Dimatos on bwinSPORT FM: “The sub-groups are good for our teams – 10th place is difficult this year”

Vatos, with minimal exceptions, the path is paved for all three Greek teams in the next round of the European Cup qualifiers, after the announcement of the sub-groups for PAOK, Panathinaikos and AEKas he pointed out to News Bulletin 247 o Andreas Dimatos. The UEFA executive spoke from Nyon, ahead of today’s draws, to Michalis Tsocho about:

– the sub-groups of the Greek teams: “All three main sub-groups with potential opponents of the three Greeks are very good, on a theoretical level. I also see that our teams this year compared to previous years have advanced more in their transfer planning and can appear.”

-whether tenth place in the UEFA country rankings is possible: “It is rather unlikely that we will get the tenth place this year. But we can place ourselves in twelfth or eleventh place, to claim it next year. The minimum is to maintain the achievements, to have the five teams. The main issue is for all four of our teams to be in the League Phase.”

-PAOK’s path to the Champions League qualifiers: “The worst possible matches for PAOK would be with Sparta Prague, Ludogorets and APOEL. PAOK avoided all three of these teams. His group is good, he is and will be strong until the end in the qualifiers. Banja Luka comes first and then we’ll see. The first qualification for PAOK ensures the team its participation in the League Phase, minimum for the Conference, although this year is an ideal time to enter the ‘groups’ for the first time in its history”.

– Panathinaikos’ path to the Europa League qualifiers: “He must avoid the pair of Ajax with Vojvodina, any other draw that gives him the possibility to see his continuation in the competition. If he manages to pass Botev and pass the next round, he will ensure his participation in the League Phase, minimum for the Conference. I don’t know if the League Phase of the Conference is better for Panathinaikos, to improve its coefficient. It would be good for him to avoid the team that will emerge from Dynamo Kyiv-Partizan.”

-AEK’s road to the Conference League qualifiers: “The AEK sub-group is good, because although strong, there were some dangerous teams, such as Brodby, St. Gallen, etc. The three couples that will produce a winner are preferable, rather than living with the anxiety of Ajax and Braga being eliminated. For AEK, it is more difficult to enter the League Phase than to make a good progress there.”