Gacinovic: “If we are only happy with the double, we are not for AEK”

The ceiling that… does not exist in AEK’s ambitions, was highlighted through an interview by Mr Mijat Gacinovic.

The Serbian ace, speaking -through AEK TV- from Burg-Haamstende, Holland (where the “yellow and black” carry out the basic stage of their preparation), spoke about thirst that exists in the “Union”, which, as he pointed out, is not limited to the double he got last year. After all, as he added, if the players and its people in general did not have this mentality, they would not have made the club for this.

From there, he characterized last year’s AEK as a team full of MVPsmaking special reference – among others – to Orbelin Pineda.

At the same time, he referred to his own season, which was more productive than the one he had in Panathinaikoswhile he also emphasized that AEK did not lose hope at any point, emphasizing that they were the best team.

In detail, the interview of Mijat Gacinovic (at the end and the related video):

Good, but he had no numbers…

“I knew that if I started training with a team and if I did all the training with a team, I could help that team in many ways, I could help with goals and assists as well. I think I also helped Panathinaikos to play good football and win a trophy, even if I didn’t have the numbers. But for me football is not just about numbers. I was good there too. Even better at AEK, because I also had the numbers. But as I said before, I did all the preparation with the team and also played in my favorite position, where I can give the most. And it was easier for me».

The hope that was never lost and the most important moment

“I’m sure we never lost hope. If that had happened we would not have won the title. Both titles, but especially the championship. Sometimes we were even ten points behind if I remember correctly. But even then we were playing very good football. We didn’t start so well because there were a lot of new guys, even the coaching staff was new and for me it was normal that we didn’t start perfectly, but with time we got better and better. A moment when, for me, we took a huge step forward, was the away game against PAOK in the play offs, we were coming from some matches that we had not won and it was very important for us to go there and win. A really tough, tough away match in Toumba. But we played an amazing game, we had a goal disallowed that nobody ever understood why, but we didn’t lose hope, we believed until the end and finally took a huge step towards the title. I think this was a very important moment for us».

The good and the best…



“I am from Serbia and there is a similar situation. There are also some big clubs here and there, if they are not in front they will try to say a lot of things. We didn’t care about that. Our aim has always been to stay focused on the pitch, to be the best on the pitch and if we’re all honest we’ve been the best team in the season. Panathinaikos also had a great season, but I think we were a bit better».

A team full of MVPs…

“For me there are many players in the team to choose from. Because we had a lot of players who came forward in important games. For me, perhaps the most stable and the most competitively ready at any moment was Pineda. He played all the time, never got injured and in the play offs he offered a lot. Just like Garcia in the regular season was amazing, so was Sergio until he got injured. Many players had injuries, but Pineda didn’t, he played many positions… But there were many. Vida, Mukudi, Hadjisafi, Rota, they all had a very good season. When Szymanski played, when Jonsson played, they were both amazing, as well as when they played together. For me it is very difficult to choose the best of this team because if we didn’t have so many players who were very good we would never have won the championship».

When we were down to ten players in the final…



“At that moment, the only thing that mattered was getting the trophy. I didn’t care where I was going to play at that moment. The same happened with Orbelin who went right back and also played a very good game. I played like a second “six”. We knew it would be very difficult and we had to fight, but also be patient and wait for our opportunities. We were playing against a very good team and with one player less, but we never lost hope and that’s what makes this team strong».

A goal that became a painting…



“Yes, I can understand how important it is for all our fans who have been waiting for the stadium for so long. Of course it was a very important moment for me as well (including the first goal at the OPAP Arena), we are talking about a huge club, with such a rich history, with so many amazing footballers and I am proud and happy to have entered this way in its history of the club».

Thirsty for much more…



“We are… We are very thirsty because ok we had an amazing season but this is behind us and we always want to achieve more. We’ve won two trophies, but if we’re just happy with that, then we’re not that kind of club. We have the same goals this year as last season, we are working as hard as we did last summer, if not more. We will try to go and give everything like last season, but we know that the other teams will try the same. So we have to work harder than others, believe, stay strong as a team as we have been until now. We certainly don’t need to change many things, not to say that everything is perfect, but we are on the right track».