Mr. MICHEL
At the beginning of his press conference, Chori said that Olympiacos must display a fine blend of the side’s qualities as showcased against Malmo and Atletico. What are those elements to be displayed and would you mind helping Chori to find out whether he will be in the starting XI?
“I will start from the last bit. We will be and that is something he knows as well. We expect him to be a very important asset for us, as he always is. As he always decides to be. And as we all know, in UEFA Champions League fixtures, he is very important for the squad. As for your first question, I reckon and I feel that, in this contest, we stand somewhere in between those two matches. Of course, we know how to perform well is such matches and, as we have already showed, both against Atletico and in last year’s campaign, we have proven that we can perform at a very high level. Against Malmo, we reached a high level, but committed many mistakes in both boxes. Last year, we had a similar match in Lisbon, yet the final result was positive for us. This is why we stand “in between” and we are the ones to decide whether to play at a high level or put ourselves into trouble like we did against Malmo. We would like to repeat what is apparently reasonable, that is to show respect to our opponent, no less when we will be facing a club such as Juventus. But we are the ones to select the path to follow. We see that people speaks well of our game style and out home ground; thus, the world speaks well about us. We hope to continue down the same path, talking about the atmosphere before the match and about our good display afterwards”.
Are you concerned by the fact that your side concedes goals more easily compared to last year? We would also like to have your comment about Botia, since there has been a lot of criticism about him lately.
“Compared to last year, we have concede as many goals in UEFA Champions League. Four! Last year we have concede four goals by PSG and then scored three in Brussels. The figures were exactly the same. I don’t like commenting individually on players, but on the side’s performance as a whole. The way you said it was as if Botia concedes the goals alone. No, it is the side that concedes them. So, in any case, it is the coach’s responsibility to select the players to cap. On the night against Atletico, Botia reached a high level as did the whole team and, consequently, no question was addressed to me about Botia. If you try to make talk down of my players, then don’t. I will never talk down of my players. I will never comment about Botia or any other player who might have performed poorly. So, don’t ask me that”.
M. Michel, in Italy people talk more about the atmosphere rather than your side. Is this something that Olympiacos may take advantage of?
“In a couple of hours, Mr. Allegri will be here. I believe he will talk more about our team than the atmosphere”.
Mr. Lippi has said that Juventus, this year, is more “rough” than last year. Do you prefer Llorente more than Morata?
“It is reasonable for Conte’s Juventus to be different than Allegri’s. I cannot say right now whether it more rough or not. They certainly remain a great team. I don’t believe that comment was aiming at belittling Juventus value at this very moment; it intended to show that these two teams are different. As for the second leg of the question, I want to say that Llorente has not scored yet, whereas Morata is a perfect football player. I know that very well because I was the one, in his 15, to have brought him to Real and have him sign there. I have brought him to Real from Getafe. So, if Mr. Allegri was to ask me, I would tell him that I prefer none of them to play. I believe that the one to be finally selected will be Morata “.
Do you believe that tomorrow we will have an open match as was the opening match against Atletico or Roberto will be proven right and Olympiacos, as he told an Italian newspaper, will win 1-0 thanks to a Kasami header?
“One never knows if a match will be that open. Nobody expected us to score three times against Atletico. Not as a function of our scoring capabilities, but because Atletico has not conceded three goals for a long time. We are ready to stage a top-level match the way we need it. It will be most unlikely to win 1-0 by means of a Kasami header. Firstly, let us wait and see if Kasami will play. We tend to present things in a very simple way and disclose our secrets to Mr. Allegri. We said that Chori will play, we said that Roberto will play. Let us keep something for us! We can vote and see if you agree and then you can start arguing amongst you (laughter). I wish that this will be the result, even if it takes Alkorta to score from the corner spot”.
Juventus will present a formation that Olympiacos doesn’t confront usually in European fixtures, since they will play with a defense line of three. To what extent will your plans change?
“It will not be our first match against a side with three stoppers, like OFI for instance. Malmo has played with three and then five in defense. However, we believe that Juventus is very good at configuring its formation. Caceres is injured, yet he is a player that configures his role with the attack. We know more or less how Juventus will be setup on the pitch, and we have an idea about how to deal with them”.
Have you made up your mind about the defense? Is Abidal ok? Will Omar play? Botia? What about Masuaku?
“We will agree in the end; you will see. We have started with the defenders. Abidal is all right; what was supposed to be wrong with him?”
He was on leave.
“It is been a while since he has asked for taking a trip for personal matters and given that he was sidelined for the match Ergotelis, we decided to give him that day off. It would be a surprise to have him here and not playing”.
Do you wish to your former players, Torosidis and Manolas, for win the championship with Roma? Is there, so of speak, some kind of alliance between Roma and Olympiacos?
“I talked with both of them yesterday. However, I had a minor issue because they spoke to me in Greek. Certainly, I can see their work and I believe they are doing fine. The only thing we asked from them is what we already know, to support Olympiacos tomorrow. Anyway, I have friends both in Roma and Juventus. So, I hope they draw».
DOMINGUEZ
Will the opening match against Atletico be your guiding light for the facture against Juventus?
“I believe that tomorrow’s match is an important one, a match that we should fight for and enjoy. There are things we did against Atletico and some against Malmo, against which –the result taken aside- our display was not that bad. We will try to repeat them against Juventus. There will have to be a blend of the things we did in those two matches”.
Does a match against Juventus represent for you an additional incentive to play your best? Also, is this match crucial for qualifying?
“For us, playing against such clubs is a good incentive on its own. Although the strongest one is to defend our club’s colors. We are fully aware of our responsibility and obligation to win the match, since this would allow us to place ourselves well for the future of the campaign”.
You have scored against Benfica, Manchester United and Anderlecht. Do you think it is high time that you scored in this year’s UEFA Champions League campaign?
“I wish to score, God willing. The important thing is for our team to win. We have first to ask Mr. Michel if he will have me in the line-up. And if I play, I will try to do some fine work for my team. And if I score, so be it”.
In Italy, people talk more about the stadium than the squad. Does the “heat” in Karaiskakis intimidate your opponents? Moreover, as a second question, in the past you have been really close to signing for Juventus.
“I believe that Karaiskakis is a ground that calls for respect. It is not easy for any team to play against us at home. It is certain that tomorrow we will need the support of our fans and it is also certain that we will have it. We know that very well. As for your second question, it is true that I have been really close in signing for Juventus. Currently, I only think about the present and my mind is 100% set on the colors of my jersey, the colors of Olympiacos”.
What is your picture of Juventus? What is the thing you must be more careful of? Have you had any recent communication with Carlos Tevez?
“I haven’t spoken with Tevez. While preparing for the match against Juventus, there have been many things to reflect and work on. Although we know it will be a difficult encounter, we have great rust on our own skills”.
