And so, the premiere for the 2022-23 Betsson Super League 2 comes tomorrow Friday 04.11 for PAOK B at 15:15 with the first test in Veria. The game will be broadcast live by ERT 3.

The goal is stability over the course of the season, as a continuation of the same goals set by the younger age groups of the PAOK Academy. It is none other than introducing young players to men’s professional football, training and educating them so that they are ready for the next step, as well as of course offering matches to those fringe players who are not getting playing time in the first team. Faithful to its educational philosophy and guaranteed by the successful «knowhow» of the PAOK Academy, PAOK expects to provide its young players with the safest transition stage, so that they can develop further, having, moreover, a competent and experienced technical team at its disposal.

After all, PAOK’s first team already boasts the likes of young players who have become men such as Marios Tsaousis, Konstantinos Koulierakis, and Vassilis Gordeziani, all of whom were key members of last year’s PAOK B team (we mention only these three from «our little ones» since their peers already belonged to the first team squad from last season).

The talent, the quality, and the variety therefore, are given also in the season that starts. What is sought and built by the experienced PAOK B technical team is stability, dynamism, intellectual football development, and the acquisition of experience through a league such as the Super League 2.

It goes without saying that PAOK B, the Under-19 side – obviously also the first team – function to a large extent as communicating containers. Either from the point of view of the football players participating in the training sessions, or participating in some matches.

Finally, the season opener

After many delays, trials and tribulations, the championship ended up with 30 teams, in two groups of 15. Regarding the division of the B teams, last year’s draw showed that in the 2022-23 season, Panathinaikos B will compete in the A group.

PAOK B will therefore compete against AEL, Almopos Aridaias, Anagennisi Karditsa, Apollon Larissa, Apollon Pontou, Veria, Diagoras, Iraklis Larissa, Thesprotos, Makedonikos, Niki Volos, POT Herakles, Panathinaikos B and Panserraikos.

PAOK B’s first match is away in Veria, on Friday 04.11 at 15:15 (ERT 3).

Group B is made up from: Kallithea, Episkopi, AEK B, Aegaleo, Apollon Smyrni, Ilioupoli, Kifissia, Olympiacos B, Ierapetra, PAO Ruf, Herodotus, Kalamata, Panachaiki, Proodeftiki and Chania.

PAOK B have their own training center, the renovated Lolas sports complex in Souroti, while their home matches will be played at Makedonikos Stadium, which this season will be shared with Makedonikos, who were promoted.

It should be noted that PAOK B, like the second teams of Olympiakos, Panathinaikos and AEK, will have the obligation to have five Greek players in their starting lineups. Accordingly, there will be a limit of four foreigners (non-EU) in the eleven. There is no age restriction and of course anyone from the first team roster can participate in PAOK B matches.

One of the changes in this year’s Betsson Super League 2, moreover, is that the two champions will be promoted directly, while there is also thought of a third team that will claim promotion, probably through a play-off. The bottom four of each group will be relegated.

Months of preparation

From July, when the group assembled, to November 6 – which finally became November 4 – a period of three months passed. Enough time to potentially cause saturation…  Hence the technical team faced the long preparation period with a schedule of training and matches, based on the league start date of 11.09 as originally decided. Therefore, the training sessions covered a seven-week cycle (started on 26.07) and upon its completion the team entered competitive cycles through friendly matches.

PAOK B played 13 friendly games, essentially one league round. He started August during the preparation in Volakas playing with Doxa Volakas (6-0) and Pandaramaikos (3-0), continued in Thessaloniki with Kampaniakos (8-0), went to Panserraikos (1-1), welcomed Veria (5-1), then Panserraikos (2-2) and Macedonian (1-1). This was followed by the away friendly in Kastoria (0-2), the home defeat by Almopos Aridaias (1-2), the 1-1 in Pierikos, the 2-1 victory in Niki Volos, the 7-0 against Chaniotis and the defeat (3-1) by Makedonikos.

The profile of PAOK B

The «old guard» remains (Zisis Chatzistravos, Achilleas Salamouras, Anastasios Meletidis, Alexandros Apostolopoulos, Kyriakos Giaxis, Dimitris Panidis, Ismaila Ouedraogo, Odysseas Spyridis, Vladimir Brandonits, Vasilis Grosdis, Panagiotis Panagiotou, Ioannis Manolioudis, Dimitris Tsopouroglou, Alexandros Gourdelouzidis Tsioptsis, Giorgos Koulouris and Lambros Smyrlis, the last two both born in 2004 and made some appearances last season), while many more younger ones are added.

It should be emphasized that Balomenos, Talichmanidis, Marovic, Panagiotou, and Gordeziani also belong to the first team squad. Others are, of course, Marios Tsaousis, Konstantinos Koulierakis, and finally Vassilis Gordeziani. Nika Ninua is now also considered a member of PAOK B.

From the Under-19’s, Vassilis Kitsakis, Titos Koutentakis, Argyrios Darelas (2003) and Dimitris Monastirlis, Eleftherios Tasiouras, Angelos Zilos, Victor Rumiantsev, Zisis Tsikos, Nikolaos Spyrakos, Ermis Selimai (2004) were promoted. We also have two «Benjamins» on the roster this year. Dimitris Kottas was born in 2005 and Stefanos Tzimas in 2006.

An addition is the Italian Raul Moricelli, while the Saudis Badar Ahmed and Almouayad Al Mane (Ahmad is currently eligible to participate) are also added to the team, in the context of PAOK’s cooperation with the Ministry of Sports of Saudi Arabia and inclusion in the program ‘Saudi Scholarship for Developing Football Talents (SSDFT)’.

It should also be noted that Andre Ricardo and Nicolas Quagliata also competed for PAOK B in the pre-season friendlies.

Goalkeepers: Ivo Marovics, Dimitrios Monastirlis, Alexandros Tsioptsis, Konstantinos Balomenos, Christos Talichmanidis

Defenders: Alexandros Apostolopoulos, Bader Ahmad, Raoul Moricelli, Eleftherios Tassiouras, Ermis Selimai, Panagiotis Panagiotou, Vasilios Kitsakis, Dimitris Kottas, Angelos Zilos, Ioannis Manolioudis

Midfielders: Dimitrios Tsopouroglou, Titos Koutentakis, Kyriakos Giaxis, Zisis Hatjistravos, Anastasios Meletidis, Achilleas Salamouras, Ismaila Ouedraogo, Victor Rumiantsev, Argyrios Darelas, Vasilios Grosdis, Zisis Tsikos, Georgios Koulouris, Nika Ninua

Forwards: Dimitrios Panidis, Vasilios Gordeziani, Odysseas Spyridis, Nikolaos Spyrakos, Lambros Smyrlis, Stefanos Tzimas, Vladimir Brandonits

Technical team: Ioannis Thomaidis, Pablo Garcia, Miroslav Schnautsner, Theoharis Komsis, Vasilios Petropoulos, Ioannis Ambatzidis, Dimitrios Petrakis, Benjamin Garcia

Medical team: Argyrios Karavelis, Stavros Terzanidis, Evangelos Vassiliadis

Team Manager: Konstantinos Iosifidis

Minder: Vasilios Papadopoulos