-What’s his perception of tonight’s match? Has Olympiacos won a point or lost two?: “We expected it to be a tough match; we thought it would be even tougher against such a strong opponent. We knew that this ground has been unbeaten in European fixtures and our goal was to break this streak. Given how the match unfolded and what happened tonight on the pitch, our side was much better than our opponents and, especially in the second half, we were hard on them. I don’t think the final result does us justice. Although we took 1 point out of this match, I think we actually lost two”.
-Whether he is happy with the draw and how is Olympiaocs going to tackle the both coming fixtures: “The truth is we are not satisfied with the result because, given our display and chances created, we believe that a draw does not properly reflect the match. That’s why I am saying I am not satisfied with the result since I am really satisfied with my players’ performance. As for the two coming group matches, once the time comes, we will deal with the match against Young Boys because my opinion is that Astana is not yet out of the game”.
-If he singled some Astana player out?: “The truth is that I have studies Astana as a team and I knew they have good players of great physical stamina. I put a full stop in my analysis at this point and nothing more is to be discussed. These issues may be discussed another time. As of this moment, we stop thinking about the Astana match, because we have important matches ahead”.
-Are you going to select a different line-up in Sunday’s match and if there is a problem at the left side of the defense: “As per your first question, we are certainly satisfied tonight because, despite our extensive rotation compared to our previous match, we saw so many players being ready to help the team. Everyone is ready to help the team. So, as for Sunday’s match, no matter who will play, we are certain that we will have a line-up that will give 100% on the pitch to win. We are happy for the young guys who played, because we do want young guys to play. For instance, Manthatis was in the starting XI and we are very satisfied by him. We don’t know how our players’ recovery is going. Elabdellaoui will be available for the match against Panathinaikos, we are satisfied. As for whether there will be an issue with your defense’s left side, De la Bela started the season well, Figueiras is at our disposal. Retsos delivers well although this is not his proper position. Having said that, we have plenty of options and I don’t think there is a problem”.
-His comment on the rest of the group teams: “It is very difficult to compare teams, although we have faced them all. One cannot compare teams that follow different strategies. They have players of specific features. It is difficult to compare them and they also tried to hide their strengths from us”.
