Getafe defender David Belenguer claimed in an interview today that Getafe's main goal will be to score a goal for the away portion of the tie. He had this to say about Ferrer:

Belenguer admitted that Getafe had not seen AEK play a lot, but he is familiar with former Barça coach Llorenç Serra Ferrer and Rivaldo.

"I have not seen any complete games, but we have all been shown highlights," he continued. "Now they are doing so well, but they are still aiming for the title.

"The coach is well known and we know that Serra Ferrer's teams all work hard and play with great intensity.

It is impossible to anticipate how Ferrer's absence will impact this match. Obviously, Getafe were coming into this game anticipating Ferrer's tactics; now they face the unknown. For their part, AEK has been shaky this year, losing more games since January 1, 2008 than they have won. Losing their gaffer two days before such an important match could further destabilize a team that was already looking rudderless. On the other hand, rumors have been swirling that the players were tired of Ferrer and viewed him as out of touch. I don't find this hard to believe. Anyone who, like me, has watched all of AEK's game this year can't help but notice how lost and unmotivated our guys have looked over the past two months. Something is troubling our team, so perhaps letting Ferrer go is the fix we needed. I guess we'll find out tomorrow.

In other Super League news, Olympiacos and Apollon Kalamaria continue to fight it out over Kalamaria's disputed 1-0 win over the Piraeus giants two weeks ago.

In Greek National Team news, UEFA General Secretary David Taylor, in an interview about the upcoming Euro 2008 tournament, had some nice words about the Greek team:

I think you have just shown they can. What I remember about the 2004 final is the fantastic support the Greek football team had in the stadium. The supporters of Greece that day were singing and chanting from beginning to end, and it was tremendous the support they gave their team. Now maybe there's something there for these countries when they're not maybe the favourites for the tournament. If the supporters really get behind their team, the whole nation gets behind the team, it's remarkable what can be achieved. Now we have some of the strongest teams perhaps linked into one group in the EURO tournament, so maybe there's an opportunity there for the less-fancied teams to come through which always makes the tournament interesting in my book.

These are strange days indeed.  Two unexpected losses in a row, then a rumor of a friendly against Team Beckham, and now our gaffer gets sacked two days before a crucial UEFA Cup fixture.

Ferrer is now gone but certainly not forgotten.  He's been out of touch this season, but let's never forget what he gave us last year with those precious first Champions League wins.  AEK became a global team, largely thanks to him.

Η Hasbro διοργανώνει ψηφοφορία για να βγάλει τις πόλεις που θα αποτελούν τα τετραγωνάκια στη νέα παγκόσμια έκδοση της monopoly. Κλασικό παιχνίδι, όλοι το αγαπάμε, αλλά εγώ είμαι ο καλύτερος!!

Λοιπόν μπορούμε να ψηφίσουμε εδώ για την Αθήνα, την ώρα που ψήφισα ήταν στη θέση νούμερο 10 και οι 20 πρώτες θα μπούνε. Ψηφίστε και εσείς να δούμε σε ποια γειτονιά θα μας βάλουν, υποψιάζομαι θα έιμαστε απο τις πιο φτηνές hehe, αν και απότι λένε τα ρεπορτάζ για το κόστος ζωής θα πρεπε να μαστε στις τελευταίες :P hehe

ΥΓ. Ο κύριος Monopoly δεν μοιάζει με τον Φερέρ της ΑΕΚ ? Πολλοί το λένε :P