ΑΕΚ

Return to Nea Philadelphia

If someone wanted to describe AEK’s last season, they could simply sum it up by saying the following: Murphy’s Law. Everything that can go wrong, will go wrong. The Union was eliminated from Europe and then also missed out on Europe due to their poor run in the league.

The 2022-23 season is of historical significance for the club as AEK will finally play in their new stadium, and the people at the club have tried to create a team which will be worthy of the expectations, and put the Yellow and Blacks in a position to fight for titles once more. A team made up of many new faces, with a new technical staff, a new technical director and changes in all areas.

Almeida at the helm

The latest, new era finds AEK with the Argentinian Matias Almeida in the dugout. After stints with River Plate, Banfield, Sivas Guadalajara and the San Jose Earthquakes, Almeida has crossed the Atlantic for his first European coaching adventure. He is coming to try and change the fate of the Union. He has shown that he will use a formation with a back three, and it remains to be seen if he manages to achieve what he did in America and Mexico.

Transfer moves with substance

Simoes, Tankovic, Vranjies, Svarnas, Shakhov, Krychoviak, and Jevtic all left the club, leaving several significant gaps that the management made sure to fill with players of substance. Athanasiadis returned from his loan at Sheriff and will be the main option between the posts, Zuber was signed on a permanent transfer from Eintracht, Vida and Mukudi came to strengthen the center of defense, while Jonsson, Pineda and Gacinovic will completely transform the Union’s midfield.

Aris

Dreaming of a trophy

Last season was one of the best in the team’s modern history. Third place marked a return to Europe, but the quest for a return to trophies continues as the target of the Greek Cup was lost relatively early with a quarter-final exit at the hands of Lamia.

This summer, the Yellow and Blacks went… all in, spent large sums on transfers and hope that they will make an immediate return of their investments with an even better season.

Against Maccabi Tel Aviv, Aris showed that they have quality, but were not yet ready to step up and challenge for a place in the Conference League groups.

A season to show his worth for Burgos

After arriving last February, the club’s head coach German Burgos found a well-drilled team and he didn’t have room to change much. This summer he started building his own Aris and now it remains to be seen if he manages to lead the team to success and show himself worthy of the expectations, in what is practically his first top job.

A flurry of changes

Kamara, Ndiaye, Sasha, Bertoglio, Sundgren, Ganea, Matilla, Gama, Denis, Delizisis, Benalouane, Sakic, Duarde, Alli and Lopez all left the team and nine new players came in their places. Aris acquired players with significant resumes, such as Gervinho, Gray and Manu Garcia, and they strengthened in all areas with Sheikh, Mazikou, Odubajo, Dabo, Piersman and Camacho. What is required now is for the team to acquire chemistry and start to show all of their quality on the pitch.

Asteras Tripolis

New era, same philosophy

It was a rollercoaster ride for Asteras last season. They started slowly, picked up speed in the middle of the season, entered the challenge for European tickets, but ran out of steam just before the end and failed to win a place in the Play Offs. The summer saw the end of an era for Milan Rastavac, who left after a three-year stint in charge, but the team has kept its core and looks strengthened.

With Metaxas at the helm

PAS Giannina were essentially the team that denied Asteras entry to the Play Offs? And who was their coach? None other than Herakles Metaxas. And he was the man that Asteras selected to replace Rastavac.

The 55-year-old Greek technician showed his credentials last year with PAS, in his first job as a head coach, and he now wants to continue his upward trajectory with the Tripoli club.

A maintained and strengthened core

For yet another summer, Asteras moved quietly, methodically and purposefully in their transfer dealings. They managed to keep the core of last year’s squad and brought in Bertoglio, Bartolo, Stanko, and Gardavsky from the Greek market for reinforcements, while they also made quite a coup with the transfer of Ervin Dzukanovic to Arcadia. The Bosnian has had a great career in Italy, Belgium and Turkey, and the club’s management are hedging their bets on his experience.

Atromitos

Aiming for a return to the upper echelons

From dreams of Europe, Atromitos landed abruptly in the middle of the battle to avoid relegation. They saved themselves though, and now the Peristeri club has started timidly to look up again without defining its goals after last year’s lesson.

Coleman the reformer continues

Chris Coleman came last January in order to get the Peristeriotes out of the quagmire, and he did an excellent job, leading the team to a comfortable stay in the end. The experienced Welshman earned his spot for the new season as well, and he wants to continue to lead Atromitos to the upper echelons of the standings. Now he will have at his disposal a team that he has created and worked with himself, and his ambitions will be high.

Sound additions

A total of 12 players left last season’s squad, with Atromitos having significant income from the sales of Koulouris and Charisis to LASK and Sivaspor respectively. Robain, De Bock, Gonzalez, Kuen, Kjartansson and Suarez all came in to fill the gaps, while several youngsters from the club’s Under-19 side were promoted to the senior squad.

Lamia

Looking to avoid last year’s misadventures

For the first time since their promotion to the Super League, the club were in serious danger of relegation, but still managed to save the season in the play-out with Veria, while also reaching the semi-finals of the Greek Cup.

Lamia enter the new season with the aim of steering clear of the relegation battle more easily and repeating, if possible, their dreamy journey in the cup. There have been many changes, although the philosophy is the same. Everything, as always however, will be decided on the pitch.

With the same recipe

Gianluca Festa was the man who led Lamia to the end of the season and earned his place for this season as well. Knowing the Greek football landscape after his terms at Larissa and Apollon Smyrnis, he is a coach who loves competitive discipline, and it is certain that he will create a hard and compact team which will battle in a determined mood every week.

Extreme makeover

In the summer, Festa lost some important players who were central to last season, such as Arabuli and Tyronne. Transfer activity has been brisk with 12 arrivals, players who will bring youthful enthusiasm and others who will provide much needed experience. In the first category belong Kornezos and Babis, who were acquired from AEK B, but also Tsiloulis and Slivkas, while on the other hand the experienced Vassilakakis, Benitez, Giakoumakis, De Vincenti, Goranov, Boaki and Marmentini have the know how to lead the team to their final goal.

Levadiakos

Here and aiming to stay

After three years and an adventurous journey to Super League 2 and back, in the midst of a pandemic, Levadiakos celebrated their return to the big league, and they now aim to build a lengthy streak at the top level of Greek football. The Voeotians strengthened their squad with quality as well as quantity, and are ready for battle.

Tausianis remains with the reins

After the success of promotion, Yiannis Tausianis received a vote of confidence from the administration and is preparing to lead Levadiakos in the Super League as well. He may not have much experience from the top flight, but he is a skilled technician who has been through several clubs and knows well what his team needs to do to achieve their goal.

Transfers mainly from abroad

Levadiakos acquired Dentakis from Apollon Smyrnis and Voutsaz from Ergotelis, and then turned to the foreign market for… reinforcements. Poland’s Gregos Sandomierski arrived from Gornik Zaprice to strengthen the backline, along with Brazilian Paulo Vinicius from APOEL. Grenoble’s Belmont and Wisla’s Michal Skvarka provide options in the center, and Brazilian Regis from Hata Club and the Congolese Lua Lua are the attacking options, with Tausianis overseeing the squad reshaping activities.

Ionikos

Last year’s surprise package look to continue in kind

Ionikos were undoubtedly the pleasant surprise of last season. In their  first season back in the top division, Ionikos won the hearts of Greece’s footballing-loving public with the football they played. The Nikaia club comfortably achieved their initial goal of staying up and eventually managed to finish in seventh place, winning the Play Outs’ mini-championship.

A winning team does not change

Dimitris Spanos will sit in the dugout for the third year in a row. The Aigiotis technician was the… architect of the last two highly successful seasons and enjoys the trust of the team’s management. His goal is to establish his team at the top table of Greek football and to establish himself as a top coach.

Significant reinforcement

The core of the team has remained largely unchanged. The departures of Dalcio and Lenis left the most significant gaps, with the club’s management bringing in 11 new players. Mendoza and Antunes from Panetolikos, Ioannidis from Apollon Smyrnis, Servilakis and Kokkinis from Ergotelis, Ioannidis and Perlesi from AO Trikala, and Eleftheriadis from Lamia were the moves in the Greek market, while Machach, Milo and Ofosu arrived from abroad. Also, the on-off saga with Aosman had a happy ending, he left for Antana Demirspor, but just a month later he returned to Nikaia again.

Volos

Aiming to step up

The goal of establishing themselves in the top flight seems to have been achieved for the team from Magnesia. The next step up is now required. Volos made a significant facelift over the summer, retaining key players, and they look set to challenge for a place in the top six of the 2022-23 Super League.

The… first blood

Oswald Tanchot was the management’s choice for the bench, but the French coach is already a thing of the past, becoming the first coach to be sacked before the start of the league season. It remains to be seen who his replacement will be, with the return of Kostas Bratsos looking like the most likely scenario.

Radical changes

Volos kept some key players such as Kleiman, Tsokanis, Paulo Fernandez, Van Fert and Barrientos, and changed almost all of the rest of the squad. A total of 16 players arrived in Magnesia. They are the following: Mezquida from Colorado, Deletic from AEK, Matija and Aslanidis from Aris, Lymberakis and Weiss from OFI, Tachatos and Ouedraogo from PAOK (the latter a loanee), Luna from Cartagena, Fernandes from Corneja, Escoval from Anorthosis, Pirinen from Trencin, Tselios from AO Xanthi, and Avgerinos from Atettitos Spaton. Youth, talent and experience make up an interesting squad.

Olympiacos

A strange summer

In June, all the signs pointed to Olympiacos following the same recipe. Pedro Martins in the dugout, a few quality additions in key positions, preparation and European battles against the background of a place in the Champions League groups. Two months later and nothing is the same. Martins was blamed for the European elimination by Maccabi, and indeed with the heavy 4-0 defeat at the «Georgios Karaiskakis», he left the Piraeus club which bookended a big chapter. Olympiacos have now entered the Corberan era, made several additions to the squad, has secured a place in the group stage of a European tournament, but are not a convincing proposition competitively as yet, and it is certain that it will take time for the team to gel. However, the goals do not change and Olympiacos will fight for all of the domestic titles again this year.

Return to the Spanish model

The 39-year-old Carlos Corberan was chosen for the head coach position. For the last two years, Corberan was at Huddersfield with whom he reached the Championship Play Off final where they were defeated by Nottingham Forest. Before that, he has moved through various positions in teams in Spain and England. The announcement of his hiring did not cause much excitement, but the club’s management are hedging their bets on his enthusiasm and appetite for work.

Extreme squad makeover

Onyekuru and Tiquinho were the most significant departures. On the other hand, seven players came to strengthen in all areas. Aboubakar Kamara was Piraeus’ most expensive move for the attack, while Zinckernagel, Pipa, Vrsaliko, In-Beom and Leidner and the loanee from Marseille De La Fuente have joined.

OFI

Trust the process. Again.

OFI has been one of the most interesting projects of Greek football in recent years. A team made up of football connoisseurs whose aim is to play good football, improve players and fight for entry into the Play Offs. Last season they did not succeed, finishing in eighth place, but they have high hopes  that this year they will go one step further, operating with the same principles.

With Nioplias at the helm

OFI will continue with Nikos Nioplias in the dugout this season as well. The experienced technician is convinced that he can ideally serve the philosophy of the Cretan team and carry out the team’s masterplan. Last season he succeeded to a large extent and now he and his team want to make the next leap and get a European ticket.

Business: Renewal

The Cretans’ summer was a particularly active one. Initially, a group of players who had essentially closed their cycle in Heraklion left the club, with players such as Weiss, De Guzman, Korovesis, Waterman, and Davis Epasi moving on.

Sonny Stephens has come in to fill the gap between the posts, the defense has been strengthened with the experienced and quality of Larsson, Thoraninsson and Yohou, Diousse from St Etienne brings energy to central midfield, while at the top of the attack they have acquired Nouha Dicko, player with significant experiences from Turkey, England and Holland and a player with an appetite for goals.

Panathinaikos

Aiming to keep up the progress

Last season, Panathinaikos achieved all of their goals. They won the Greek Cup, earned a spot in Europe and most of all built a team that brought the fans back on their side. This season started with high expectations, but elimination from Europe by Slavia Prague quickly put a dampener on things, although the ambitions of everyone in the Green camp remain hte same. The team has strengthened and will strengthen even more until the transfer window finale, and the ambition is there to get back to the top.

Ivan’s way

The man responsible for the club’s footballing progress is none other than Ivan Jovanovic. The Serbian coach created a very strong and remarkable team and hopes that with this year’s moves in the transfer market, Panathinaikos will be able to claim a spot in the top four. The 60-year-old coach is the absolute boss in the football department, enjoys the trust of the entire organisation and wants to lead the team to even more titles and successes.

He is the man to whom most of the competitive «resurrection» of the Greens has been credited. Within a year, Jovanovic has managed to win over everyone inside and outside the team, to create a strong unit, with a competitive identity, and he now hopes that he will be able to present a Panathinaikos that will fight for the league title.

In the post-austerity era

Panathinaikos, with the transfers it has made so far and the money it has spent, has demonstrated that they want to move up a gear. The Greens bought the Slovenian striker, Andraj Sporar for 3.5 million euros from Sporting Lisbon, while they brought in Slovenian international Benjamin Verbic from Dynamo Kyiv. They also covered the gap of the sale of Velez with the Icelandic international defender, Hordur Magnusson. Yuri Lodingin, Christy Ganea and Adam Cherin, as well as Jonas Toro, are also investments for the club’s future

Panetolikos

Aiming to keep progressing

Good football, the promotion of new players, and a comfortable stay in the division gave a positive sign last season for Panetolikos. The team’s form deteriorated somewhat in the Play Outs, but the fact remains that the Agrinio club seems to be on the rise.

This was also the reason why in the summer Paeitolikos chose not to make many changes and they will hope that they will find a good balance early on and fight for entry to the Play Offs.

Continuing with Anastasiou

Giannis Anastasiou was the man who transformed Panetolikos, gave him a competitive identity and for that he won his place at the helm for the new season as well. The experienced technician brought many positive elements to the team from his experiences as a player and coach abroad, and this year he wants to raise it to another level.

A little is sometimes the best recipe

There were very few additions to the Panetolikos squad this summer. Vergos, Mendoza, Vrgoc, Pereira, Melissas, Barbosa and Lui left, while Stergiakis was acquired from Blackburn, Chatzitheodoridis from Panathinaikos, Xenitidis from Olympiakos, while the likes of Sengelia, Mladen and Joao Pedro came from the foreign market to reinforce in all areas.

PAS Giannina

A different team

If you take a look at the faces that make up this year’s PAS Giannina, you will hardly find much that reminds you of last year’s highly successful team that reached sixth place in the standings and impressed with its competitive performances. The Epirotes proceeded with a radical restructuring and it will be one of the big question marks in the first months of the season.

Betting on Staikos

Iraklis Metaxas left PAS for Asteras Tripolis and the management decided to trust Thanasis Staikos, Metaxas’ right-hand man last season. A choice that has a clear risk for the Gianniotes, as Staikos lacks experience, but he is ready to work hard and leave his mark on the team.

A new page

Perea, Kargas, Saliakas, Lodingin, Piersman, Stanko, Gardavski, Snyder, Dominguez, Brenner, Triadis, Siontis. It could be a starting XI from last season, but in reality it is the list of the most significant departures from Ioannina. PAS kept Eramouspe, Conte, Pantelakis and Karachalios in their squad, along with some young players, and made 14 additions.

Soria, Prior, Rosero, Biblao, Fofana, Pamlidis, Kiakos, Stamatelopoulos, Rienstra and Tsavos came as free agents, Tzimas and Bagalianis were acquired on loan from PAOK and Olympiacos respectively, while Jean-Baptiste Leo returned to PAS to strengthen the attack.