Diego Martínez, the coach of Olympiacos, did not hide his satisfaction with his team’s appearance and their 3–1 victory against Čukarički. The Spanish coach stressed that this is the image that the “red-and-whites” want to present. At the same time, he stated that their concentration in the second match in Serbia should be high.
In detail, the press conference of Diego Martínez:
Do you believe, based on the image of the match, that 3–1 is a “poor” score for Olympiacos?
I am satisfied with the team’s appearance, especially during the first half. We improved a lot of elements compared to previous games and the team showed their willingness to score. They scored three goals, two more were canceled, and we created more opportunities. We wanted to assert ourselves and be accurate, while having good communication with our people, and this relationship seems to be constantly evolving and this is encouraging for us. There are details that need improvement, but it will not be easy for anyone playing in our stadium.
It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Olympiacos like this. Pushy, creating many opportunities – is this the Olympiacos you want to see? Also, does Čukarički’s goal make you thoughtful regarding the rematch?
Of course I want to see the team always well and victorious, but this cannot be achieved all the time, because the opponent may be better. But our goal is to always play like this, with energy and a thirst for victory (as he said in Greek). We’ve seen that now, but this is not always easy. We have been effective in our efforts and our balls, but you can’t always do that. The details were against us during this match, because we missed many opportunities and the score is low – in view of the match in Serbia, the score could have been bigger. This should wake us up and we need to be prepared for Serbia and take the game seriously. The Serbian teams are chasing the games until the last minute –and we saw that– so we need to take things seriously and avoid the mistakes we made in this match, so that we can qualify.
When looking at the composition, one will see that half of the players are from last year and the rest are new, but there was chemistry and creativity.
This is our big goal, to build the team and derive strength from our successes. As you mentioned, we had several new players and some played together for the first time. In general, however, we seek balance and emotional control. I do not want to feel too joyful following a good performance, like tonight’s, but even when our game is not that great, we should not feel like we are not going to improve and end up “drowning.” We should never get carried away by emotions, whether positive or negative. We are in the process of building the team and that takes time. A lot can happen and change by the time the roster closes, but we want to maintain the fact that we are a bonded team and we will improve the details, because they matter. All this is a process and we should maintain a stable mindset and not get carried away by positive or negative results. We have a clear idea of the team and we always go out on the field for the win, and we have shown that so far. The team appears with a clear goal for victory; whether we achieve it or not, the team will never give up.
What elements are you taking with you from the first half? Is this half your guide to what comes next?
We would, of course, like all our games to be this way and we will strive for that. But it’s never easy to play long games at this level of performance. I believe that in the second half our elements were good – good ball movement and possession, while we also had opportunities to score. However, it’s not certain that we will always perform like this, the opponent is also competing. We have a clear idea of how the team has to come out on the field. But things in Serbia will not be easy and we must be focused throughout the entire match. The team will always try to arrive at what they achieved in the first half tonight. I agree that it was a good first half, but we have seen many positive elements in other matches as well.
