Dabizas: “There is a disappearance of the Greeks in the championship”

Findings on Greek football and league by Nico Dambiza who spoke on a radio station in Thessaloniki. As he mentioned, the number of Greeks who participate in our groups also decreases by choosing abroad when there is a proposal from a group.

What Nikos Dabizas said in detail at Metropolis…

For Greek football:

“I think that as the image of the Greek reality has been shaped, it is normal for children to seek their luck in leagues with better professionalism, conditions and rewards. The conditions we have had here since 1995, you will understand that there is a disappearance of the Greek element and this has a big impact on the league. The conditions may not be competitive and according to their expectations, but there is a process of development for the footballer to become established and seek his luck in a better league. Since there is no trust they think differently and look at their own interest.

When a footballer has the right to choose and offers from a good league it is normal to want to play there. It is his right to want to compete in a better working environment. On the other hand, with children who live within the borders, there is no trust and proper assessment, but a tendency towards the foreign element. It is good to have balance in team building. The element of locality in a group is important.”

Regarding the fact that many Greek teams have foreign sports managers and whether this plays a role in the fact that they take foreign footballers:



“I disagree, the direction is given by the ownership and it hires the people it considers capable to carry out a football plan. So if the direction comes from above and the main axes are these, the person or executives who will be invited to organize the plan must follow the basic principles that have been given.

The Euro 2004 team was a group of 23 kids who brought this result. Greek football suffers in many parts. There is no single philosophy on what kind of football we will play. Here is Arji Burji and Lula. There is talent and at some point young footballers will fall for the wrong people and some of those with special talent will survive. Then it is how much the Greek teams will trust the new kids. In the 90s and 2000s there was a balance in the Greek element. This year I watched AEK, Aris, Panathinaikos and the Greeks can be measured on the fingers of one hand”.

Regarding the transfer of Kourbelis to Trabzonspor:



“It is another link that shows that there is no trust in the Greek element and that bothers me. I went to England and saw how they respect the English footballer, call it chauvinism, we went the other way and it has an impact on football. And the Greek sports fan has a different bond when his team is with several Greek footballers”.

If cases of Greek players like Ioannidis, Konstantinos, Koulierakis can pull the factors in this direction:



“That will happen when the players get the right supplies to cope with the pressure from the clubs. If you build the process it will be easier, you have to build first. This year in PAOK was something different, it shows a willingness to take players from the academy. At one point it seemed that he would claim the championship but he lost games to guys like Dandas, Koulierakis, but here there is no tolerance for mistakes. In other countries, not only like England and Italy but also in countries with a population close to Greece, it exists. The development of Koulierakis and Konstantelias is good, but there is pressure on PAOK because they did not achieve their goals. There must be management and faith in the plan.”

For Mars:



“There was diversity in terms of roster balance and coach changes. Mars lacked consistency in performance pieces. You could see that it could be imposed on anyone and on the other hand there could be a collapse.”