Almeida: “Very bad the night before Olympiakos – AEK went back and played with Atromitos”

The report on last year’s AEK season – his first with the yellow and black, which was combined with the conquest of double– did o Matias Almeida from Burg-Haamstade in the Netherlands, where his team is conducting the main stage of its preparation.

The “two-headed” coach emphasized that he did not doubt that something good would come when he discussed with AEK the possibility of their cooperation. Noting, however, that it is not easy and it does not always happen (this good) comes quickly. While, he explained the basis of the opinion (which he had repeated many times) that the championship will be played until the last second.

Almeida stood at first defeat from Volosbut also in “click” which was not done by playing with him Panetolico as most people believe.

The doubles coach referred to review which he accepted ahead of the victorious Cup match with Olympicemphasizing that he had a really bad time the night before the match.

At the same time, he also answered about the infamous confrontation with Fearless at the Municipal Stadium of Peristeri, emphasizing that on the one hand there are regulations, on the other hand that his team went back to play the match.

Finally, he referred to how he lived the game with him Mars at “Kl. Vikelidis” the penultimate matchday, while he underlined how the Cup final with PAOK is an answer to what kind of team AEK was.

“Everything we have accomplished is now on file, guarded and now ours. Now the challenge for us is to do well in Europe and continue to have an AEK competitive and fight to the end for their goals like they did last season“, he noted in conclusion.

Watch the video of the interview on “AEK TV” and then the relevant text:

FROM MAY ’22 TO MAY ’23…



Actually I always try to be guided by seeing the moment, not only in the competitive part but in many aspects and when I had the possibility to come to AEK, I had no doubt that something good was coming, that a change would come but I knew it would take time. Sometimes the procedures take time, sometimes more and sometimes less. Here, with what happened thanks to the players, thanks to the management, to the support from our people, to our work, to this association that I am constantly looking for, the result was to come quickly. It’s not easy and it doesn’t always happen. I believe that in football it takes time to show the work.

THE DEFEAT FROM VOLOS…



We live in a world that is materialistic and overzealous for success. I’ve been in football for 30 years and I didn’t see any magic. I have never seen any club in the world sell the drugs of success. Otherwise everything would be easier, the strongest would win because they would buy them and they would always be champions. What I think is that both in wins, draws and losses we always have to keep the positives and the negatives. They are all part of the process but mostly the way. The way is fundamental because we lost that game with Volos, but Volos had reached our own goal twice. So in this game, studying the opponent and seeing what could happen, we would play that way.

AGRINIOS, THE OPENINGS AND THE “CLICK”

I think our work started on the first day of preparation, as it starts now for the new season. Maybe someone outside the group will think that the “click” happened there, but we had already discussed the “click”. They are the ones who understand it at the right time, the ones who need some time and they are the ones who continue.

END OF FIRST ROUND, 8 DEGREES BACK…



I always thought, obviously, about each day knowing that the championship would be played down to the last game as it was. You will remember that I had repeated many times. Since December I have been repeating that it will be played until the last second of the last match. Now, the question is why I was saying that. I don’t believe I’m a fortune teller. What I believe is how competitive we could be. And indeed I think that something we will all agree on is that the Greek league managed to become a really interesting league again because it came to the end that there was competition between many teams and it was not won by the same team as was usual and at the same time boring.

SO THERE WAS NO FEAR WITH INJURIES



I believe in the team that I coach and I often feel that they feel that commitment and when I feel that they lose it, then I bring them back. I knew that if they trained like they did last year, everyone would have a chance and they had to be ready for that moment. And that means teamwork. Each with different characteristics, but everyone contributed by putting their little stone.

THE “3-0” XI WITH OSFP



The night before the game, I had a really bad time because we were doing well and the decision I made to put on players who had less playing time was criticized a lot. So that annoyed me, but it gave me strength to continue to believe what I preach, which is that I believe in the footballers, I believe in the work and above all I respect them and this for me was an act to show that I respect the decision I had made. I made that decision in that game. It doesn’t mean I’ll always do the same but it worked out the way I thought it would and if it hadn’t gone well it would definitely have been a difficult time for my career, for which I’ll always be against this over-zealousness for success, but now almost My 50 years, I understand that it is part of the environment where we coexist. I like to notice a lot of things and that time I could make out a greeting before the game and I could make out and verify what I was thinking with a greeting after the game. I also went into the process of imagining, if the result had been different, what the post-game greeting would have been like.

THE DOKARIA, THE MEASUREMENTS AND THE BALLS…



What I am saying is that if there are regulations it is in favor of football. Why go against the rules? And we went and played the game again. But they showed the tape measure in many fields, but in some other fields they threw the ball into the field of play, more than once. But football is also folklore, I see it that way.

WHAT THEY SAID AGAINST US…



I respect all people who walk the earth. I do this job because I like to win and then everything that has to do with the comments, the arguments between the managers, the misuse they make on their social networks, I leave them on the sidelines, I don’t care. I think that’s something that doesn’t stick in the sports world. Also, now that I think about it, maybe they want to get a starring role and become recognizable in some way. What I always say is that if there are such statements they should have concrete evidence. As many times as I lost, I go and congratulate the opponent. When I see a coach whose team is playing well, before the game I congratulate him and appreciate his work. Maybe after a game someone is angry and has a reaction or makes some bad statement. But when you’re behind a phone and it’s been a while and you’re texting, that’s worse because you’re confusing a lot of people. And I believe something in life: “I will cast the first stone among you without sin” and that’s where all the arguments end because who is righteous in this life…he is not here…we all make mistakes but then if we wanted to keep the tradition with all this, we could congratulate AEK. This is an act that shows greatness in my opinion. I congratulate the opponent because he won a full stop.

THE PROBLEMS OF AEK WERE JUST FOR AEK…



I try not to use excuses. If I started making excuses before a game, I would essentially be looking for defeat with my words. And I really don’t feel it. One may speak but feel differently and be exposed. But I had total confidence in the guys, each one individually, in their day-to-day work and injuries are part of football, right?

HOW DID THIS PROGRAM COME OUT?



I was thinking about the number of games we had in so few days, but I was also thinking about how this schedule had turned out… But we had to play, whoever wants to be champion has to play and luckily things went well.

THE EVENING AT “VIKELIDIS”



No, I wasn’t listening or asking about the other game. I had told the players that they should play until the last second of the season and the game between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos was a game where there were many doubts and Olympiacos played as they should have played. Look, we have to be realistic about everything. We were bound to win. So we knew that if we won we would have some chance.

THE LOST FINALS AND THE ANSWER ABOUT WHAT TEAM WE ARE



This did not give me extra motivation. Besides, I wasn’t here. In football, everything changes so quickly that there are moments in history that you cannot be. This final is a response to what we were as a team. We played for 90 minutes with one player less against a big opponent so we talk about the mentality we had worked on in preparation. There were times when I told them that if I had 7 footballers I would play. I knew we could do it. It would be difficult but….now we have remained in history. But apparently I have now closed this book. I closed it and saved it. Now I open another one and it starts all over again.

IN THE BEGINNING, JUST… A STRANGER



The first thing was that I was a stranger. They saw me as a stranger. Who is he…what will he do…but I always believed in what we do, we try to work, good or bad we work and when you work there is always a reward. That’s why and to close. When I win and they talk, I believe a little, because after all the years I’ve been in football, I know they’re waiting now, so I don’t want to give that advantage away. What we have achieved is now on file, saved and now ours. Now the challenge for us is to do well in Europe and continue to have an AEK competitive and fight to the end for their goals as they did last season.