Darida: “We will fight for the Conference League groups – AEK contacted Aris”

He spoke for everyone and everything Vladimir Darida in the middle of his homeland!

His average Mars who left an excellent impression last season and is the connecting link of his team All of Terzigave an interview to the Czech magazine Goal and referred to the season that was completed, to the one that is coming in his life in Greece.

The 32-year-old also spoke about her interest AEK for his acquisition, stressing that the president of the club, Thodoris Karypidis, refused to enter into negotiations for his concession: “Immediately after the season, AEK contacted the club, but their president flatly told them no, that he was not an option at all. That was the end for me and we didn’t deal with it anymore“, he commented, characteristically, about the interest of the Greek champions.

Darida’s interview in detail:

You completed half a year in your new team. How do you rate your presence?

“I can evaluate it as positive in all respects. As for the football part, I had a good spring. We finished fifth with the team, which qualified for the European Conference League. It was also a club goal that we fulfilled. I also like Greece in terms of life, my family and I are happy here».

In such a short period of time you managed to collect several individual awards…

“It’s a reflection of how I feel on the field. I hope it continues like this».

Was it related to the fact that you were playing further forward?

“We play with a defensive midfielder, then we have two attacking midfielders down the line and I play with one of them. The last time I scored five league goals was in Plzen…»

ARIS qualified for the Europa Conference League with fifth place. Was that probably the goal of the season?

“The original goal was to finish in the top three at the start of the season, but the year didn’t go too well. After him, it was almost clear that ARIS could not go higher than fifth place in the table. We played pretty well and in the Playoffs we had some great games against tough opponents. It was proof that we have nothing to fear next season. We want to fight for the European cups again, but it will be more difficult, because only the top four teams from the Greek league will enter them in 2024/2025».

How did you see the draw?

“We’ll see. We face a long journey to Armenia, which would be a bit unpleasant. We can beat both the Armenian club and the Albanians, we are the favorite in this qualifying round. Our aim is to fight for the groups, that would be very nice».

How long was the holiday after the league ended?

“Four weeks, because the Greek championship ended quite early. This is a classic long vacation, which is common abroad. We spent more or less in the Czech Republic, we only went to Berlin for a few days, because little Andy wanted to visit his favorite places, which he missed a little. But he can enjoy the sea here until the end of September».

How is your teammate and friend Jakub Brambetz, who also had “national” duties in mid-June?

“We finished on May 14th, he continued to train individually until June 12th when the national team meet took place. We started preparations with ARIS. After his return from the National Team he was given a week or ten days leave and returned to Thessaloniki. Now it is also in full preparation».

How is the summer training in Thessaloniki. How does it compare to those in the Bundesliga?

“She is very demanding! Brambetz told me she wasn’t as hard on the previous coach last year as she is this year, that we have a new coach. He took over at the end of the season for the final five games and the following playoffs. Before that, he worked as an assistant. He is Greek, he knows the local league, he knows how it works here. It’s good for us too. We have two practices a day which are modified due to the heat, so we practice early in the morning and then in the evening. It just wouldn’t be possible during the day. We are in the gym a lot and we also run a lot on the field».

They say there was interest in you from Greek clubs!

“Immediately after the season, AEK contacted the club, but their president flatly told them no, that he was not an option at all. That was the end for me and we didn’t deal with it anymore».

Can ARIS break the hegemony of the three of Athens?

“Compared to them, we have a tighter budget, but as I said before, we managed to play balanced games against all our opponents in the playoffs. The playing staff has changed, I feel that the necessary chemistry is working in the locker room, which is always one of the necessary prerequisites for the team to succeed on the field. We need to leave at least one of the strong clubs back in the league in the new season if we want to play in European cups».

You lived in the German capital for almost seven years. Have you and your family acclimatized to life in Thessaloniki, which is probably quite different?

“Compared to Germany, there is a difference. The times are not exactly accurate. We recently ordered a trampoline for Andy, which was delivered to our house at midnight on Saturday! But the Greeks are hospitable, nice, we like the way of life here and we enjoy it.”

In less than a month you will celebrate the years of Christ. What is your biggest football motivation?

“I would like my son Andy to still remember me on the pitch, as long as my health is good and I have the necessary performance I would like to play football at the highest level for as long as possible. And also I would love to win a trophy again, the last time I did it was in the league with Plzen, before I left for Germany…».