Paulo Bento:
-On his thoughts about tomorrow’s match: “The truth is that I agree with you and tomorrow’s match will be a tough one.Both sides need to score to qualify and this will be their main objective. I believe that our opponent, given they are playing at home, will take more risks and the match will be similar to last week’s. From our part, we will stay true to our philosophy, adjust ourselves of course to what the match requires; we have done our homework on them, however, we will play the way we want; all in all, it will be a tough encounter”.
-On the fact that Osmanlisport’s coach said they will play defensively: “It’s his opinion and we have to respect that. From our part, in all our campaigns, we have stayed true to a certain philosophy of play and this is what we intend to do; be it the championship, the Greek Cup or the UEFA Europa League. We try to create many goal-scoring chances, be aggressive and dominate the pitch. Of course, we adjust our gameplay to our opponent. I believe it will be a match similar to last week’s. Osmanlispor will stay compact and even stronger in defense. On the other hand, we will strive more in offense and take more initiative in producing chances. The Turkish outfit will try to do what they know best, strike in counter-attack with their fast players and claim their chances. Certainly, we have to wait and see their line-up, if they will have the same starting eleven or bring on some changes. Having said that, we will try to create more goal-scoring chances and stay true to our plan».
-Οn whether there is something in the way Osmanlispor plays that Olympiacos should exploit and on the pitch condition: “All matches are important for us, with the most important one always being the next. I believe that in the previous encounter we did a fine job in defense. We were good at containing their fast breaks, which is their strong point. I also believe that we could have been better in attack in the first half; we improved after the break, but as you already know we were not sharp in creating and finishing our chances, and this is something we have worked on. We want to have the upper hand during the 90 minutes and stay true to the philosophy we implement in all our campaigns, that is to take initiatives and create chances. We know that if we score one goal, then this will mean a lot since it will upset our opponent. We have to deal with their strengths, exploit their weaknesses; this is what we have worked on and will try to do tomorrow. As for the pitch, we haven’t seen it. We decided not to train here but in Athens, since we have earned an extra day to work on our strategy. There is something to take out of that. Tomorrow we will try to adapt to circumstances as quickly as possible. What we expect is to play on a bad pitch like in Tripolis in which we were quick to adjust, hence we played well. We expect that the pitch will be in poor condition, but this will cause no trouble to us and we will accommodate ourselves fast”.
-On Ideye:“My comment is that he will not join us here. He will not play tomorrow; he will not play again with us. His last match with Olympiacos was the one on Sunday and I have nothing more to say about that”.
-On the things he expects his side to improve in offense: “We will see who is going to fill in the gap. It is always important to think in strategic terms. The only sure thing is that Ideye was a indeed a player that helped us a lot, not just in terms of the goals he scored but also due to his overall contribution doting the match. He helped a lot in defense, without failing to be a great asset in attack. No team can easily deal with such a conjuncture, when the side loses two very important players, like Luca (note: Milivojevic) and Brown (note: Ideye). Nevertheless, we are fully prepared and ready to deal with these two drawbacks, and overcome them in the best possible way”.
Thanassis Androutsos:
-His comments on tomorrow’s match: “The first leg was really tough; however, that match now belongs to the past. The tie is open. We came fully concentrated and ready to qualify”.
-On his coach’s decision to use players coming from the club’s Academy: “We certainly feel great, yet we are professional players and so we feel proper members of the First Team. It is true that the work done in the Academy is outstanding and will remain so. We, on the other hand, have been fully integrated with the First Team and we are ready to face anything“.
-On the fact that Oly6mpiacos failed to score in their last two outings:“We have worked hard during our training sessions, mainly on how to connect with the ball and less with the actual finish. As said by our coach, if we are 100% focused, then we will be successful with our finishes and get the result we want”.
