Olympiacos failed to create a single scoring chance tonight. How do you explain this weakness displayed by the squad?
The match kicked off really bad for us. The fact that we found ourselves one goal down since the 9th minute made us lose our temper and disorientated us. Tonight, we repeated some of the mistakes for which we were punished in the first leg, so qualifying became impossible to achieve.
In the opening 8 minutes, Olympiacos suffered instead of pressing on the opponent and conceded a goal. Was it a matter of composure or stress?
A bit of everything; there were many things to blame, but nothing in particular. I would rather not comment on anything particular because it may seem as if I am looking for excuses or ways to put the blame on former coaches or players. Levante was worthy of this qualification and we must now consider the things to change. At this level, in order to compete, one must play with a different type of discipline and ardor. One must always have in mind that one might have to pay for every single mistake.
Do you think that the crowd booed because the squad failed to react?
Of course, there is nothing we can say to the fans. There have been moments in which the players, although they wanted to, they just couldn’t. Playing against a side so tightly defending their goal and failing to score, is no evidence that we didn’t want to. This has to do with a set of other factors. We didn’t want to set us against Liverpool, or any other side. We want to build an Olympiacos side that will remain competitive in Greece, but also in Europe.
We saw that there was a problem in circulating the ball and organizing the play. Did that have to do with the players’ nervousness or was it something else?
Currently, it is impossible to explain what the players had done. We have really skillful players, yet tonight they committed mistakes and this had to do with the tension and stress they handled the match with. At this level, facing the opponent requires higher focus and is more tiresome. It affects the ability to display skills because, simply put, we run out of energy. Tonight, we mispassed many times and that had to do with the pressure by the opponent..
Is the image displayed by Olympiacos going to change your plans on where to start in order to build a better team?
The truth is that the concept I originally had on building the team does not change. Last week, we took a serious lesson and this doesn’t change my thoughts on what should change. However, there have been some positive things that came out, such as the performance of Vlachodimos who becomes better and better. If we can rectify some other aspects, then we will see more changes, as it was the case tonight with Cholevas who was exactly the one we want him to be. I reassure you that before joining the club, I have already watched 14 matches of the side and never had I seen him playing so fervorously. Be sure that this is how we want Cholevas to be. This is one of the things that we want to make clear, that no position is certain for anyone, not even the head coach.
