The Football League Is Finally Back!

The Football League Is Finally Back!

By Alexander Koutakos



The Greek Football League just recently commenced for its 2020-21 season on March 27th. Yes, you read that right! 


A professional sports league in Greece started in March 2021 instead of August 2020! That's what happens when Grammenos is in charge with EPO. Hopefully, with Zagorakis in charge, things will change for the better for Greek football. This article will focus on how the league itself is set up, the current standings after three matches,my predictions for the season and who I will be cheering for.


The League’s Format:


The Football League (the third tier of Greek football), is divided into two groups of ten teams. Those two groups are called the North and South divisions. In each division, the top two teams get promoted to the Super League 2 and the bottom two teams get promoted to the fourth tier of Greek football. During the season, each team plays 18 matches and also plays twice against each opposing team in their division. 


The North Division comprises of Veria, Kavala, Olympiakos Volos, Pierikos, Pan Serraikos, Thesprotos, Trigilia, Almodos Aridaia, AEP Kozani and Appolon Pontou. 


The South Division comprises of Ialysos, Kalamata, Kalithea, Santorini, Episkopi, Asteras Vlachioti, Rodos, Egaleo, Niki Volou and Aspropyrgos. 


This season will be quite unpredictable because the teams will be playing a match every 3 days and the overall player quality of the teams in question are quite similar. 


Therefore, match fitness and the quality of the overall training systems at each club will come into play. In my opinion, the teams with the best match fitness programs will get promoted. It is that simple!


The Current Standings In The Football League (After 3 Matches): 


-The Current North Division Standings:

Veria-9 points

Kavala-9 points

Olympiakos Volos-6 points

Pierikos-6 points

Pan Serraikos-4 points

Thesprotos-3 points

Trigilia-2 points

Almodos Aridaia-2 points

AEP Kozani-1 point

Appolon Pontou-0 points


-The Current South Division Standings: 

Ialysos-7 points     

Kalamata-7 points

Kalithea-5 points

Santorini-5 points

Episkopi-4 points

Asteras Vlachioti-4 points

Rodos-3 points

Egaleo-3 points

Niki Volou-1 point

Aspropyrgos-0 points


My Predictions For This Season:


With teams playing every 3 days, this season will be quite unpredictable and thus, quite hard to predict. However, I will do my best. For each division, I will predict the two teams that will get promoted and the two teams that will get relegated to the fourth division. 


In the North Division, I predict that Veria and Kavala will get promoted and I also predict that AEP Kozani and Almodos Aridaia will get relegated. Veria and Kavala have impressed so far offensively and they have both been solid defensively as well. AEP Kozani and Almodos Aridaia on the other hand, have both had a horrible and morally destructive start to the season. 



In the South Division, I think that Kalamata and Asteras Vlachioti will get promoted and I also predict that Aspropyrgos and Egaleo will get relegated. Kalamta has started the season with 7 points and is looking like the best side in the division and thus, I predicted that Kalamta would get promoted. 


Asteras Vlachioti has four points from three games, but if it weren't for some poor officiating against Rodos Asteras Vlachioti could very well be sitting on six points at the moment. On the contrary, Egaleo and Aspropyrgos have been disappointing so far and the former and the latter both seem like disjointed sides that need some time for some real soul-searching, to be quite honest. In a few months from now, I will most likely ridicule my own predictions, but after all that is the art of making predictions!


Who I Will Be Cheering For This Season? 


For the 2020-21 edition of the Greek Football League, I will be cheering for none other than Asteras Vlachioti. Asteras Vlachioti are located in the Greek province of Laconia and their home ground is only a 20 minute car drive from my dad’s house in Greece. Thus, it was a no brainer for me to cheer for the team closest to my own xorio. 


Asteras Vlachioti were just recently promoted from the fourth division, but their ambitions for this season are very high nonetheless. At the moment, Asteras Vlachioti are the only team from Laconia in the top 3 tiers of Greek football. 


Therefore, they are the footballing pride of the region, but with that comes a lot of pressure and demands for positive results. Hopefully, Asteras Vlachioti can respond to that pressure in an effective manner and eventually get promoted!


Conclusion:


We all know that the Football League has had its fair share of setbacks recently due to a lack of revenue, constant postponements, name changes, neglect from EPO and much more. Hopefully, things change for the better. But, in my opinion, it is quite unlikely that they will in the near future. Systematic change in Greece takes a long time for generally everything and for football it takes even longer. 


Anyways, I truly hope that Asteras Vlachioti gets promoted this season and if it does happen, it would certainly be a joy of mine and a joy for all of the football fans from Laconia and the Laconic diaspora.


PAME Asteras Vlachioti!


HellasFootball


Follow @AKoutakos

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