“I don’t believe our side became stressed in the last minutes. The first half in the match was quite balanced, with very few chances for both sides. Nevertheless, we were better than our opponent in the first half, we were better in possession and passing game. In the second half, following our opener, we were the ones creating most chances.
We failed to score more goals due to our poor effectiveness. Given the number of chances, we were worthy of more goals scored. We let a goal in on one of our opponent’s very few chances. The team showed it had control over the match. Perhaps, from the outside, it seemed we were stressed but I think our side held on and strived for a better result until the very last minute. Congratulations to my players for attaining this qualification”.
On the substitutions and the case of Dominguez: “I respect your viewpoint. Sometimes coaches think different. My opinion is we needed no more substitutions, we know we could have as many as 3 substitutions but there is no rule to impose having all three of them. Coaches are the ones to judge the players to play. Sometimes, they go for one substitution, other for two or three. As for Chori, we selected 18 players on a single criterion we always apply: their state of fitness. Then, we opt for the best eleven; our criteria are always the same.”
On the fact that Olympiacos has played more matches in Europe than in Greece: “No, this has never happened to me before. We have lost both early match days and an additional one for reasons we all know. So, we find ourselves playing the same number of matches in Greece and Europe. It’s the first time I come across something like that. We are really happy the league will resume next week”.
As for the side’s targets: “We are happy with the targets we have set. We are doing fine on all 3 campaigns, we move forward in the best possible way and we work had day in-day out. What we have to say is to congratulate the players for what they have achieve to date, but we have to keep on working because it’s too early to talk as if we earned some trophy”.
On Kapino and Leali: “Yes, we are satisfied with their performance and development. We believe they stood up to expectations and the work done reflects progress and improvement. Although he has not been yet given his proper chance, we are also satisfied with Chousiotis. We are satisfied with all three of them”.
On the coming fixtures and Marin: «In order for a player to earn his place in the squad, he has to fight for it. This is the result of daily work and the way they display their efforts to the coach. A player may earn his place regardless of their name or age. Given that the coming matches at home are considered easier, what I have to say it that I will prep the team for them always in the same way, I will always select the players who find themselves at their top fitness. Dangers may always lurk and we want nothing bad to happen. We will always select the ones who are in a better shape. That’s something I have made clear and I have done everything for my players to comprehend that”.
