Olympiacos coach José Luis Mendilibar spoke following his team’s 0–2 victory against AEL, focusing on the aspects of the game he was not satisfied with.
Below, in detail, what the experienced coach of the Greek double winners had to say:
Your comment on the game?
In the first half, we went into the dressing room 2–0 up, and we could have scored many more. The opponent may not have threatened us at all, but I didn’t like the way we played or how we approached the match – it was a half where I didn’t like anything.
Would you say that’s a warning ahead of the Barcelona match?
What I mean is that in football, it’s not only about the result and the goals. Certainly, those matter and show who wins, but you also have to look at how you play. I don’t know if Tzolakis had to make a single save tonight, but if we play like this against a different opponent – for example, on Tuesday – the opponent will cause problems for us, and things will be difficult. We must be different in the way we play, regardless of the result. It’s not only about how many goals you score, but also about how you perform.
Was it purely a football issue, or also a mental one, considering the upcoming Barcelona game?
Our mindset and mentality need to be the same in every match. What we have to do is play well, win, stay competitive, and not allow the opponent to impose their game. It shouldn’t matter whether we’re home or away, which competition we’re in, or who we’re facing – we must always be there with the same purpose: to perform well and win. We can’t be a different team every time depending on the opponent.
After Mansa’s performance tonight, are you planning to give him more playing time going forward?
We’ll see. He definitely played well and was one of the positives we can take from this match. But it’s something he’ll have to repeat in other games as well for us to be sure about him.
A comment on AEL and the atmosphere at the stadium?
It’s true that they started the game badly, conceding a goal in the first minute – and that’s never easy for any team. They didn’t really threaten us or make us feel under pressure, but I think AEL were actually better than us. They circulated the ball well, won possession more often than we did, and overall, the atmosphere in the stadium was very nice. It was my first time visiting this city.
After Tzolakis’ mistake while playing for the national team, did you feel the need to talk to him?
I did speak to him. I told him that I trust him and that he needs to stay calm because everyone in the team has confidence in him. Also, in Greece’s games, I don’t think Tzolakis was the only one who didn’t do things right.
AEL signed Alexandros Anagnostopoulos from Olympiacos, while Olympiacos have the Larissa-born goalkeeper Nikos Botis. A comment on both goalkeepers?
I didn’t know Botis was from Larissa. He’s not on our European squad list because, under the regulations, he doesn’t count as Greek for that list. However, he trains with us every day, he’s doing very well with the B team, and hopefully, one day, he’ll also play with us. Anagnostopoulos was with us last year, but we felt that since we already had Tzolakis and Paschalakis, it made more sense to have a younger player as our third-choice goalkeeper – and that’s why we let him go.
