Mendiliber: We wanted to win before a European final – If I had come two months earlier it might have been worse

In that the Olympic wanted to go with victories in the final of the Europa Conference League, stood o Jose Luis Mendilibar at the press conference after the (2-0) victory over her AEK in “G. Karaiskakis”.

In fact, when asked about what would have happened if he had taken over Piraeus two months earlier, he emphasized that things might have turned out worse for Piraeus.

In detail, José Luis Mendiliber spoke about:

-his approach so that his players don’t get tired: “The first thing we look at is to make a good recovery and then prepare them. Then we look at the spiritual part. Today we did much better in this part compared to PAOK. We learned our lesson and were very well prepared».

-the profits of the victory against the background of the next two matches: “Today it was very important to win because we didn’t want a second defeat. It is important for our psychology to have a winning mentality. We wanted to remember how we are winners before a European final (to be winners). We had to forget what happened against PAOK and continue like this».

-whether it was a “rehearsal” in view of Panathinaikos: “The rehearsal takes place in all matches and not in one. And the game against PAOK was also a rehearsal. The same against Panathinaikos. We always try to win and show what we can do».

-what would have happened if he had come earlier and for Apostolopoulos: “You can never predict something like this. I took over the team in these conditions. If I had taken the team two months earlier, things might have been worse.

When I took over the team I had 28 players, which means there wasn’t time for everyone. Apostolopoulos might not have played had Ortega-Richards not been injured. He seized the opportunity. This teaches everyone to always be prepared because you never know when the opportunity will come».