Petros Mantalos; Dangerous to the club or another example of an unnecessary social media witch hunt?

A key figure of the club, AEK’s captain has been recently met with heavy criticism on social media. Does he deserve it, or is it another prime example of fans overstating the negatives while failing to grasp what's going on?

From Zero to Hero to.. Zero again

During the summer of 2013, AEK fans were pleased to see that Petros Mantalos, a 22 year old talented attacking midfielder decided to snub rivals Olympiakos to join AEK from boyhood club Xanthi. From the very start of AEK’s new era – one that would start with Melissanidis at the helm of the club- he was destined to be the club’s leader. The next in a long series of iconic captains which included the likes of Demis Nikolaidis, Nikos Lyberopoulos and Stelios Manolas. He had an excellent first season at the club, one that would unfortunately end with an ACL injury that sidelined him for 7 months. The players, the club and the fans all rallied behind the captain after his horrific injury. He eventually returned and was part of the AEK team that won the Greek Cup in 2016. After an okay 2016-17 season, he was back in form under manager Manolo Jimenez in the 2017-18 season. He scored in the Europa League group stages vs Rjieka, he scored a bicycle kick against Larisa in the league and he was the one who finished off a memorable 3-2 comeback win against Olympiakos.

The turning point

On 29 October 2017, Mantalos suffered his 2nd cruciate ligament rupture in 2 years. The club and fans alike were heartbroken to see their captain sidelined for another 6-7 months in the middle of a potential league winning season. Everyone agreed that his absence will leave a big hole in the squad that would only make things more difficult going forward. Surprisingly though, the good results continued and the team was playing as well or even better than before. By the time January came around, everyone had forgotten that the team was playing without its captain. Players like Lazaros, Vranjes, Araujo and Livaja were the new stars of the show, with Bakasetas filling in for Mantalos and doing well. AEK went on to have a great season and win the league title for the first time in 24 years. Mantalos lifted the trophy in Rizoupoli, fans sang his name but their support was not the same. The club learned to live and play well without Mantalos and in turn the fans learned to appreciate an AEK side without him playing. That it is why when this season started, his mediocre performances stood out. Ever since that night in Nea Smyrni he is not the same. Even more than a year after his injury he still hasn’t reached his pre-injury performance standards. Soon after the start of the season, most fans turned against him. He was not the player that AEK fans wanted to be the leader of their team.

As soon as the fans turned on him, that’s when the obnoxious demands started. Some were calling for the club to sell him and others to bench him for the season. Most people on social media were voicing their disgust at him, stating that he is not worthy of the club and that he doesn’t offer anything on the pitch after the 0-0 draw vs Panathinaikos on the weekend or even after both losses against Bayern Munich.

When will the witch hunt stop?

Every single line-up announcement by the club is met with more harsh words about Mantalos, cheers when he is left out, discontent when he is included. Every single missed chance and misplaced pass is met with insults and even more complaints. The fans do have the right to criticize players, as long as they don’t go overboard. Going after the club’s captain before, during and after every single game is only damaging to the team. Vilifying him and accusing him of every single bad result is not only idiotic but also dangerous. His form is not good at the moment and he has had a mediocre season so far. He deserves some criticism for his performances and the fans should absolutely make their voices heard, but there is a massive difference between criticizing a player and bashing him for everything he does on the pitch, and the latter should not be tolerated anymore. The contrast between the standing ovation he received by 4000 AEK fans when he was subbed out in Munich and the hundreds of social media comments that bash –or even insult- him is telling of who actually supports the team. By Mesartic for Hellas Football