Mandas: “I went to Lazio with a suitcase, I knew I had to come back immediately to catch OFI’s training”

His transfer to Lazio caught him… almost off guard, but he fell headlong into the job Christos Mandasas he emphasized speaking to SPOR FM Crete 104.2.

The 22-year-old goalkeeper spoke about life in Italy and the hard work he does at the Italian club. At the same time, he mentioned the strong bond he has with OFI and the way the club and Valdas Dabrauskas helped him develop.

In detail, what was said by SPORT FM of Crete:

For life in Italy: “Everything is fine, I haven’t had time to see Rome because I’m always with the team, we’re constantly having matches, but everything is very nice here.”

For his transfer to Lazio: “It was something very fast, it wasn’t something that existed before. We had never spoken to the team before. Everything happened in one day, they wanted me to go…to play in Italy tomorrow. I have admired this league since I was a child. If they told me I would come this early in this league, I wouldn’t have thought it possible. It was a very beautiful feeling for me at first, but at the same time very strange, I couldn’t realize it.”

For his loan to OFI from Lazio which was ultimately not achieved: “I knew I was going to Lazio with a suitcase, as did those who were with me. We went in the afternoon and I knew that the next day I had to come back, catch OFI’s training and play with PAOK. We had all gone with one suitcase. It is very important in a team that the coach and the goalkeeper coach want you. The coaches gave the order and I stayed straight at Lazio. I wanted to have the pressure to get right into the thick of it and figure out what’s going on over there. I wanted to show that I can stay and compete in the team. This gives me an extra motivation to show that I can do many more things. They trust me here, even though I haven’t got a game yet.”

For his departure from OFI: “In OFI I found my second family, my first, all together. I loved everything in Crete, the team, the people. Unfortunately I left in a hurry and didn’t have time to say hello as I would have liked. I think the time will come when I can return to greet properly. I am left with the fact that I did not have time to greet the people at OFI. To give you an idea, when I came here, I was on duty at Lazio’s away game against Napoli. My girlfriend – who now lives with me here in Rome – hadn’t come yet and she went and watched OFI’s game against PAOK, instead of watching the game on TV, you understand the love we all have for the team”.

For Valdas Dabrauskas: “Mr. Dabrauskas and I had a very good relationship and he played a big role in my development. Because things happened the way they did we didn’t have time to say much. But the advice everyone gave me was don’t change, work and everything will happen. I didn’t even get to greet my coach.”

For the national team: “There couldn’t have been a better time to be called up to the National Team than when I was at OFI. OFI helped me and I reciprocated. I think the timing didn’t stick for me to be called up to the National Team because the other goalkeepers were also in good shape.”

For OFI and its world: “At the beginning of the season, when I didn’t know I was going to leave, I said that I would like OFI to go to the Cup and why not the cup. I always looked only at the successes with OFI. I don’t think I can give the love I got from the team back. I was trying to be good with people, I was trying to show them how much I love the team and Crete. This love is not returned if you play, it is something different. Since I went to Rome I have not been to Greece, nor to Athens which is my home. I have said that my first trip to Greece will be to Crete, I have also told the people of OFI.”