In view of Apollon Limassol's European clash with the Norwegian Brann, Greek radio and news in Florida spoke with George Galimitakis, a resident of Norway who manages the Protostar Sports scouting company which operates in Norway.
George analyzes Bran's competitive profile, identifies key players and reveals the vulnerabilities that Apollon can exploit to qualify.
Tell us about the match. Apollon Limassol is playing against Brann, a team that has been playing in Norway for the past few years..
Brann is a very good team. They are among the 4-5 best in Norway. Brann Stadion is a very good, "hot" stadium I would say, not by Greek standards, but it is strong. It has around 16,5 thousand seats. The stands are very close to the pitch, so the people are next to the players and this can affect slightly. Although I don't think Apollonas will be particularly affected by this, everything plays its role.
Last year they finished second. In general, in recent years they have finished in the top five. In 2022 they won the Cup with the same coach, who then left, went to France and now is back.
They are an organized team. Their coach, Eirik Horneland, has an attacking football philosophy: they press high, they want a high tempo, they have intensity in their game and they try to have possession of the ball.
However, this year I don't see the consistency they had last year. For example, in their previous game against Valerenga they were losing 3-0 in the first half. Valerenga had to be left with 10 men for Brann to react, they scored two goals, but in the end they lost the game.
Does it have foreign footballers or does it rely on Norwegians?;
It has foreigners, but in general Norwegian teams try to rely mostly on Norwegians. This year Brann has also signed several young players.
As for the individuals who stand out, they play a 4-3-3 system and their attacking trio is very noteworthy:
Niklas Castro: Very good and unpredictable player, he can do you damage. He was injured from winter to summer, but he returned in the last 3-4 games and looks in very good shape again.
Aune Heggebø, who plays as a starting goal scorer, already has 5 goals this year.
In midfield, Myhre (Felix Horn Myhre) stands out, in defense, captain Knudsen (Fredrik Pallesen Knudsen), while their goalkeeper is also very good in the game against Valerenga; if it weren't for him, the score would have been off.
Does it concede goals? What are its disadvantages?;
Their main disadvantage is that because they raise their lines too high, they leave large spaces at the back of the defense. I believe that if Apollon absorbs the initial pressure in the first minutes and counterattacks correctly, they will create very significant problems for Bran. For hours, their defense looks vulnerable.
They started talking in Norway about the game with Apollon;
The team's official website has only announced tickets, which range from 25 to 35 euros for regular seats and around 50 euros for VIP seats (with food/refreshments). In the sports media and the sites I follow, they don't say they'll "go wild", but they don't seem to be afraid either. They're generally calm.
Do you think Bran will perform differently in Europe than in the league?;
Certainly European games are special and given special priority. Bran has almost twice the market value of Apollon (around €26 million compared to Apollon's around €10-13 million). However, as I said before, if Apollon plays smart and exploits the gaps Brann leaves in the defense, they can definitely do the damage and get the result.
