Vokolos on bwinSPORT FM: “Panathinaikos can have Lance”

Able to challenge for qualification against Lance he called him Panathinaikos the Leonidas Vokolos through it News Bulletin 247. The former defender of the “greens”, who had scored in the victory over Lance in 1999, also spoke about the efforts of the Greek teams in Europe, yesterday’s victories over PAOK and Olympiakos, as well as his coaching future.

In detail, Leonidas Vokolos spoke to Sotiris Tabakos about:

– the three blockades in Europe: “The exclusion of AEK was unexpected, it was something bad for them and for Greek football. Many times the start of the year for our teams that do not have games in their legs is difficult in Europe. This was seen to a degree in both PAOK and Panathinaikos, but they have second chances to claim the continuation of their efforts in Europe. PAOK was dominant for 60-70 minutes, but Malmö had a better pace and in the end, by luck, equalized and sent the match to overtime. I think he will manage to get past Shamrock Rovers. Panathinaikos was a bit unlucky in the draws. Ajax never stops being Ajax, in Holland they were excellent, they played like Panathinaikos, they were also a bit lucky and ended up playing the qualification on penalties. Now he has before him Lance, a not easy opponent. I believe that Panathinaikos is on par, however, and I believe that he can make it to the group stage.”

-the goal he scored against Lance in 1999: “We’ve gone way back now… (laughs). It was a very nice moment for me and the team, we had a good run. It was one of my first games in Europe and winning such an important match gives you great joy, especially when you score the winning goal.”

– the new details of Panathinaikos with Alonso: “We see a willingness for the team to press high and get forward quickly with vertical football. I think that the good Panathinaikos can pass Lance and enter the League Phase of the Conference League”.

-the PAOK and Olympiakos games: “PAOK showed up empty, it was a difficult week. The team was mentally and physically drained after the strong shock against Malmö. Football players are not machines and they were affected. In such games the opponent can exaggerate himself. Yesterday, Panserraikos performed very well and made it very difficult for PAOK. On the contrary, Olympiacos did not have much difficulty in Volos. But it is too early to draw conclusions, we have a long way to go and I hope to see a good championship. I hope it will be as competitive as last year, which was played to the end. It was for the benefit of the product.”

-the future of: “I love what I do, I’ve certainly had the time to see some different things and I expect an opportunity, a good plan to continue doing what I love. I certainly have foreign countries in mind, there have been some discussions. I believe that at some point opportunities should be given to Greek coaches abroad, because those who came out of the borders presented a work”.