The captain of the Bulgarian national team and winger of PAOK Thessaloniki Kiril Despodov is the favorite for player of the season in his club, but also in the entire Greek Super League, writes journalist Dimitris Drakos from the flash.gr website.
Despodov has the most serious competition in the face of the 27-year-old Argentine forward Ezequiel Ponce, who, like the Bulgarian, is a rookie in Greece, but has scored 13 goals in 25 games.
Despodov and PAOK with a defeat in a key match for the title
His team slipped to 3rd place
AEK and PAOK are two of the four contenders for the Super League title, but at the same time they also possess some of the most talented goalscorers this season. These are Ezequiel Ponce and Kiril Despodov, who have achieved something that does not happen often. And that makes them prime contenders for the Player of the Year award.
Despodov, who also arrived this summer at the Double-headed Eagle from the North in his first year in Greece, surprised the fans by scoring 10 goals in the championship, which proved to be very important for PAOK.
Ponce and Despodov are the only players who have scored more than ten goals in this year’s championship without taking even one penalty. It is something extremely memorable as it last happened to current AEK player Sergio Araujo in the 2021/22 season. In a bad year for the “yellow and black”, he scored 12 goals, also without being given a single penalty kick.
A former Greek international ranked Despodov among the best wings in Greece
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Ezekiel Ponce and Kiril Despodov are two players who will keep Greek fans busy until the end of the season, and their goals will be decisive in the derbies to come, the text also says.
But there is one very important clarification – the player of the season in Greece is very likely to be from the new champions of the country, so even if one of the two ends up with a greater goal asset, the lack of a title may prevent him from taking the individual prize .
Lazio and West Ham-watched striker Fotis Ioannidis of Panathinaikos and team-mate Anastasios Bakasetas are also shortlisted for the year-end award.
The 7th round play-off group matches for the Greek championship will be played today, with PAOK away at last Lamia and this is a serious chance to close the gap to the top. The two consecutive matches without a win dropped the team from Thessaloniki to 3rd place with 67 points, 5 from AEK and 4 from Panathinaikos.
PAOK and Despodov drew after two goals conceded
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The match in Lamia is from 5:00 p.m., and the Bulgarian striker will start as the starter. It is known that Yannis Konstandelias will not take part in the match, as he is suffering from a virus and has therefore been removed from the group.
At 7:30 p.m., Aris Thessaloniki welcomes 4th Olympiakos to its “Cleantis Vikelidis” stadium, and in Athens, from 8:00 p.m., AEK hosts the super-derby with Panathinaikos at “Agia Sofia”.
