Olympiacos won 2-0 Asteras in Tripoli and got an important “three points”. At the press conference, Diego Martinez commented on the game against Arkades, but he was also asked about what followed, outside of the competition, the derby with Panathinaikos.
Diego Martinez’s statements in detail:
“Let me first of all congratulate all the players and the whole team, those who were key, those who played as a substitute, even those who did not play. We got back at 07:30 in the morning from London, we were sleepless. We only did one training session together for this match, against an opponent and a home ground, which always makes it difficult for us. We got an important win for us, it was important to get back to winning ways.
It was a demanding game in England and you all know how struggling the team was. We had to face Asteras with total concentration, a game in which we suffered and struggled, but we managed to win it. However, we are proud, because this is football, to compete and try with all the difficulties to get the results you want and to develop. When we prepare a game we don’t prepare it only with eleven footballers, but with the whole team because we know that some changes may be needed along the way.
We started with one player, who had pains in his back, and we were ready to substitute him when needed. There are always problems, I don’t need to tell you who it was, what we have to do is to be ready when the team needs us. That’s what matters, to face the difficulties. Not all players can always have the same level of adaptability and readiness, but everyone is useful and everyone should help and be ready at all times».
The game against Panathinaikos as it developed was something that affected the team psychologically. Do you think it was a testing period for the team and the club? Olympiacos also scores, gets ahead and then shows a lack of self-confidence, the team could have equalized with Asteras, it happened with Topola, but they had a suspension, the team had this last year as well, does it bother you?
“Football is like that, you can always score or concede and West Ham with us could have conceded a goal afterwards after taking the lead. Olympiacos does not play alone, it always has an opponent and is always there to make it difficult for us. In modern football everything is balanced and anything can happen. With Topola, we conceded a goal in the last minutes, but it was a special case. We had an offside boundary, a sending off, but you always have an opponent against you, you don’t play alone. The performance of our team is good and this is also due to the numbers and they show that we are performing well.
Apart from what has happened off the field and outside the games, everything else shows that in Greece and Europe we are performing well. In Europe we deserved to have something more than what we have so far. Regarding the other question, of course we are angry. It was an upset for the team because basically they have deprived us of something that we had won on the pitch, that makes us angry. But that’s the situation, we can’t do anything, as players we have to accept it. We have to think that the team has good and bad moments and everything depends on the moments we are in, that’s football, it’s important to overcome difficulties.
As he did now with Asteras Tripoli, you all know that the team struggled with Thursday’s game, the team came here tired, faced a difficult opponent but we managed to win and we all know how difficult it is to win this championship. But if we want to get it we have to do more and better things than others do and one thing we have to do is overcome difficulties».
We saw again Fortounis providing solutions to Olympiakos. Is this a blessing or is it a sign of dependence that the team must find to perform as well without him as it did at OFI?
“The answer lies in your question itself, with OFI we saw that without Fortounis and Rodinei we found solutions. However, the morning before the match I had this discussion with Kostas and I explained to him that it would be better to have him in the middle of the match and give solutions, than to have him from the beginning suffering and tired after the demanding game with West Ham.
Also, what happened in the match is due to the effort of the whole team because we knew that when the game opens, the whole team should take advantage of this moment. And there the talent of Fortounis was shown and he was able to make a difference. Kostas explained to me that he started his career in this team and it was a special day for him, we are happy for what he achieved. But the whole team helped. People who have known Olympiakos for more years than I have, and who have known Fortounis who is at Olympiakos for many years, constantly tell me that Kostas is having his best year of all the years he has been in the team.
I am happy about that, but it is also due to the interaction that Kostas has with the team because the team makes him happy and he is confident and all this brings us this great result. These two goals count a lot for us, but I will say something publicly what I said to Kostas after our return from England.
The game he played at West Ham defensively and offensively was a European-level game and there he played an amazing game and it is something as important as the two goals he scored now. In football, it’s not the time you play that matters, but the quality. Just like at home, you want the time you have with your children to be quality».
Source: Sport Fm
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