THE Panathinaikos gives yet another “final”, after confronting her Braga at OAKA (29/8, 22:00) aiming to upset and qualify for the Champions League groups.
THE Ruben Perez represented the players at the press conference and overemphasized the importance of this particular match, asking for the support of the world with the promise that he and his teammates would give everything to “very important match for the history of Panathinaikos”.
In detail what he said:
For the strong presence of the world: “More than what will happen off the pitch, our thoughts are on what will happen on the pitch. The people will be by our side, they will help us, they will support us and we expect a strong fight”.
To qualify: “Before the match we knew how the team plays. We players have to make decisions. The result is 2-1, the away goal does not count as a double. I have a lot of confidence in my teammates and I’m sure that tomorrow we will have a good match.”
On the importance of the match to the players: “If I told you no, it would probably be a lie. It is a very important match for the club, the history of Panathinaikos, the return to the “living rooms”. It’s a challenge for everyone, the goal is to pass. In Marseille we played against a very experienced team and we were able to overcome the obstacle. This is what we will try here. It will be a long fight. I have a lot of confidence.”
On Braga’s strengths and Spanish players: “I don’t like to make distinctions, I can say that they are a strong team and they have experience in the sets. It has experienced players, I know them, I don’t think about specific players, I see the team. We will be ready.”
On whether he imagined it would get to this point: “It’s something we’ve been talking about for several weeks. Of course, earlier we saw it as something difficult. But we made it. The team had additions, got stronger and although I saw it as difficult, little by little we saw that we might succeed. Even with the last negative result, we are separated by a goal. We will try and do our best.”
On whether he thinks the atmosphere at OAKA will affect Braga: “There will be times when the opponents will not feel at home. But on the field they play 11 against 11. Things will not be easy for the opponent, I call on the people to support us like in Leoforos”.
Source: Sport Fm
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