Vasilis Torosidis (Olympiakos)

Liverpool weighing up bid for Greek right back as cover for Glen Johnson

Liverpool are considering a move for Greek international right-back Vasilis Torosidis as a replacement for crocked Glen Johnson.

England full-back Johnson, 25, faces three months out after tearing medial ligaments in Tuesday’s 1-0 win at Aston Villa.

And Reds boss Rafa Benitez is now deciding whether to bring in a cheap replacement.

Olympiakos Torosidis, 24, fits the bill as he has 25 caps for his country.


http://www.mirrorfootball.co.uk/news/Liverpool-weighing-up-bid-for-Greek-right-back-as-cover-for-Glen-Johnson-article273179.html?

Well, Rafa knows best.

BUT How then will Kelly develop, Degen etc.?

We don't need another RB, we have 3 for cover whilst Johnson is out, focus on what we really need.

Kill Bill is an exceptional player, more of a goal machine than a full back. Very strong technically. Really hope he does not leave, he has had interest from many 'big clubs' already. Anyways, hopefully this is just a stupid rumour. Anyways, here is a flavour of what Olympiakos own.

Last goals he scored were in the same game against AEK before his long injury (Nemeth scores also in this game..) - first goal a typical Kill BILL goal, second goal, another wonder goal for him:

AEK - Olympiakos 1-2

Who the hell is Kill Bill?

That is his nick name, Vasili often gets altered to Billy or Bill in English speaking countries - also he is called Toro.

Seems pretty good, but we don't really need a 4th RB just for cover.

He plays also midfield a lot. Hugely creative, wasted at RB. Scores, creates, huge pace and ability to beat players easily but still a very good defensive player if you want him there.  For Olympiakos he is always scoring/creating goals and is often played in the middle or even as a winger. Anyway this is all academic, Ziko would be mad to release him and he would be mad to go to a club to warm the bench.

Should be a complete waste of maney buying a right back.
We have Degen and Kelly to cover that position.
A NO in my opinion.

Sorry to see this in the news as once again it shows that f**k all faith is had in young lads like Darby and Kelly. Johnson is out for a month surely Darby or even Degen can cover for a month?

He plays also midfield a lot. Hugely creative, wasted at RB. Scores, creates, huge pace and ability to beat players easily but still a very good defensive player if you want him there.  For Olympiakos he is always scoring/creating goals and is often played in the middle or even as a winger. Anyway this is all academic, Ziko would be mad to release him and he would be mad to go to a club to warm the bench.

Interesting.

We could do with some more players capable of that.

Sorry to see this in the news as once again it shows that f**k all faith is had in young lads like Darby and Kelly. Johnson is out for a month surely Darby or even Degen can cover for a month?

Pretty harsh on the gaffer when at this stage it's only a rumour.

Pretty harsh on the gaffer when at this stage it's only a rumour.

Dont agree with it being harsh. Whether this story is crap or not.Young lads who are good enough dont get a fair crack. Insua aside what young lad plays regular? You could maybe count Lucas as a young player?. N'Gog comes in does well then gets left out again for 2/3 games

Dont agree with it being harsh. Whether this story is crap or not.Young lads who are good enough dont get a fair crack. Insua aside what young lad plays regular? You could maybe count Lucas as a young player?. N'Gog comes in does well then gets left out again for 2/3 games

I am with you on this one.How can you leave out a player who is in such red-hot form as Ngog is.

Dont agree with it being harsh. Whether this story is crap or not.Young lads who are good enough dont get a fair crack. Insua aside what young lad plays regular? You could maybe count Lucas as a young player?. N'Gog comes in does well then gets left out again for 2/3 games

I know what you're saying but simple fact may be that they're just not good enough.

Also from what I've seen of Darby, he looks a good yet 'safe' player. He's not a Johnson who's going to run at and beat the opposition. We're missing some cutting edge at times and this could explain the links I guess.

Dont agree with it being harsh. Whether this story is crap or not.Young lads who are good enough dont get a fair crack. Insua aside what young lad plays regular? You could maybe count Lucas as a young player?. N'Gog comes in does well then gets left out again for 2/3 games

This is about the transfer, not what he does.

And we don't know where he'd play if he signs. Could play right wing, could play right back, could play as goalkeeper!

And Torres or Ngog? You'd be deluded to think otherwise.

I know what you're saying but simple fact may be that they're just not good enough.

Also from what I've seen of Darby, he looks a good yet 'safe' player. He's not a Johnson who's going to run at and beat the opposition. We're missing some cutting edge at times and this could explain the links I guess.

I know Kellys injured but he clearly is good enough. Degen is an international so surely between the 2 of them with Darby as cover they can fill in for Johnson for 1 month?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1239849/Liverpool-eye-Greece-star-Vasilis-Torosidis-step-injured-defender-Glen-Johnson.html

Liverpool eye Greece star Vasilis Torosidis to step in for injured defender Glen Johnson

By Sportsmail Reporter
Last updated at 12:33 PM on 01st January 2010

Liverpool could bring in Greece right back Vasilis Torosidis to cover for injured England star Glen Johnson.

Anfield boss Rafa Benitez is short of options as he faces up to three months without Johnson, who tore medial ligaments in Tuesday’s 1-0 win at Aston Villa.


Olympiakos defender Torosidis is said to be available for a knockdown fee, but Liverpool could face competition from Juventus and Atletico Madrid for his services.

Like Johnson, the 24-year-old is full back who likes to get forward. He is comfortable on either flank and, with 25 caps, is usually deployed at left back by Greece.
Glen Johnson damaged knee ligament

Price 9 million I guess.. this is all bullshit.

 

Where did you get £9 million from?

F**k 9 million, anyone who thinks we need this bloke is mental in the face!
We have Kelly, a brilliant young RB who will be fit in about 2 weeks, until then we have Darby who made one simple mistake otherwise did brilliantly on his debut, and degen who can go forward and has improved his defending, I know it's not the best but at least he puts in the effort.

He is rated as 8 million (sorry I am talking Euros). Transfer market de has him at that still I think but it is old:
http://www.transfermarkt.de/en/spieler/24977/torosidis-vasilios/profil.html
However, there has been interest recently from Juve, Atletico, Bayern and even French and Portuguese clubs. Not surprised, heis a flying machine. I am sure this has all raised his price, but probably if Olympiakos Piraeus do sell, they would not say no to 8 Million Pounds. Even less if they retain some selling on rights.
Last year, long time ago, before he really exploded Olympiakos turned down many bids for him, I think one was a 5 million Pounds offer from blackburn at the time!
 
Why he is expensive if you cannot already see is that even though he is one of the best full backs you will see - never makes mistakes and is exceptional passer,crosser, that is not his best position. He should really be played in midfield or winger. He is very fast and beats players for fun. Also he scores/creates many goals. He makes football look easy. If you do get him, you will see.

And Torres or Ngog? You'd be deluded to think otherwise.

Lets not get silly now. Stevie and Nnado have both had injury problems and when N'Gog stepped in he done very well. Despite that he still was left out of other games when Nando was out and thats the point I was making

I agree with Ross on this one. He seems like the kind of player we are missing at this moment in time. A player who isn't afraid to run at defenders and whip in a cross, and has a goal or two in him.

I've only ever seen him play a few times, though, and none of those times were in the English league, so I don't know how he'd do here.

This rumour might indicate Johnson's  going to be out longer than a month?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4gQwoBvVRM

Better video:

Matchday 1: AEK v Olympiacos 1-2 (Nemeth 65' - Torosidis 43' 55')

I like that we have some Nemeth in that video too He looked like he was playing up front though! That second goal was a class finish.

Ahh Nemeth, he's cool sh*t.

I am with you on this one.How can you leave out a player who is in such red-hot form as Ngog is.

Because we have f***in torres in the team. Obvious really.

Would be more interested in having Nemeth back

I like that we have some Nemeth in that video too He looked like he was playing up front though! That second goal was a class finish.

Thats the beauty of this kid. Hes very versatile. In the above game we was playing box to box midfield. He is a FB but he has often been used as a DM, AM & wing, not only for Olympiacos but for the Greek National Team. He's only 24 & he's been an automatic starter for the NT since he was 20 yrs old. I am not an Olympiacos fan, but I am a big Torosidis fan and Liverpool would be lucky to have him on the squad alongside countryman Kyrgiakos.

According to sources. Liverpool and Olympiakos have agreed a price, it is simply now how the payment will be paid (installments etc and when). I would take this with a big pinch of salt.  Torosidis last contract with Olympiakos (to 2013) was written with a 7 million euro (ritra) release clause. You might be getting cheap as you were original told in the article. This is all too much... I love this player - really, if he leaves Olympiakos it will be very sad. He is not another Kyrgiakos, Toro is an athlete with huge ability. If it happens it will be a big move for him culturally. He has never played outside Greece,. I am sure the whole thing is just press bullshit and he is not going.

probably just signing a mate for Krgiakos so he has somebody to eat houmas and bread sticks with.

you mean pita. Bread sticks are a little posh

Even if he is a good player, surely this means we get rid of Degen otherwise we'll have 5 RBs in total

I was looking through a very useful Greek site and found these stats by an Olympiakos fan on another Torosidis thread, the guy basically said that Torosidis is clearly better defensively  than GJ but Liverpool fans on the site are saying Glen Jonson is in another league attacking wise, comparing the Greek league in quality to the the Prem is basically a no-go, so the Olympiakos fan only used CL, Europa and Internationals games for fairness:

Geln Johnson - Age 25 Nationality English.

Internationals: Played: 12 Assists: 2 Goals:0

CL: Played: 6  Assists: 1 Goals:0

Europa Cup: Played: 4 Assists:1 Goals: 0

===========

Kill Bill - Age 24 Nationality Greek.

Internationals: 23 Assists: 5 Goals: 2

CL: Played: 12 Assists: 0 Goals: 2

Europa Cup: Played: 10 Assists:1 Goals: 2

After watching Darby, I'm going to say no to this.

We've got the cover and if we're looking for attacking players I'd rather buy an out and out attacker rather than a full back who loves going forward.

I was looking through a very useful Greek site and found these stats by an Olympiakos fan on another Torosidis thread, the guy basically said that Torosidis is clearly better defensively  tha GJ but Liverpool fans on the site are saying Glen Jonson is in another league attacking wise, comparing the Greek league in quality to the the Prem is basically a no-go, so the Olympiakos fan only used CL, Europa and Internationals games for fairness:

Geln Johnson - Age 25 Nationality English.

Internationals: Played: 12 Assists: 2 Goals:0

CL: Played: 6  Assists: 1 Goals:0

Europa Cup: Played: 4 Assists:1 Goals: 0

===========

Kill Bill - Age 24 Nationality Greek.

Internationals: 23 Assists: 5 Goals: 2

CL: Played: 12 Assists: 0 Goals: 2

Europa Cup: Played: 10 Assists:1 Goals: 2

Those are some bloody impressive stats.

Could play right wing and Kuyt could F**k off to the bench?

Sounds good to me.

or rafa could put kuyt left back
in the changing rooms

Could play right wing and Kuyt could f**k off to the bench?

Rather buy an out and out winger to be honest.

Could play right wing and Kuyt could F**k off?

buy him he is so versatile

1801: Two deals we keep being told have been wrapped up are Vasilis Torosidis from Olympiakos to Liverpool.

From BBC.

Too late now though?

Been hearing that it's a 6 month loan deal if it goes through and 7m euros to make it permanent.

Too late now though?

As long as it has been confirmed before-hand by both managers it counts.

So is it confirmed?

Not yet it seems.

Still not among the established top stars I expect Liverpool tgo be competing for. Haven't got a clue how he might peform in the Prem.

I like Greeks, they play their hearts out

City consider Torosidis swoop

Manchester City are considering a summer swoop for Olympiakos defender Vasilis Torosidis, according to his agent.

The Greece international, who was linked with moves to Liverpool and Blackburn in the January transfer window, was also wanted by Sunderland boss Steve Bruce.

But the Black Cats baulked at the 7million euros asking price for the right-back and were only prepared to table a bid of 4million euros.

Eastlands boss Roberto Mancini is unlikely to be hindered by financial constraints given the backing at his disposal and is expected to make a decision over any move after the World Cup.

Torosidis' agent, Giorgos Kazianis of the All Star Consultancy Agency, confirmed that his client would welcome the opportunity to move to the Premier League.

City had been monitoring the attack-minded full-back before Mancini's appointment and only elected not to make a move in January as the Italian tactician wanted further scouting reports.

Real interest

Kazianis told skysports.com: "The possibilities for Vasilis to play football in England for a Premier League club are good because I have had contact in the last 20 days with Manchester City.

"City called us and asked a few things about Torosidis. They showed real interest and they told us that they will keep their eye on Vasilis during the World Cup.

"They know him very well but since Roberto Mancini didn't know the player very well, they decided not to do anything in January.

"They told us that they will keep watching him until the World Cup and we will speak again in the summer. They know that the clause is 7million euros and, of course, Vasilis would love to play for such a big club."

Intention

Kazianis confirmed that Sunderland made an enquiry over Torosidis' availability but were not prepared to meet Olympiakos' valuation of the 24-year-old.

He added: "The interest of Sunderland was big. I spoke with the directors of the club and their intention was to make an offer of 4million euros to Olympiakos.

"I told them that Olympiakos doesn't want to sell the player with this money.

"The clause is 7million euros and this was the main reason that Sunderland didn't make an official offer."

Almost like we are City's idols.

Everyone we're reported to be interested in - they are then interested in.

http://www.gazzetta.gr/article/item/210250-kai-e-liverpoul-gia-toro

Liverpool and Stoke are after him and he could cost less than 7m euros. (I could say 4-5m are enough)

The article is in greek language and their source is http://www.insidefutbol.com/. I don't know how reliable is this site...

I've always been a fan of the lad.  He is tall, yet elegant and composed on the ball.  He is quick and has some decent pace, yet he is fairly strong.  He has good positional sense and times his tackles well.  He is good on the ball and has a fairly solid passing game.  Most importantly, he has the versatility to play as either a RB or a LB.  

The only problem with him is that I believe he is naturally right footed, and we already have a right footed player who can play LB in Glen Johnson.  If we are going to spend money on a new LB, it needs to be a naturally left footed player who can provide accurate crosses from deep to find Carrol and Suarez in the box, can support Downing defensively,  and can add some overlapping runs in too.  I don't see Toro as the ideal player to fit in with our current team.  

His natural position is RB. He played as LB for Greek national team. He could also play as DMC and sometimes he played as MR. He could be a good backup player for all these positions (if we need a player like him)...

I've always been a fan of the lad.  He is tall, yet elegant and composed on the ball.  He is quick and has some decent pace, yet he is fairly strong.  He has good positional sense and times his tackles well.  He is good on the ball and has a fairly solid passing game.  Most importantly, he has the versatility to play as either a RB or a LB. 

The only problem with him is that I believe he is naturally right footed, and we already have a right footed player who can play LB in Glen Johnson.  If we are going to spend money on a new LB, it needs to be a naturally left footed player who can provide accurate crosses from deep to find Carrol and Suarez in the box, can support Downing defensively,  and can add some overlapping runs in too.  I don't see Toro as the ideal player to fit in with our current team. 

Only heard good things about him and would be a logical signing but who knows what our targets are right now.

^ I see quickness and pace as two separate things.  Quickness IMO refers to a players ability to react in a timely manner or a players ability to accelerate up to top speed.  Pace is the top speed a player can register in a straight line.  

This guy is the man. A star of my Greek team Olympiakos. Not just a Right Back either - he would be great in the Premier League. A year starting for a team like Stoke would be good for him, not sure where he would fit in for us but it'd be quite an interesting buy. Olympiakos are in the Champions League Group Stage already though, would they sell some of their better players?