Terim: “I enjoyed our game – Let’s play in every match with the same seriousness”

He expressed his satisfaction for the victory over Aris, but mainly for the appearance of his football players Press conference the coach of Panathinaikos, Fatih Terim.

The Turkish coach, with his statements, focused on the reaction of his players after the two draws with Lamia and Kifisia, on the excellent performance of Zeka and Bernard, while he also made a special mention to Yannis Kotsirasfrom whom, as he revealed, he asked to be “sacrificed” in order to help in the suspension part.

Among other things, he also highlighted the weak moments of the “clover” in the static phases in the defense phase.

What the Turkish coach said in detail at the press conference:

Regarding the performance of Panathinaikos and the difference compared to the previous two: “Today we played very serious, good football. We played a good game. I enjoyed the game from the bench. Our opponent also played a big role in this, he wanted to play football. We usually lose points, we usually play 80-85% with the ball, we make around 50 crosses, we are with the ball 30 times in the area and it ends 2-2 (vs. Lamia). Then we are in front of the score, we don’t leave any chances in our own goal and suddenly we are left with ten players and then we concede an own goal (s.s. with Kifisia).

Let’s put that aside. Nevertheless, we must win. We were really very upset that we had lost points. That is why these three days did not pass very well and comfortably for all of us. Today we went from playing individually to team play. I believe that with each passing day, we understand each other better. This week we met and talked more person to person. Our wish is to keep this game and every day to add something more. We really played against a good opponent today. The time you have is never too important. When we also have those missing with injury, we will be better. But some players really change too much on the pitch.”

On the fact that Panathinaikos’ best performances during his days are against the strongest opponents and if his optimism for the championship is due to the fact that he will play with them in the playoffs: “Nice question. We can also open closed defenses. The most dangerous thing is when we have the comfort that no matter what happens we will score and win. This is dangerous. If we don’t make the right moves in the field and they create overnumbers, it doesn’t mean that we will get the result. That’s why we have to be serious and play like today. The feeling that whatever we are we will win is very dangerous. Today if we hadn’t lost those 4 points, we would have been first. That’s what we lost ahead of the playoffs. We have to play every match with the same seriousness. We won one match, let’s win the next one. Did we score a goal? Let’s put more, 2,3,4. Every match is important, every opponent. We will always know that and play according to that.”

For the appearance of Bernard and Zeke: “Both are very important players for us. They both played very well. And the role Fotis took, the way he played, was very important. And Bakasetas was as he should be today. Palasios played both in defense very well today, and in attack. And our defense today was good. When the opposition had the ball, we closed down every spot on the pitch very well. And when we had the ball, what we had worked on and wanted, we do regularly. In the first half it could have been very different. We had 5-6 chances. And in the second half, even though Philip got the yellow card early, he played very well. Because as you know, Juancar is injured and had no substitute.

I also want to make a parenthesis about Kotsiras: I asked him to play in the second as well, to make the sacrifice, because he is very important to us in defense as well. I was very happy today for both Akaidin and Hugo. It is not easy, but the more they trust themselves, the more they will give us. Both in attack and defense, we played at a very high level. I believe that our fans who came to the stadium today and those who saw us on TV, were also pleased.”

On the weaknesses of today’s match, mainly in the defensive setups: “We have to be better in set-pieces. There was a corner and a side ball that became dangerous. As they find confidence in themselves, they will become better. For me, as important as it is to find many opportunities, it is also important not to give many to the opponent. We are working on them. We will fix this too and we will become better.”