Jimenez: “AEK marked my life, but now only APOEL is in my heart”

Excited to sit on his bench APOEL and determined to work hard to win him the title with him declared o Manolo Jimenez.

In his official presentation by the Cypriot team, the Andalusian expressed his hope to celebrate successes with her and connect with her to the extent that he did with Seville and her AEK.

The main excerpts from Jimenez’s statements

Regarding the decision to cooperate with APOEL: “Nicosia is a well-known and welcoming place. I have seen APOEL European matches in previous years and know the size of the team. We are excited to be here. We are here to face the big challenge. I will serve the team with dedication. I have been in football for many years and I am motivated. After all these years staying motivated is important. I promise to work and give my best. My life was marked by many teams, especially Sevilla and AEK, but now only APOEL is in my heart”.

About his philosophy: “My philosophy is to win. If we do it with good football, even better. The first thing I think about is winning and I want my team to strive for that. I will ask nothing more than 100% from my players. There is no more important game than the next. We should not think about the previous one or what will follow from the next one. My philosophy is work, dedication, victory.”

For his gameplay: “The most important thing is to give and for the players to give to me. These two parties must give their best. Mathematics in football is not simple, there are games that we deserve to win but we won’t and games that we might deserve to lose but win. When you have the philosophy and spirit to win, most of the time you will win.

I like to play well, keep the ball, score more than the opponent. If we talk about strategy, I will adapt to the players we have. I’ll look at their stats so I can figure out the best formation. It’s time to make decisions to help the team. I like playing 4-4-2, but if I have to adapt to something else I will.”

For the next group day: “It’s obvious that I’m here because the previous coaches didn’t have the success they wanted. I’m sure they tried, that’s what I’ll do. I want to see a team playing for the team crest. Everyone must be focused on the field to achieve what we want. This is not a time for words, but a time for deeds. I like life on the field and that’s why I do this profession. If I had better knees I would be a football player and not a coach.

I worked in teams with crowds and pressure like Sevilla. I worked in teams that won European trophies, I fought for titles, for me 2nd place is not a priority. I know what pressure means, but be good for the team. The title doesn’t come with pressure, it comes by watching game by game. We want people to have high expectations but to support us game by game.”

On whether he knows any players from the APOEL roster: “I know some of their players very well. Some I had with me, some I played against. As soon as I started talking to the president, I started looking at the team’s roster and games. I know most of their players by their numbers (including the numbers on the back)”.