All the different inspirations of Almeida in positions and faces

Since the end of April last year, now that he knew about AEK and was in the process of agreeing with it, Matias Almeida began to “read” the yellow-black list to make decisions about people, positions and regulations.

The truth is that he has “experimented” a lot, using several of the team’s players in positions that – barring exceptions – haven’t played much in their careers. Let’s take a closer look:

Ehsan Hajisafi: Used as the main left stopper in the first two official games. A decision the coach made after examining friendlies after being satisfied with the reaction of the 32-year-old Iranian.

Lázaros Rota: Tried as a stopper on the right in a back three, but didn’t react well enough, but that position was ‘closed’ with the signing of Domagoi Vida. He also didn’t manage to convince the coach, not even as a winger for the entire right wing.

North in Amrabad: Almeida had long considered his move to the right wing, believing he could meet the needs of the entire squad, so he insisted he stayed. However, the Moroccan’s presence at the official matches didn’t live up to the manager’s expectations.

Mijat Gacinovic: He was tested similarly in that role, with a better answer than anyone who passed that test. However, that is not his position and it is considered a waste to use him in such a role, regardless of whether he looks the most compatible in it.

Levi Garcia: Uncharted territory for the Trinidad and Tobago winger. He initially showed great weakness in the demands of the winger, while now he’s trying to adapt as an area forward, something he’s not very familiar with either, regardless of having the appropriate moves, physique and attributes.

Damian Szymanski: For a long time – during preparation – Almeida insisted on using him in the role of central stopper, but apparently he was not satisfied with the Pole’s adaptation to him, from the moment he chose Giorgos Tzavellas for the position.

Steven Zuber: A few isolated moments in his career – no more than 15 games in a string of +400 official games – the Swiss midfielder had played as a left midfielder. He is now permanently active in this role and while it is not his forte, he still manages to be decent and correct on a regular basis.

Petro’s mandalas: In all the years at AEK we have seen him play almost everywhere from center to front, most recently he was active as a second striker near Araucho. He didn’t show anything special in the first two competitive games, while in this one against Volos there was a half-time substitution.

Milan Mohammedi: Like Hadjisafi, tried as a left stopper in a back three in preparation. Neither in that role nor as a winger could he convince Almeida to take a starting position. Today he is regarded as Chuber’s “backup”.

Mario Mitai: He’s a thing of the past for AEK now, but during the pre-season Almeida looked at whether he could get something from him as a central midfielder or as a second defensive midfielder.