Silva:
Which are the weaknesses of Bayern?
“The truth is that we have looked more into their strong points and these are the ones we keep in mind. If the opponent has some weaknesses, then we would like to keep these to ourselves and exploit them. No team feels comfortable when playing against us in our stadium. We are prepared to play this great match.”
Last year, as the coach of Sporting, you played against another German club, Schalke. Does football owe you a favour? Is it maybe the time to use this favour?
“Last year’s match cannot be compared with tomorrow’s match at all. It was important to me; I won one match and lost the second one. Things did not go the way I wanted them to go. This match cannot be compared with tomorrow’s match at all. As Roberto said a few moments ago, we know that tomorrow we are prepared to play against a great club. We will do our best to play this match.”
Guardiola said before that Olympiacos has a Portuguese coach therefore they can play good defence. He obviously expects the team to play defensively. Is this how the team will play?
“No matter which strategy you choose, the moment the match kick offs, everything is based on how the match progresses. When you have possession of the ball then you attack; when the opponent has possession, then you focus on your defence. We know that we play against an opponent that usually dominates the match, has possession of the ball and we are prepared to adapt to the particular needs of the game and to play well defensively when they attack so we can “hurt” them too when we get the opportunity. We will see all this depending on how the match progresses.”
Bayern are not in a good shape and we saw this with their Saturday display in their match against Augsburg. Do you take all this into consideration?
“We have of course analysed our opponent and watched them a lot. We will not keep Bayern’s latest match. We went even further back when they won Leverkusen 3-0. We have seen our opponent’s stature, we will not focus on the players that are not playing since all teams have the way to make up for any absences. They have other alternatives to field and these are not to be ignored.”
Is there any position that you have not decided yet for the match tomorrow or have you made your mind up?
“The truth is that I have a pretty clear picture in my mind. I am very well aware of the condition of our players. I’ve been preparing this match for a long time and have been experimenting with the various alternatives. If there are any doubts, these are about things for which I will decide just before kick-off. In general, I have made my mind up.”
If there were a debate held between you and Guardiola, do you think the debate director would focus more on you or Guardiola?
“You will definitely never watch such a debate and tomorrow is certainly not a clash between coaches. This will be a clash between players and clubs. Tomorrow each team will prove on the field what they can do and tomorrow you will certainly have the opportunity to witness a beautiful match between Olympiacos and Bayern.”
The match is sold out. First of all what would you like to say to the fans? And secondly, do you happen to have any tickets for us given that you are well… connected?
“You can be sure that I would give you a ticket if I had one (laughs)! The fans were the first to send their message to us and it’s an amazing message. They are always by our side, they are fantastic fans and we know that they will come to enjoy the game and help us. We are aware that our duty is to do our best. Tomorrow’s match can have three outcomes. We will do our best to achieve the best possible outcome.”
Roberto:
Bayern’s captain, Philipp Lahm, said before that there can only be winner tomorrow and this is Bayern. What do you say to that?
“First of all, I believe that we will have to play really good football. We of course know who we are up against, but we also know which competition this is and we know that no team feels comfortable when coming to play in our stadium. Maybe he is right, maybe not. Either way, we will know tomorrow evening.”
Last year, in the match against Juventus, the keeper on the opposite goal was Buffon. Tomorrow you face yet another great goalkeeper, Neuer. What do you think about it?
“He is truly one of the world’s greatest goalkeepers. It feels nice to be playing against the best, this makes you special and it’s nice to be on the same field with the top players. I hope the match against Bayern will finish the same way the match against Juventus finished when Buffon congratulated me, so I hope Neuer will do the same thing.”
You have had amazing displays in the UEFA Champions League in the last years, for example in the matches against Benfica and Juventus. Are you able to pull another similar display against Bayern?
“Last year’s results are due to the team effort and not just one player. It is unlikely to have one player playing well and also have satisfying results. Last season we managed to achieve a top performance, we had good displays and we were particularly good when we played home. We can make any opponent uncomfortable.”
How do the six victories of Olympiacos in the last six UEFA Champions League matches in Georgios Karaiskakis stadium affect your mentality for the match against Bayern?
“Only you can set your own limits. Every team who has won the best feels the burden of repeating these displays and believing in achieving a positive result against any upcoming opponents. Every match is different, we are well prepared, we have six matches ahead of us and are certain that we will do our best to achieve the results we achieved in the Karaiskakis stadium in European matches in the last years.”
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