Another stormy summer in Thessaloniki

Another stormy summer in Thessaloniki. 

By Alain Anastasakis 

It now sounds like a cliché. But PAOK did the best to stay on track. After the departure of Abel Ferreira on October 30, Pablo Garcia, one of the club's legends, was appointed manager. 'El Canario', who also led the academy for 4 years where he got extraordinary results with an impressive run of 3 years undefeated, is now in charge of the Senior squad. 

Mid-season review and analysis

Overview :

Everything started with a great European campaign and prestigious victories over Besiktas then Benfica. 

The Dikefalo had big hopes for this season. Unfortunately, the team missed out again at the last step with a loss against Krasnodar.

The eternal curse some people would say, another proof of inexperience some others could tell. Following this disillusion, PAOK was back in Europa League with Granada, PSV and Omonia. The home draw and the away loss against Nicosia cost us qualification to the next round. 

We can definitely say we feel mixed about the whole campaign. If PAOK can offer great performances against Benfica, PSV or even Granada during the away games, the teams who were supposed to be weaker such as Omonia, Atromitos or Volos were the worst games of the season. 

And we would be tempted to say that this is PAOK’s recurring problem since Lucescu’s left the club. This constant incapacity to “kill them off” when the team dominates games. 

Team and players : 

Following Ferreira’s departure, very good signs have been seen since Pablo Garcia took over the squad. 

We will, of course, have big regrets about Europe, but we can reasonably say the performances the team was able to play can be used as a working basis for the next year. The squad’s mentality seemed to show improvements as well. In the League, PAOK finished the first part 3rd on the ladder with 8 wins, 3 draws and only 1 loss, against Aris, where the refereeing was very questionable.

From an accounting perspective and looking at the circumstances, with a whole group who has been massively rebuilt during summer, we can really hope for a good second half of the season.

After experiencing Abel Ferreira’s 3-5-2, PAOK is now back on the 4-2-3-1 they were playing under the Lucescu’s era. 

Certainly an improvement looking at the players the team has at its disposal. But still insufficient as some key players are missing for this tactics. We will note that Pelkas, the only real playmaker the Dikefalo had, was never replaced. There is also no striker who can take the depth nor create his own situations since Akpom was sold to Middlesbrough and the system, who uses inverted wingers, is not made for forwards like Swiderski or Colak, who always need crosses or a n°10 behind them to provide assists. 

The goalkeepers also have been an issue, despite some great performances, neither Zivko Zivkovic or Paschalakis could provide the stability the team badly needs at this position. The poor performances of some “senators” such as Biseswar, Crespo or the recent decline of Omar El-Kaddouri must be noted as well. 

Thomas Murg, a pure winger who doesn’t play in his natural position could also be marked as a “casting mistake”.

On the positive, we will highlight the emergence of Tzolis, the Wonderkid who now carries the whole team on his shoulders at only 18. A pure product of PAOK academy, a “baby Garcia” as we could describe the kids from the U19s, the boy showed he is also probably one of the greatest Greek talents of the decade. 

Giannoulis also demonstrated in his left lane, especially during the European campaign, that he was one of the new leaders of the team. 

Andrija Zivkovic, who lit up a lot of games with his dribbling ability, and Stefan Schwab, who brought big stability in the midfield can surely be quoted as the two best transfers of the summer. 

Before his terrible injury, Moussa Wagué also showed all the skills we saw when he played in Nice, following a necessary adaptation time. Just a word to say that his sacrifice must never be forgotten and that the club should really do something for him wherever he will be after he comes back from this injury. 

Conclusion and perspective : 

After another period of instability, marked with a lot of moves and another manager change, PAOK seems to be back on track and we can be reasonably optimistic for the second half of the season. 

Some moves on the transfer market during winter coupled with departures of players the club doesn’t need anymore should, if done properly, solve Dikefalo’s problems, especially concerning the attack. 

And under the rule of Pablo Garcia, probably the club’s most important person of the last decade, who showed he was not only a “grinta man” who is here to “kick some butts” but who also proved he was a great technician with the Youth team, there is no reason to don’t “dare to dream” again in Toumba!

Hellas Football 

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