Anastasiou: “If there was a Greek coach and he did this to Olympiakos, he would have been hanged in Pasalimani”

In the new changes to Olympic mentioned the Yannis Anastasiouwho was hosted on the show “Trial at OPEN”.

The Greek coach commented on the developments in the “red and whites”, the change of coach in Panathinaikos, while he talked about the recent derby at Leoforos, but also the one coming between PAOK and AEK.

In detail what Yannis Anastasiou said:

On the changes at Olympiakos after the “divorce” with Pedro Alves: “Olympiacos was a model as a team in how the football department worked, scouting, how it brought in players and coaches, the development it had as a club, the successes it had in Greece and Europe, it showed a steady course and had sales. In the last two years the ball has been lost. I don’t know what the plan is, who decides. With the flow that exists there, it seems that there will be developments and with the change of coach, I don’t think that the difference was seen in the game of Olympiakos in relation to Martinez, that the image of the team is what they expect. When every three or so you change players, coach and technical director, football logic is abolished. When you don’t know from the inside, you don’t know why certain things happen».

Regarding the change of coach at Panathinaikos: “There is always a risk when making a mid-season coaching change. But the one who makes such decisions is the one who will be justified or not. What the world and we coaches don’t understand is that they are businessmen and they think they have to make a decision. But for me it’s about how a team works, what’s the plan. In Greece we take Anastasiou because he has this philosophy and when you ask the club what his philosophy is to “button” and develop it, they say take the keys and do whatever you want. I think this is not pleasant and functional for a team and especially for the top ones who want to achieve goals by winning titles and distinguishing themselves in Europe. There must be a plan and an operation and many of us see that it is what either the coach or the technical director will want. When you win they are all successful and when you lose they are useless. In Greece there are four strong teams and the championship is won by one. The other three must find a way to get better and make up for the season’s competitive failure. Last year PAOK was not good but they developed some players and this year they are seeing the results».

If Olympiacos is out of contention for the title: “You can never write Olympiakos off since they still have 5+10 games in the playoffs. What is troubling is his image. It doesn’t seem like it can be reversed and made better. Not convincing competitively. At Leoforo he fielded two left-backs, both of whom he changed at half-time. Then the third left back came in, he started the second half with two forwards, the team was losing 1-0, then it became 2-0 and he took the one forward and put Podense on and Masouras would go as the second forward. I think if there was a Greek coach and he did this to Olympiakos what would they do to him? Would he have been hanged at Pasalimani? We discredit the Greek coach too much, we always think that the foreigner has a skill that the Greek does not have. I believe there are great Greek coaches for every team in Greece, but everyone wants their time. And the main thing is that you need a plan, without it you cannot succeed».

On the “alchemies” of Fatih Terim at Panathinaikos: “A coach came who didn’t know the team, we saw a lot of “alchemy”. Certainly there was a lack of players but again playing with the stopper centre-forward, Djurisic and Akaidin as a left winger and during the match Kotsiras from right back to become a midfielder. By convention, this can happen in a game, you have no changes, but if this continues, it is something we are not used to and I think that in football there must be football logic. But sometimes this is abolished with some choices made by the respective coaches. Maybe sometimes we overestimate ourselves or the team. It will definitely be decided at the end of the season, because many times we win one game and there’s double thunder and you lose the next game and there’s total obsolescence. There must be a logic, a progress, an evolution. With so many problems, Panathinaikos qualified with Olympiacos and with Atromitos without the options of its two main forwards, Ioannidis and Sporar, it beat Olympiacos in the Championship. The coach changed and there was an improvement. In Olympiakos, the previous coach left, the next one came and we didn’t see any improvement. It’s when you try to see some positive things to say that the change has succeeded».

If it is a chance for Panathinaikos to win the championship or is there still a long way to go: “He had a chance last year as well, and he has this year as well. PAOK is very strong, AEK now has one game a week. PAOK will also enter the European games, Panathinaikos has the Cup with PAOK. I think that these three groups have the first reason and they are very close, the differences are not huge. The league is competitive and you can’t underestimate Olympiakos either».

About Melissanidis saying to Livai Garcia that she will never sell him: “What I learned abroad is that every player has his price. I don’t think he means it and if there is a good offer, he is a businessman. At some point the player’s wish will come. Because if he plays in the Greek league, wins it 1-2 times with AEK and also plays in Europe and sees that from one point on he has no motivation to achieve anything else, he is at a good age and a good offer comes that will cover and the wants of the team and the footballer, I think it will be something normal, the team will also understand it. For me, every footballer has his own honor and when a right suggestion comes, it must go».

For the PAOK-AEK derby: “In general, as an image and duel Lucescu-Almeida had shown the dominance of AEK. AEK showed competitively that when it faced PAOK as an opponent, it found its buttons and took advantage of its weaknesses and the mistakes it made. Because I think PAOK has matured enough as a team, I think they have a smart coach who knows very well where they are and what they have to face and the way AEK plays, I think PAOK will be completely different in the game against AEK in terms of tactics. Lucescu was trying to impose his principles, with the build up from the back that AEK is a team that likes to press high at any cost. He paid for this in several games like last year with Koulierakis’ individual error, then in the playoffs with Karga’s red card too early. I think PAOK will be very different, at the moment they have self-confidence, they press well, they have psychology, they have patience, they have maturity. What I see in PAOK is that it gives few chances to its opponents, which is important for a team that wants to win the Championship, not to give the right to the opponent to threaten them, to be only one or two phases and those because of the individual quality of opponents. In the current situation, PAOK is doing well, but AEK is also coming back after its elimination from the Cup and Europe, it has no games, the players are coming back, the coach has options, he has a specific philosophy that had created several problems for PAOK. But my assessment is that it will be a completely different game for PAOK in terms of tactics because AEK’s approach will remain the same and the individual ability of the players will play a role but also which team will take advantage of the opponent’s mistakes».

If he sees a game with many goals: “Goals will be scored in the match, because AEK plays aggressively, PAOK is very good in attacking transition, both teams have quality players in attack. Defensively, I consider AEK more vulnerable in the sense that they play higher and their style of play is such that they play in an open field, they often take risks, they play one-on-one all over the field and with the quality that PAOK has in attack they will create problems. But AEK, with the quality they have in front of them, also has players who can create problems for PAOK, so I think both teams will score».

If the two teams play it more conservatively due to their standings: “Seeing Mr. Almeida’s philosophy during his 1.5 year presence in the Greek league, I don’t think he will change it. I think that PAOK won’t change either, they just have the Cup with Panathinaikos in Toumba, then Europe, they have a lot of games and everything is crucial. It is important what goals it has. I think they want all three, to go as far as possible in Europe and win the championship and the Cup. So I think that PAOK’s approach will be completely different from how it dealt with AEK in previous games».

If it costs PAOK the fact that they are in three competitions: “PAOK this year looks much more mature, much more serious, much more focused. I think the fact that the rotation has opened up a lot has helped a lot, all the players feel useful and important to the team. The victories are very important, PAOK does not give many chances to the opponent, this shows so far. But with AEK it is a completely different game, it will be very interesting and I think that the championship will not be decided either. But if PAOK wins, it will definitely be psychological as well as AEK if they win in Toumba. But the Championship has a long way to go, it is very interesting and that is pleasing for football fans».

If he owned a team he would staff it with foreigners or Greeks and if he wanted foreign or Greek referees: “For me it would be more important how I want to function as a team. And then I would try to find the right people who, for me, is a football manager, who will oversee the whole organizational chart of how the team works, responsibilities, responsibilities, roles. I believe in the Greek coaches, I think we need training and a direction because I think the ball is being lost somewhere. I would look to train Greek coaches so that in the long run I can put them in the team because you will take a team for a long time. And I would have Greek footballers as the core of the team and the choices of the foreigners would be targeted so that they would be players who make a difference and not equal or worse than the Greeks. For referees, I have said that the new generation of Greek referees is remarkable. And I think they are good. There is simply a prejudice in our country that when a Greek makes a mistake, he does it on purpose. The point is that the state and the competent authorities should allow you to make the mistake. You can’t make a mistake and think about the next time if you can drive around or if you or your family are in danger because you did it».