Words by Mr Pedro Martins
Have you discussed with Valbuena given he spent 2 years playing for Basaksehir:
“Unofficially, we have had some chats with Valbuena and other players on their opinion about Basaksehir. We make use of various interfaces to collect adequate information about any opponent of ours. We are fully aware of our opponent and, in this sense, we don’t need to ask any player on what to expect. We do have the means to collect all necessary information”.
What are the qualities Olympiacos has to display to get a positive result out of tomorrow’s match?
“What is needed is for the squad not to forget out style of play and identity; we need not change the way we play and we must display our philosophy on the pitch the way we normally do. We will have to be cautious, because our opponent’s roster includes quality players. We are both sides featuring at the UEFA Champions League qualifiers; they have also proven they deserve making it into the group stage, but only one team will. We want to be strong as a team. We must be careful not to disregard our identity and have our assets ready to surprise our opponent”.
What do you consider a good result so as the team to make the first step towards qualification?
“The best result will be for us to win; however, we must not forget that it is a two-legged tie, not a knock-out match. Traditionally, we are strong at home. What we have to do is to win in Turkey. I believe that we are strong enough at home to attain our goal, which is to qualify to the next stage”.
How much more ready is the team in relation to 15 days ago in Czechia; How much more different is the opponent?
“Reasonably enough, teams improve with 15 more days of practice under their belt. It was in Chechia we played our first official fixture, and our second one week after. In the meantime, our players’ state of fitness has improved. Head to head, both teams have great quality in them; they both stand out in their respective domestic campaigns. They both feature players of quality. We know very well they have great individual players, but, in generally, they share the same philosophy because they want to dominate domestically. We are here to talk about Basaksehir, not the team we faced before. So, we expect to play against a quality side, with good players and a winner’s mindset. Individually speaking, the players of Basaksehir are better, quality-wise, than those of Viktoria Plzen; yet, as teams, they share the same philosophy”.
One coach this year, another one last year for them. How do you know they will not perfrom differently?
“Truth be told, we cannot”.
Words by Daniel Podence
His comment on Basaksehir players saying they want to secure qualification tomorrow:
“We will speak on the pitch”
Do you and your teammates feel ready for tomorrow’s fixture?
“We are well prepared. It is our third official fixture, we are getting better by the day. We are ready for tomorrow’s encounter”.
Does this tie have a favorite team?
“Both sides are quality ones, in both terms of individual players and teams; they proved their worth last year, however we are here to take care of our team and do our job”.
