Εβδομάδα Είναι … Και Κυλάει

The “piratiko” sailed again into a foreign harbour and took the spoils.  Once again it raised its sails and looked like a team capable of repeating its Euro 2004 triumph.

Ellas managed to take 3 valuable points back from Turkey after we had lost our 3 points to them in Karaiskaki on 24th March.

Cool, calm and collected indeed!

Rehagel put out a team with a purpose, with clear directions and they looked like they stuck to their plan.  On this outing we looked nothing like the team that was disorganised and rattled by the Turks on the eve of our National Day.  Apart from a handful of defensive lapses the team carried out its duties with pride.

If you look at the lineup closely its very clear that Rehagel has built a team that can rival the defensive masters of the Italians.

Halkias, Kyrgiakos, Dellas, Seitaridis, Antzas and Torosidis let nothing get in their way from the Turks.  Not only were they defensively hard to break but both Seitaridis and Torosidis also managed to taunt the Turkish defence.  In the first half Torosidis was surprised to have beaten the offside trap and stalled for a second before forcing the Turkish keeper to make a crucial save.

Apart from the defenders that I mention, Ellas had a midfield and attack always ready to counter and threaten the Turkish penalty box.  Basinas, Amanatidis and Karagounis were unrelenting in creating runs and passes to the forwards Charisteas and Gekkas throughout the first half.

Rehagel made 2 changes in the second half both in the attacking areas of the team as the defence was doing a great job.  Gekkas and Charisteas were replaced by Samaras and Limperopoulos and the changes brought a fresh wave of attacks upon the Turks.

In fact it was an insightful pass from Samaras to Amanatidis that opened up the Turkish defence and allowed Amanatidis to cooly and deftly take the lead.

I believe that all Ellas fans can be proud of their national team’s performance.

Click here to take you to uefa.com for their highlights.