Zivkovic: Yes, these foreigners are a blessing for Greek football Blog – Vassilis Samprakos

Vassilis Samprakos writes about a leader on the field, who is a very good example for young Greek footballers – and not just PAOK.

I imagine PAOK didn’t just wait for Andrija Zivkovic to start the new season to decide if it was “for him”. He also did not wait to qualify for the group stage in the Conference League to judge whether he could “afford” it financially. If he is waiting for anything, from what I understand, it is to find out whether or not the 27-year-old Serbian international winger is determined to take on the responsibilities of the role PAOK have asked him to play: that of a captain.

Throughout the summer, I heard a lot about Zivkovic’s role in the dressing room, his willingness to be used as an ambassador for PAOK in dealing with footballers who were transfer targets – and generally about his willingness to support the role he understood PAOK would give him. All of these things, which cannot be seen with the naked eye because they do not happen on the pitch during matches, are more important to the club. But it is not enough in itself when it comes to the player who is one of the highest paid players. Zivkovic, who had heard PAOK telling him since the end of the previous season that they wanted to extend his contract and place him in their leading group of footballers, was motivated by this challenge. And so far it copes.

The international winger is, in my opinion, the symbolic figure of PAOK’s progress towards the group stage of the Conference League. Because he had a winning mentality in every match, and he showed with his competitive spirit that he gave the signal to his teammates to follow him and to the opponents that he was not afraid of anything and played like a winner, with the match against Beitar in Jerusalem as an example.

The numbers show that Živkovic is off to an impressive start (0.56 goals and 0.22 assists per game, xGoals: 0.32, 54.5% accuracy in executions, 46.8% efficiency in duels, 3 possessions in the opponent’s half, etc.). But it’s not just about individual performance. They are combined with a winning mentality and a competitive leader’s attitude. At the very right time, when a group of experienced footballers left and PAOK were essentially left with new kids and lacking character in this attempt to qualify for the Conference League groups, Šefković took matters into his own hands.

Thanks to his mentality and performance, today Zivkovic is a great example for PAOK’s younger Greek footballers. And when you have Greek youngsters in your first and second team, you need these examples. The impact of footballers with the quality and work ethic of the Serbian striker is crucial.

Fortunately for Greek football, today there are good examples in all the major Greek teams. It is fortunate that the young Greek footballers who belong to these clubs today live close by, but they are also monitored and influenced by young players in the wider Greek football ecosystem. Yes, such “foreigners” are a blessing for Greek football.