12 flops from the start of the Super League season
AGONAsport takes a look at a grand total of 12 players from AEK, PAOK, Panathinaikos and Olympiacos who have flopped at the start of the Super League season.
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While the likes of Karol Swiderski, Marko Livaja and Mathieu Valbuena have made brilliant starts to the new Super League season, there are several players who haven’t lived up to their expectations. After seven rounds of action, let’s take a look at 12 footballers from AEK, PAOK, Panathinaikos and Olympiacos who have struggled to make an impression:
AEK
Francisco Geraldes
The Enosi had high hopes for Geraldes. When he joined on loan from Sporting Lisbon, many expected the Portuguese midfielder to become the main playmaker in this AEK team, but it hasn’t gone to plan at all. Rumours are suggesting that Geraldes will be sent back to Sporting in the upcoming winter transfer window.
Geraldes has not been able to convince Nikos Kostenoglou that he is worthy of a place in the starting line-up. So far, the 24-year-old attacking midfielder has only racked up a grand total of 121 minutes worth of action in the Super League, not contributing with any goals or assists. His only assist was registered in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers.
Daniele Verde
The talented 23-year-old Italian is yet to settle in Greece. Blessed with excellent technical ability, Verde has a low sense of gravity and is capable of beating his opponents for pure skill, but he hasn’t been able to perform consistently. AEK will give Verde more time to find his feet in Athens.
With seven Super League rounds in the books, Verde has competed in four games, popping up with the one assist in the 3-2 win at Asteras Tripolis. There is a growing feeling that Kostenoglou’s system simply does not suit Verde.
David Simao
The decision to sign a three-year contract with Portuguese central midfielder Simao is not one of AEK’s wisest. Had Miguel Cardoso not been at the helm when the season began, it’s highly unlikely that AEK would have chosen to sign Simao from Royal Antwerp.
Simao has only played in one Super League game and is firmly behind Andre Simoes, Konstantinos Galanopoulos and Nenad Krsticic in the pecking order. The 29-year-old will struggle to win a place in the team, and he may be forced to begin searching for a new team sooner rather than later.
PAOK
Alexandros Paschalakis
The fact that Paschalakis has become the second choice goalkeeper behind Zivko Zivkovic tells you everything you need to know. Initially, Abel Ferreira did favour Paschalakis, but he decided to bench the Greek international after a series of mistakes in games against Slovan Bratislava, Atromitos and Aris. Zivkovic has subsequently played well after taking Paschalakis’ place between the sticks.
Leo Jaba
The tricky Brazilian attacker has endured a thoroughly underwhelming start to the campaign. Rightly regarded as one of the most naturally gifted players in the Super League, Jaba has failed to kick on from a positive 2018/2019 season, not playing with any productivity and losing his place in the team. Jaba, 21, needs a couple of good games to get back on track in Thessaloniki.
Miroslav Stoch
There’s a reason why people say comebacks don’t work. In the past, Stoch was a key player for PAOK when he represented the Dikefalos tou Vorra in the 2013/2014 campaign, but he has not made any kind of impression since signing from Slavia Prague in the summer. Stoch played in his first league match this weekend in the 3-0 win against Lamia, incidentally providing an assist for Karol Swiderski’s goal. On his day, Stoch can provide spark and creativity, but it is starting to look as though it was a mistake for PAOK to re-sign the 30-year-old Slovak.
PANATHINAIKOS
Dimitris Kolovos
Panathinaikos as a whole have experienced a tough start to the season as they languish in ninth place with eight points from seven games. Kolovos, 26, has been a major disappointment after his transfer from Omonoia was greeted with a wave of positivity and hope.
Kolovos has not managed to make himself feel at home with Panathinaikos, competing in seven matches without contributing with a single goal or assist. The winger is fast falling out of favour with Giorgos Donis as his performance level only seems to be worsening.
Yohan Mollo
Panathinaikos should have fully understood just who they were signing. Although he does possess great skill, Mollo has consistently run into disciplinary problems over the course of his career, notably getting involved in a number of scandals at Zenit Saint Petersburg. Mollo has already had time to cause problems in the Panathinaikos camp as Donis excluded him from the squad to face Xanthi on matchday six.
His equalising goal against Olympiacos in the 1-1 draw at the Olympic Stadium is his only positive moment with the Athenian club to date.
Joao Nunes
The Portuguese defender is not exactly enjoying himself at Panathinaikos. Nunes was included in the starting 11 to play OFI at the OAKA in late August, but with Panathinaikos conceding three goals in that game, he was substituted in the 61st minute and is yet to play for the Trifylli again. Achilleas Poungouras and Bart Schenkeveld currently form the centre-back pairing for Panathinaikos.
OLYMPIACOS
Felipe Bruno
The decision to sign Bruno from LASK Linz is a puzzling one. In the 2018/2019 campaign, the Brazilian forward performed really well in the Super League with Atromitos, but he has not even been included in the Olympiacos squad for any championship games this season. His only match for the Erythrolefki so far was in the Champions League qualifier against Basaksehir on the road, in which he appeared as a second-half substitute and contrived to concede a cheap penalty for handball. A moment which perfectly summarises his time at Olympiacos.
Mohamed Camara
In the previous season, Camara stood out as perhaps the most complete defensive midfielder in the Super League, but he is now struggling to make the starting line-up with Andreas Bouchalakis and Guilherme above him in the pecking order. It must be noted that Camara was a standout player for Olympiacos against Bayern Munich on Tuesday when he was given a chance by the coaching staff.
According to data provided by Transfermarkt, Camara is still Olympiacos’ second most valuable player after Kostas Fortounis.
Yassine Meriah
Meriah, fresh from a positive African Cup of Nations tournament, was solid to begin with this season. Nevertheless, as the weeks progressed, more mistakes began to creep back into Meriah’s game as he committed costly errors in matches against Tottenham, Panathinaikos and Red Star Belgrade.
The Tunisian is now sitting on the bench in Super League games with Ruben Semedo and Avraam Papadopoulos playing with more reliability in the middle of defence. Meriah did compete in the match with Bayern this Tuesday alongside Semedo.
