In his post-match Press Conference following our 3-0 win to Aris at G. Karaiskakis, the coach of Olympiacos Jose Louis Mendilibar commented on what’s to come in the championship.
Press conference quotes by the Basque coach in detail:
Once again, after suffering a defeat, Olympiacos return and show they are at good shape. Are you happy with the team’s display right after a defeat?
We are satisfied no doubt because when we lost the first 2 matches, we had an 8-point gap. Now, we are back with a win and a good performance and this shows that Olympiacos are here and there is nothing over yet. Matches to follow will be quite a few and tough for all teams; and with all due respect to other teams, they will also lose some points now or later. Nothing is over yet and the title has not been decided. We demonstrate that we can earn some wins and we will surely fight for all our chances.
It was the first time we saw Jovetic playing for such a time either with you at the helm or both previous coaches.
The players are available and coaches have to pick the best to play. There is no such explanation; it was a matter of choice. Wins so far have been more than our defeats, so it is not easy to make changes. But when some players train well, then we surely pick them to be capped. But there also footballers who might perform well in training, yet find themselves out of the squad. There is no explanation, it’s hard to make many changes.
Are we to see the same line-up again, with Jovetic supporting the striker since you have tried that a lot already? Also, was Rodinei replaced for tactical reasons or was there some problem?
Rodinei suffered a hit on the knee one week ago and we try to bring him back as best as we can; so, we allow him some rest because playing fixtures one after the other is far from easy. Jovetic’s actual position is indeed that of a supporting striker, a “number 10” as I love to call it. However, we opt sometimes for Orta since he is more resourceful at the middle of the pitch, whereas Jovetic when attacking in the box. It’s a matter of choice; they are both top options but we always have to take a decision and have one player filling this position.
Are you thinking of the Fenerbahce matches? Of course, there is the Lamia fixture, but are you?
We all know that the entire organization is looking forward to the Fenerbahce tie, and we all have our dreams and expectations. However, if we lose at Lamia, things will get worse and spoil our preparation for the Fenerbahce matches. That’s why we all have the Lamia match in our mind and we have to win it. We will pick the best and best-rested players to win for the reasons I explained you before.
