll get something.

I’ll say a few things though. Of all the players who played today Araujo,  Saja, and Nemeth were all great today. Everyone else played really good as well except Blanco, who is still missing easy chances that he would have scored with ease last year. But overall the team showed a great display of football. Speed, good passing, good defending. All around a solid performance for most of the match.

Bajevic was very enthusiastic after the match and rightfully so. Things are looking good now.

Kafes scored our goal today.

So, our first home game of the season (after the match against Olympiakos was cancelled), and it could prove to be a fairly difficult one. Iraklis have a strong squad and I believe they have the potential to cause trouble to any team in the league.

Nonetheless, our squad is also strong as well now so I believe we can take the win. It will probably be a difficult win but I dont see a repeat of two years ago happening again (when we lost to Iraklis 2-1 at home). Hopefully the fan attendance will high and the support strong.

The squad will be: Arabatzis, Saja, Georgeas, Kafes, Makos, Pavlis, Araujo, Nsaliwa, Geraldo, Juanfran, Majstorovic, Jahic, Guerrero, Scocco, Blanco, Manduca, Leonardo, Iordache, Nemeth, and Yahaya.

The most likely starting lineup will in my opinion be Saja, Araujo, Majstorovic, Jahic (although perhaps Geraldo will play),Juanfran, Kafes, Makos, Scocco, Blanco, Leonardo, and Nemeth. I am not sure if Nemeth will start but I believe he should after the promising performance by him last match.

In other Superleague news, Olympiakos drew 0-0 at Karaiskaki with newly promoted Kavala. Promising news for us, devastating for Olympiakos. Their coach’s future is in more doubt now than ever, and huge pressure is on him for Olympiakos to win their upcoming Champions League match. If this does not happen I would not be surprised to see the coach gone, which would mean either the assistant would take over or they would have to find a replacement only a week before they play us in OAKA.

Olympiakos’ performance yesterday was very poor, and Kavala could have won the game at times.

In other AEK news, a huge clean up took place today at the location of our now none existent stadium in Nea Filadelfia. Hundreds of AEK supporters, as well as myself and my father, went to clean debris and cut away trees and bushes in order to make the location more presentable. There is still alot more work which needs to be done, but we made a little progress.

PAE AEK will make one more attempt for a stadium in Nea Filadelfia. While it may not be the most practical option, I think that if it is possible to make a stadium there with at least 35,000 capacity, it should be done.

We got the three points here. It wasn’t a pretty three points but, at this point in time, I’ll take them.

First, the video of our goal, set up beautifully by Nemeth.

Some good aspects to mention about our play today, but overall, it was not an impressive victory.

Our defence today was not the greatest, and Majstorovic and Juanfran in particular were quite poor. Juanfran allowed men to pass him every time and therefore our left was really weakly covered. Atromitos were able to run in constantly from the left and send in easy crosses. Luckily, Saja was in top form today and was able to save us a few times.

Juanfran managed toplay a half decent game offensively, and created some fine passes and runs. But, at the end of the day, he is a defender. He must be able to defend better or else our left will contsantly be open to the oppoisition throughout the season. Once we start playing teams like Benfica, Everton, BATE, Olympiakos, and Panathinaikos (as well as, of course, others) we will not be as lucky as today.

Majstorovic also had a bad day (in fact, he hasn’t been impressing me much at all lately). His headers were poor, and his marking was not the greatest. He was also quite sloppy, which lead to him recieving a yellow card.

On the other hand, both Araujo and Alves played well. Fine, Araujo did loose the ball at times, but he played some great defence. He is a tough defender, which I like to see, and will hopefully help us against Everton. His marking is great, as well as his speed. Unfortunately though, he held on to the ball at times for a little too long, which eventually led him to him loosing and Atromitos pressuring on the counter attack.

Alves was our best defender today. Good headers, good marking, decent speed, solid tackles, overall, a solid game from him. I really hope he keeps it up.

Scocco unfortunately had to be taken out early. He was complaining for a while about his injury throughout the match and it was clear from the start that he wasnt in form, and was not ready to play. In fact, even last match, he had to play while taking needles to reduce the pain.

Nemeth came on as his substitute and the kid was fantastic. The connection between him and Blanco was excellent (Blanco missed three easy chances, all set up by Nemeth). He is clearly a technical player who will do well with us this year. I cannot wait to see him play some more games with us especially when he as gelled even more with the team.

Makos and Kafes did not have great games.They were both weak in terms of defending, and didn’t really manage to contribute much to the team, either offensively or defensively. Makos did play better in the second half, but still, neither of the two had a good day on the pitch.

Leonardo was slightly better, but still was not fantastic. Manduca also had a decent game but was not the same as he was against Vaslui. He couldnt hold on to the ball as well and was closed down too often.

Blanco is still not playing at his best, despite missing three great chances and scoring our only goal. He is not playing in the same great form as he has played most of last season and the season before. Hopefully, we will see an improvement soon. I can see good things coming from the connection between Nemeth and Blanco.

Overall, we did not play at the same level we did against Vaslui. It must be said that Atromitos played a good game, but nonetheless, if we had played better and capitalized on our chances we wouldn’t have had such a hard time. Our defence could hardly control Atromitos (there is only so much Araujo and Alves can d0) and thankfully Saja was in top form and saved us on a number of occasions.

Unfortunately, with still more new players coming in, I think it will be a while before we get a good idea of how our team will look. It takes a while for a team to adjust to new players and we had two playing today.

To make matters worst, we have a tough schedule in September.

Our other two subs for the match were Karabelas (who had a good game) and Yahaya (who did not). Yahaya was far too risky with the ball in front of our net and hada hard time controlling the ball.

First off, enjoy the video.

Well I posted my review in the comments section of the previous post by AEKBaltimore, but here it is again.

I was nervous about this one before it started but still I had the feeling we would get the win. And we did.

Firstly, as for the game, the team played wonderful football, especially compared to what we were seeing just last week. Things really turned around.

Our defence did a fine job, and our centre backs had no trouble even without Kyrgiakos. Their defending was almost solid throughout the match.
Our newest right back, Araujo, played fantastic football. His defending capabilities are incredible, and hardly anyone could get past him. He won every challenge. His ball control was also good and he managed to carry the ball up quite far.
Juanfran played fine. Not fantastic, but it was not a poor display at all. He was solid, but a little reluctant to move the ball up at times.

I was not pleased at how our defence kept playing the ball back. However, Vaslui were playing with almost every player playing back before AEK scored making it almost impossible for us to penetrate deeper into their territory.

From our midfield, Leonardo stood out most. He chased the ball and had a decent game, but at times he lost the ball and wasted some passes. None the less, he didnt give up and was dangerous throughout.

Kafes juts got back from an injury and so was not in top form. Makos was also not in top form and in fact he still hasnt shown very much yet. However, they both still played an alright game and were not dissapointing. I just hope Makos shows more and contributes more to the game as he begins playing more with us.

Scocco was incredible. There is nothing else that can be said. And this was just after coming back from an injury. He was so dangerous with the ball, nobody could stop him when he wanted to move up. He was always running, always moving the ball around and he scored two goals.
We must hold on to Scocco, no matter what. He will be one of the best players in the superleague this season.

Manduca also had a fantastic game. He made many strong and fast runs, scored the opening goal, and was overall a threat to the opposition. Hopefully we will continue to see good things from him.

Blanco could have played better, and still hasnt shown much so far this summer. Hopefully things will start to turn around for him. I must say that overall he was the most dissapointing player today. He played alright but I always expect more from him, at least a goal. He tends to pass too much rather than taking a chance every now and then. Im not saying hold the ball like Djebbour until you loose it, but its alright to take some shots or threaten a bit rather than pass all the time. Despite that though, he set up some nice chances for Scocco and Manduca.

Tachtsidis was one of out substitutes. He played well and showed how his huge form gives him a huge advantage. He also made some nice passes. I really think we should hold on to him, but use him as a sub, rather than a starter.

Nsaliwa came on as a sub and also played a good game, especially defensively. Karabelas was our third sub and played midfield, just to add more defensive security once we had three goals.

I was glad to see that Bajevic didnt wait untill the 89th minute to make changes.

Saja saved us a couple of times, and as for almost every game he’s played, he was solid.

Overall, we played some nice football. Now bearing this in mind, I can only imagine how strong we will be once we get a few more singings. Roger Guerreiro has singed for us officially. Unfortunately though, since he played for his previous team already in Europe this season he cannot play for us in Europa League. Nonetheless, he is a great player who should offer alot to our club.

We are looking at a couple more signings, including Oleguer, who would be a fantastic singing. We are also looking at Jonas. If these two last signings happen we will be looking at a very strong team. And with Bajevic at the helm, the future is bright.

20,000 attendance tonight. Not bad for a week night, and still many people are away on holidays. I believe we will see some good home attendances this season, definately an improvement over last season.

For now, I dont know what else to say. I’m still really happy and pleased. I know it was only a qualifier for Europa League but still, this is a huge win for us and we all needed it desperately.

The players at the end of the match went to throw their shirts to the fans today. The fan support really was fantastic.

I must say that Vaslui played dirty football. They tackled and hacked at our players throughout the entire match. I just hope we dont read the news tomorrow and find out someone valuable is injured.

If I think of more to say (and Im sure there is more) I will pst it in the comments section. As for now, I think thats all.

Over all a great win allowing AEK fans to sleep well and relaxed tonight. Now, our first Superleague game this weekend, against Atromitos. Hopefully our good form will continue and we will get a strong result against Donis’ team.

First match review available here.

We got the loss here I was fearing. Perhaps not a pleasing result but immediately we notice the away goal we scored. This will help us alot since really all we need in OAKA now is 1-0.

Before anything else two points must be pointed out. Firstly, Scocco was out for this match due to cards and will play with us for the next match. Secondly, our new singing (who was made official on AEK’s site), Araujo, will be playing as well. These two players will be two large boosts for the team.

Okay, now for the match. Many online are making it seem like the way AEK performed was atrocious, horrible, disgusting, and all sorts of negative comments. However, it was not nearly so bad. Sure, it was not pleasing performance, and the score was not what it should have been (normally, I would have expected AEK to take this game 3-0 had we had a better and more prepared team), but it was not a bad gane, and there is certainly much that Bajevic can build on.

Our defence was what I was most interested in seeing before the match. Alves covered centre-back along with Majstorovic and he did a fine job. Not top notch but he didn’t make many mistakes and defended as well as he could. He is a tough player and I think he can handle the position for a while. Majstorovic was a little risky and made an unnessecary tackle which led to a penalty for Vaslui (which they scored). I had to watch from a stream which kept switching between the match and an olympics competition in Berlin so I missed parts of the match but from what I saw our centre backs could hold them. The one worrying thing I saw is both Alves and Majstorovic were constantly beaten in the air by shorter players, something that might not have happened with Kyrgiakos. I dont know if this is going to cause us problems this year or if it was only something we saw this match.

Koutromanos played right back, however Araujo should be ready this weekend. He was alright, despite many saying he should never play again for AEK. He still looks nervous however I feel his confidence has been built up since last year. Ha managed to control at times, defend well enough, and create chances, but hopefully Araujo will be an improvement.

Georgeas was our best defender today and proved that he should still be with AEK. He handled left back well, defended well and was strong out there, something which we will need in order to compete in our league and against tougher teams in Europe. We can’t be walked over constantly and I can’t see this happening to often when Georgeas is playing. Despite what others believe I feel he should start as often as possible, even at left back (I can’t see Juanfran improving much since last season).

Most of our play today was created through the middle of the pitch, and not as much from the wings. Leonardo was involved often, as well as Manduca. They both had a decent game but must show more. Hopefully once Scocco is back in there things will change for the better a bit. Makos played a good game and seemed to work hard. He missed quite a few chances to score himself but nonetheless, he played well and once Kafes is back in we should be more secure in midfield.

Blanco had a good game, considering it was hard for him as the midfield had a hard time creating chances. Regardless, we had many chances and Blanco was involved with most of them. Djebbour had a few good chances but other than that provided very little. He was the most dissapointing player for AEK in my opinion. He must start providing more to the team rather than simple dribbling every now and then and then dissapearing.

We missed many chances, most coming from either head to head’s with the keeper or set pieces. Had half the chances gone in I believe the score would have been perhaps 3-2 for AEK or higher. Unfortunately though, we must finish better. We can create chances all game long but we’re not going to win if we dont score them (although that is generally how things work in football). Both Blanco and Djebbour (as well as others such as Leonardo and Manduca)  have proven they can score but they must do it consitently (especially Djebbour). I think things will change a bit, if only slightly, when Scocco returns to the pitch.

Overall, we pressured often, more than the Romanian side, and controlled the game except for times, normally five minutes at a time, when Vaslui pressured and were quite dangerous. One player of theirs in particular, I believe his name was Wessley, was very dangerous on the ball and scored both goals for them. He must be watched better next game, especially in the air.

I believe we were playing some sort of 4-4-2 for a while but towards the end might have switched to 4-3-3. As usual, Bajevic waited until very late (one minute left) to make substitutions. The only substitute I can remember right now was Iordache who came on for Blanco. Yahaya,  as well as Tachtsidis, was warming up on the side.

Dont know what else there is to say. Unfortunately, as I mentioned before, the stream switched periodically throughout the match to another chanel so I missed parts. However, from what I saw, I think we will get past them in OAKA, perhaps comfortably. As for this weekend, thats a different stroy. But we’ll have to wait and see. As news comes up about the derby we will start posting, including which players will be ready.

Below are some highlights. As you can see, our goal was scored by a penalty.

Its late here now so I will see if I can remember anything tomorrow. As always, feel free to leave a comment.

One final friendly loss for our team before our first Europa League match against Vaslui.

Below is the video of our goal, scored by Leonardo although it deflected of a number of players.

A 3-1 loss at this point really isn’t the most encouraging result but it must be pointed out that the squad playing today was largely a B-Team. The original lineup was Saja, Georgeas, Manolas, Alves, Juanfran, Manduca, Iordache, Yahaya, Leonardo, Gentzoglou, and Blanco.  Blanco was a lone striker with Manduca, Leonardo, and Iordache behind him. Playing defensive midfield behind them was Yahaya and Gentzoglou. Manolas and Alves were playing centre back and Georgeas was right back while Juanfran while was left back.

As you can see, many key players were not playing including Kyrgiakos, Makos, Majstorovic, Djebbour (all for National Team Duty), Pavlis, Tachtsidis, and Scocco (I might have missed some as well). Bearing that in mind, we can’t be surprised to see we got a loss here. I am confident that had we played our main squad we could have won this one by a score of 3-0 at least. Mallorca was not a strong team and would have hardly caused us any trouble if we had a stronger defence in place.

Saja did as good as he could. He saved a penalty but unfortunately could not save the rebound. I personally think goal keeping is the least of our worries.

Georgeas, Manduca, and Leonardo all looked good. Leonardo will become a great player after a few more games with the team. Manduca has kept up his good performances from previous friendlies and Georgeas was as solid as ever (for the most part).

Iordache must improve. He played alright however he really should be providing more to the team. Maybe with a stronger lineup around him he will be better.

Yahaya was great today. He covered alot of distance, took care of bussiness on both ends of the pitch, provided some good passes, defended well, and overall proved that he must be kept.

Manolas was not good, perhaps he is still having trouble with pressure. He didn’t seem to have the confidence nessecary. I don’t see him starting or playing much this season. Alves was the better of the two centre backs today, and he provided some great tackles and did as much as he could. He isn’t starting material though he will be good to have on the team, at least as a backup.

Juanfran showed some good moments but he couldn’t cross well today. He overshot all his crosses and Blanco or any of the forwards couldnt reach any of the balls.

One thing I really want to mention is Lagos, yes LAGOS, played today! I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen him in action. And the even bigger suprise? He played some good football. I think there are many good things to come from him. Considering it was his first game in a while (well, a year and a bit actually) he showed some good ball control and I think we can expect to see him more, at least when he is needed. He seemed match fit, even though he only played one half.

Well, as I said, it was basically a game for Bajevic to try out some of the younger players and give them a chance to play some more. We lost but I don’t think we should be too dissapointed. In fact, we actually saw some moments of good football from this squad. They controlled the first tewnty minutes and pressured often, creating good chances and weaving together some good passes. Other times however, the players seemed to fall asleep and forget about the match.

Unless something comes up we won’t be playing any more games until our Europa League qualifier so hopefully Bajevic would have gotten the team ready by then.

Some other news, it unfortunately does not look like we will be signing the South African right back we were about to sign as his club in South Africa have suddenly risen their asking price. It is a shame, but I guess we will have to wait for someone else. I can’t see many more, if any, transfers happening now until January.