GREECE are set to hand a 17-year-old who has been tipped by many shrewd judges to develop into European football’s next superstar and who is attracting the interest of German giants Bayern Munich his international debut against Scotland – Kostas Karetsas.
There is great excitement about Karetsas, an attacking midfielder who currently plays for Genk in his native Belgium, where he was born and brought up, in his adopted homeland at the moment.
He only switched allegiances to the country of his parents’ birth earlier this month – but he has been called up to the full national squad by manager Ivan Jovanovic for the Nations League promotion-relegation play-off double header.
Karetsas was watched by Bayern representatives when he played for Genk in their 2-1 triumph over Union Saint-Gilloise at the Cegeka Arena on Saturday – a match which former Celtic striker Oh Hyeon-gyu scored the winner in.
Pundits and supporters expect him to feature at some stage in the matches against Scotland in Athens tomorrow evening and Glasgow on Sunday and then go on to have a long and successful club and international career.
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Manos Staramopoulos, a Greek football journalist with Discovery Plus, believes that Jovanovic deserves enormous credit for convincing the prodigiously talented youngster to commit his future to his country and he confessed that is looking forward to seeing the teenager progress greatly in the seasons ahead.
“Jovanovic has turned the Greek team around since taking over,” he said. “He has done so by calling up more Greek players who are based abroad. Kostas Karetsas is a prime example of that.
“He is one of the biggest talents to emerge in Europe in the last few years. He played for Genk at the weekend and was watched by Bayern Munich scouts. That is the level that he is capable of getting himself to. He is an exciting, attacking midfielder with a marvellous left foot.”
Stephen Kountourou, the Greek football expert who hosts the Hellas Football podcast, agrees with his compatriot and expects Serbian coach Jovanovic to give his new recruit some game time in the play-off matches in the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus tonight or at Hampden on Sunday evening.
“He was instrumental in bringing Kostas Karetsas in. He could have played for Belgium, who he played age-group football for up to under-21 level. But Jovanovic and Hellenic Football Federation were determined to get him and they succeeded.
“He is the future of Greek football. He could honestly be a next level player. He is not just seen as a potentially decent player who could play in a mid-level European league, he is seen as the next big thing.
“Belgian supporters were very disappointed they weren’t able to get him. He was born there, but both of his parents are Greek. There was a bit of a back and forth towards the end of last year. It was unclear who he would go with. But he went with Greece.
“He said felt like it was the right for him. Sure enough, he has immediately been called up. I don’t know how much he will feature against Scotland, but I do know that he is the future of the Greece team. When teams like Bayern Munich are looking at him it tells you how highly regarded he is in the European game.”
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Kountourou added, “He's got a lot of raw, natural talent. He's quite a creative wide midfielder, but he can score some decent goals. But it's hard to pinpoint what he is at the moment because, like a lot of younger players coming through, he can do a bit of everything. I don't think he's found his natural position, but he can improvise.
“He couldn’t be in a better league than the Pro League in Belgium. It is one of the best for youth development in Europe. A lot of great young talent has come through it and then gone on to play in the top five European divisions. I can't think of a better place for him to thrive before he's ready to take the next step.
Despite the boost the surprise capture of Karetsas has given Greece, who beat England 2-1 at Wembley in the Nations League back in October, both Staramopoulos and Kountourou believe the play-off with Scotland could go either way.
“If we play to our best and take advantage of being at home in the first leg then I think we will win promotion,” said the former. “There's one or two players absent who are a bit of a miss,” said the latter. “We are a bit short in midfield and Scotland are very strong in that area. I would say that pound for pound we have a better forward line. But it is a 50-50.”
