Olympiacos head coach José Luis Mendilibar spoke at the press conference after the match against Aris in Thessaloniki, which ended in a goalless draw.
Below is everything the experienced coach of the Greek double winners had to say:
“It was an intense match from both teams. I believe we pressed more and posed a greater threat to our opponent, we entered the opposition area more often, but we were unable to score. Aris also had some good moments and chances to score, but I think we were the better team on the pitch. However, since we didn’t score, the match ended in a draw.”
Do you regret anything in terms of how you managed the match? For example, do you think you should have substituted García earlier because he was on a yellow card?
I didn’t make the substitution because, at that moment, I didn’t believe he would receive a second yellow card. If I had thought that would happen, I would have made the change and handled the situation differently. García committed an action and received the first yellow, then the second one followed, but I can’t use up a substitution just because a player is booked, as that doesn’t necessarily mean he will receive a second one. That’s football – these things happen quite often. I didn’t make the substitution because I believed it wasn’t necessary. He wasn’t the only player on a yellow card; we had another player booked by halftime as well.
Your opinion on Aris under Jiménez, who is currently under pressure.
It’s not only Mr Jiménez who is under pressure – everyone is under pressure. In this profession, you either win or you get sacked; not everyone can win. But this doesn’t happen only to Mr Jiménez or only in Greece. It happens in Italy, Spain, everywhere in the world. When you start coaching a team, you know there is always the possibility that things won’t go well and that you may be dismissed. This is not something unique to Aris, and their coach certainly knows it. That’s our profession, and that’s how we all move forward.
Did you notice anything different from Aris in this match compared to their previous games?
Against us, Aris have never played poorly. I have come here four times and I haven’t won any of them. Aris are always good when they play against us, and when we came here, we had no doubt that they would perform well and try to win the match.
