John van 't Schip and youth offer optimism for the future

AGONAsport’s Nick Tsambouniaris praises John van ’t Schip for laying the foundations for long-term success for the Greek national team, by rewarding young and hungry players, and implementing a possession-based game plan.

Watch LIVE GREEK TV including full GREEK SPORTS coverage with Go Greek TV! 

After a third successive failed qualifying campaign, it is only natural for fans of the Greek national team to feel let down and frustrated. Failure to qualify for UEFA Euro 2020 means the Ethniki will go six years without participating in a major tournament. However, that frustration has reason to turn into optimism for the first time in a long time.

If only John van ’t Schip (JVS) took over from the beginning of qualifying, if only the players turned up in winnable home games against the likes of Armenia and Liechtenstein…

JVS made the big calls in terms of squad selections that his predecessors appeared frightened to do and all of a sudden, the team is moving in the right direction. During these last two matches, the new look national team picked up from where they left off last month. Not only did the team grab six points, they did it in a manner unseen by previous Ethniki teams.

This used to be a team that struggled to do the basics right such as stringing a few passes together. Under JVS and the subsequent injection of youth, that has changed. In both wins over Armenia and Finland, the team kept possession well and was able to move the ball around the pitch well. The transition between defence and attack was also great to see. The one-touch passing on the edge of the Armenia penalty and the one-two in the build up to the goal highlighted what the team is capable of. The never-say-die attitude and persistence was great to see against Finland.

Big name players have been omitted and personally, this has to be the way forward. This should continue into the next UEFA Nations League and FIFA World Cup qualifying. Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Kostas Manolas publicly attempted to get Angelos Anastasiadis sacked - they illustrated their egos to the whole world. Both were also guilty of several mistakes on the pitch. Kostas Mitroglou has played at big clubs around Europe but often cut a forlorn figure for the national team and lacked the energy and passion required at international level. Vasilis Torosidis is past hif prime and should never be called up again.

In their absences, JVS has opted for youngsters who have made a notable difference. Pantelis Chatzidiakos has demonstrated he has what it takes to cut it at international level, despite his error in the game against Finland. He is comfortable with the ball at his feet (a key ingredient in JVS’s playing style), strong in the air due to his height, and looks to have leadership qualities. He will only get better playing in the Dutch Eredivisie with AZ Alkmaar.

Finding a suitable long-term partner for him in the heart of defence looms as one of JVS’s biggest challenges, but there are several viable options. Depending on form, Dimitris Siovas, Panagiotis Retsos, and Dimitris Nikolaou are all natural centre backs who can contest for the spot. Kostas Stafylidis emerged as a good captain, but is not a natural centre back - this was highlighted by his error in the lead up to Teemu Pukki’s goal. He deserves a place in the squad somewhere and he is versatile but should not start at centre back.

Greece are well stocked for goalkeepers and it appears Vasilis Barkas and Odisseas Vlachodimos are the first two choices. The same applies to left backs - Dimitris Giannoulis was the best player, in my opinion, over these two recent matches. Michalis Bakakis showed his attacking prowess on the other flank, often bombing on and providing width and offering an array of good crosses into the box.

The biggest revelation in the JVS era has been the midfield. Gone are the days of a lethargic midfield that looked lightweight, bereft of ideas and disinterested. Kostas Galanopoulos showcased his talent on the big stage yet again - this was a player that many have been calling to see in the national team for the last two years, but previous coaches were afraid to omit bigger name players. He gets stuck in and is able to keep the game ticking with good vision. No one was more deserving of scoring the winning goal against Finland in a memorable come from behind win.

Carlos Zeca, Dimitris Kourbelis, Sebastian Vasiliadis, and Andreas Bouchalakis all make a case to start next to the in-form Galanopoulos. Kourbelis has been off the pace this season but the talent is there and he is a leader. On the other hand, Zeca offers experience, something the team is low on.

Tasos Bakasetas, Petros Mantalos, and Dimitris Limnios offer a mixture of creativity and pace in the final third, with the latter especially emerging as the ‘next big thing’ for Greek football. Limnios has been a star at club and international level so far this season. He ended the good build up play with a smart finish against Armenia and was unlucky not to score against Finland.

Up front offers another headache for JVS moving forward. A big challenge he faces is making the team more efficient in front of goal. The team created numerous golden opportunities against Armenia and Finland, yet only scored a total of three goals. It is great to see the Greek team have over 20 shots on goal in successive games, but the chances have to be converted.

Vagelis Pavlidis was preferred over Efthimis Koulouris for the lone starting spot in these two matches but was not as sharp as he was in comparison to last month. At the same time, Koulouris came on and missed a sitter against Finland. Giorgos Masouras was also guilty of missing the biggest sitter of them all against Armenia when he failed to score from two yards out with no goalkeeper to beat.

While it would be a bigger worry if these chances were not created, Greece need to rectify this issue moving forward. Better teams with well organised defences will not afford the Ethniki so many chances and shots per game. This is where Kostas Fortounis will be vital. He has made his fair share of mistakes in the Galanolefko shirt but under a clever, attack-minded coach in JVS, he should be a key player in the future. On his day, he has the quality to unlock the best of defences.

The win against Armenia was one old Ethniki sides of the 2002-2014 golden era would have won, while the win against Finland not only illustrated the never-say-die attitude, but also meant it was the first time the national team had won three games in a row since 2016. It was also a vital win in the sense that it propels the Ethniki into Pot 3 for the next round of qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup held in Qatar (that is if the latest FIFA World Rankings are used to seed the sides - this is still to be determined).

Overall, this qualifying campaign will go down as a failure (and Finland deserve their place at Euro 2020) but hopefully it will be remembered as the start of a bright future for the Galanolefki. JVS has laid the foundations for genuine, sustained success, he has to stick with the youth, possession-based philosophy and rewarding in-form, hungry players.

by Nick Tsambouniaris

Image Source: to10.gr

Thank you for visiting AGONAsport.com, the only English based website for Greek sports fans across the world! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Instagram, and Twitter for all the latest news in Greek Sports!