Durmaz thrilled by Malmö return with Olympiacos
Thursday, September 25, 2014
Article summary
Jimmy Durmaz left Malmö FF in 2012 but is delighted at the prospect of returning to the club with Olympiacos FC, saying: "This was my only wish for the draw really."
Article top media content
Article body
Jimmy Durmaz was beaming when Olympiacos FC were drawn in the same UEFA Champions League Group A as Malmö FF, the club where he made his breakthrough as a player.
"I was very excited to see Malmö into our group," said the Sweden winger. "This was my only wish for the draw really. It is my first season in the Champions League and I will return home to face Malmö in their first participation as well. The only thing missing from my career was not playing in the Champions League with them."
Born in Orebro, Durmaz joined Malmö FF from BK Forward in July 2008 and spent four seasons with the Sky Blues before moving to Gençlerbirliği SK in 2012. Since his departure, much has changed for the Allsvenskan champions, but when Olympiacos visit Scandinavia on matchday two, Durmaz will get to see old friends: Filip Helander, Markus Halsti, Simon Kroon, Agon Mehmeti, Ricardinho and Amin Nazari are still there.
Durmaz's inside knowledge might prove handy to coach Míchel as he prepares Olympiacos for Wednesday's game. The 25-year-old signed for the Greek title holders in August and watched from the bench as they began their campaign with a 3-2 victory over last season's finalists Club Atlético de Madrid. "Olympiacos have four wingers and competition for places is intense," he said, although he has already featured in three Super League matches and one Greek Cup tie.
A classic wide man with excellent dribbling skills and delicious left-foot crosses, Durmaz can play on either flank although Míchel usually fields him on the right with a licence to shoot from distance. At Malmö, he would remain on the training ground after the sessions to work on his set pieces, with both feet. He is also known to break into the box with an eye for goal, having scored six times for Gençlerbirliği in Turkey's Süper Lig last term, and opened his Olympiacos account with a close-range effort against OFI Crete FC on 14 September. He also earned a penalty against Veria FC the following week.
Durmaz played his first full 90 minutes for Sweden in a pre-FIFA World Cup friendly against Belgium on 1 June, his non-stop movement catching the eye of another former Malmö player, arguably the club's most famous son: Zlatan Ibrahimović. The Sweden captain, who missed the game through injury, declared himself impressed and has taken the younger man under his wing. When the two meet again in early October for the home UEFA EURO 2016 qualifiers against Russia and Liechtenstein, Durmaz should have several stories to tell his new friend about their former club.