Panathinaikos - OFI 3-1

Another enjoyable game for Panathinaikos fans! While the team didn't look like they were firing on all cylinders they managed a very comfortable win to go with some other side-benefits.



Positives:

• Three goals (again)
• Well organized team work that allows everyone to contribute
• Several good chances to score a couple more
• Leto scored again (leads the scorers table with 11 goals so far)
• Simao had a monster of a game both defensively and creatively in midfield.
• Zeka scored for the second game in a row
• Very few chances allowed for OFI (only one serious one, and one long shot - that's it)
• Cisse's smile in the stands!
• Excellent ball possession with quick, crisp passes
• Full use of the entire field, from side to side and from back to front
• The game ended with three "Academy" youths under twenty in the lineup (Kapino, Mavrias, Fourlanos - who made his debut as a second DM next to Vitolo after Simao was subbed)
• Five points ahead of Olympiakos (who lost in Tripoli today), and one point ahead of AEK (who has played two games more than PAO).
• Good officiating once again. It could be me, but it seems like the referees play without much pressure to help anyone in the league this season (wiretapping and a couple of jail terms worked it seems).
• Standing ovation for Simao during his substitution
• Fun, and new dance after Cleyton's goal

Not so positive:

• Conceded a goal once again
• A little lax on man-marking in midfield
• The dance celebration needs a lot of work. The players were not very well synchronized

One of the biggest stories of the year is how Panathinaikos scores with ease.

Reporters keep mentioning how the team scores often on the first or second chance they get in a game. But they miss the point. (Added Monday: a few hours after writing this, I watched with amusement the NovaSports sports show with Karpetopoulo and the other guy, and they mentioned that same fact but seemed dumbfounded as to why Panathinaikos scores early and with fewer chances. They also revealed what you have read in this blog last week: Panathinaikos plays a 4-4-2!. Maybe they need to be reading my blog :)

The point is that Ferreira has transformed the team this year by working hard to establish "high percentage" plays all over the field.

The team moves forward by utilizing high percentage passing ( the constant movement off the ball helps), and the ball doesn't just get lobbed forward or in the box unless there is a good chance for a high percentage shot on goal.

Take a look at the first goal against OFI. Leto takes the ball on the right wing and has a couple of players in front of him. He dribbles and at one point he has a good chance to take a crack at a cross in the box. But he doesn't cross. He looks up and sees only one green shirt in the penalty area. He knows that that would be a "low percentage" chance for a score, and that his cross might even be blocked by the two defenders in front. He turned around with the ball to buy enough time for Zeka to run to the near post and gave the ball to Katsourani who was wide open.

Thus: a dificult cross into the box for one recipient double-marked player became a high-percentage cross by an open player, aiming at two green shirts in the box. The result: open cross - unimpeded header, and a better chance at a rebound. Score by Zeka!

That's the real change this year. It's really simple, and beautiful. The team passes the ball around with security, and avoids fancy low percentage plays that would allow the opponent to gain possession. The players move the ball from side to side to an open teammate until they are certain they can get the ball in the box for a high percentage shot or header. If they chance is not there, they just pull the ball back to midfield and try again. 

This way, Panathinaikos players keeps overwhelming possession on the pitch and patiently works the ball around until they find a weakness. This is exactly the picture of the game against OFI. The Cretan team parked ten players behind midfield and hoped Panathinaikos will get impatient. That never happened and the end result came naturally.

Another nice wrinkle to Panathinaikos' game this year is the sudden change of pace. The midfielders pass the ball around in little triangles and from side to side, seemingly content to slow down the game, but every once in a while when the chance is there, a quick vertical pass (more often from Katsourani and by Cleyton to a lesser extend) gets the blood flowing and the quick forwards wrecking havoc on the opponent's defense.

Ferreira is doing a great job this year, and so are the players who work hard and seem to have tons of fun out there. Their enthusiasm is contagious and it's fun watching the games. 

Simao was excellent once again as the sole DM, and I cannot say a bad word about anyone. I should mention the good game from Katsourani, Boumsong, Zeka (until he got tired), and Quincy with all the rest close behind them in performance.