Where’s Kostas?

Where’s Kostas?

By Steve Kountourou

With news of the squad released for Olympiakos trip to Manchester City in the Champions League all eyes, mine included, were drawn to a big gap in the squad where one of our most key players should have been. Just like many other supporters I asked myself the same question, 'where is Kostas Fortounis?' Almost immediately rumours started to circulate, of possible injury, people crying Covid while others claimed that manager Pedro Martins and Fortounis had another falling out after last weekend's game with Apollon Smyrnis, much like one of Thrylos previous trips in the UK before that magical night vs Arsenal. All that the Portuguese coach was quoted as saying was that Fortounis, 'was not able to train' with the squad before their trip to Manchester. 

 

This left even more questions unanswered, not only about the lack of inclusion in the squad, but more of an expanded question of how can Fortounis fit into the squad and work his way back into the team and the player that we all know he is capable of being. So in a rather different blog this week, I will be taking the plunge into the controversy of Kostas Fortounis role for Olympiakos and Greece, taking a look at what happened before, during and after his long term ACL injury, why he has struggled for constant game time since, what system should he be deployed in and where he goes from here.  

Where it all Started 

To really get a grasp of where Fortounis is now, I am going to go back nearly two and a half years at the end of the 18/19 season. Even though Olympiakos were unable to regain the title in Pedro Martins first season in charge, falling short to an all conquering PAOK side. Fortounis, himself, had an excellent campaign individually, finishing as his side's top scorer with 16 goals in all competitions and showing his leadership as club captain in some huge fixtures both domestically and in the Europa League. The stage was set for him to top his performance in the upcoming 19/20 season and for the Greek International to captain Olympiakos to their 45th title. But as we all know, that sadly was not the case. In Thrylos penultimate pre-season fixture against Hamburger, Fortounis was brought down by a horrible tackle. It eventually transpired after the match that he had suffered a severe cruciate ligament injury, which ruled him out for most of the season and was a huge blow for both himself and his club, who would be without their talismanic attacking midfielder for the vast majority of their title challenge.   

While Fortounis was out

Despite this being a massive blow however, Olympiakos seemed to solve their creative problem pretty quickly, thanks to the addition of French veteran Matheu Valbuena. The former Marseille legend was originally brought to play in his preferred left wing role, but with the loss of Fortounis was deployed instead as a number ten for most of the season, and both Valbuena and Thrylos never looked back. The diminutive midfield maestro, rolled back the years that season, with the then 35 year old scoring 9 and amassing a huge 23 assist tally in all competitions, as Olympiakos stormed to the Greek Super League title and had a decent run in Europe. It was such a boost for the club to have a player of his quality playing in the creative part of the team, that it was hard to see how Fortounis would be able to reclaim his place once fully fit again, as the team had become such a well drilled machine in his absence.   

The Slow Return and Competing with Valbuena 

While Valbuena was making attacking midfield his own, Kostas Fortounis was making the slow progression back to full fitness, to resume team training and eventually making his full return to the field. He did just that, after 184 days out, coming on as a substitute in the Greek Cup round of 16 vs Kalamata. Despite the club captain finally returning to action it was clear that the ACL injury had taken its toll and Fortounis was still not back to his very best. The french veteran was still preferred as the sole creator ahead of him and rightfully so which would make the task of reclaiming his place in the starting Xi all the more challenging. He would spend much of the second half of the season on the bench, coming on to impact games and add some extra creativity when needed. 

 

He scored his first goal of the season in a 4-0 drubbing of Panionios with a fantastic solo effort. Although Fortounis progression since returning from his injury was encouraging, his relationship with manager Pedro Martins seemed to take a hit after he was left out of the Europa League squad that travelled to London to face Arsenal, which Olympiakos eventually won with a late goal from El Arabi. Martins, in his statement in short made it clear that no one, even Fortounis, was bigger than the club and that if he wanted to be playing consistently then he had to earn that right. 

National Team Troubles 

Fortounis struggles for game time, despite his undisputable talents, has also filtered into the national team as well. Ethniki coach John Van't Schip, has tended to prefer the likes of Alanyaspor midfielder Anastasios Bakasetas as the starter during Greece's recent nations league fixtures. This has been one of the big talking points for both supporters of Greece as well as the Greek media, who all feel, despite Bakasetas starting, does not bring the same forward passing and chance creation that Fortounis clearly brings to any side he plays for. JVS has stated that he would like to see Fortounis play more for his club so give himself a better chance of being chosen more often. This is rather counter active to what JVS has been doing with his selection in recently, with the likes of Kostas Stafylidis, who was made captain of the national team, start in an unnatural position for the left back in central defence, despite hardly playing for his club side Hoffenheim. The national team, however, is a subject I could make a whole blog about on its own so that is all I shall say about that matter, apart from the fact that if Greece want to play with more flair and creative more chances in must win games, they have a ready made player in Fortounis, who is constantly left on the bench.  

How Could He Fit Back Into The Team?

From Fortounis return in January 2020, all the way up to this weekends fixture vs OFI, the talented midfielder has mostly been used as an impact substitute, to add much needed creativity when Thrylos most need it, during the second half of fixtures. While for the most part this has been successful, I think that many Olympiakos fans and even fans of Greek football can all agree that a player of Fortounis talents should not be on the bench but should be starting every game. While I do not believe that a team's shape and style of play should be changed to suit an individual player, I will quickly take a look at all the possible ways that Fortounis could fit back into the starting XI more consistently. Let's be honest the shortest and easiest answer would be to just play him in his natural position in attacking midfield right behind the striker. This would mean either resting Valbuena and playing a winger like Masouras on the left and Bruma or Randjelovic on the right, or playing the french veteran on the left with the three other players all competing to play at right wing. Despite these being the most logical options at Pedro Martins disposal, the Portuguese coach, when starting Fortounis, has not seemed to get the best out of him, but this could also be down to the team struggling to get into games properly until the second half, or the possibility that maybe he is still unable to complete a full 90 minutes.

Where Does He Go From Here?

So after the last year or so of getting back from a horror injury, the lack of consistent game time and competition in his position, where does Fortounis go from here?

 

Well firstly I will say, on the part of Pedro Martins, that he is not to blame. He knows that player better than any of us and sees how he trains, and if he has worked hard enough to start or even play. He clearly knew how important the Greek international was in his first season in charge and he also knows how much more Fortounis is capable of since his return from injury. To push a player to work harder and become better is not a bad thing. Should he start more, yes. But competition in a squad is a healthy thing especially for a player like Kostas Fortounis. There is an immense weight on his shoulders at not only being one of Olympiakos most talented players, but arguably Greece's most talented player for a generation. To bring him back immediately and expect him to even now be where he was in the summer of 2019 is unrealistic. This period has given him time to slowly work his way back into the squad and when he has done well in games he has been rewarded with starts.

 

Secondly while he is currently competing with Valbuena, who won't be around forever. Olympiakos currently rely so much on him and once he has retired which does not seem that far away considering his age, much like when Chori Dominguez started to slow up, Fortounis took his chance to be the starting attacking midfielder and ran with it and made that position his own, and this theoretically could happen again. Lazar Randjelovic, while still a talent, is very susceptible to inconstancy, and is anonymous in some games but then will be the star in others and that comes with still being fairly young and early in his career. But in the big games where you need players to step up and perform, I must admit he sadly has not done that enough when he has been called upon. Fortounis starting ahead of him would at the very least add something more to the team in terms of creativity, making more positive passes and creating more chances to score rather than holding the ball too long and wasting possession and valuable time.

 

Lastly Fortounis is a big game player. He rises to the occasion normally and even if he doesn't score he is still a focal part of the team and makes things happen, in Europe especially that is so valuable. Even Pep Guardiola, a man who has managed some of the greatest sides of all time and coached generational talent, and Lionel Messi I guess, said it was a shame that he could not see Fortounis play, and that for me says it all.   

 

To finish I will quickly say that despite his current position in the side, Kostas Fortounis is still impacting games which would fill any Olympiakos supporter with confidence. After five games this season he has contributed to a goal or assist nearly every game, and that is him coming off of the bench the vast majority of this game time. The latest of those contributions being in Sunday's game vs OFI, when he came on with 15 minutes of the game still to play, ran round his opponent, was through on goal and did all the hard work to provide a classy set up for Masouras to score and make it 0-2 to Olympiakos. Maybe after an injury as serious as the one he suffered, maybe Fortounis still needs time to properly adapt his game and reinvent himself to be more effective over an entire game.

Either way, I have full confidence that all the signs are pointing in the right direction for Kostas Fortounis to return to the starting line up more consistently for Thrylos, and continue to lead his side to glory.  

Hellas Football 

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