A scoreless draw (0-0) was the final result of Olympiacos opening friendly in Germany against powerful and clearly better prepared club of Stuttgart. Our side left a good impression, with obvious signs of improvement and registered many chances to earn the win.
Mr Míchel fielded the following 11 for Olympiacos: Balazs Megyeri was the starting goalie. Salino took on the right in defense, Cholevas the left, with Avraam Papadopoulos and Siovas being the stoppers. Maniatis and Fejsa were placed right after them, and Dominguez was granted more freedom in the midfield. The wings were covered by Fetfatzidis on the right, Fuster on the left, while Mitroglou was the centre forward.
Temperatures were already high in “Geberit Arena” early enough. Olympiacos stepped in and tried to put the other side under pressure. Opening minutes were played in a cautious manner by both sides. The ball was being played mainly in the midfield and Stuttgart got the upper, yet not threatening, hand. After the first 10 minutes of that display, Olympiacos decided to speed it up a bit and bring some balance to the match.
So, first half belonged to Olympiacos; our side, while Stuttgart performed better, felt no actual threat. After bringing things to a balance, our side showed its teeth and failed to convert for a hair!
Second half kicked off with 3 subs for our side. Although Olympiacos was not that aggressive at the beginning, they were quick to bring balance to the game and promptly stepped on the gas. In 65’, Michel changed almost all players in the field, by bringing Gianniotis, Lykogiannis, Medjani (his debut with Olympaicos!), Samaris, Ibagaza, De Vincenti, Olaitan and Diamantakos in. Olympiacos kept delivering an impressive ball circulation. In spite of the number of subs, our side still dominated the pitch and outperformed Stuttgart also during the second half.
The match ended with Olympiacos being acknowledged for a compact display, of many qualities and obvious signs of improvement. Our side had double the scoring chances of the Germans, while earning a new player, since debutant Medjani was really strong and full of energy.
The work done done until now and that to be done in the coming period will make the “red-and-whites” nothing but better. Our side’s next friedly will be staged in two days time, against Hoffenheim.
