Bakasetas: “Jovanovic said let’s make history in London, extra strength for everyone Baldock from now on”

THE Tasos Bakasetas he was disarming, speaking to News Bulletin 247 for what the Greek National Team achieved in the two games against England and Ireland, for 4×4 in this year’s Nations League.

“Extra strength for all of us Baldock from now on. He was a winner…” said o chief of the “blue and white” for the 31-year-old international who “left” so suddenly, prematurely and unfairly last week…

“He believes in us, Jovanovic talks to us in a different way, we all know what we can achieve. I will be burdened if we don’t go with the national team to a big event because we deserve to succeed” he said among other things.

In detail, what Tassos Bakasetas stated to Vaio Tsoutsikas and Michalis Tsochos about:

-the reactions he receives from the world: “I see a respect for my face. There are many who would like to shake my hand, but also those of all my teammates.”

– his speech in the dressing room before the match with England and social media: “We are in the age of social media, whether we like it or not. It matters how you use them. I’m not saying it about me personally about the video and what people understand about how we as a team built our character in the hard times to cope. When social is used correctly, there is profit. We tend towards toxicity and what we think is passing, but the opposite is true. I want to congratulate the people who have done an excellent job with the national team’s social media, also sending messages to the world”.

– the fact that the internationals did not “empty” after London: “We, the more experienced players, were afraid of how this would all play out. Apart from the fact that Mr. Jovanovic gave a very nice speech and made us think more about the match, we have a team that has been building for many years. In the World Cup qualifiers in Qatar we draw with Spain and then we play in Toumba with Georgia. We were inferior to the circumstances and the draw came by chance.

Everything we have been through as a team we take as lessons. We’re not doing it again. We don’t let them pass us by. Now we have been together for several years and young internationals have come with talent and will and they listen to those with more experience. The mental part has been worked on a lot, we have eaten our disappointments, but we are improving through this”.

-George Baldock: “George for us is an extra force in all games from now on. We lived him, we knew how he lived the games and we know…”.

-the goal he was looking for against Ireland: “Like a maniac I was looking for the goal… I wanted the goal so much and when you want something so much, it happens…”.

-his speech in the locker room and the player who usually addresses the rest: “Whenever I speak before the match, I have thought. When we’ve warmed up and are in the locker room it’s hard to put your thoughts in a row. I had thought about what I wanted to say and things that I felt from my heart. If something more comes to me, I say it at that moment.

I think it’s more of an arm band thing. In recent years I have always been the last to speak. If it was a matter of personality, many footballers would be talking. We have it as a team. There have also been moments when Petros (s.s. Mandalos), as a leader, has spoken.”

-the character of Baldock: “He was a kid who got into the atmosphere of the National team very quickly, even if he didn’t speak the language. He understood and tried to learn. He had elements that a Greek has. What characterized him was his passion. He was always ready to give his all in all matches. I had him at Panathinaikos, he couldn’t wait to play. He was well-spoken, cheerful. I call him a winner. This expresses him. He tried every day to show that.”

-the playing style of the National team team: “I am not impressed by what we are playing because I know the potential of this team and the players. They are all excellent. The coach has helped us a lot. He believes in us as a team. He speaks to us in a different way. Even with England, he didn’t think that we would be closed behind. He was clear. He was telling us to make history. When a coach gives you that much confidence, you deserve to stand at the level of these teams. It was a combination of things that came out of the team’s performance. We have players in all positions to take advantage of each individual’s abilities, as we did with Ireland. We don’t ask everyone the same thing.”

– the first in the group: “It’s not something we said just to say it. And in the summer we played Germany and it might have been a friendly but it wasn’t indifferent and again we were competitive and could have won the match. With the other big teams we have played we have stood up very well. We really believe it.”

– the weight of the need for Greece to participate in a major event: “I feel a burden from the first moment I became captain of the National team and it was even more difficult at the beginning. Until I managed it it was difficult. Now I can no longer say that I have this great depth. I have a lot of faith in the team and I have confidence on the pitch with these guys next to me. The only burden is not to go to a big tournament because we deserve it. When the moment comes after what happened with Georgia we will be even more ready to respond to anything that comes our way.

– the differences between National team and clubs: “There is nothing to discuss. The differences are huge. And the match against Ireland was something awesome. I said it again, as many years as I’ve been following the National team, I don’t think in a game of this type that they have played in a big stadium. A match like that where nothing is judged, I don’t think the world has embraced it so much. Yesterday was unprecedented, amazing from the first moment. And we, the players, understand the mood of the people on the pitch. We feel the breeze no matter how crowded it is. People were happy, impatient for the national team, that everything would go well.

It is very important for all of us. We are all getting closer because things have happened lately. We see bigotry that shouldn’t exist. What is happening with the national team brings us closer. To become healthier. We see bad news all the time, we see bigotry, violence on social media. We have to put them aside. As long as you have hate in your life, you only have to lose. You win nothing. Only beautiful feelings free you as a person. Let’s get closer, with less toxicity and more love.”

-the role of the internationals in the love that the world once again expresses to the National Team: “It’s not that we all go for coffee, not everyone fits with everyone. But there is respect between everyone. And you journalists are important because the world identifies with you and you have responsibility for what you write and convey to the world. You have a responsibility to reduce the problem of hate in the world. People connect with journalists. I see that things are changing. Some are who they are, but I think good always wins.”