The statements made by Olympiacos’s coach were as follows:
On who will be the goalkeeper to play: “We will see about that when the time
comes”.
On how Olympiacos deals with the match against Arsenal : “It will be a match of great difficulty, Arsenal is particularly powerful at home, but you can’t lose a game before playing. We will be looking forward to enjoying the match from our side, doing the best we can and taking the maximum out of it”.
On Roy Carroll’s quality : “We have two goalkeepers, we can’t just talk about one of them, because right now we are not totally certain about who is going to play”.
On whether it is tough to choose a goalkeeper : “I have made up my mind about the players who are going to start, the latter know that, but this is not the right moment to reveal the starting lineup”.
On the elements that Olympiacos should demonstrate versus Arsenal : “We will try to be a structured and consistent team. Arsenal is a team with tremendous technique and we will do our best to deal with them. We will try to reduce the risks that they will create, just like we did against Arsenal”.
On whether there is a chance to see a second debut, after Manolas, for another Olympiacos’ player in the Champions League : “Of course, there is the chance for more new players to participate, we have many young individuals who are waiting for their turn. However, this is not the right moment to reveal the starting lineup”.
On whether he has made up his mind about the starting lineup : “Yes, we know the starting lineup. In today’s training we will work on some last things, as we always do”.
On whether Olympiacos is playing with its back against the wall, as Arsenal’s coach, Mr. Arsène Wenger said : “No, this is not the case. Olympiacos participates in the Champions League, being the champion team in Greece. We will play to enjoy the game, to even claim victory if we can”.
On whether he is thinking about paying more attention to the Champions League, given that the gap between Olympiacos and his major opponents in the Greek championship becomes larger : “We don’t only have one opponent. There are 15 opponents for us. In our opinion, all matches are important, now that is the next one, tomorrow. We have to deal with some problems of some
players not being present; but those who will play will try to prove thatOlympiacos has a good name in Europe and honor the presence of our team in the top clubs’ championship”.
On whether he feels pressure, personally, after the bad debut of Olympiacos against Schalke : “Even if the result was not good for us, we created chances for our club. In football, we must know how to win and lose a match”.
Roy Carroll also answered some questions, saying :
“It is a great pleasure for me the fact that I return to the Champions League and I will have the chance to play at this very important level. I remember that the last time I played against Arsenal, was back in 2005 in the FA CUP. Our opponent has many good players, even though they are
different since then. We want to get the best we can from every match. We are professionals, we are here to win, we were disappointed in the first match, but tomorrow we do want, if we can, to make things up for our team”.
He then said : “There are lots of memories from Arsenal, I do remember thatthey were unbeatable for 49 matches and we won them, when I was in Manchester United, in Old Trafford. It is always nice to win a team like Arsenal, a good team; and there is a rivalry with Manchester United”.
On how he feels about his presence in Olympiacos, he explained : “One year ago, I had no club to play and now I am here, I enjoy being a player of Olympiacos. I am looking forward to tomorrow’s match, I believe that the guys will give the 100% of their strength so that we can get the best we can. I do not know how much pressure I will face tomorrow, it depends on theteam and on how it will work. I am here to be properly prepared and help my club”.
Asked about the level of Arsenal and about his point of view for the latter being an opponent, Roy Carroll said : “Arsenal is a magnificent team, they have played many top level matches, such as the ones in the Premiership. You must be full of energy in these games and give in the ground the best you have. We might benefit from free kicks, we saw that Chelsea scored twice against us likewise. We want to play football, that is what we are trying to do in Olympiacos. Play good football. That is what we will try to do tomorrow, claiming for a good result. We should come here with this mentality, for us not to lose the match. As I said, our defeat at home in the first match was strange, but this also happened last year; and after that we had a good course in Europe”.
On whether he is “hungry” for more achievements and whether he watches Arsenal on the TV, Roy said : “I still feel young and I am hungry for achievements and wins. There are older goalkeepers playing in the Premiership and they are doing well. I watch Arsenal, I see how they are. As a team, we focus on their weaknesses as well as on their strong points. We
worked well on these issues during the last days, to be able to deal with
any difficulty in this match”.
