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Probably even the biggest fans of Vilnius "Žalgiris" did not expect that their beloved team would convincingly win 3-1 in the third round of the UEFA Intertoto Cup away match against Atromitos FC, who finished sixth in the Greek league. The Vilnius fans themselves probably did not expect that in the important match they would face young players who are just starting their careers.
Greek team - "green" youth
The starting lineup chosen by the Atromitos FC coach for the Intertoto matches is truly surprising. Comparing the lineup of the Athens team in the match with "Žalgiris" and in the last Greek league match at the end of May against PAOK, which "Atromitos" won 4-2.
With "Žalgiris"
1 Alexandros Theodorakopolous (born on July 17, 1984, 21 years old) 15 Georgios Bakos (born on July 20, 1986, 18 years old) 14 Ioannis Tabakis (born on May 26, 1987, 18 years old) 17 Alexandros Biris (born on October 30, 1986, 19 years old) 3 Miltiades Gougoulakis (born on February 1, 1977, 28 years old) 24 Efstratios Michelis (born on November 2, 1982, 22 years old) 31 Sotirios Bethanis (born on June 15, 1987, 18 years old) 13 Prokopios Saganas (born on February 3, 1984, 21 years old) 27 Georgios Tsirogiannis (born on June 2, 1983, 22 years old) 26 Spiridon Kontopoulos (born on August 23, 1985, 19 years old)
Age average: 18.7
With PAOK:
Mahamadou Sidibe (born on August 10, 1978, 26 years old) Konstantinos Papoutsis (born on March 31, 1979, 26 years old) Daniel Edusei (born on September 2, 1980, 24 years old) Georgios Alexopoulos (born on February 7, 1977, 28 years old) Emmanouel Psomas (born on November 11, 1978, 26 years old) Sotirios Tsatsos (born on December 15, 1978, 26 years old) Dimosthenis Manousakis (born on January 19, 1981, 24 years old) Nikolaos Nikolopoulos (born on August 10, 1977, 27 years old) Anastasios Agritis (born on April 16, 1981, 24 years old) Georgios Fotakis (born on October 29, 1981, 23 years old) Georgios Barkoglou (born on July 8, 1978, 27 years old)
Age average: 25.5
From these data, we can clearly understand that the Atromitos FC coach Eleftherios Pistolis allowed the main team players to rest and included not even substitutes, but young players who recently represented the youth team in various competitions.
This is truly surprising, as "Žalgiris" prepared seriously for the match and allowed all the main experienced players onto the field, who did not disappoint and secured an easy victory. It is doubtful that the Greek club underestimated the Vilnius team, who successfully passed the first two stages of the cup, defeating Lisburn Distillery (Northern Ireland) and Daugavpils Dinaburg (Latvia).
Reports have already appeared on various football enthusiasts forums that Atromitos FC simply threw the match, placing bets through their country's betting companies for a "Žalgiris" victory in order to enrich themselves.
Betting companies are cautious
One of my colleagues, not at home during the match, called and asked how "Žalgiris" was doing. Hearing the result 3-1, he was deeply surprised and told me to double-check if the result was really like that. I have no doubt that many other football enthusiasts reacted similarly upon hearing the result.
There are suspicions. Betting companies in Greece behaved unusually. Although Atromitos FC was undoubtedly considered the favorite, half an hour before the match, most of them removed these matches from their offer. Usually, such actions are taken when people bet large sums of money on the victory of the match's underdog.
Another interesting fact is that on the Atromitos FC website before the match, there were statements from the club leaders saying that the team's goals remain the same and they seek to advance to the next stage. After such a "fiasco" at home, it is hardly likely that this goal will be achieved. We can only wish "Žalgiris" success in the second match in Vilnius, which will take place this Saturday. It is interesting to see which players "Atromitos" will bring this time...
