Hellas Football

 Olympiakos vs Qarabag FK: UEFA Europa League League Phase Matchday Eight Preview By Stephen Kountourou UEFA Europa League League Phase Matchday Eight: 30/01/25 Kick-off Time: 22:00 Greek Time Venue: Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium Where to Watch: Cosmote Sport 3 HD Sometimes, you have to give credit where credit is due for an idea you initially thought was awful but, after seeing it in action, makes you have a change of heart. That was the new league phase format for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.  Upon hearing of the change from the long-established group stages to one league spanning eight games, and in the Conference League’s case six, I immediately disliked the idea as it felt as though it would only be implemented to benefit the elite and wealthy clubs of European football and help them qualify for the knockout stages easier. If it aint broke don’t fix it.  For the last six months, however, I was pleasantly surprised, for the new format...

 FC Porto vs Olympiakos: UEFA Europa League League Phase Matchday Seven Preview By Stephen Kountourou UEFA Europa League League Phase Matchday Three: 23/01/25 Kick-off Time: 19:45 Greek Time Venue: Estádio do Dragão Where to Watch: Cosmote Sport 3 HD A new year has rolled around and with it even more, football for us to enjoy. Even we as Greek football fans, whose teams enjoyed a brief break over Christmas, barely got time to breathe before delving back into the beautiful game once more. That hasn’t changed. Of course, UEFA’s top two competitions, the Champions League and the Europa League, have yet to complete their respective league phases. Two matchdays left before we find out who has qualified for either the round of 16 or the playoffs, and who is eliminated.  Regarding the context of the new format, Olympiakos are still in the mix, having almost certainly guaranteed themselves a playoff place while also looking to secure a seeded spot, which would give them a less difficu...

 Everybody Loves Ange By Stephen Kountourou It has been 18 months since Tottenham Hotspur appointed Ange Postecoglou and it certainly has been a wild ride for Spurs supporters. The best start in the club's history was followed by a poor second half of the 23/24 season which saw the North London club finish in 5th-place finish and qualify to the Europa League. During this current campaign, and at the time of writing, the Greek Australian’s team finds themselves in midtable, having both claimed some huge victories and suffered embarrassing defeats. This is all while playing an exciting, yet unsustainable brand of football.  Some supporters wish to stick with Ange until at least the end of the season, while others have already begun to sharpen their pitchforks and cry for him to be sacked.  But why does the manager and the players find themselves in this position and what could be done to fix this inconsistent cycle before the wheels fully come off? The highs  People fo...

Greece - Where the Depth Issues Lie By Christian Leggas We, as fans, can have few complaints thus far regarding how Ivan Jovanović has coached this team  and his choices. He has them believing in themselves, which leads to high team spirit, goals and,  most importantly, wins. However, by the time the March fixtures against Scotland come around and indefinitely beyond that,  he's got to have more depth in both the right wing and the defensive midfield positions. Let's start with the defensive midfield position, specifically, our lack of types who are Dimitrios  Kourbelis clones, so to speak. As soon as he became suspended for the match in Athens against  England, I knew we'd be in struggle street, and it came to pass. Christos Zafeiris, who replaced  Kourbelis that night whilst battling hard to emulate him, couldn't. I don't put much blame on Zafeiris,  as it's not like you can wave a wand to change his physique to match Kourbelis', but if he had his ti...