Coach Tsoukaritsky: “Olympiacos is a giant of European football”

Olympiakos is the absolute favorite in the Europa League playoffs matches with Chukaritskyaccording to what was said by Igor Matic.

The coach of the Serbians emphasized that his team will only win the matches against the “red and whites”, whom he characterized giant of Greek and European football.

“In the double games ahead of us, Olympiacos is the favorite, if we want to talk realistically. This team is a giant of Greek and European football. It is a team with many trophies and many games in Champions League groups, while it has players who have had a long career. I don’t need to say anything to my footballers, who will be highly motivated for these matches. We should have high motivation and will, be smart and brave, to claim a good result in AthensIgor Matic initially stated and added:

“We have prepared for the match against Olympiakos based on the abilities of the opponent. Every new coach has different requirements, but now we don’t have much time with us. I see that the team is focused and we believe that we can do good things, with all due respect to our opponent. Time will tell the improvement of the team after such games, but surely the team will be better after the experiences gained».

Regarding pressure:It is very important for our team that has secured participation in the groups of a European competition. We have the privilege of playing two qualifying matches and then we will have another six for sure. If we manage to get through against Olympiakos, it would be a great achievement for our team. In matches against such opponents, we can only win. I repeat, we should be smart and brave. We don’t have much pressure. We should be a team first and foremost. It doesn’t matter who will start in the lineup and who will be on the bench. We need every player».

On the fact that as a player he has not faced Olympiakos: “I didn’t have the chance to face Olympiakos. As a player I had played my last game in the Čukaritsky shirt in a friendly against AEK. There, we had won 1-0. I have also played in France against big clubs like Paris Saint-Germain, Marseille and others. I enjoyed these matches and they inspired me. My players should do the same. Olympiacos is the big favorite, but we also have our hopes. It is an honor and a privilege to play in such matches».