Greeks Abroad Review: Sokratis hits the target in England
AGONAsport’s Shaun Nicolaides rounds up the performances of Greeks playing in foreign leagues in this week’s Greeks Abroad Review.
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In England, Arsenal centre-back Sokratis Papastathopoulos scored in the 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace at home, and he subsequently had a second goal chalked off for a controversial foul. In great form with Alanyaspor, Tasos Bakasetas registered two goals in the Turkish Cup this Tuesday, while Panagiotis Vlachodimos hit the jackpot in the lower German leagues.
One of the most fundamental laws in football is 'offsides in soccer'. It promotes fairness and influences both defensive play by ensuring attackers don't gain any unfair advantages over opposing defenders, as well as offensive schemes where players can only advance towards their own goal if there isn’t an opponent situated within range.
MAIN MEN (Comprised of current/former national team players):
Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Arsenal/English Premier League): Scored in the 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace at home and had a second marker chalked off for a foul. Played 90 minutes.
Konstantinos Mavropanos (Arsenal/English Premier League): Left out of the squad for the match with Crystal Palace.
Jose Cholevas (Watford/English Premier League): Did not play in the 0-0 home draw with Bournemouth or the 2-0 loss to Everton in the League Cup.
Nikos Karelis (Brentford/English Championship): The experienced forward will miss the next six months after suffering the anterior cruciate ligament last week. Brentford defeated QPR 3-1 on the road.
Panagiotis Retsos (Bayer Leverkusen/German Bundesliga): Sat on the bench in the 2-2 draw against Werder Bremen and used as a substitute in the 31st minute of a 1-0 German Cup win over Paderborn.
Konstantinos Stafylidis (Hoffenheim/German Bundesliga): Did not participate in the 3-2 away triumph at Hertha Berlin or the 2-0 win against Duisburg in the German Cup.
Stefanos Kapino (Werder Bremen/German Bundesliga): Sat on the bench in the 2-2 draw against Bayer Leverkusen away from home.
Kyriakos Papadopoulos (Hamburg/German Bundesliga 2): Ostracized from the senior team, the defender didn’t play in the 6-2 league win against VfB Stuttgart or the 2-1 Cup loss to the same opponents.
Kostas Manolas (Napoli/Serie A): Didn’t compete in a 1-1 draw at SPAL.
Orestis Karnezis (Napoli/Serie A): The back-up goalkeeper kept the bench warm as Napoli played to a 1-1 tie against SPAL on the road.
Panagiotis Tachtsidis (Lecce/Serie A): Played 90 minutes as Lecce held Juventus to a frustrating 1-1 draw at home.
Charalampos Lykogiannis (Cagliari/Serie A): Did not play in a 1-1 draw at Torino.
Dimitris Nikolaou (Empoli/Serie B): Used as a substitute in the 81st minute of the 2-2 draw against Trapani and sat on the bench during a 1-1 tie with Spezia.
Odisseas Vlachodimos (Benfica/Portuguese Primeira Liga): Tallied a clean sheet for Benfica as the reigning Portuguese champions defeated Tondela 1-0 on the road.
Andreas Samaris (Benfica/Portuguese Primeira Liga): Not included in the squad to play against Tondela.
Dimitris Siovas (Leganes/La Liga): Received a yellow card in the 1-0 victory against Mallorca at home and was substituted in the 59th minute.
Vasilis Lampropoulos (Deportivo/La Liga 2): Played the entire 90 minutes in a 1-1 draw at Racing Santander.
Efthymis Koulouris (Toulouse/Ligue 1): Stayed on the pitch for the entirety of a 3-2 loss to Stade Rennes on the road.
Anastasios Donis (Reims/Ligue 1): Emerged as a substitute in the 71st minute as Reims played to a 0-0 draw at home to Nimes.
Konstantinos Mitroglou (PSV Eindhoven/Eredivisie): Used as a half-time substitute with PSV conceding a comprehensive 4-0 home loss to AZ Alkmaar.
Pantelis Hatzidiakos (AZ Alkmaar/Eredivisie): Played 90 minutes as AZ impressed with a big 4-0 triumph at PSV.
Marios Vrousai (Willem II/Eredivisie): Did not compete in a 2-1 home win over RKC Waalwijk.
Vangelis Pavlidis (Willem II/Eredivisie): Started the 2-1 victory against RKC Waalwijk and was eventually replaced with nine minutes remaining.
Tasos Bakasetas (Alanyaspor/Turkish Super Lig): Included in the starting line-up to play Gaziantep and was replaced in the 73rd minute as the teams drew 1-1. Played 60 minutes against Inegolspor in the Turkish Cup on Tuesday, scoring twice.
Manolis Siopis (Alanyaspor/Turkish Super Lig): Played 90 minutes against Gaziantep and remained on the bench for the game in the Cup.
Georgios Tzavellas (Alanyaspor/Turkish Super Lig): Remained on the pitch for the full game with Gaziantep and played 80 minutes in the Turkish Cup victory.
Carlos Zeca (FC Copenhagen/Danish Superliga): Played 90 minutes as Copenhagen defeated Aarhus 2-1 on the road.
GERMANY
Sebastian Vasiliadis (Paderborn/German Bundesliga): Played the entire 90 minutes of the 2-0 win against Fortuna Dusseldorf and missed the 1-0 German Cup loss at Bayer Leverkusen.
Dimitris Diamantakos (St. Pauli/German Bundesliga 2): Sat on the bench during a 1-0 loss at Heidenheim.
Panagiotis Vlachodimos (Grossaspach/Liga 3): Scored and played the full 90 minutes of a 3-1 home defeat against Eintracht Braunschweiger.
NETHERLANDS
Konstantinos Lamprou (Vitesse/Eredivisie): Sat on the bench in a 2-0 home loss to Den Haag, but he was given a chance in the Dutch Cup as Vitesse managed to beat Graafschap 2-0.
Giorgos Strezos (Willem II/Eredivisie): The former OFI goalkeeper kept the other substitutes company as his team defeated Waalwijk 2-0 at home.
BELGIUM
Stergos Marinos (Charleroi/Jupiler League): Used as a substitute in the 78th minute of a 1-0 home win against Mouscron and stayed on the bench during a 1-0 triumph at Oostende.
Fjorin Durmishaj (Waasland-Beveren/Jupiler League): Played 90 minutes of a 3-1 defeat against Mechelen at home.
Nikos Kenourgios (Zulte Waregem/Jupiler League): Did not play any part of a 2-0 win against Oostende at the weekend.
ITALY
Giorgos Kyriakopoulos (Sassuolo/Serie A): Watched Sassuolo win 1-0 at Hellas Verona from the comfort of the substitutes’ bench.
BELARUS
Giorgos Katsikas (Dynamo Brest/Belarusian Premier League): Missed a 2-1 win at Gomel as Dynamo Brest continue to lead the championship.
SWITZERLAND
Konstantinos Dimitriou (FC Basel/Swiss Super League): Played no part of a 3-2 defeat against FC Zurich on the road.
SWEDEN
Giannis Anestis (IFK Goteborg/Allsvenskan): The ex-AEK goalkeeper conceded two goals as his team lost 2-0 at Elfsborg.
SCOTLAND
Marios Ogboe (Hamilton/Scottish Premiership): Didn’t participate in the match against Saint Johnstone away from home. Hamilton lost 3-2.
TURKEY
Stelios Kitsiou (Ankaragucu/Turkish Super Lig): Booked by the referee in the 2-0 defeat at Rizespor and was substituted in injury time at the end of the second half.
Dimitris Chatziisaias (Rizespor/Turkish Super Lig): Missed the 2-0 win against Ankaragucu at home.
Andreas Tatos (Altay/Turkish First League): Played 90 minutes against Menemen in the league and received a yellow card for his troubles. Used as a substitute in the 87th minute of a 1-0 Turkish Cup win over Gorelespor.
POLAND
Michalis Manias (Pogon Szczecin/Ekstraklasa): Sat on the bench as his club lost 2-0 at Cracovia.
Konstantinos Triantafyllopoulos (Pogon Szczecin/Ekstraklasa): Played 90 minutes of the same game. Pogon Szczecin are now in third place of the standings.
BULGARIA
Antonis Stergiakis (Slavia Sofia/Parva Liga): Slavia did not play at the weekend.
Theofilos Kouroupis (Vitosha Bistritsa/Parva Liga): Vitosha Bistritsa did not play on either Saturday or Sunday either.
Dimitris Chantakias (Cherno More/Parva Liga): Played 90 minutes of the match against Lokomotiv Plovdiv on the road. Cherno More lost 1-0.
Giannis Kargas (Levski Sofia/Parva Liga): No match for Levski Sofia this weekend.
SLOVAKIA
Lazaros Rota (Michalovce/Fortuna Liga): Played 90 minutes of a 1-0 loss to Slovan Bratislava - who beat PAOK in the UEFA Europa League qualifiers - at home.
Kyriakos Savvidis (Michalovce/Fortuna Liga): Also stayed on the pitch for the entire 90 minutes against Slovan Bratislava.
Dimitris Popovits (Michalovce/Fortuna Liga): Did not feature in the same game.
Christis Kountouriotis (Michalovce/Fortuna Liga): Used as a substitute against Slovan in the 63rd minute of proceedings.
ROMANIA
Aris Soiledis (FCSB/Liga 1): Emerged from the bench in the 82nd minute of a confident 4-0 triumph at Hermannstadt. Played 90 minutes in the 1-0 win at Universitatea Cluj in the Romanian Cup.
Athanasios Papazoglou (FC Voluntari/Liga 1): Started the game against Sepsi and was replaced in the 81st minute.
Okan Chatziterzoglou (Academica Clinceni/Liga 1): Played 90 minutes of a 0-0 draw against Universitatea Craiova at home.
Minas Chalkiadakis (FC Botosani/Liga 1): Did not play in the 2-1 home loss to Astra.
HUNGARY
Theodoros Berios (Kisvarda/OTP Bank Liga): Received a yellow card while playing 90 minutes against the Puskas Academy at home. Kisvarda lost 1-0.
Stavros Tsoukalas (Kisvarda/OTP Bank Liga): Replaced after 84 minutes of the same game.
AUSTRIA
Anastasios Avlonitis (Sturm Graz/Austrian Bundesliga): Played 90 minutes of the 4-0 win at St. Polten and then received a red card in the 2-0 Austrian Cup win against Kapfenberg on the road.
Taxiarchis Fountas (Rapid Vienna/Austrian Bundesliga): Started the 3-2 loss to RB Salzburg and was replaced in the 63rd minute.
Kosmas Gezos (Klagenfurt/Austrian Bundesliga 2): Competed for 90 minutes against FAC Wien as Klagenfurt won 2-0 away from home in the second tier.
Polydoros Gezos (Klagenfurt/Austrian Bundesliga 2): Stayed on the bench in the same match.
AZERBAIJAN
Vangelis Platellas (Neftchi Baku/Premier League): An unused substitute in a 4-2 win against Sumqayit.
Anastasios Papazoglou (Zira/Premier League): Played 90 minutes of a 2-2 draw with Sabah on the road.
