Where did it all go wrong? A closer look at the Ethniki’s last two humiliating defeats.

After earning the desired 4 points in the first round of the Euro 2020 Qualifiers, the Ethniki appeared to finally be on the right track for the first time in over half a decade with new manager Angelo Anastasiadis.  But it is clear this team has made almost no progression from the dark days of the Euro 2016 Qualifiers- where they dropped two defeats to the lowly Faroe Islands- after two disastrous performances in Athens last week, losing 0-3 to Italy and 2-3 to Armenia.  

As promised, Anastasiadis introduced new, younger players into the squad that were always overlooked by previous manager, Michael Skibbe.  Yet these changes, apparently, have been nowhere near enough in helping the Ethniki turn the corner and compete with Europe’s top teams once again. Anastasiadis should shoulder a great deal of the blame, but his ineptitude as a manager is nowhere near the real root of the problem- the Greek FA (EPO) has been cheap, incompetent, and indifferent when it comes to moving Greek soccer as a whole forward.  Sacking Anastasiadis simply won’t be enough, tangible improvements on the pitch to the Ethniki will unfortunately never come about until someone cleans house on the “bourdello” that is the EPO. 

Squad selection, lineup, and performance in the 0-3 defeat to Italy

In Bosnia a little over a month ago, the Ethniki lined up in a 3-5-2 formation- which, at that time, was a relatively experimental formation for a team used to lining up in a 4-2-3-1.  This experiment immediately proved to be disastrous only 15 minutes into the match, as Bosnia quickly found themselves up 2-0. The disaster, in turn, forced Anastasiadis’ hand as he opted for the more traditional 4-2-3-1 later on; in which Greece played much better and ended up with a courageous 2-2 away draw and a vital point.  

In the preparation for the match against the Italians, there were many rumors Anastasiadis would once again opt for this formation to start out the match for some added security against another stronger opponent. Only this time, two vital cogs in this formation were out with injury. With Michalis Bakais and Tasos Donis out with injuries once again, there were ZERO natural right backs in the squad and only one true striker in Efthymis Koulouris (still unproven at this level).  To replace Bakakis, Anastasidis opted to deploy Andreas Samaris as his new wing back. And in Donis’ stead, a striker pair of Dimitris Kolovos and Giorgos Masouras were chosen (NEITHER of who, mind you, naturally play striker).  

Given the megaflop Anastasiadis' 3-5-2 turned out to be in Bosnia, as well as the key injuries that wore the squad thin, one has to seriously wonder- what the f*ck was this old man thinking going into the game with a rapidly improving Italian side? 

Over the years, many Greek fans have come to terms with the fact that the Ethniki has little to nothing to offer in attack, so the toothless display from the forwards on Saturday should be of the least concern. Conversely, anyone invested in the Ethniki should be slamming the panic button after seeing the disgrace of a performance on the righthand side of the Greek defense. Anastasiadis’ ludicrous move to start Samaris as the right wing-back was exposed all first half long, as Belotti, Insigne and Emerson ran riot on the flank.  

All three goals were, in fact, created from the lefthand side of the Italian attack. But with the way Anastasiadis had the Ethniki lined up, no fan should be surprised at the way the three Italian goals were created. What fans should really be shocked by is the hapless showing from our “rocks” in the center of defense, Kostas Manolas and Sokratis Papastathopoulos. On the first two goals, Manolas was undressed by the footwork of the Italians as he gifted Belotti and Insigne an assist and a goal, respectively. And on the third goal, Sokratis was completely outmuscled by Bonucci as he rose to put Emerson’s cross in the back of the net.  

After a little over half an hour, the game was well put away by the Italians and Anastasiadis was exposed for the failure most expected him to be in a 0-3 humiliation.  Shameful considering the great atmosphere put on by the fans at the OAKA stadium.  

New formation and players, same garbage in the 2-3 loss to Armenia 

Leading up to the showdown against Armenia the following Tuesday, Anastasiadis promised changes, and he was a man of his word- opting for the 4-2-3-1 that got results in Lichtenstein and Bosnia in March.  There were a few changes in the starting 11 that fans were pleased to see as well.  The in-form Leonardo Koutris took the place of Kostas Stafylidis at LB, and Charis Mavrias (the closest player to a RB on the team besides Kotsiras) was placed at RB.  Odisseas Vlachodimos, the first choice in the previous qualifiers, replaced Barkas in goal.  And Koulouris got the nod at striker.  

Yes, this is what fans wanted to see, but it also highlights how inconsistent Anastasiadis is when it comes to picking a starting 11.  Reports from training camp said that Anastasiadis didn’t have a set starting 11 in place until about a day before the game because it kept players ready at all times (this was true before Italy too).  How can any national team expect to have any success this way, when over the last three games, three different goalkeepers started?! This strategy, designed to motivate the players, only takes away what little chemistry this team had to begin with.  

Bar one or two players playing out of position, the lineup looked good on paper, but the product on the pitch was far from it. Greece dominated possession early on, but the old demons that haunt this team showed up again, as the Ethniki could not find the back of the net in the first half.  Crosses were whipped into the box as the fullbacks made their way up the pitch- but barring one decent curling effort from Kostas Fortounis at the beginning of the match, Greece never really threatened to score and found themselves down 0-2 at the half.  Armenia, on the other hand, executed their counterattacking game plan expertly, and made every second of their 25% of possession count.  

In truth, Fortounis and workhorse Carlos Zeca are the only two players who really showed their worth in this match, and not only for their goals scored in the second half (although Fortounis’ effort, dribbling past 5 Armenians to score was particularly impressive). Both looked to inspire in attack and in midfield, respectively.  But due to the horrible tactics of Anastasiadis, every forward was isolated in attack and the midfield could string no more than four passes together moving up the pitch.  Of course, the defense was at fault once again, as Sokratis was embarrassed by Ghazaryan’s dribbling on the second goal.  Greece was never really in this game from the start and found themselves down 2 goals on two separate occasions. To further illustrate how poor the Ethniki were in the 2-3 loss on Tuesday, this was Armenia’s first away win in a Euro Qualifier since 2011.  

Something has to give 

We can’t win like this. Not when three different goalkeepers are used in three separate matches. In addition, this team clearly lacks a quality winger on the opposite side of Masouras, yet an out of form Pelkas gets played out of position on the wing and makes no impact on the game.  There should be no excuse for not calling up natural winger Lazaros Lamprou, who has been on fire in Holland, to at least showcase his ability in the friendly against Turkey.  These head-scratching moves raise the question- are we really that far away from the days where former manager Michael Skibbe was using Tasos Bakasetas as a striker or Stafylidis as a winger?   

Four games into this campaign, and it's becoming clear that the EPO got what they paid for. They went after the cheapest and easiest to sign option available in Anastasiadis, and their already bad reputation has gotten worse. He promised to galvanize the players and make them give it their all when representing Greece, and against Liechtenstein and Bosnia, Anastasiadis looked to have us all fooled. My theory is that the players were still sharp from training with their respective clubs in March. A few weeks off after the season and a training camp with a tactical dinosaur in Anastasiadis, and the players look like they have forgotten how to play.  

Unfortunately, this is the state of Greek soccer at the moment.  Most players now view the summer as a time to go to Mykonos, not compete amongst Europe’s elite, and the EPO couldn’t care less.  The reported player "coup d’etat” spearheaded by Sokratis and Manolas- who went to EPO president Evangelos Grammenos and demanded change or else they would leave- is never what anyone wants to see take place within their team. Sadly, however, something has to give, or the quality of Greek soccer will continue to plummet.    

By Nick Gargano for Hellas Football