The rare ability to not put the best things above football

THE Matias Almeida In his presence in Greece so far, he stands out not only for his coaching ideas and the football he presents, but also for his ability to rally around the organizations that select him.

How he took over AEK and how he transformed it very quickly into an image and a mentality is something that has gained recognition for him. What’s even more amazing is that his advantage isn’t spent on things that make his job harder by looking for excuses.

The Union is fighting almost the whole of the current season without the footballer who was their absolute battering ram last year. The only two games in the league – along with a third appearance against Kifisia that lasted just a few minutes – are as if he hadn’t played at all.

And if Orbelin Pineda was the most valuable among many leading actors to win the double, then that Levi García was the catalyst.

Almeida has gone to training three times this year, knowing full well that he won’t have Garcia for a long time. The first time he probably didn’t pay much attention, the second time he would have believed that these things were happening, the third time nothing, he wasn’t told anything that he didn’t expect.

In fact, this is not an easy case for the coach. He is the footballer he ruined his clothes for last year to be launched as a striker. They always asked him if the team needed someone else – or someone else – but he replied: “just Levi’‘. Garcia replied 18 goals.

Not once did he say he missed her

The subtitle doesn’t tell the whole truth, but it has meaning. Almeida said it once, but it was last July 14th when Mr Garcia integrated into the preparation. “I missed him a lot, he is very important to us“, were the coach’s words to show how much he appreciates him, how much he relies on him.

And since then, Tzimoudia! Today was the third time he returned from injury and trained strongly after a lost first round in which he never gave his name as an excuse.

Over the summer as Lance pushed and pushed her AEK To award him two tens of millions of euros, Almeida was proud of the footballer and his achievements without taking sides.

If the team gave him away, it would be a completely normal development. Staying with her didn’t make him believe that everything would work out. In his football AlmeidaThe rule is “you never know”.

It’s also true that no one is above sport, no matter how great or necessary it is. Not just because of the team, but also because of football itself, unless someone tells him about Maradona, where he will actually reconsider.

However, at no point in the last four months, during which he essentially learned to prepare AEK without Garcia, did he let anyone on the team think he was worried. An erasing with the pen on the pad with his drawings and you move on.

Of course he knows that about him…

He will also present his work in more detail. But again, he never tried to justify himself by saying that without the player who gave every Greek defense nightmares last year, it is not possible to show on the field what he teaches in training.

If he did, he would not expect others to take on the great challenge of wearing his shoes. Almeida wishes for a little more luck on his side, knowing that he has been struggling for so long to cover a great loss with alchemy and sometimes half-measures.

Him Levi strong, Ponce delves deeper into the meaning, Pizarro confirms the rightness of his choice and Fernandes comes back well and gives the duel that extra bit of imagination that no one else in the team has.

Consider it: The Almeida he has that AEK He sits second in Greece by one point and faces a big European challenge next Thursday, having missed a lot in his plans for the week.

But he also has four trump cards to look forward to that will help him achieve even better results down the road. Time, luck, but above all football itself can gradually reward him for his patience and respect for him.