Bajevic: I Told Basinas To Take The Penalty

In the wake of his side’s scoreless draw away against Levadiakos, AEK Athens manager Dusan Bajevic was apologetic despite luck not being with the Greek giants in Levadia.

The Athenians hit the post three times during the match, twice through Algerian striker Raffik Djebbour and once through Tamandani Nsaliwa.

Gustavo Manduca then missed a late penalty before seeing Djebbour’s finish from the rebound ruled out because players had already entered the box before it was taken.

Greece captain Angelos Basinas then stepped up to take the resulting spot-kick but saw his weak effort comfortably saved by the imperious Srdan Blazic, a miss that epitomizes what has been a slow start to his AEK career.

However, at a post-match press conference, Bajevic insisted that the blame did not rest with one player.

“We have to be patient and game-by-game we need to get better,” he said.

“I am sorry because a big crowd came to support us and we didn’t make them happy.

“We need support from the crowd in every game.

“The players are the ones who are playing on the pitch but we are all to blame."

One of Greek football’s most successful ever managers, Bajevic is currently two games into his third stint as manager of AEK.

However, he admitted to never having asked a player to take a penalty – until now.

“It’s the first time I’ve ever asked a player to take a penalty,” Bajevic said.

“I told Basinas to take the second one.”

AEK next welcome Panthrakikos to the OAKA Spiros Louis Stadium on December 7.

Chris Paraskevas