Rafik Djebbour, Kevin Mirallas and latest addition Colin Kazim-Richards represented the team and made comments to the press. Here are some of their quotes:
Rafik Djebbour
About the incident with Lazar and his feelings after the victory against PAOK: “There was no dispute; it was just a difficult moment which happens in football. What can I say? You make a mistake, you pay for it. Other than that, the victory is what is most important. We managed to take good advantage of the situation and the defeat of Panathinaikos. They lost their game and that was a very good opportunity for us; so we scored two early goals, beat PAOK and narrowed the difference down.”
About his readiness: “We thought that the best thing, given I was feeling well, was to be in the group against PAOK. It was very difficult and we did everything we could so that I could be in the group. In the end, I played. I respect my coach’s decision and tried to do my best although I am not in the best shape. Hopefully I can improve and repay him for his confidence in me.”
About the game against AEK: “It’s a special game. Everybody knows the importance of this game for me as I have played for AEK. It’s more than a derby; it’s my ex-team so I always have a strange feeling when I play against them.”
About the tragedy of Gate 7: “We have the obligation to honour the fans that died for Olympiacos. It is a difficult moment for all of us.”
Kevin Mirallas
About the victory against PAOK: “Last year we lost twice to them so beating them was super-important for us. This victory has also given us the opportunity to narrow the difference from Panathinaikos down to two points. As for the goal I scored, you should know that I didn’t forget what happened there last year and although this year there were much more of them throwing many more objects on the pitch, that just wasn’t enough to prevent me from scoring.”
About AEK and Rubin Kazan: “Friday’s match will be a very important one since we’re talking about a derby which we want to win. After the game against AEK is over, then we will think about our next game against Kazan. We now have to concentrate on AEK.”
About Olympiacos’ poor performance in January and the come-back in February: “We’ve had many injuries and many of our players were off. Now we are all here, 100% ready to do our best for our team.”
About the way he celebrated the goal against PAOK: “It is something that we have decided with Djamel Abdoun; that every time one of us scores we will perform a short spectacle. We should always keep in mind that football is also a pleasure and we should celebrate accordingly when scoring.”
Colin Kazim-Richards
About the game against PAOK: “I didn’t expect anything less as I know how tough games in Thessaloniki can be. The team did very well and we did it as easy as we could make it as we scored two early goals and after that, the atmosphere was just normal, just until the end of the game when they started throwing stuff.”
About his first week with Olympiacos: “It has been good. Everybody has made me feel welcome, made me feel at home. Everybody’s trying to help. I didn’t expect anything less though ‘cause I’ve been here before with Galatasaray so I knew where I was coming. The main reason I decided to join the team though, was the persistence with which the people of Olympiacos tried to bring me here. I had also spoken to some people who already knew Olympiacos and who only had good things to say for this club.”
About the team and the possibility for him to be on the starting list against AEK: “I am not here to talk about the team’s condition, I will leave that topic for the coach but what I can say is that the team is always ready, the coach works hard to make sure that the team is ready and that’s what we’re here to do. We’re here to play football. Me, I’m always ready too and it’s the coach’s decision, what he wants to do. I came here to play and obviously I want to play so I’m always ready for when the coach wants me.”
About being called “the new Galletti”: “It’s a privilege to be compared to someone like that but I’m me. I’m Colin KazimoRichards but I’m honoured to be compared to him. There’s always comparisons in football about a similar style or same characteristics. So I’m honoured.”
A cell phone was offered by Vodafone to each of the three players who attended the event.
