Lucescu: “The rematch with Club Brugge is a game of life – the atmosphere of Toumba is very important”

THE PAOK invited to the second leg of Toumba with Club Brugge (18/04, 22:00) to overturn the 1-0 first leg to be the one to get the ticket for his semi-finals European Conference League.

At the press conference ahead of tomorrow’s great match, Mr Razvan Lucescuhe characterized it game of lifewhile he also stood in the atmosphere of Toumba.

At the same time, he avoided comparisons between the Belgian team and Dinamo Zagreb, however, he said that the 2-0 win against the Croatians had brought more difficult position the “black and white”, compared to now.

In detail, what Razvan Lucescu mentioned:

For tomorrow’s match: “Every game has its own story and tomorrow’s match will be different. Brugge is a good team, representing football that is at the top level. It is a high level team. The first match was difficult and the goal we conceded definitely affected us and gave confidence to the opponent. They were also pushed by their audience, but we tried to fight. We didn’t fall down, we reacted. The result could be different. We could have equalized. Bruges certainly deserved a little more victory, but football is judged in moments and details».

For the configured data: “I don’t like this kind of discussion. We also had players out during this period. Those don’t matter. There are always absences. Club Brugge didn’t play last week, while we played three games. We don’t step on a scale. We know that we will have good support from our crowd and as I have said many times, it is not so important the fear that the opponent feels, but the energy that the crowd gives to their own team. In the difficult moments when we will press Bruges and play our game, surely the atmosphere of Toumba will be very important and can trouble the Belgians».

For Club Brugge: “I am not comparing Club Brugge with Dinamo Zagreb. They are two teams with experience, but I don’t like to compare. Dinamo has its own characteristics and its own quality and Bruges has something different. You can’t compare the two games. It is important for us to reach what we want. It was important not to have a big gap after the first match. The goal is to get on the field and win the game. We know we are playing a strong team, but with less pressure on us. It’s not impossible. The only thing I can compare with Dynamo is that back then things were more difficult from a psychological point of view, because we were coming from a 2-0 defeat».

On whether he considers this to be PAOK’s most difficult game in Europe this year: “Overall we don’t have the advantage. A week ago we played against Club Brugge, we had played a derby in Greece with intensity. We played Lamia who had to get the result, while Bruges had not played a match before us. Now, it was good for us that we had these days to prepare and some players had time to come back, but tomorrow is a game that requires psychological preparation. For some it is a game of life! What’s nicer? I can’t say it’s the most important, all matches are important. To get here, we had to face many other teams. We also had the championship, where no one gave us hope. Every game gave us a boost and it was important. The level of quality and experience now is different and that’s why we have to be 100% ready».