The Yellow & Blue takes on Panionios of Greece this Thursday night (19:45) at the Netanya Stadium in the third round of Europa League qualifying. Let’s find out from veteran journalist Sotiris Milios from SDNA and Hellas Football a little bit about Maccabi Tel Aviv’s opponent and what they will need to do to advance to the Playoff Round.
Panionios may currently play in Nea Smyrni, a suburb of Athens but that was after they had moved there as a result of the Greco-Turkish War explained Hellas Football, “Panionios is a great old club that was founded in the year 1890 in Smyrna which is today Izmir, playing there until 1922.”
The Club plays in the Nea Smyrna Stadium which seats 11,700 spectators and as in every summer some of their top players have departed for bigger clubs Milios commented, “Panionios lost their two best players in Spyros Risvanis and Emmanouil Siopis as they left for Olympiakos.”
However, there are still a number of solid veterans Milios continued, “Captain Panagiotis Korbos a defensive midfielder is the soul of the team and a tireless worker. Central defender Evangelos Ikonomou is the leader of the defense, while youngsters Giorgos Masouras and Lazaros Lamprou are very dangerous on counterattacks. Panionios has always been a team with very few foreign players and that helps them to build very strong links on the pitch.”
The absence of the two Iranian players for the match in Israel and potentially the contest in Greece will hurt Panionios Hellas Football said, “The two Iranian players Ehsan Hajsafi and Masoud Shoji are very good and while not much can be done if they don’t play, the fans want them to take part in the games.” Milios echoed the sentiments, “The absence of the two players is really painful especially since Masoud is the brains of the team.”
Milios continued on about the style of play that Maccabi can expect from the Greek outfit, “Panionios gives trouble to every team that plays proactive football. They make life difficult for the big clubs in Greece including Olympiakos, AEK, PAOK, Panathinaikos and last season they defeated each one them at least once! They are a very disciplined team behind the ball who like to go on counterattacks. Panionios is the example of a team made up of friends playing for each other. In essence a real family.”
The Club’s new Head Coach Michail Grigoriou replaced Vladan Milojevic who left to take over the reigns at Red Star Belgrade. Hellas Football spoke about the new boss at Panionios, “He coached Kerkyra last season which is also in Greece’s top flight division, but he doesn’t have a great track record. It was an interesting signing after Milojevic was poached by Red Star Belgrade.”
Milios also chimed in on the Club’s hire, “He one of the most promising young coaches but up until this year Milojevic was an expert at small clubs who were trying to avoid relegation. He had an unsuccessful short spell at Atromitos Athens and Panionios will be the biggest challenge of his career. The calm and easy going coach prefers 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 and his teams are always organized.”
As for expectations, Milios explained that they have already been a success story this season in Europe after finishing in 5th place last campaign, “A European ticket was an overachievement. Don’t forget that this is a club from a small suburb in Athens which 2-3 years ago couldn’t get a license to play due to huge debts. So every little step is a success. A qualification against Maccabi would be historic for them.”
Panionios Stats & Facts
- German striker Samed Yesil was signed by the then Liverpool coach Brendan Rodgers in 2012 and played in two league cup matches, but his career at the English outfit came off the rails numerous times due to injuries. After arriving at Panionios in January of 2017 he has already scored 3 goals in Europa Cup action this season.
- Panionios has faced three of the same European opponents as Maccabi; Dinamo Zagreb, Bordeaux and ND Gorica.
- The furthest Panionios has gone in Continental competition was in the 1998/99 Cup Winners Cup when they were eliminated by Lazio in the quaterfinals.
- Though Panionios hasn’t won a Greek League title, coming in 2nd in the 1950/51 and 1970/71 seasons, they have captured two Greek Cups in 1978/79 and 1997/98.
- The other titles won by Panionios include the now defunct Athens FCA Championship in 1950/51 and the 1970/81 Balkans Cup.
