Cyprus-Forum.com

by **DT.** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 3:38 pm

Apoel doesn't need 1 more world class player other than Almeida. It plays football in the Cyprus Football League and its team is designed to be able to play in Deryneia as well as the Bernabeu. 1 world class striker is required and 2 solid defensive/organisational midfielders that can marathon like Ethiopians (Morais and Pinto). The rest is up to a great coach, an excellent goalkeeper which APOEL has 2 and the rest of the teams in Cyprus do not bother with and a defense that can coordinate.

The wings which is where most of APOEL's goals come from is simply adequate for the standards of the Champions League. Charalambides and Mandouka are competent wingers that can score. They've been drilled in training however that they will only get one chance at goal and to take it, whether they're crossing or scoring.

by **AEKTZIS** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 9:14 pm

I would not go as far as saying Ailton is world class. He is excellent, and leads the line for APOEL with exemplary standard. We saw that Trickovski cannot do this to the same level - even though I really like Trickovski as a winger.

I like your analysis of our team though. Morais - Pinto are key to our team. Pardo has been MORE THAN IMPRESSIVE for me this season when called upon. I was so surprised to see him perform so well.

I also think Jahic is complete gargabe. One of his bonuses is that he is a logical good solution for the bench. He can play anywhere in defense, and also as a defensive midfielder or central midfielder. But honestly I do not rate him at all. He was awful at AEK and at APOEL he is not much better. That being said, his pass to slice open the defense against Zenit in the first game at GSP, where he created the chance for our first goal........was amazing. For a guy who has NO PASSING ABILITY and constantly gives the ball away, I was impressed.

Now that we know who our possible opponents are in the round of 16, I think we actually have a very decent chance of progressing. We may still be underdogs, but I fancy our chance of progressing, unless we face AC Milan. I am really looking forward to see if we will make a decent few purchases in January to strengthen the squad. Morais said he wants to stay at APOEL and sign a new contract which is excellent news, he is a key player.

by **Get Real!** » Thu Dec 08, 2011 10:37 pm

If APOEL hasn't signed up or loaned players to take them through the rest of the tournament, then I'm afraid there won't be one for them! Expect dual defeats and sent packing because even Basel is ranked 37th! That’s about 30 places higher than APOEL’s 65ish!