GSL Season Preview

As the new Greek Super League season is fast approaching, we take a look at the 16 clubs competing in the competition With many good, bad and crazy things happening at all the clubs the blogger team at Hellas Football take a took at every teams major ins and out's and predict a finish. Of course this is highly opinionated view point by each individual so it'll be interesting to see how things pan out once the season is over

PAOK

Major Ins - Leo Jaba, Yevhen Khacheridi, Amr Warda, Lazaros Lamprou and Chuba Akpom

Major Outs - Djalma Campos, Efthimis Koulouris (loan), Robert Mak (loan)

Last season finish - 2nd

Predicted Finish this season - 1st

Expectations of the team this year - PAOK will be looking to win the league this season after bolstering their squad over the summer transfer period. They were able to add talented Brazilian attacker Leo Jaba who has already impressed in his first appearance for the club in the most recent Champions League fixture against FC Basel. Amr Warda returns to PAOK after having an outstanding season for Atromitos. PAOK manager Răzvan Lucescu has stated that he needed a backup striker to last season’s golden boot winner Aleksandar Prijovic which they were able to attract to the club in recent days. Lucescu still requires a left-back before the start of the season. PAOK have been able to keep their squad together from last season which performed so well but ultimately fell short in the league. They will be starting on -2 points but with their stingy defence and attacking firepower they will be looking at brining the Greek Super League title back to Thessaloniki.   

AEK Athens

Major Ins – Marios Oikonomou, Alef Saldanha, Christos Albanis, Ezequiel Ponce, Lucas Boye, Marinos Ouzounidis (coach)

Major Outs – Sergio Araujo, Ognjen Vranjes, Jakob Johansson, Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Manolo Jimenez

Last Season finish - 1st

Predicted finish this season - 2nd

AEK’s off-season has been eventful from a loss and gains perspective after winning the league. You can’t help but be shocked to see the team lose Sergio Araujo, Ognjen Vranjes, Jakob Johansson and Lazaros Christodoulopoulos. On top of this, coach Manolo Jimenez also decided to go back to Spain and coach Las Palmas in the Spanish second division.

Despite Champions League qualification, AEK has been quiet this off season with the biggest move being luring former PAO coach Marinos Ouzounidis to the club. AEK’s only real practice match to refer to vs Galatasaray, they won 3-2 with new signings Alef, Boye and Ponce looking good. Marios Oikonomou was a surprise purchase as he looks to rejuvenate his career, also Victor Klonaridis – watch for him to come back to form. The truth is AEK has not become stronger so the predicted finish is runner up.

Olympiakos

Major Ins - Giannis Fetfatzidis, Dimitrios Manos, Giannis Massouras, Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Roderick Miranda, Andreas Bouchalakis, Daniel Podence, Yassine Meriah

Major Outs -  Bruno Viana, Seba, Konstantinos Laifis, Silvio Proto, Alaixys Romao, Kevin Mirallas

Last season finish - 3rd

Predicted Finish this season - 2nd

Some fantastic buys with experience in Greek football will be a blessing for the club and sprinkled with what seems to be shrewd foreign players, will make it an interesting season ahead. As usual at this time of the year the club has gone through another upheaval of players, with a new modest no name Portuguese manager in charge so winning the league will be a stretch for them as AEK and more so PAOK are strong sides. The hierarchy will demand success but I think success this season is building for the future by using the core Greek talent the club has, finishing in the top 2 to ensure they have a UCL shot and have a decent Europa League run. Will that be enough for Pedro Martins to keep his job? Time will tell.

Atromitos

Major Ins - Balasz Megyeri, Spyros Risvanis, Dimitris Chatziisaias, Efthymis Koulouris, Clarck Nsikulu, Armin Mujakic, Iraklis Garoufalias, Dimitris Tstatsopoulos, Thomas Vasiliou, Christos Theodorakis, Polidoro Junior

Major Outs - Nicolas Diguiny, Amr Warda, Andreas Gianniotis, Abiola Dauda, Pavlos Kyriakidis, Vasilis Kinalis

Last season finish -  4th

Predicted finish this season - 4th

Atromitos enjoyed an amazing season in 2017-18, ultimately, a lack of depth cost them a top 3 spot and ended up a very respectable 4th. Losing Warda, Diguiny and Gianniotis has been softened by the arrival Megyeri. The former Olympiakos & Hungarian veteran knows the League well. The starting 11 looks strong, especially the back line which consists of Kivrakidis, Chatziisaias, Risvanis and Giannoulis. Additionally, the performances of PAOK loanee Koulouris up front will be vital. A lack of depth is an issue again but Canadi is experienced enough to manage the squad. The challenge will be to replicate last season's attack. If they achieve this, they look the goods for a top 5 finish.

Asteras Tripolis

Major Ins - Martin Rolle, Christos Tasoulis, Valentinos Vlachos, Lucas Salas, Nikos Papadopoulos, Marc Fernandez, Franco Bellocq, Jose Luis Valiente, Patricio Matricardi, Angel Martinez

Major Outs - Eugenio Isnaldo, Evgen Selin, Giorgos Antzoulas, Martin Tonso, Manolis Bertos, Konstantinos Giannoulis, Giorgos Makrostergios, Gyeol-hee Jang, Dudu, Nabil Jaadi

Last season finish -5th

Predicted finish this season - 5th

The club has turned to the South American market to form the bulk of its transfers in the summer. On top of this, several Greeks with experience in the League have been brought in as well. The Arkades were sitting in the relegation zone after 10 rounds but came home strong. Consistency will be key this season. Last season, they had a great home record against the "Big 4" by defeating Champions AEK, PAOK and Panathinaikos, and earning a draw against Olympiakos. If remaining injury-free, striker Michalis Manias is a great option up front. Last season he scored 12 goals and there is no reason this cannot be replicated this season. Triantafyllos Pasalidis possesses a maturity well beyond his years and has been tracked by the "Big 4", Kostas Triantafyllopoulos is now a seasoned defender and left back Giorgos Kyriakopoulos has one of the best left feet in Greek football. Nikos Kaltsas and Kosmas Tsilianidis can score their fair share of goals to take the burden off the strikers. Having just turned 19, Tasos Douvikas, has attracted interest from clubs in Belgium but he still remains an Asteras Tripolis player for now. How the team responds to a longer season with their UEFA Europa League qualifiers remains to be seen, but by the time the season starts, they would have played competitive football unlike most other clubs. This should alleviate the slow start of last season.

Xanthi

Major Ins - Jeffrey Sarpong, Okan Chatziterzoglou, Rafail Melissopoulos

Major Outs - Panagiotis Triadis, Alfredo Mejia, Adrian Lucero, Nikos Sampanidis

Last season finish - 6th

Predicted finish this season - 8th

Xanthi finished on equal points with Asteras but an inferior head to head record meant they finished in 6th position. Jeffrey Sarpong is the only experienced addition, youngsters Chatziterzoglou and Melissopoulos have returned from their respective loan spells. Sarpong, a journeyman, has played for several clubs in his long career and brings valuable experience. Young defensive midfielder Meliopoulos is one to watch out for. It is largely the same squad as last season, however, Lucero, Triadis and Mejia have not really been replaced. Rastavac continued the good work of Lucescu and has ensured Xanthi remains a tricky opposition, with a relatively strong defence. Slovakian international Erik Jendrisek will be Xanthi's most important player again this season scoring just over a third of their goals last season.

Panionios

Major Ins – Abdoulaye Keita, Vasilis Rentzas, Oumar Camara, Roland Alberg

Major Outs – Christos Tasoulis, Valentino Vlachos, Manolis Siopis, Lazaros Lamprou

Last season finish – 7th

Predicted finish this season – 11th

Another year another new coach for Panionios. New man Jose Anigo was poached from Levadiakos after impressing their last season and will hope to maintain Panionios’ good recent League campaigns. This looks like it might be quite the difficult task, as Panionios has lost a fair bit of quality in the off-season and it remains to be seen whether the new signings can adequately replace those who have gone and step up to the plate.

Panaitolikos

Major Ins – Sebastian Eriksson, Nicolas Mana, Christos Agrodimos, Nikos Giannakopoulos

Major Outs – Clesio, Farley, Federico Bravo, Miguel Rodrigues

Last season finish – 8th

Predicted finish this season – 11th

It will take something very special from Traianos Dellas to improve on what his Panaitolikos side did last season and that was, to achieve a very respectable 8th placed finish in 2017/18. Much will depend on new signing, Argentine forward Nicolas Mana and how quickly he can settle in with his team mates. Depth may also be an issue for them, if Panaitolikos experience any type of injury crisis, it may well turn into a long season for the team from Agrinio.

PAS Giannina

Major Ins - Alex Kakuba, Stefanos Siontis, Giannis Loukinas, Sandi Krizman

Major Outs - Nikos Karanikas, Theodoros Berios, Iraklis Garoufalias, Georgios Manthatis, Karim Soltani

Last Season Finish - 9th

Predicted Finish - 7th

The success of PAS in this upcoming season depends massively on one factor- whether goal scoring machine Pedro Conde will stay put in Ioannina or be snapped up by one of Greece’s bigger clubs.  For the time being, it appears he will at least start the season with PAS. If Conde stays, coupled with the signing of another capable attacker in Sandi Krizman, expect PAS to compete for a Europa League spot.

Levadiakos

Major Ins – Giorgos Zisopoulos, Suleiman Omo, Vladimir Bajic

Major Outs – Giannis Zaradoukas, Dimitris Sotiriou, Ibrahima Niasse, Nwankwo Obiora

Last season finish – 10th

Predicted finish this season – 15th

Levadiakos have now survived 7 straight seasons in Super League, after being everybody’s annual pick to be relegated in each of those 7 seasons. But say what you want about Levadiakos, and plenty do, they keep on doing enough to stay up. Questions are being asked again for this coming season though, their coach was poached by Panionios and they have appointed experienced campaigner Akis Mantzios to replace him, and my word he has a job on his hands, this year may finally be the year they do get relegated.

Panathinaikos

Major Ins - Ergys Kace, Ilias Chatzitheodoridis, Mark Sifneos, Stefanos Regakos, Achilleas Poungouras, Theodoros Mingos, Giorgos Angelopoulos

Major Outs - Luciano, Robin Lod, Tasos Avlonitis, Odisseas Vlachodimos, Guillermo Molins, Stefanos Evangelou, Giannis Mystakidis

Last season finish - 11th

Predicted finish this season - 7th

Another summer littered with off-field turmoil, with at this point in time, the unpopular Giannis Alafouzos is still at the helm as the Pan Asia takeover has stalled. Giorgos Donis has taken over as new manager following the departure of Marinos Ouzounidis. Donis should be a good fit as he he will undoubtedly know the weight of the shirt and his experience will be vital in tough times. Nikos Daibzas has also returned as technical director. With transfer restrictions in place, they can only sign one non-Greek player over 23, but an unlimited amount of Greeks under 23. Former Arsenal attacking left back Ilias Chatzitheodoridis looks to be the pick out of the current in-comings. The club is in the market for an experienced, reliable striker to fill the void up front too. It will clearly be a transitional season for Panathinaikos with young players keen to impress, particularly Paschalis Staikos who is one to watch. Starting on -6 sets the team back but  the squad still boasts the quality to challenge for the top 5. Keeping key players Kourbelis, Mounier and Kolovetsios was vital. Depth is an issue and results have not been the best in preseason using a variation of formations. A lot will hinge on the signing of a reliable striker, but you cannot help but think the turbulent off-field situation impacts the players.

AE Larissa

Major Ins - Piti, Marko Nunic, Nestoras Gekas, Ogmundur Kristinsson, Nikos Karanikas, Milovan Petrovikj, Suad Sahiti, Basem Morsy

Major Outs - Giannis Masouras, Thomas Nazlidis, Sandi Krizman, Tasos Lagos, Wallace, Mladen Bozovic

Last Season Finish - 12th

Predicted Finish - 12th

Expect a new look Larisa this year. With a plethora of experienced 1st team players on their way out including captain Thomas Nazlidis, AEL hope to be moving in a new direction next year. Whether head coach Sotiris Antoniou can guide his new squad to anything but a mid table finish so quickly seems doubtful.

Lamia

Major Ins – Vasilios Pliatskias, Denis Epstein, Elini Dimoutsos, Vanderson, Thanasis Karagounis,

Major Outs – Nikos Papadopoulos, Piti, Suleiman Omo, Wanderson, Nikola Asceric, Noe Acosta

Last season finish – 13th

Predicted finish this season – 13th

Lamia built themselves into a side that were hard to beat last season, the 12 draws they accumulated is testament to that. It worked for them, as they avoided relegation in their first season in the top flight. They will need to add strings to their bow if they are going to avoid relegation again this season and they have made a few astute signings in the off-season, that suggests they may have found their strings. Could spring a surprise this season.

Apollon Smyrni

Major Ins – Adam Tzanetopoulos, Justin Eilers, Kevin Tapoko, Vangelis Mantzios, Gonzalo Gonzalez

Major Outs – Anastasios Papazoglou, Christos Albanis, Anthony Stokes, Darren Maatsen, Gonzalo Castillejos

Last season finish – 14th

Predicted finish this season – 14th

After narrowly avoiding relegation last season, Apollon will be looking to have a much more stable time of it this campaign. The appointment of Valerien Ismael in the off-season could well do the trick, as his past experience at some of the top clubs may come in handy for Apollon during the season. It promises to be a close Championship in 2018/19, so avoiding relegation will most probably be the main objective for Apollon Smyrni in 2018/19.

OFI

Major Ins - Anastasios Papazoglou, Miguel Mellado, Panagiotis Deligiannidis, Nikolaos Korovesis, Juan Neira, Ismaïl Sassi, Pavlos Kyriakidis, Vangelis Platellas

Major Outs - Panagiotis Nistikaki, Athanasios Topouzis, Dimitrios Manos, Athanasios Papatolios, Nikolaos Vrettos   

Last season finish - 1st (Promoted Champions)

Predicted Finish this season - 9th

Last season Beta Ethniki Champions rose from the January rubble they were in to eventual champions with a spirited second half of the season charge.They have been very sensible in the transfer market either picking up free transfers or loan deals. Losing their top goalscorer Manos to Olympiakos will hurt them but with key acquisitions Platellas and Papazoglou coming in, if they show that passion and desire like they did last season there is no reason why a top 10 finish can’t be achieved for the Cretan team.

Aris Thessaloniki FC

Major Ins - Fran Velez, Migjen Basha, Nicolas Diguiny, Thomas Nazlidis, Nicolás Colazo, Mateo García, Álex Menéndez, Julián Cuesta Díaz, Hamza Younés, Yaya Meledje.

Major Outs -  Christos Bourbos, Kenan Bargan, Neto, Michalis Baskatos, Paschalis Kassos, Vangelis Platellas,

Last season finish - 2nd (Promoted from Beta Ethniki).

Predicted Finish this season - 9th

Aris have revamped their squad ahead of their first year back in the top flight after four long seasons. Unfortunately, Vangelis Platellas who was pivotal to the clubs rise has left for OFI Crete. With over 10 new players, I believe this could be a inconsistent year for the club. Chairman Theodoros Karipidis has brought in a new Spanish manager in Francisco (Paco) Herrera who has great experience coaching across the world, but mostly in Spain. Paco’s Catalan background has no doubt had an influence on the new signings of Velez, Menendez & Cuesta. If this squad gel early, then I won’t be surprised if they push the likes of PAS Giannina, Atromitos and Asteras for a top 6 spot. Also, watch out of Super 3 this year. They are ready to rock.