Almeida: “AEK was like leaving a lion bloodied, that if it grabs you, eats you”

Terrible statements from Matias Almeida at the press conference after AEK’s spirited victory (2-3) over him Volos.

The technician of the “bicephalus” stopped at reaction which his team showed, likening it to… a lion that you leave bleeding, but which if it seizes you eats you!

At the same time, he explained that he is tied to the “yellow and black”, that’s why suffers when they losewhile dwelling on the message of unity he shared with Mukudi, who was propped up after the mistake he made. “If the coach takes off the player who makes a mistake, then he does it to save himself“, he said characteristically.

In detail, Matias Almeida spoke about:

– the victory of AEK and the way it came: “I think I can divide this victory into several parts. Teams sometimes make mistakes and they can pay dearly. We should work harder to not make so many mistakes. There were some doubts about how we would be since we will not continue in the Champions League. In the end it seemed that spiritually we were fine. We made a serious mistake and conceded the first goal from the opposition and then a second mistake and we were down to ten men. But we got a reaction, which was the reaction that this team is used to in the world. We could lose the match, but also draw. I maintain that our players showed this love that I ask of them for football and that was enough to give us the victory. It’s a win that shows character. When you represent a team that has a long history and when sometimes things don’t go well, you have to give your soul. The guys understood very well what we said, we played as a team but really today it was very important to get the three points».

-what he would like his team to improve during the break: “We will have a lot of absences during the break, because a lot of players will be missing. But there are also some players who are coming back from their injuries. But we will have the opportunity to work on some mistakes we make that have to do with lack of concentration. In all the games so far we are behind the score and we are called upon to turn the situation around».

-what image does AEK leave of him in the first matches: “I like to win. When we lose I really suffer because I am attached to the team. It’s like letting go of a lion that is bloody, but if it grabs you it eats you. This is who we are. We don’t change love and passion with anything. The taste is good, but we will work to fix things. This year we have one more point compared to how we started last year, we came very close to the dream of the Champions League and we will have the opportunity to participate in a nice competition like the Europa League. But it is true that there are things that need to be improved».

-that after his goal Amrabad ran to hug him and if this is a message of unity: “The messages given by the team today were many. First, that we do not compromise. The message of unity comes even after Mukudi’s mistake, which we all supported. We proved once again that when we are all together, we are competitive. That was why he gave us two titles. Great teams need to show their potential when they are not well».

-the changes: “Every coach has his own playbook and makes decisions based on that. I was thinking about the game that this energy that I wanted the team to produce was going well. As long as we were in control I left it to the players to spend their energy. Some were tired because we had back-to-back games, while there were quite a few ups and downs in emotions. On the other hand, the players who were in the national team did half the preparation. I thought about the whole situation and the data. I thought about putting Pineda in the middle, but Jonson had an amazing match. And Galanopoulos was doing well, so I waited for one of the two to get tired to take him out. We finished the game with two stoppers, a full-back and a defensive midfielder. Everyone else who went through the match had attacking qualities, so we sent the message that we want to win».

-the issue of stoppers: “I am always satisfied with all my players. I was a footballer, I know mistakes are made and I never take a player off for making a mistake. If the coach takes off the player who makes a mistake, then he does it to save himself».