Darida: “There was interest from AEK, but I agreed with the president’s decision to stay”

In the revelation that AEK had been interested in his acquisition, Darida proceeded in an interview he gave to the German Kicker.de. The ace of Aris, however, stated that the opinion of Theodoris Karipides, the president of the team, was not to make this move and to stay in the team, something that he also accepted.

“There was interest, but our club boss didn’t want to get into the conditions. After two or three days the matter was settled, I was asked and I agreed with this decision. My family and I feel very comfortable here. We are happy to be here and Thessaloniki is a beautiful, sustainable city”, he said.

The following is his interview…



If you are following the action in Germany:



Whenever possible, I make a special effort to watch Hertha and Freiburg matches. But also the Bundesliga in general, I still know a lot of people there. I am very sorry for what happened recently in Herta. Above all, the fact that a young man dies so easily overnight is tragic. Last year my family and I were on vacation in Berlin and I was able to see people from my time again. After all, I’ve been in Germany for almost a decade, so I can’t stop being in contact with a lot of people.”

For the record he “runs” in Germany and the distance he had covered 14,650km,



“Tough question, I once set a record. But I don’t remember exactly if it was that number.”

For the Greek championship



“Through the regular season and subsequent playoffs, the top five or six teams play each other at least four times a season. This makes it at least 20 games high. The top teams here play very good attacking football. The league doesn’t exactly record run numbers, but our staff and analysts collect our GPS metrics. They always say that the coach should always start me and not replace me because that means our team average is higher.”

For his presence on Mars



“I fit into the team well from the start. I was amazed that everything worked so well. The club had a lot of confidence in me and I could play freely. Generally the game is played more aggressively and with less tactics. All this probably benefited me.”

As to whether he had accepted an offer from AEK



“There was interest, but our club boss didn’t want to get into the conditions. After two or three days the matter was settled, I was asked and I agreed with this decision. My family and I feel very comfortable here. We are happy to be here and Thessaloniki is a beautiful, sustainable city.”

For qualifying over AEK in the Cup



We won on penalties after two draws, but that’s part of the cup. Now we will play in the quarter-finals with the second division Niki Volou and then the winner from OFI would be against Panaitolikos. You can see how much our fans yearn for the final every day and everywhere. The pressure is great. Aris last reached the final in 2010, when 30,000 fans traveled to the Olympic Stadium in Athens. Such images are a dream for the whole club.”