Kyriakopoulos: “We know the thirst of the world for title – to bring my quality to Panathinaikos”

THE George Kyriakopoulos gave his first, great interview as his player Panathinaicspeaking from the Bad thanks of Austria, to the media envoy to the point where this year’s team is “built” Rui Vitoria.

“I think we can do very nice things this year. What I miss is the Champions League and what I miss is a title, so … “ He said, among other things, stressing the need for people not to draw hurried conclusions from the friendly preparation and to wait to see the work done in the team under the guidance of the Portuguese coach.

Six years in Italythe decision to reactivationthe pressure of the championship to the ‘Greens’, the Build-up and creative piece that need improvement but also his thoughts on the National team They unfold below …

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwqlbobdjso

In detail:

George, what played a role in your decision to leave the Italian Championship and come to Greece and Panathinaikos?

“I think Italy’s capital was closed for me. Six years there I gave my soul, I played in a top league, I think. I wanted a new challenge, I wanted to come to a championship team. As soon as I found this in Italy and there were no prerequisites to go to the first 7 teams to claim some things in Europe or some exit in Europe. I liked Panathinaikos project, people here approached me very well, showed me the plan. I was very pleased with what I heard, so I had to make the decision to go back to Greece. ”

How easy is repatriation, in quotes, and how much does Yiannis Kotsiras help you, since you were teammates in Tripoli?

“The truth is that I have not yet realized that I returned to Greece. It takes me some time, he has taken me, it still takes me some time to realize that I am here. I will realize it when the Greek championship begins. John has helped me a lot, we were together in Tripoli. He is a very good friend, not only he, and Tasos Bakassetas, all the kids, the Greeks here and the governors are trying to help me adjust to the team. I am very pleased all this time we have in preparation. We want to continue so and go for the first games with Rangers. ”

George, out of the three young people, you are in quotation marks the oldest… old, you are Greek, you know the Greek league very well, you know Panathinaikos, you know very well that we are talking about a very big team, which is far from the championship for years. Therefore, the first debate that takes place and the first demand by everyone, by the world, by all, is the league. How do you see the conditions for Panathinaikos to reach where you long for?

“I understand that there is pressure of the championship, that the team has been left far from the league and winning the title. I understand the thirst of the world, the pressure, the moaning in quotes that exists, I totally understand it. I think the team has built its bases here, it’s ready. Let’s look at things one by one, I think we first have to focus on the game on Saturday (Braga) that is a friendly, a very powerful test, so that the team starts to get some things he does in training and improve in the offensive track, I would say.

I think we need to improve in this piece. As for the championship, we will see it later, but I understand what you are telling me the thirst of the world I understand. We have all understood it in the club. Let’s look at the friendly, go back to Athens and see the rest. ”

Panathinaikos was, is and will always be a great team. When you left 6 years ago, Panathinaikos was going through a difficult moon. What team did you find, have you played him as an opponent, do you have a picture from previous years, before you go to Italy, what team did you find here now?

“Look, I don’t know how it was before I left, but I think it has changed level for the last three or four years and since I left I have changed the level. Then, when I was, the team was a bit in … disintegration, there were too many young kids, too many inexperienced players, who didn’t know the Greek league and let’s say … they weren’t so heavy names. It wasn’t as strong as it is now, I think.

What I find right now is a very very quality team. He showed it last year, second in the standings. Although it should not chase second place, it must chase the league, as I said before. I find a much better group relationship with what I left before. So I think we can do very nice things this year. ”

What did you have in Italian football for 6 years, how much you changed you as a footballer, how different is George who went to Italy and the one who returns to Panathinaikos?

“I think very different in terms of defensive tactics. I have greatly improved my defensive tactics, that is, I learned things that I didn’t know in Greece, beyond. I have also improved in my offensive track, I think I have improved a lot about my numbers, because – good or bad – the numbers have played a role in this football in recent years. So I think I have improved very much in my numbers. I want to bring my quality to Panathinaikos. What I have learned there I think I was uploaded as a footballer, but also my quality, and I think I can give a lot to Panathinaikos. ”

Having this comparison measure, with Italy, which is the number one tactic. Based on what you have been working on for so long and you can judge the work that is being done, how do you evaluate it?

“I think it is a pretty good job, but I personally think that players should give a little more base to the build-up piece. I think the team wants a lot of improvement in this area, to understand exactly 100% what the coach wants to do and how to attack behind.

Personally, I think that when the team has more time the ball, it is the one that can do more things. So I think we need to give more build up up and creating the game, do phases, centers, shots. I think the team wants a lot of improvement in these pieces, but I think we’ll find it. Come friendly. We are still in a period of preparation. This is what people want to understand. Because I sometimes read that some are worried about not scoring goals. It’s still a season of preparation and we still have two friendly. ”

You were in Tripoli, you played for 6 years in the Italian Championship, and you will wear the jersey of a very big club like Panathinaikos. Is there still a repulsive for your football career, something you would like to do and you haven’t done it and can, you think, Panathinaikos to help you achieve it?

“What I said before. What I said before, that I was looking for a team to play Europe. It’s not enough to play in the Champions League qualifiers, I haven’t played in the Champions League in general, so Panathinaikos gives me this opportunity and thank you very much for that. What I missed is the Champions League and what I miss is a title, so ….

And the National is a part in which the truth is that I have not been established in the years I am in Italy and Greece. It is a piece that I am sorry is the truth, but I accept the coach’s choices. I’m here, I’m here, I’m working. So it’s the national goal I want to fulfill. “