In G. Karaiskakis stadium, Olympiacos FC hosted, Tuesday (5/12), an official Press Conference to present the club’s new Head Coach Carlos Carvalhal.
Vice President D’ and General Director Kostas Karapapas gave the floor to Olympiacos FC Strategic Advisor and Ambassador Christian Karembeu, who said: “We welcome our new coach, Mr. Carvalhal, to our great family. We wish the best both to him and his associates. We all know he is a man of extensive experience since he has served in many clubs, like Sporting, we wish him every success in his spell. Welcome to our family”.
Then, to present our Portuguese coach, the floor was given to his fellow countryman and new Sports Director Pedro Alves: “This is a special moment for me because I am to welcome a coach, Mr. Carvalhal, whom I strongly believe in and know as well. I wish him and his associates every success. You understand that Mr Carvalhal’s choice is mainly mine. When the president asked me to recommend a coach, he was the first person I thought of because I know him well and I believe he can respond well to the heavy pressure. He is a man who knows about pressure and when the president trusted me, he was the first person I thought he could bring it off”.
Initially, Carlos Carvalhal said: «I am happy to be back in Greece and join Olympiacos. Both I and my associates are aware of the greatness and size of Olympiacos. It is one of the most important clubs in Europe and the world. We believe in this and we know it very well. Six thousand Olympiacos fans followed the team to Volos to watch the game and this is a sign of the greatness of Olympiacos. Only a team of the size of Olympiacos could achieve this. We are here to win all three competitions Olympiacos participates in. Everything is wide open and could possibly happen from the very next game. I hope our fans will follow us in all the games, we want Gate 7 and the fans on our side because only united as one big family can we can achieve our goals. We are here because we want to make the dreams of Olympiacos fans come true and it is only with their support that we can achieve it.”
Will your past spell in Greece help you to better adapt?
My time in Greece was short and I didn’t have time to adapt and get to know the country, the language and the culture, but I always wanted to come back to Greece. However, many years have passed since then and I have worked in many teams with a lot of pressure, like Olympiacos. In teams like Braga, Sporting, Besiktas, where the fans always demand wins and I know what it’s like to be at a club where you always have to win. That’s the goal: to play well, to have the fans satisfied and to get the right results. After leaving Swansea we decided for our own reasons not to work for a short period of time because we wanted to review some things, but then we took over teams full of success. We want to do the same now. To continue our successes, to win finals and titles. To continue with the same success as we have been doing for the last few years.
You are coach with long experience, however Olympiacos as a club and organization is by far bigger than the rest of the teams altogether, and I am saying that with all due respect to the rest of the teams. Currently, time is not ally, right? How are you going to deal with the challenges?”
One feels an obligation to win in whatever team one is in. And I had that obligation in all teams. I’ve had a lot of experience in big clubs and different leagues. So, all I can say for sure is that changes have to be made yesterday, not today. They have to be made soon. However, the first thing we have to do is to win the next game we have on Sunday, that’s the first goal.
What will be the qualities of Carvalhal’s Olympiacos?
Before I reply, I would like to wish the best to the previous Olympiacos coach, Diego Martinez. Obviously, we intend to make changes and have the team develop a certain style of play and this will happen. But all these take time. But in that time the team must earn wins. There will be some changes made in the coming days to win the next match and more changes will take place in the coming weeks to win the next games. The teams I coach are usually offensive-minded, score a lot of goals, defend well and the players have the best time of their careers. That’s what we want for Olympiacos as well. We want to play well and our fans to be satisfied, to have a good attacking team, but also to have a good defensive function. All of our players should give their best and enjoy the best spell of their careers here.
You mentioned your spell in England and the impact it had on you as a person and a coach. Will there be new elements in Olympiacos because of this experience of yours?
Truth be told, after our time in England, we changed our philosophy and our style of play became more attractive for both players and fans; and better results came along as well.
Based on what you have seen in Olympiacos, what is your priority and the change you will immediately implement?
My priority is to unite the team. The entire team is one thing, both in offense and defense, together with our fans. When Olympiacos unites, it becomes an unstoppable force and this will help us win the title.
