PAOK UECL opponents preview: Aberdeen FC

 PAOK UECL opponents preview: Aberdeen FC


By Nikolas Fil




After their historic victory over Eintracht Frankfurt, PAOK has a golden opportunity in the games against Aberdeen to clinch first place, meaning they will go straight to the Round of 16 and they will avoid the 2 games of the Playoff round in February. Aberdeen has a rich history winning 4 Scottish league titles, the last one being in the 1984/85 season.

They've also won 6 Scottish league cups, 7 Scottish cups and more importantly under Sir Alex Ferguson they won the Cup Winners Cup defeating Real Madrid 2-1, the next year they won the UEFA Super Cup defeating HSV 2-0 over two legs.

Manager: Barry Robson

Barry Robson is a Scottish football manager and former player. He began his footballing career at Inverness Caledonian Thistle making 135 appearances for them, scoring 17 goals as a midfielder. He retired in 2016 after making 528 appearances in total, for clubs like Celtic, Middlesbrough, Vancouver Whitecaps and Aberdeen.

He began his coaching career as Aberdeen’s U20 assistant manager before becoming manager of the U18s and their B team respectively. In 2022 he became the caretaker manager of the first team but that didn’t last long as he was only in the technical area for one game. In January 2023 he again became the caretaker manager only this time after 7 consecutive wins, which saw Aberdeen finish 3rd in the Scottish League, he was given a permanent job by the club signing a 2 years deal.

Tactical Approach:

It can be noted that Aberdeen’s sharp hold on long balls aims to quickly advance play vertically or to regain possession in the second or final third of the pitch. Robson, who frequently favours a 3-5-2 formation since his appointment relies on vertical and long balls and quick play periodically to create opportunities.

Star Player: Bojan Miovski

Bojan Miovski is a 24-year-old North Macedonian international footballer who plays as a striker. He began his career at Bregalnica in North Macedonia, where he made 7 appearances scoring twice before moving to Rabotnichki. In 2019 he moved to Renova where after 15 appearances and 5 goals, he made a big move to MTK Budapest in Hungary in 2020.

In Budapest Bojan scored 15 goals in 56 appearances in the league, helping MTK finish 7th in the 2020/21 season but unfortunately, they were relegated in the 2021/22 season. Following MTK’s relegation he moved to Aberdeen, where last season he scored 16 goals in 33 appearances helping Aberdeen finish 3rd. So far this season he has scored 7 goals in 14 appearances in all competitions.

Hellas Football 
Follow @BVBNikolas

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