Panathinaikos: Return to the desks in winter

Nobody expected Panathinaikos OPAP to face CSKA Moscow – let alone a discussion about the win. And that’s a general conclusion based on what we’ve seen from both teams this year. So, if you add (almost) two weeks of inactivity due to the coronavirus to this equation, you can see that Dimitris Priftis knew from the start that he was in a deck-tagged game.

As simple as it sounds like an attitude/excuse, it remains absolutely true and essential. Panathinaikos OPAP could not come up with anything good on Wednesday night, December 12 at the OAKA against a team that needed a convincing performance more than anything to rebuild their psychology.

So the side effects of the coronavirus were obvious. After all, it only took ten minutes to get on the ground of OAKA and demonstrate the difference… the phase the two adversaries were in – beyond the quality and the quantity.

Start over

When a team goes that long without training, the coach starts with the basics. From the alphabet. Again. As he does, for example, in the first days of preparation. Not to teach its players systems, but to put their bodies and minds back into a learning process so everyone can get where they want to be.

As simple as it sounds, that’s the reality. Unless someone volunteers to come up with a nice template.

It had everything to do with managing the situation and the technical staff’s effort to understand the level of (un)readiness of each player in the rotation. With a consistent effort to find the ideal schedule to get everyone back on the same wavelength. At least on a rhythm level.

At the same time, of course, there is no grace period for Panathinaikos OPAP. She was exhausted from the first weeks of the season. Dimitris Priftis and his players are called upon to save time and approach the level required by the season and the organization they play in, to try and crush nights like this against CSKA Moscow.

To gather what he can…

It’s obvious that Panathinaikos OPAP won’t suddenly find the rhythm and intensity he lacked in the game against CSKA Moscow on Friday night, January 14 against Maccabi Tel Aviv. The training that is inserted in such a short time between two games, after all, only includes a few basic parts, mainly related to tactics and the simulation of the opponent’s competitive characteristics.

Opera and means that it would be absurd to expect a much better image than that of the game with Dimitris Itoudis’ team. It might sound pessimistic (or… black) as a scenario, but the most important thing for Dimitris Priftis and his players is to collect everything they can to face Maccabi Tel Aviv.

It will not be easy. But just what is this year for this Panathinaikos OPAP?