Besnik Hasi:
-If he prepared the team as if the first leg in Belgrade had ended 0-0: “It´s true that we talked two days after the match and we decided to face this one as if it started with an overall 0-0. We managed to score three goals on their field. However, they have 90 minutes to invert the result. The first match was in their stadium and the pressure was on their side. Now it’s in our field and it’s our turn to face the pressure”.
-If he used as an example one bad experience of his in Anderlecht, in which he had got a good result in the first match: “I have many experiences from the past and they are all useful. If you enter the pitch feeling that you’re ahead, it’s hard to change that feeling. Therefore we prepared in the right manner as if the first leg was 0-0 and, as such, we’ll enter as if it’s the first match”.
-On the place kicks: “It’s a fact that maybe we lack in height, but if you have the ball in the right spot and you control the match as you should, this isn’t a problem. On the first match we could have been in danger, but we reacted well. Nobody knows what might happen and maybe tomorrow our team has taller players. We have some tall players and maybe some of them will play”.
-On Vukovic: “We have tall players, so it’s possible that some of them will play. The height is not important. A short player, if he is positioned in the right place, might also make things work”.
-His plan for tomorrow’s match: “First of all, I have a plan for this match, but I’m not going to announce it now. From what I know, we always play offensively and we’re not going to play defensively tomorrow against Partizan. Also on the first match we were quite offensive, we didn’t play in the opponent’s half, but we always had the tendency to run forward and to get there”.
-On Milic: “We have some injured players who won’t be present, but whoever will be called will be available to play”.
-If he has decided on the initial tactic for tomorrow: “I’m 100% decided and I know what I’ll do tomorrow. All the players that are in the team will be available. There’s a huge ambition in the team and they’re well prepared. We saw it also on the first leg. Even though we lost Fortounis, all the players were ready to play”.
-His message to the fans: “It’s true that we played well on the first match and not only regarding the final result, but in general how we performed. We can improve even more. We have players that aren’t in their full capacities. When the team will be ready, we’ll have improved significantly and the team will make the fans enjoy. We know that our supporters are fantastic and that they support us with all their strengths. Exaggerated behaviours, like the ones on the first match, aren’t needed. All of us have to be here with a positive attitude”.
-On what could go wrong that would prevent an apparent qualification to happen: “Everything can go wrong. The same way we won 1-3, the opposite might occur. Therefore, we’ll begin the match as if the first ended 0-0. We must not concede any goal on the first minutes because it can lead to panic on our side. We’ll apply our plan to achieve a positive result for our team”.
Stefanos Kapino:
-On the approach to tomorrow’s match: “That’s what the coach has asked us. All these days we’ve been preparing as if the first match ended 0-0. We’re preparing in order to enter in a realistic way and not to give Partizan any chances to believe they might achieve something”.
-On how different are they expecting Partizan to be: “They’ll enter a more offensive team comparing with the first leg. They also pressured us there, but tomorrow they’ll do it even more. We’ll play as the coach asks us, we’re playing in our field and we’ll try to get a good result for our team and our fans”.
-On the nice atmosphere that exists in the team: “The coach has made us understand that the situation is that nothing’s over yet. We enjoyed greatly the victory on the first match, but that lasted one day. We also talked among ourselves and we’ll try for the best result on this match”.
-His message to the fans: “The fans’ help is very important, especially in these qualifying stages. We want their support because last season was not the ideal both us and for them. We didn’t qualify for the group stage and we had unfortunate results. This season, with their help, we’ll do much better”.
-If the qualification to the group stage of the UEFA Champions League constitutes an opportunity to redeem for last season’s elimination: “I wouldn’t name it an opportunity for redemption. It was something that affected us. What happened was a bad page. We’ve worked and we have a clear plan. It’s different both for us and for those who arrived this season. Olympiacos must play on the group stage and I believe that we’ll make it. Everything has been made for us to be there”.
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