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Motherwell Vs Panathinaikos


Al B
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Safe to say the excitement, anticipation and "what if's..." are well underway in my mind... :lol:

 

 

Nae what ifs! We're going through (while getting humped by County in between mind <_ win at home defeat away.>

 

With one of our two goals will be last minute. :whistling:

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Even if we get utterly horsed 5-1 on Tuesday, please let us open the scoring.

 

In recent years I can pinpoint a few goals I've went absolutely fucking tonto in celebration for (far more than others) - Fitzpatrick against Hearts springs instantly to mind for instance, and obviously there's a few for Scotland too such as Faddy in Paris or Caldwell in the home France game.

 

However, opening the scoring against Panathinaikos in a Champions League qualifier at Fir Park could quite possibly be the end of me.

 

 

 

Got to agree with that!

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Nae what ifs! We're going through (while getting humped by County in between mind <_ win at home defeat away.>

 

With one of our two goals will be last minute. :whistling:

I've had a recurring dream last few nights of the second leg, us trailing 1-0 having won 1-0 at Fir Park, and defending for our lives in the last minute.A header out of our box reaches Humphrey and him running the length of the park and scoring...

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I've had a recurring dream last few nights of the second leg, us trailing 1-0 having won 1-0 at Fir Park, and defending for our lives in the last minute.A header out of our box reaches Humphrey and him running the length of the park and scoring...

 

Think I'd burst celebrating :D

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the scenes after hateley's free kick in denmark were unbelievable. taps aff and a good 10 minutes of jumping about, you would have think we had won the tournament rather than defeated 2-1.

 

if we can top that on this euro campaign we'll have a memory for life.

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From The Herald.........

 

Certainly not their football clubs. At Panathinaikos they look at their Champions League qualifying tie against Motherwell and Euro signs appear in their eyes. The Athens club are mired in debt and the much-quoted £10m or so available to clubs who can reach the group stage of Europe's leading competition is seen as the easiest solution to all their money problems. Now all they need to do is get past Stuart McCall's side over two legs in the third qualifying round, and then the likes of Udinese, Lille or Malaga in the round beyond that, and they will be rolling in it.

 

The only problem with their fiendish masterplan, however, is that Panathinaikos aren't the side they once were. The club have been Super League champions only once in the past eight years and approach the new season with something of an ageing, depleted squad. Sotiris Ninis, the much-feted Greek international playmaker, is off to Parma, Damien Plessis, once of Liverpool, has signed for Arles in France, while the Brazilian Cleyton has joined Kayserispor in Turkey. Several others have been released as the club can no longer afford to pay their wages, while Argentinian forward Sebastian Leto is out until the end of the year after undergoing knee surgery. In their place have come a raft of mostly young, inexperienced players.

 

There is little expectation in Greece that Panathinaikos will launch a serious threat to Olympiakos' domestic dominance in the season ahead meaning achieving success in Europe takes on extra significance. There is certainly no shortage of experienced figures to call upon. At the heart of their team are the veteran Greek internationalists Giorgios Karagounis, Kostas Katsouranis and Loukas Vyntra, while Jean-Alain Boumsong, the former Rangers defender, is entering his third season with the Athens club. Zeca, the Portuguese player, pulls the strings in midfield, while Ibrahim Sissoko, a recent loan arrival from Wolfsburg, is expected to bolster their forward line, likely to be led by Toche, the burly Spanish striker.

 

They were dancing in the streets of Athens when the Champions League draw paired them with Motherwell. Most Greeks' knowledge of Scottish football barely stretches beyond Celtic and Rangers meaning it was unlikely any other side would be seen as a credible threat. Boumsong, though, who spent six months at Ibrox before being transferred to Newcastle United for £8m, warned against treating Motherwell as pushovers.

 

"It will be two very difficult matches for us," he said. "I can assure our fans that the Scots are very passionate and will create problems for us. They are warriors but we have a good team and we can get a good result in the first game."

 

Georgios Samaras gave a similar warning. The Celtic striker – whose father is a coach with Panathinaikos' youth academy – knows first-hand the threat Motherwell could pose. "If Panathinaikos underestimate Motherwell then they are going to pay," he said. "Motherwell is a very tough opponent."

 

Samaras also singled out the players he feels would be key for Motherwell. "Panathinaikos should pay attention to Chris Humphrey and Adam Cummins," he said. "Cummins is just a young defender but he is a very good player. He was man of the match in their recent friendly against Everton."

 

Manager Jesualdo Ferreira plans on studying footage of that game – Steven Hammell's testimonial – ahead of the first leg at Fir Park on Tuesday. The former Porto manager, however, already has a fair idea of what to expect. "They are a typical British team. They play passionately, don't give up at any point of the game and," he said.

 

There have been major changes behind the scenes at the Athens club, too, with consortium Panathanaikkos Alliance last week taking charge. The consortium has already raised around £1.5m but is still some way short of what is needed to eradicate the club's sizeable debt. Champions League riches, therefore, would be very welcome.

 

 

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Georgios Samaras gave a similar warning. The Celtic striker – whose father is a coach with Panathinaikos' youth academy – knows first-hand the threat Motherwell could pose. "If Panathinaikos underestimate Motherwell then they are going to pay," he said. "Motherwell is a very tough opponent."

 

Samaras also singled out the players he feels would be key for Motherwell. "Panathinaikos should pay attention to Chris Humphrey and Adam Cummins," he said. "Cummins is just a young defender but he is a very good player. He was man of the match in their recent friendly against Everton."

 

Is Samaras working for us?

 

:rolleyes:

 

Much as I like the early signs from Cummins mind.:nod:

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1343463827[/url]' post='352531']

Is Samaras working for us?

 

:rolleyes:

 

Much as I like the early signs from Cummins mind.:nod:

 

Must be an olympiakos fan evilgrin.gif Pana should worry about higgy up front, murphy and ojamaa on the wings, hammel and hateley at the back and mostly keef in mid field!!!

Motherwell army!!! Up the 'Well thumbup.gif

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Been having a wee look on the Panathinaikos "Green Web" forum (albeit using Google translator)!

 

There doesn't seem to be much chat about us as a team so I assume they all expect a cooshty wee journey into the next round.

 

This is really the only post actually about Motherwell, and is from (what appears to be) a Greek Celtic & Panathinaikos fan living in Glasgow:

 

Look, in general, Motherwell has never been anything special, but last year made ​​several good years. TRELI not play any ball but quite tight and he whole attention to the win. Basically, the strength is mainly in their headquarters since last year and had lost two games at Celtic Park very easily (4-0 and 3-0). Sure pazei CL qualifier demoted because the Rangers ...

 

The fans, however, is quite OK (no relation to the bastards of the Rangers) and have good relationships with those of Celtic. Fellow Scots I was told that even if the colors go with Panathinaikos in their own platforms (even when I was looking ticket) I had no problem playing.

 

I do not have much more to say. Cheers!

 

:lol:

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