Papadopoulos on bwinSPORT FM: I sacrificed 5-8 for a Cup final – It would be good if Panathinaikos won the championship

In his victory Asteras AKTOR upon him Mars mentioned the Nikos Papadopoulos through it News Bulletin 247 and analyzed the reasons that led Arcades to return to good results.

The goalkeeper of the Tripoli team – speaking to Sotiris Tabako– pointed out that he prefers qualifying for the Cup final to finishing 5-8 in the Stoiximan Super Leaguewhile commenting on this year’s championship race, pointing out that it would be good for Panathinaikos to win the title.

In detail what he said:

– the victory in the match against Aris and the difficult pitch due to the rain: “It was a very difficult game. A lot of water had collected on the field, this made the efforts of both teams difficult, it was not possible to play combination football, because the ball was not rolling. I think the team that wanted it the most won. Football is often deceptive. In other words, in all the games we play good football, but in the matches before Aris, we lost all five games. The fan sees that Asteras is not doing well. For example, in the match against Volos we were not in any danger, we had four phases, we also had a goal, but we conceded a goal in the first phase of Volos. We have a lot of confidence in our abilities. I believe our year will be very good, we are within reach of both goals. We are in the Cup, but also in the goal of 5-8 in the league. Our big goal there is 5th place, but it’s difficult, as Aris is a good team».

– what the coach said in the locker room after Aris took the lead: “When you enter the locker room and you are behind in the score, you have in your mind that you might lose this match as well. From then on, when the results are not good, but they come with good performances, you have a confidence, you believe in yourself and that you can turn it around. This is what the coach told us at halftime. That we can turn the score around, that we have to go in and win all the duels. If you look at 80% of the duels that took place, we won them and on such a ground the match goes to the duels, to the strength, that’s where the game would be decided. Aris tried to play more combined football and in such a field this cannot work. It was a big breath for us».

-how Asteras deals with the big guys and the fact that he likes to play fast on the counter: “We have fast attackers, we have speed, we are comfortable with this game and with Panathinaikos we could have taken the lead, we had two chances with Makeda at 0-0. There are some details that played a role. Our goal is to win whoever we play. We want to play in every game to win. Against the big guys, the tactical approach changes, but we go for the win in these matches as well. We have enough solutions in every position and that helps us to respond midweek in the Cup».

-Aster’s goals and whether he is afraid of the possibility of Astera being disoriented regarding 5-8:“The big goal is the final of the Cup. It’s a great opportunity, as we only meet the big guys in the final. Of course we have that in mind. It is a motivation to be in the final and to make history. Asteras does not have a trophy in the major category and of course we have in mind the Cup which is more feasible. I’m not afraid of it, but as an ideal scenario, if we were told, I’d sacrifice 5-8, ensuring an easy stay, so we could be in the Cup final. It’s a game, anything can happen. Getting into 5-8 is passable, not out of the question. However, the next step up is the Cup final».

– the championship: “The league is very competitive, it is completely unfair, no one is safe. No team has the lead at the moment, there is a gap of 1-2 points. A win for one team and a loss for the other can turn things around. For the Greek championship, it would be good for Panathinaikos to win it. Because he has many years to get it. As Greece we need a great Panathinaikos. If he wins the championship, he will change the level. I think that we as Greece have wronged ourselves, there are countries above us in the standings that are inferior to us in terms of football. Greek footballers have talent, we have talent, we need to lay the groundwork to move up in the standings and it’s a shame».