 |
 |
 |
| Friday, 26 June 2009 15:57 |
Vieirinha keen to impress PAOK fans ahead of permanent Greece moveMidfielder reveals Santos talks Portuguese under-21 international Vieirinha says he hopes to show the PAOK fans what he can do next season, as he prepares to make his loan move from FC Porto permanent.The 23-year-old spent last season at the Toumba Stadium on a one-year deal from the Portuguese champions and, although suffering with a serious injury, managed to do enough to impress PAOK manager Fernando Santos. As a result, reports in Greece suggest that only fine details remain to be ironed out before Vieirinha is confirmed as a PAOK player on a full-time basis. For his part, the Guimaraes-born midfielder is happy to be staying in Thessaloniki. “I’ve already said to (director) Mr Vryzas that I would like to stay with PAOK. I’ve seen from the newspapers that other teams are interested in me, but PAOK has the first say. I want to stay in PAOK , not only because of the great time I’ve had last year , but because I know that PAOK has a plan that I want to be a part of. “I’ve spoken to Mr. Santos. He called me to see what my plans were. He told me that I am in his plans for the starting 11 (for next year) and I answered that I want to stay as well. Everything will be clear next week, but our intentions are quite clear: I want to stay and PAOK want me to stay. “The fans can expect more from me from next year. I want to make them happy, something that I couldn’t do last year due to my injury. It’s more than obvious that I would have the last say, as to which team I want to continue my career with. I want to stay at PAOK and I don’t think that there will be any issues for me going elsewhere”. Related article: Porto’s Vieirinha wants to stay at PAOK Related article: Fernando Santos admits surprise at excellent season |
i.e Porto, Benfica, Sporting and Braga. PAOK is a top side and they continue to grow alot. They came 2nd in Greece last season and they will do some damage in europe this season. Vieirinha will be a star thanks to this club. mark my words
The soccer fans in Greece are great and passionate from what I have seen. Greece and Portuguese league sare above the middle and below the top leagues in Europe. One can agrue who has a better league but to say there are no great teams is a bit unfair, there is one club that is above all teams from Portugal and Greece and that is FC Porto. FC Porto is a great club and competes well in Europe, look at the record over 25 years and 2 CL chamionships. That matches some of the other great clubs in Europe ManU, Barcelona, etc.
A young Portuguese player going to Greece is not always a bad sign. Bruno Alves got early training in Greece. I think the pace and intensity of the Greek game is good for some of the soft Portugeuse players. Also, this guy Vierinha has been a bust -- showed a lot of promise in U-17 but has gone down hill. Not sure if the will revive his career ... he seems to be overmatched from what I see but that doesn't mean in all cases a Portugese play going to Greece is a bad thing.
If you ever have the chance to go to a PAOK game, even though they are no Barca or AC Milan, the games have an amazing atmosphere. I was treated to one when I went on a trip to Greece, and it was the most amazing football experience of my life.
These are the things that keep a lot of players at clubs when they should leave, plus all that extra money he'll be making can't hurt...