Marked for Anastasios Georgiadis
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom14 May 2029
There is no worse way to lose a footballer. Giannis Sourdis has pre-agreed a move away, which means every appearance between now and June is made by a man the club can no longer sell, and somebody upstairs will be asked why the contract was allowed to get here.
Squad14 May 2029
Agustín Urzi in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Levadiakos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad14 May 2029
Words at Levadiakos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marios Vichos is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Squad14 May 2029
Nicolás Monje wants one last season at home
Every long career reaches the week the last one is thought about. He would like it to be where he started, and Levadiakos know now that the thought has arrived.
The dugout14 May 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Anastasios Georgiadis, and the manager let it.
The dugout14 May 2029
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Pavlos Tsaramanidis trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Boardroom7 May 2029
What was said behind closed doors has now been said in front of a microphone. Everybody at Levadiakos can do the arithmetic, including the man it is aimed at.
Boardroom7 May 2029
The Levadiakos board call everybody in
Nothing has been announced and everybody understands what it means. A board that summons the whole football department on a Tuesday morning is a board that has stopped believing the problem will fix itself.
Market7 May 2029
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Levadiakos, and it is not being withdrawn.
The dugout7 May 2029
“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” Levadiakos have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Market7 May 2029
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Giannis Sourdis will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Levadiakos the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Squad7 May 2029
Agustín Urzi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad7 May 2029
A row about effort at Levadiakos
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marios Vichos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad7 May 2029
17 days, the scan says, and scans are kinder than reality. The fixtures in that window have just become somebody else’s job.
Squad7 May 2029
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Levadiakos know it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
Squad19 Mar 2029
Agustín Urzi in a row with a teammate
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Levadiakos this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad19 Mar 2029
A row about effort at Levadiakos
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marios Vichos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad19 Mar 2029
“I have given this everything, but my family is not here and neither am I, not really.” A footballer can be coached out of bad form. Nobody has ever been coached out of this, and Levadiakos know it.
From our football correspondent
Uneasy
The dugout12 Mar 2029
“I remember the meeting. I remember exactly what was promised in it.” Levadiakos may remember it differently, which is precisely the problem.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Agustín Urzi was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad12 Mar 2029
A row about effort at Levadiakos
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Marios Vichos was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout12 Mar 2029
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Thanasis Georgiadis, and the manager let it.
Market12 Mar 2029
It has been denied twice and printed three times, which is the usual arithmetic. Until Martin Georgiev signs something — a contract at Levadiakos or anywhere else — this column belongs to him.
Squad12 Mar 2029
Paulin Puel wants to know why he earns less
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Levadiakos have no good answer.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Player ratings25 Dec 2028
Successful dribbles: 35. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Match23 Dec 2028
0‑3 to AEL Larisa, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Anastasios Georgiadis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Squad25 Dec 2028
Words at Levadiakos training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Marios Vichos is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Market25 Dec 2028
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Anastasios Alexiou has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market25 Dec 2028
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Georgios Torosidis has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Market25 Dec 2028
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Pavlos Vrousai has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Market25 Dec 2028
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Leonidas Androutsos is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The dugout25 Dec 2028
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.