Olympiacos head coach José Luis Mendilibar and the captain of the “red-and-whites,” Panagiotis Retsos, spoke at the press conference at the “G. Karaiskakis” Stadium ahead of the match against Real Madrid for Matchday 5 of the League Phase of the UEFA Champions League, on Wednesday (26/11, 22:00).
In detail, José Luis Mendilibar’s statements:
There is a lot of talk about Real Madrid’s absences. What will you do to convince your players not to get carried away by this narrative?
It’s one thing what the media write and another what we know. Their absences don’t matter; Real Madrid is an excellent team. Whatever we win, we must earn ourselves – no one will give us anything.
Against PSV, Olympiacos delivered a flawless performance, and you are top of the league. Is your team at the level you want it to be right now?
I think we’re doing well. We really played a good match and showed our energy against PSV. We will do whatever we must do to win the game, but we need to focus on maintaining our concentration for the full 90 minutes. Our opponent has quality players who can hurt you at any moment – just like PSV did in the 90th minute – so we must not give them that opportunity.
Against Barcelona, Olympiacos created the first threat. Will we see something similar against Real Madrid, especially now that you’re playing in front of your fans?
First of all, you can never know how your opponent plans to play you. We will do what we believe we must do to win. We want to be better in certain aspects and to execute our work better than our opponent. That will give us confidence and the right mentality for the rest of the match. But in football, the best team or the one that creates the most chances does not always win. That’s why, as we said, we must stay focused throughout the entire match.
What have you told your players ahead of this match? And do you consider this game a “do or die” one for Olympiacos?
No, in football there is no such thing – no life or death. If we win, we will have more chances to qualify; if we lose, we won’t have many chances. What matters is doing our job well and not giving the opponent the chance to hurt us. If we lose, let it be because Real Madrid did a better job – not because we allowed them to create problems for us.
What do you think about what is being said in Spain regarding the relationship between Xabi Alonso and Vinícius?
These things are normal within teams, but they discuss those matters internally. They know how to handle it – these are normal situations. People say Real Madrid are not doing well, yet they are first in their league. Xabi is a good coach, and I believe he will continue doing his job well, just as he has done so far.
Mbappé started the season well but has now stopped scoring. How will you deal with him?
Since he has stopped, let’s hope he continues that way.
You coached Eibar and beat Real Madrid. What elements from that team would you like Olympiacos to have now in order to beat them again?
I’ve beaten Real Madrid twice, but I don’t remember how many times I’ve lost. When they play well, it is impossible to do anything to stop them. They are the best team, with the best players in the world, and they’ve won the competition many times. We must not let them hurt us and not allow them to execute their work perfectly.
Real Madrid are under pressure. Is that something that helps Olympiacos, or does it make your task more difficult?
What is happening at Real Madrid is similar to what’s happening to us when we don’t win certain matches. We have the obligation to win every game, and we feel the same pressure. But they know how to handle this pressure. We are still early in the season, and they know how to use that pressure, and within the team they definitely don’t see it as a problem, because they are still within all their objectives. We know that this pressure does not affect Real Madrid. I repeat – we must do our job well and hope Real Madrid do not have a good match.
Most of the matches you’ve played against Real Madrid were somewhat unbalanced because you coached smaller teams. Now with Olympiacos’ experience and strength, do you feel you can face them on more equal terms?
My idea of football has not changed, no matter which team I’m coaching. The idea has always been the same. Real Madrid lose rarely because they win almost every match they play. It doesn’t matter if you are smaller than your opponent – what matters is maintaining our own mentality, showing our quality, and delivering a good match to win the game.
How does this year’s Real Madrid compare with previous years? And can you compare Xabi Alonso with Ancelotti?
I don’t think they’ve changed much – they are always a top, high-quality team with the best players in the world. If players want to play, that happens in every team in the world – it is something the coach must judge. The only difference is that with Xabi Alonso, the starting lineups change much more often compared to previous years. Overall, their style of play hasn’t changed – they remain a top team with quality.
You said Xabi Alonso has not had time yet to show his style. How do you expect Real Madrid to play?
He has the best players, so he can do whatever he wants. We must adapt to their game. I’ve seen them play vertically and directly, and then change their approach completely in the second half. We must be prepared to adapt. If they decide to press high, they will be the best at it – they are the best physically, the best in quality, and that’s why they play for Real Madrid. We must be ready for whatever Xabi Alonso decides.
You know Real Madrid well. Which Real Madrid scares you more – one that needs to win three straight games, or one that wins nonstop?
They are the best team in Europe, and we respect them. It’s the same for us regardless of which Real Madrid we face. They have players who can hurt you at any moment, even if you make no mistake on the pitch. We want to be our best selves, play the way we’ve planned, and if we do that, any team will struggle against us – especially in our stadium.
Real Madrid have several absences in their defense. Have you thought about who they will field?
It doesn’t matter that they have so many absences – whoever plays is a Real Madrid player, so there is nothing lacking. We believe they will play with a back four, or at times with five. It doesn’t concern us who plays – for us, it’s Real Madrid, and it’s the same. We know it will be difficult to break down their defense.
On the day you were awarded Best Coach in Greece, you said your targets are the league and the cup. Now that you hear the Champions League anthem, has anything changed?
For us, playing in the UEFA Champions League is a reward we must enjoy. Our goals for the league and the cup do not change, because we know we can win them. Winning the Champions League would be a miracle, but we are not here just to listen to the anthem – we are here to fight and to do our very best.
Panagiotis Retsos: “We have also demonstrated our quality”
You know very well what these matches mean. Do you feel strange facing Real Madrid, or do you approach this game like any other?
Of course, we know which team we are up against and how high-level this match is. But we have also shown that we are in a good place, and we must focus on what we do – not on what our opponent does. We must remain focused throughout the entire match, because Real Madrid can hurt you in a few minutes or even seconds. I hope we have a great game.
How do you view the fact that you faced Barcelona and now you have Real Madrid ahead of you?
The fact that we happened to play against the two biggest Spanish – and European – teams is a great pleasure for us and a huge motivation. They are two very big clubs, and we do not want to “prove” anything because we have nothing to prove to anyone. But we want to show our best possible performance and take the result we didn’t manage to get in the previous matches. I feel something is owed to us, and I feel we will get the win.
You have faced Mbappé several times. Do your teammates ask you how to deal with him?
No, not really. Beyond Mbappé, who is in the offense, there are many other players at Real Madrid. We are dealing with the best players in the world, and we must be careful – but we also have good players, and we’ve demonstrated that so far. We must show how mentally ready we are for this match. We need to enjoy it and show our best selves.
What did the match against Barcelona teach you? Which elements would you keep and which would you change, even considering the refereeing mistake?
Especially in football, it’s a game of mistakes, and we must manage these situations. We need to control the things that concern us. The refereeing mistake was something we could not control and had nothing to do with us. In these matches every second counts, as I said earlier. If we play like we did against Barcelona up until the red card, I believe we will show great things.
Did the match against Barcelona make you more determined or give you extra motivation?
Every match gives us motivation; it has nothing to do with that specific game. We are eagerly waiting for this match – we, the club, the fans, the entire organisation. We have left the Barcelona match behind us – we must have a clear mind, show personality, and bring energy into this game.
Is this match a new starting point for qualification?
This is the only thing that interests us – the standings. We are not focused on “beating Real Madrid.” It is difficult to reach the last 24, but we will try. Everything happens for a reason, and I believe the results we didn’t get in previous matches will come back to us later – that’s my view. I assure you this team believes in it deeply, and we will give our absolute best.
