Schwab: “We are confident we can qualify – There is no place for violence in sport”

It’s about to be for him PAOK the rematch of the 0-0 with the Hajduk.

The Thessalonians aspire with the help of their fans to qualify for the playoffs Conference. THE Stefan Schwab spoke to Croatian Media about the match against Hajduk, while also commenting on the tragic events in New Philadelphia, which led to the death of the 29-year-old Michalis Katsouristressing that there is no place for violence in the stadiums.

In detail what he said:

For PAOK’s opponent:

“Honestly I have to say that our coach analyzed them very well, it was exactly as we expected. It’s always difficult to evaluate a team at first if you’ve only watched them on video or in the Croatian League. However, the impression we had about them from the matches we analyzed was confirmed in our match, that’s exactly how they presented themselves. There weren’t many surprises, but I think they also evaluated us very well, which can be seen in the result (0-0).”

On what he knew about the Split team:

“Croatia is almost a neighboring country, so of course I know something about this league, about the national team, and I also have some Croatian friends in Austria. Of course, Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split are the biggest clubs in the country. Although Hajduk has not had as much success as it would have liked in recent years, the club is well known! I knew, among other things, that they had rabid fans. Also some Austrians played for Hajduk Split, such as Lukas Gritz, who has now moved to Rapid Vienna.

Of course, I knew Ivan Lucic’s name because he is an Austrian goalkeeper. Since we are a Greek team, it is clear that we also know Markos Livaya, who played for years in AEK. I also played against him in Athens. I also know the central defender Zvonimir Sarlias who played for Panathinaikos. These are players that I know personally, that I know how to evaluate and at what level I can rank them.”

For Dominik Kotarski:

“He is an excellent goalkeeper. He shows enough maturity for his age, leaves a very good impression and has a very positive character. In my eyes, he has great potential and I am sure that PAOK will not be the last stop in his career. If he continues like this and stays the way he is, then he has a long career ahead of him. I can imagine that one day he will be a goalkeeper in the Croatian national team”.

For the rematch:

“At the beginning of every season, qualifying is unpleasant and dangerous. The team that makes the fewest mistakes will pass. We are optimistic that we will succeed. We respect the opponent, but we are also quite confident that we can win the match in Thessaloniki”.

On how he experienced the tragic event with the death of Michalis Katsouris:

“I have followed this case closely. What happened is a terrible tragedy that has absolutely nothing to do with football and sports. It is clear that they canceled the scheduled match. Of course we are watching and watching what is happening, we are competitors in the league and since we are also facing a Croatian team, there is tension and uncertainty in the air about how everything will develop.”

On football hooliganism:

“We don’t have to talk about it for long. There is no place for violence on the field, finally! We are here to play football, to do our job, to please people. Violence has nothing to do with sports.”