Sporar: “The championship with Panathinaikos – The way Terim works suits the players”

Totally focused on helping him Panathinaikos in the conquest of this year’s championship, Andraz Sporar declares to the media of his homeland. The Slovenian striker refers to the greens, to the conduct of the games without fans in the stands, to Fatih Terim and also to Fotis Ioannidis.

Sporar’s statements in detail:



For Panathinaikos derby week, in the Cup with Olympiakos and in the championship with AEK, and all this in front of empty stands:



“The situation is concrete. Derbies are made by the fans, especially here in Greece, where the fans are very emotional and live to support their team. So there won’t be any real pulse to the game, but the media will do their thing before the match. Honestly, they only talk about these games.”

On the fact that last year Panathinaikos lost the title at the hands of AEK and how they will prevent it this year:



“We are a year more experienced in the battle for the title. If we are smart, we can learn a lot from last season, when we lost the championship due to our own mistakes. This year we are again at the top of the standings and we will do everything to win this title, which the team has been waiting for for many years.”

Regarding the change of coach, even if Terim is the biggest coach name he has worked with:



“Yes definitely. We’ll see how Ruben Amorim does at Sporting, but for now this is true. He seems to have experience, he has the gift. He won the league eight times with Galatasaray, coached Milan, Fiorentina, the Turkish national team. The way he works suits the players well, the intensity in training is high, so to sum it up, he’s old school.”

For his limited playing time, which however combines him with goals:



“The fact is that Fotis Ioannidis is a project of the team. We have to admit that he is in great shape. But I do my job. When I get the chance, I try to help the team, score goals and be fit. Of course, I would like to play more minutes, but with my performances and goals, I put pressure on my coach to play as much as possible.

We must not forget that Panathinaikos is a big team, where 20 very important footballers play. We play a lot of games, we were also in Europe. Every player wants to play 90 minutes in every game, that’s not happening at the moment, but it’s up to me to respond on the pitch when I get the chance.”

For moving to Italy scenarios:



“No, it’s impossible. There’s no point in asking me.”

On whether it is difficult for someone who plays for Panathinaikos to be convinced to play in Serie B:



“There is no question. At Panathinaikos I scored 24 goals in a year and a half. I was often the one who refereed the matches. So I doubt the team would let me go elsewhere in the middle of the season. Especially when you consider that we are contending for the championship. But I can’t say something with 100% certainty, because we all know how football and life are. In any case, I am fully committed to winning the Greek championship with Panathinaikos.”

On whether he is thinking about Euro 2024, where he will play against Slovenia in the summer:



“There’s still a long time to go, but it’s in the back of my mind. Last year, when we were talking during the season, I admitted that I always had Euro 2024 qualifiers on my mind. That was no surprise because it was six crucial games. Slovenia has not participated in this event for many years, so we are all looking forward to it. But before that, each of us has very important goals with our teams. But it’s always in the back of my mind.”