Dare to Dream?

Dare to Dream?

By Antoni

 

12 September 2021

 


Well PAO fans, how are we feeling? It has been more than twenty-four hours since we got to see our beautiful club take the pitch again in an exhilarating 4-0 thumping over Apollon. This match had it all, anticipation, anxiety, a sold out crowd (though not a packed house due to COVID restrictions), and the debut of several new players.

 

We also got to watch an opening game at home for the first time since 2013, and the atmosphere was absolutely magical. It could be that last season’s empty stadiums took a toll and I forgot what it felt like to have fans inside cheering our players on, but still, it was a feeling that just never gets old.

 

For the first time in years we watched Panathinaikos dominate a match nearly from start to finish. Now I am mindful of the shaky start to the match, but I will place that on the nerves due to the occasion and the new faces making their debut. Once Panathinaikos grew into the game there was no stopping them yesterday, and for the first time in what feels like an eternity, once the team went up 2-0 at halftime, I knew we would be walking away with the three points.

 

Yesterday's match showed us a Panathinaikos team who are hungry, have a purpose, and realize that a strong start to the season is a must after several years of falling short and starting the season off slowly. If anything, yesterday’s match showed me that these players, coach, and even our president are serious about making it into Europe this season. I will be the first one to tell you, and have gone on record in past blogs as saying that it is not too good to get too high on the highs or low on the lows, but I think after what we saw yesterday we should feel a little more at ease when it comes to our European ambitions as the club have shown us that they are attempting to double down on past mistakes.

 

Several fans (myself included) may have jumped the gun a bit in the thralls of celebration and declared that we are winning the league, but I would be lying to you all if I said that the thought didn’t cross my mind hours later when the emotions settled down. Of course, the season is long and rigorous, and a lot can go wrong or right for our team and our rivals so I am being mindful of that, but if this team can continue to put in serious performances like that they can prove to be a title contender this season.

 

In years past Panathinaikos have fallen short of the league title due to dropping and losing points to teams like Apollon, Lamia, Giannina, and Panionios. These are games that they should have won yet played down to the level of their competition. If this PAO team can put these teams to bed consistently this season then I do genuinely like our chances at contending this season, but again the season is long and I won’t let just one performance cloud my judgement.  

 

We saw a Panathinaikos that put out an exciting display of beautiful football, the polar opposite of what we have seen from them the last several years. The build-up play from the back, the possession of the ball, and the flurry of chances created capped off with four goals in the back of the net are things Panathinaikos fans have been dreaming of seeing since the days of Marcus Berg.

 

To cap it all off, having five Greeks in the eleven should be another area of positivity Panathinaikos fans should take away from yesterday’s match and the season to come. Alexandropoulos, Kotsiras, and Ioannidis in particular put on dazzling performances and showed immense pride wearing the green shirt. It is something that we PAO fans should be proud of, especially given that rival teams in the league are hardly fielding young Greek prospects in their lineups these days.

 

All in all, I am on cloud nine if it wasn’t apparent by now. This Panathinaikos team showed us a glimpse of their potential and it feels good to see them put out a dominant display in front of a crowd of fans at Leoforos. There are hopes for us this season, and honestly our main ambition is to get back into Europe. Anything that comes after that will only be an added bonus. Let’s hope they continue this run this week against PAS Giannina. The season is long and rigorous, but let’s believe!


Hellas Football 


Follow @PanathasLA

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