Brignolis “Protection”, the main player Lodingin in Volos and the next step in Panathinaikos

Rightly or wrongly (mainly due to the exaggerations and all the nonsense that has been said and written lately), the defeat of Panathinaikos in Peristeri on Sunday evening (17/12) and the serious mistakes of Alberto Brignoli have attracted even harsher and greater criticism led pressure around the Italian goalkeeper’s face.

After all, the goalkeepers are the ones who mistakenly receive “fire” much more often, simply because their goal costs more than everyone else. And “Brinio’s” mistakes over the last month have piled up a lot. In the “Riazhon Park” of Rennes, in “Vikelidis” and now in Peristeri…

A contract that in fact requires the process of competition precaution and “protection” of the Italian, who looks more “tarnished” than anything else by the first “gela” in France that destroyed his psychology and his self-confidence. And with his next mistakes it got even worse and put even more stress on him, which he apparently can’t cope with for the time being.

And because everything, as everything shows, is already costing the team, he will sit on the bench for a while starting from the game on Wednesday (December 20th, 7:00 p.m.) against Volos at “Panthessalikos”. Not for “punishment”. Some may – in the general climate of madness that has prevailed for days – “translate” it this way. As a “punishment” and “corner parking”, sprinkled with some “…because it hasn’t been renewed yet“. But it’s not like that. It’s not like that at all…

It is not “punishment” but protection

The concrete step is taken primarily to protect Brignoli himself, but also to protect the team. So that he can “cleanse” his mind from the pressure and difficult “moon” he has entered. The Italian is not a “child”… Having already lived in Greece for two and a half years, he can listen very well to this pressure climate that has arisen and to what is being said and written on the right and left. On social media and elsewhere…

The most important thing is that he calms down and can regain his competitive and psychological balance through everyday training. Pop the lid of the pot off, release all the pressure and work to try to “return” to the data of the “normal” Brignoli.

It happened again in winter 2021/22

It’s not the first time something like this will happen. For those who forget, another difficult period passed in the Italian’s first year in Greece, the 2021/22 season. Perhaps not as “bad” in terms of image as it is currently, but with problematic performances in Panathinaikos’ three consecutive defeats against Astera Tripoli and (mainly) against OFI (3-2 in Heraklion) and PAOK (2-2 ). 1 in Toumba). He sat on the bench for five games, “cleared his head”, came back much fitter with the help of the technical team, got into the playoffs again that season and never came out again.

For Brignoli it seems necessary to “come back”. And at the end of the day, it is right and fair for both Yuri Lodygin and the overall balance in the team.

Speak more calmly

And during this time there will be more time and peace to take the next step in the famous contract question. With a general conversation with his agent and a subsequent round of negotiations to achieve the “Golden Ratio”.

For Panathinaikos, the core of the case has not changed. Of course he wants to keep “Brinio” with a fair and balanced contract and the mood that prevails from the “Cloverleaf” is to have scope for an agreement in this (new) discussion that will take place soon…