By all accounts, this year’s Super League 1 is the best league in years, and it seems that interest in the final winner will not abate until the last minute of the final playoff day.

Four teams have entered an additional ten-match process chasing the championship trophy, some more, some less chances, with Panathinaikos, AEK and Olympiacos extending their distance from PAOK after last Wednesday’s results, but even now no one can predict the evolution of the race. as there are still seven races left until the final.

The three teams that set the goal of winning the championship from the start, Panathinaikos, AEK and PAOK, have a common denominator in terms of the most basic components of the very good competitive image they have. shown this year, whether or not they manage to finally lift the cup, while Olympiacos is an exception that can confirm the rule set by their opponents.

That denominator is none other than their coaches, who are the protagonists this season for their teams, grabbing the attention of their players on several occasions.

There is a question in football that can hardly be answered objectively: is a good coach one who makes his players look good on the field, or vice versa?

The truth is somewhere in the middle, as history has proven that sometimes a group of very good players cannot find their way without the right mentor, and on the other hand, there were times when a charismatic coach was enough to bring the team to light. with a mediocre squad and through success to bring their players to the surface.

In Panathinaikos, AEK and PAOK, there are three people on the bench who, no matter what happens in the final, have every reason to feel successful.

Ivan Jovanovic, Matias Almeida and Razvan Lucescu have in any case been judged positively for what they have done so far. Like them or not, it can hardly be denied that all three are good at what they were called to, each with their own approach. A title in a final, league or cup will no doubt be the reward for great effort – the opposite will certainly not be their undoing.

The eldest in this “triad” is the Romanian coach of PAOK. This is the second time he is on Dikefalo’s bench as he returned in the summer of 2021. In his first spell (2017–19), he led the Thessaloniki team to a double in 2019, with PAOK unbeaten in the league. Cup 2018.

Razvan Lucescu is mentored by his father, Mircea, one of Romania’s leading coaches, and he has certainly inherited many elements from his presence on the bench.

He may not be a fan of spectacular football that emphasizes the defensive function, but he is a coach who does not disdain to “knead” for his team and players.

The statements he makes from time to time about the “establishment of Athens” are not accidental, as is his behavior on the bench in away matches, with which he often seeks to attract the attention of the opposite court.

His goal is to always aim arrows at him so that his players don’t get hurt. He does not hesitate to take risks and create opportunities for young footballers, as happened this year with Constantelias and Coulierakis, but his passion and spontaneity often cloud his mind during a match and lead to bad decisions.

The title will be a reward for great efforts, but on the contrary, it will clearly not disrupt the dynamics of the three techniques.

This year, he took on a team with a clearly smaller budget than in previous years, and despite a poor start and an early European relegation, he managed to keep it in the “bay” of the championship, while already booking a place for himself in the final. Cup, like a rematch with Lamia at Toumba, after winning 5-1 in the first leg is a formal procedure.

Whatever happens to the end, Lucescu has already laid the groundwork for next season at PAOK, actually relying on the next generation of Greeks who come from the academies of Dikefalos.

Ivan Jovanovic has been on the bench for Panathinaikos for the second year. The Serbian is perhaps the most beloved coach of a big team, even among the opponent’s supporters, which he deserves with his general behavior on the bench, as well as his always reserved stance, even in moments of tension.

Jovanovic took a team on a smaller budget than other contenders and led them to the Cup last year, the Shamrocks’ first title since the 2013-14 season.

Knowing better than anyone else how much he can stretch his legs under… the blanket, he relies mainly on the defensive function, which is also reflected in the numbers: Panathinaikos scored the fewest goals of the other three teams (39), but it also received the fewest (12).

He is credited with the Greens’ return to the championship bid, the fact that Leoforos is packed every game and that his team shows character when under pressure, as they did on Wednesday at Kleanthis Vikelidis.

His disadvantages include, perhaps, the fact that he is usually slow in making decisions and hates risk. Something that affected the team in the summer in the Conference League qualifiers against Slavia Prague where they faced an “inferior” lineup, while also blaming him for being slow to intervene with his match changes. Despite all this, he managed to keep Panathinaikos at the top of the standings.

Matias Almeida is “new” in this… company. In the summer, the Argentine coach was called upon to take over the reins of AEK, which had not competed in European competition.

On the one hand, this meant financial disaster, but on the other hand, it gave Almeida the opportunity to build a team from scratch based on his own racing beliefs.

He has selected players who fit the system he wants to play in, and by spending more time than other teams that enter official competitions early, he has built a team that aims at spectator football and is often successful.

Two elements characterize AEK’s game: high pressure and ball possession. The union, especially since the day he returned to his “home”, wants to “strangle” his opponent, whoever he is, and in most cases he succeeds, which, of course, is the merit of the Argentine technician.

On the other hand, both he and his team showed that they had no alternative in the first match, when they were behind in the score against the Red-Whites in Agia Sofia, as they did not find answers when “ Olympiacos took the lead, which led to the defeat.

However, no matter what happened in the end, it was as if AEK had found a coach whom the platform loved, as a result of which Melissanidis extended his cooperation with him ahead of schedule until the summer of 2028, giving him the keys to the next year’s team.

Something, of course, is also happening with Jovanovic and Lucescu. The administrative and fan confidence enjoyed by these three coaches is, at least by Greek standards, not often seen…