Almeida on AEK’s double: “Every day I told the players the word ‘champion'”

At champion mentality that he instilled in his players in AEK, stood o Matias Almeida in a long interview that he granted to Media of his hometown.

In particular, the Argentinian coach explained how he repeated every day to his players that the “yellow and black” are aiming for the championship and the Cup, trophies that were won by his team at the end of the season.

From there, he also referred to his change of position Levi Garcia -who, as he underlined, can be utilized even more- in his leadership characteristics Araujoin OPAP Arena and of course in this season.

In detail, Matias Almeida spoke about:

-his start at AEK: “At first it was noticeable that we were a new team. AEK was coming off a year where it did not enter any European competition. In the first games we played with a defensive trio. Then I changed it. From then on, the team started to level up, to be more even. Game by game, he grew. Halfway through the year, I think we hit our ceiling. We were at our best. Then we had a serious injury, which was Eliasson’s, and then we started playing during the week with the Cup and the league, which changes the schedule a lot. The World Cup played a very special factor for the clubs, because it stopped their championships in the middle. And we got on well there. We had to prepare, with 14 players, and everything was strange».

– the title race with Panathinaikos: “In the middle of the year, we knew that the competition between us would be strong, I said that the championship will be decided in the last second of the playoffs. Because I saw in Panathinaikos a perfect team, which played well and won. We were winning, but so were they. And they were winning games with a minute to go, on penalties. They were winning, in those ways where you say: ”He has the luck of the champion. At one point they had us at nine points. There were also Olympiacos and PAOK. It was until entering the playoffs. We entered the playoffs one point behind Panathinaikos, and the difference was that we didn’t lose in the playoffs, they did. We played 10 playoff games, the league here is good but it’s terrible because you play the whole league (the regular season), you get into the playoffs and the points keep adding up».

-You have stated that you felt something special at the AEK stadium…

“Whenever I go to a place I start to study it, it’s like I start to feel like I might do well. I had felt the same at Chivas and Banfield. Here, as soon as I arrived I felt it was going to be fine. I studied AEK a lot: I studied the team and each player separately. So, I knew what I was coming for. And I knew that it was the only door to Europe that had been opened to me so far and that I was going to make the most of it. A lot has happened… The completion of the stadium, which has a very dramatic history and how the club was created, with refugees. That stadium hasn’t existed for 20 years. I, as a coach, would be the one to debut in this stadium for AEK. There were many things I felt I would be good at at AEK. I had it on my mind every day».

-How did you manage to transmit this mentality to the team?



“I used to say the word champion to the players every day. Every day I told them: “We are working to be champions”, “We are working to win the Cup and be champions”, “We are working to be champions”. Work, to be champions. I think they were great performers of what we wanted».

– Levia Garcia and the change of position:

“I think one of the successes was putting Levi Garcia at the top of the attack. When I got here, he was playing in the wings. I changed it to “9”, because for me it is aggressive. He did very well and was almost the league’s top scorer. He is strong and fast, so he is one of the players who moves best in small spaces. In this position of center forward it is better, because it is more comfortable for him. He shoots very well with both left and right and has a very good high game. In fact, for me, we still haven’t found him the way we should find him up high: he needs to score more goals with his head and he will».

-Araujo, whom he said is the soul of the team:

“Sergio has the leadership qualities that a footballer should have on the pitch. For his devotion, for his will, for his camaraderie. I made that statement after an action he made where he could have scored the goal. But, being unselfish, he gave his teammate the ball. I think it is the example of what is missing from today’s football. I see that there is a lot of ego, a lot of “me, me”, a lot of photos of a single person and a lot of Instagram. It was a display of a football that I am fighting for to continue to exist. Soccer is a team game. I still haven’t seen one play eleven».

-exclusion from the Champions League?

“To enter the Champions League you have to be a champion, it’s very difficult to be a champion in Europe. So, I give credit to what we did before, where we won the championship. We have managed to secure our presence in the Europa League, which is very strong. AEK is a team that won two titles in one year and we are also in European competition. Yes, we were preparing to enter the Champions League, but things happen for a reason. Even if it was an offside that cost us, it means you weren’t prepared to enter the Champions League. It is simple. I try to be objective in wins and losses. I played in the Champions League during my days as a footballer so I know what this tournament is like because I saw it from the inside. I know there are things you can’t make mistakes in: In this tournament, you make a mistake and you’re out of the way. It is simple».

-the Europa League group with Brighton, Ajax and Marseille:

“It is a Champions League group. I think it will be good to measure ourselves. And who knows. Games must be played. It is true that the opponents have a different budget than us, but it is football and we have a good team. It is a unique possibility that we have to raise our level. The first game of the group is played between two derbies (with Olympiacos on 17/9 and Panathinaikos on 25/9), which changes our schedule a lot and complicates us a bit. But we will prepare in the best way».

-the debut in Europe is against a coach De Gerby, who has a football philosophy similar to yours:

“Brighton are a very well organized team. He is a coach who is respected by many. It is from my time when I was playing, that he was playing too. His team has a competitive identity, it has momentum, it has work from the back and it has very good individual characteristics. It will be a nice match. I have studied it quite a bit. They have very good and very fast players, in the style of the most modern English football. What De Gerby implements is a much more modern football».