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The penalty kick missed by Berbatov, the helplessness of Igor Tudor and Thessaloniki’s football spectacle

19 October 2015 / 11:10:30  GRReporter
3906 reads

Maria S. Topalova

    The derby in Thessaloniki between the Iraklis and PAOK teams finished with a 3:3 draw, and the match will be remembered for the penalty kick missed by Dimitar Barbatov, the helplessness of coach Igor Tudor to make a team of the players he has and for the empty stands due to the absence of PAOK fans. The match was undoubtedly spectacular, not only because of the number of goals scored but mostly due to the dynamic balance of power that constantly changed. Overall, the impression was that Iraklis managed to impose its style of playing whereas PAOK can regret that it failed to win more than one point due to the draw.


  "It was an intense game with a lot of single fights. It was a pity that we could not keep our advantage in the result. I think the equalizing goal was a violation against our goalkeeper. But now we have to think about the next match, as I told my teammates," Dimitar Berbatov said after the match. He appeared on the field at the beginning of the match but playing a new role in midfield. "I like playing like today, getting out of "my area" and having an overall look at the match. I like passing to the faster players," Mitko added.
    Although he was in midfield, Berbatov still scored one of the goals for his team in the 65th minute. The Greek media describe him as the "fatal player" in the match because of the penalty kick he missed in the 90th minute, which could have decided the match in favour of PAOK. "We deserved victory but it is better to leave with one point than without any point at all. Our team is young, such things happen, we had no luck, but it is over now and we are looking forward to the next match," the Bulgarian football star summarised.


   Coach Igor Tudor was apparently unhappy with the match and the result, and received much criticism from the media and his own fans. Once again, PAOK did not look like a team on the field but as a group of players, each of whom was playing for himself. "It was logical for Berbatov to take the penalty kick, he has scored a lot of penalty goals in his career. It was logical that he assumed responsibility and took the penalty kick," said Tudor, not hiding his disappointment with the poor performance of the Bulgarian player.
    sentragoal.gr also hints at the poor playing on the part of Berbatov stating that, "The Bulgarian, who was invisible on the field until then, pulled the chestnuts out of the fire in the 65th minute after something like a shot by Klaus and scored his second goal for the season,''. Skai TV also notes the penalty kick missed by Berbatov, which was actually PAOK’s missed chance to win. According to the newspaper Kathimerini, the evening presented a spectacular football match, rich in goals and Berbatov became the fatal PAOK player because of the missed penalty kick.


   gazetta.gr reports that the Bulgarian player left the field limping and that he has a lower leg injury. Today, the medical staff of the team will examine him in detail and we will know what exactly has happened. The online edition however calms fans saying that it is probably not a serious injury.
    Some media claim that Dimitar Berbatov did not hide his annoyance with the inaccurate passes from his teammates on the field and addressed angry remarks to them. Asked about the situation in the team, the Bulgarian football star replied, "I do not think that something is happening. There are many matches, we have many young players and we are learning from our mistakes. We are playing as a team, looking towards the future. There is no reason to think much."
    The next match of PAOK will be with Russian Krasnodar for the Europa League, it will be played at 10:00 pm on Thursday, 22 October, at Tumba stadium.

Tags: Dimitar BerbatovPAOKIraklisIgor TudorThessaloniki derbyGreek football championship
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