He has a date with history on Saturday night (24/8, 22:00, Cosmote TV, Mega) Olympic in the historic “Maracana”, with the club’s U19 facing the Flamenco to the big one final of the Intercontinental.
Speaking on UEFA’s official website, the coach of the “red and whites”, Sotiris Sylaidopoulosreferred to this great moment of the club with the participation in the final of the Intercontinental Championship, in the team’s progress until winning the Youth League last season, but also for the new U19 coach, Romain Pitot, since he himself will sit for the last time on the club’s bench.
The statements of Sotiris Sylaidopoulos in detail:
For the Maracana game: “Firstly, it’s a great experience for us to be able to play in a stadium like Maracana. There are stadiums, such as Wembley and Maracana, which are considered sacred by football fans.
To be able to have this opportunity to play in the Maracana, against Flamengo, fighting for such an important trophy for the club and for Greece, is an experience that will remain in our minds forever. From what we understand, there will be a lot of fans there, so that will make the experience even more complete.”
For Flamengo: “We have analyzed several Flamengo games, both in the Libertadores and in the regular season. They are a very strong and very, very good team who have individual talent at their disposal and speed in the attacking third. I’m sure it will be a very difficult game.
They have the advantage of playing at home and more importantly they have played more games than us recently as our league hasn’t started yet. But, of course, every team has its strengths and weaknesses and in our own way, with our own plan, we will try to make the most of them and fight as we want until the end.
Of course, for me and some of the players it will be the last game in this age group. It really couldn’t be a better scenario than being able to compete for such an important title as the Intercontinental Cup at the Maracana. So for us, it’s a final stage, it’s a unique experience and it’s very important for all of us to fight as one.
Let’s not forget that this team has achieved amazing things both in Greece, with back-to-back titles, and in winning the Youth League, which was the first time for a Greek team. We want to close our circle in the best possible way and winning the Intercontinental Cup would be the ‘last dance’ for this whole team”.
On whether the Youth League triumph helped inspire the Conference League’s… bigwigs: “Having been involved in both achievements, both in the Youth League as a coach and in the first team as an assistant to Mr Mendiliber, I think there was a mutual influence between the teams which helped develop that belief. There was an energy and a sense of belief around the club that we could achieve a lot. Both successes are closely related and go hand in hand. we are very, very happy and proud about it.”
On whether these conquests could bring confidence to Greek clubs in future international competitions: “Last week, when we played Nottingham Forest’s first team in a friendly, two of the four UEFA trophies were on display at the Karaiskakis Stadium. This in itself shows that the appropriate measures have been taken, not only at the level of organization at Olympiakos, i.e. the academy and the senior teams, but much more at the level of Greek football as a whole.
These successes create a path of confidence for other teams and for Greek football – to have more faith that we have the potential to achieve things as Greeks. I am very optimistic about the future of Greek football, be it the teams or the talent that is now coming through our clubs and even the organizations themselves.
I think Olympiacos is a pioneer in this regard and, after winning both of these European trophies, we can say that Olympiacos is among the elite European clubs.”
The talents of Olympiakos who won the Youth League in the first team: “First of all, the fact that we have five guys in the first team at the moment, and they demand to be in the team and they demand to get game time, it’s very important for the club. It is a plan that has been in place for the past three to four years and seems to be working well.
Winning the Youth League, which I see as a mini version of the Champions League for the seniors, is vital. The way we won it shows that Olympiacos has strong foundations and a promising future for the development of new talent.
The opportunity to play at such a high level – and, for me, the Youth League is the highest level at this age – helps you develop the kids, create routines and provide experience that is hard to come by in the Greek league. Even more, to evaluate the children at the highest level and against very difficult opponents. I think being in the Youth League helped us grow and develop these kids.
It exposes them to different cultures and new teams at the highest level. For me, that’s the most important thing: to be able to compete at the highest level. Because in order to wear the Olympiakos jersey, either with the first team or with one of the youth teams, you absolutely have to be tested at this level.”
With his own role integrating young players into the senior team: “It’s very important for me and for the club in general that we have a person who really knows the lads personally, and it’s important for those lads too because when they come into the first-team environment – which is completely different to the youth teams – there’s a person who knows them, so we can help them make that transition as smooth as possible.
Also, in cooperation with the coach, Mr. Medilibar, it is very important to ensure that the information and what the coach wants is conveyed to the young players in the clearest and easiest way.
Of course, we are there to help them develop further because their improvement does not stop when they reach the first team. We create programs, whether it’s gym work or primarily technical and tactical training, that help them continue their personal improvement. Having that person – and I’m speaking from personal experience when he helped me in the first team – helps these guys have as smooth a transition as possible.”
On his successor as coach of Olympiakos U19, Romain Pitot: “It’s very important to develop both as an academy and as a team – this team has set the bar very high. I have the utmost confidence in the academy and the way it operates, as well as the entire organization. We will have a very strong shape for the new season.
It is not easy to repeat the success, but the most important thing is that we continue to develop academy players and bring them into the first team – apart from all the titles and everything we have achieved, the biggest achievement, the biggest joy and pride, is to see these guys play in the first team. If we have played even the smallest role in making their dreams come true, that makes me happy and proud.”
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
