Hopes for a Naples miracle

Panionios faces Napoli tonight and must win to qualify for UEFA Cup

Panionios keeper Dario Kresic stretches in front of Napoli’s Christian Maggio during the first game between the two sides at Nea Smyrni, which ended 1-0 in the Italians’ favor.

A depleted Panionios soccer squad left Athens yesterday morning for Naples, Italy, aiming to overturn Napoli’s advantage tonight and qualify for the UEFA Cup.

Trailing 1-0 after the first leg of the Intertoto Cup third-round tie, Panionios has a difficult task on its collective hands against a team that has always had noisy support at its San Paolo Stadium.

Coach Ewald Lienen has been deprived of several key players, including Giorgos Barkoglou, Lourenco da Silva, Pavel Plaskonny, Sekou Berthe and Fousseni Diawara, who are injured, as well as Grigoris Makos and Manolis Skoufalis, who have been suspended. And Rafik Djebbour is not part of the manager’s plans.

The squad trained yesterday evening in Naples and Lienen is planning to begin a two-pronged attack with Lambros Choutos and Michael Delura. Defender Pavel Drsek is also expected to start for Panionios. The Greek club will need to have much more luck than in the first game between the two teams last Sunday at Nea Smyrni, when the hosts struck the cross bar twice in the first half.

The winner of the tie goes directly to the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup, whose draw is scheduled for Friday, August 1. “We dream of winning the UEFA Cup,” stated Napoli skipper Paolo Cannavaro. The game kicks off at 10 p.m. (Greek time) and will be screened live on Nova Sports 1.