Time to conquer Russia
AGONAsport’s Olympiacos contributor, Theo Bouras, talks about the Erythrolefki’s difficult task at hand against Krasnador in the UEFA Champions League playoffs.
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Ever since Evangelos Marinakis took over Olympiacos in the summer of 2010, his decisions haven’t always been rational. There have been times when he was quick to pull the plug on coaches (see Leonardo Jardim, sacking Takis Lemonis when the team was first in 2018, etc.) and there were times when rosters were quickly flipped over in the off-season and the teams never got a chance to properly gel.
Since the summer of 2018, all that has seemed to change. Pedro Martins has been given the keys to the team and has had the shipping tycoon’s support. The team has been slowly built from the start and with the proper patience.
Nevertheless, the transfers that the Legend has made have been well thought out and anything but cheap. The team has spent close to 10 million euros on player transfers alone and that figure doesn’t include player contracts! What makes that number even more impressive is that the team hasn’t sold any of the key members of last year’s roster.
Jose Sa (2.5 M euros) and Ruben Semedo (4.5 M Euros) were vital in Olympiacos’ victory over Turkish outfit, Basaksehir. Sa kept the team in the game during the first half, while Semedo opened up the scoring in the second half and played rock-solid defense. While Marinakis has continued to pump money into the team, the most impressive aspect of the club might be its scouting department. Lazar Randjelovic cost the team 550,000 euros last summer and is looking poised to become a starter. Mady Camara, Yassine Mariah, Leonardo Koutris, Pape Abou Cisse were all purchased for peanuts and now have astronomical transfer values.
Having followed the Portuguese style of developing players and properly integrating them into the transfer market, Olympiacos have ensured they will not lose the plot and continue to be fiscally responsible. When he took over the club, Marinakis was adamant that he wanted the team to be healthy economically and that seems to be where the club at this time.
Goodbye Basaksehir!
After impressive aggregates against Viktoria Plzen and Basaksehir, the 44-time Greek champions shift their focus to Krasnondar FC from Russia. In their first four European contests, the Erythrolefki have scored seven goals and have kept four clean sheets! Defensively, Leonardo Koutris and Omar Elabdellaoui have continued their endless work along the flanks. Both wing-backs have given the team options offensively with their overlaps while never forgetting their defensive responsibilities. In the central part of the defense, Semedo has been nothing short of extraordinary which has given lots of confidence to Yassine Mariah. The Tunisian centre-back likes to have the ball on his feet and his long-ball to Randjelovic was key before Olympiacos’ second goal against the Turks.
In the midfield, Guilherme continues to play a critical role and seems to always be at the right place. The Brazilian is constantly battling in the trenches and does the dirty work to free up his teammates. Andreas Bouchalakis has been the team’s most criticized player but Martins has no other played on the team like him. When Olympiacos found difficulties breaking down two-layered defences last season, Kostas Fortounis would often drop back in front of the centre-backs to carry the ball and try to break up the opposition with a pin-point pass. As solid as Camara and Guilherme were last year, the pin-point passes and through-balls that would put the team’s wingers in the box isn’t their forte. Without having Fortounis at his disposal this year, Martins knows the only other excellent “passer” is Bouchalakis.
Mathieu Valbuena once again was instrumental in creating space for the Legend. His one touch passes, quick decisions, and flair were tough to contain. Valbuena continues to play solid football and his spot in the Starting XI is pretty much set. On the wings, Giorgos Masouras is continuing to string together solid performances. He drops back often to give Tsimikas an easy passing option when the left-back seems in trouble and constantly hustles. Much like Masouras, Miguel Angel Guerrero is a workhorse that continues to show hard-work and determination. Guerrero won a header in the second half which eventually enabled Semedo to push the rebound into the net for the 1-0 lead.
It wasn’t all pretty last Tuesday, however. Daniel Podence seems to be the player who is missing Fortounis the most. The Portuguese winger looked lost at times on the pitch. Martins loves to have this three offensive weapons in the back of the striker shift around (Masouras, Valbuena and Podence would often switch between the left, centre and right attacking midfield positions). When Valbuena would go left and Masouras to the right, Podence looked lost. He would often keep the ball for too long, opting to try to face the defenders one-on-two rather than making the pass to the open space. It’s apparent that Podence is out of form. Aside from winning the penalty, Randjelovic showed a lot of energy, made good passes and had timely runs during his time on the pitch. It wouldn’t surprise me whatsoever if Martins opts to have the 22-year old Serb start instead of Podence.
Welcome to Piraeus, Krasnodar!
When the draw was held for the Champions League playoff round in early August, most people assumed that if Olympiacos were able to eliminate Basaksehir, they would have another date with Porto. Unfortunately for the Portuguese giants, the Russians had other plans. Krasnodar is just 11-years-old but the team has made strides in becoming a house-hold name in Russia. They are currently sitting third in the Russian Premier League (the same position they finished last season). While Krasnodar is far from being considered a European powerhouse, they aren’t afraid to spend money - much like most Russian teams. The entire squad’s market value is 147.65 million euros which is significantly higher than Olympiacos’ 79.75 million euros.
Scouting reports show that the Russians are deadly on the counter-attack and play a tight defensive game. These are all similar traits to Olympiacos which should make this two-legged battle a real nail-biter that will be decided in the finest of details. The Gavroi will have the luxury of being at home for the first leg but will need to make the most of it as the return leg in Russia will be anything but easy. Hearing the name Krasnodar will not instil too much fear in Olympiacos fans minds but they are a team that shouldn’t be taken lightly; just ask Porto.
