Olympiacos head coach José Luis Mendilibar expressed his satisfaction with his team’s performance and effort after the 2–0 win against Bayer 04 Leverkusen, speaking at the post-match press conference.
In detail, what the experienced coach of the “red-and-whites” said:
Ahead of Amsterdam, would you prefer to face an Ajax side with nothing to play for or one that is now motivated by points after tonight’s win? What suits you better?
Sometimes you might prefer a team with no hopes and no motivation, but that isn’t always ideal. A team without pressure, especially if it has quality players, can be dangerous and even improve its performance. Ajax have fewer chances of progressing to the next round, while we have more, and I believe that is our strength going into this match – our hope of winning and qualifying.
On a tactical level, the match seemed closer to the one against PSV. Do you feel football owed you this win after missing out in that game?
I think it was different, because against PSV we were clearly the better team and didn’t win a match in which we deserved much more. Tonight, however, the opponent also had chances they didn’t convert, while we scored at key moments. It was a balanced game. We had luck on our side this time – something that was missing against PSV.
In matches, you often ask your players for efficiency – did you get it tonight? And years ago, Spain had Saint… Iker (Casillas). Starting tonight, does Olympiacos have their own Saint, Tzolakis?
Not starting tonight – since Tzolakis has been with us, he has been a very good goalkeeper. He protects the team, that’s what a goalkeeper does. It’s rare for him to make mistakes or fail to help us; he’s always there when we need him. We really made the most of the chances we had and were efficient. The opponent had more chances but didn’t score. Football doesn’t always give you what you deserve, and in that sense, we were fortunate – but that happened because we took advantage of our opportunities.
We saw passion and self-sacrifice from your players tonight, such as Hezze’s block on Maza’s shot. Was that something missing from Olympiacos in previous matches?
We ran a lot and gave everything on the pitch; that’s why everyone is exhausted now. The opponent forced us to run, but we responded and showed we were capable. The flow of the game matters as well; the goal in the 2nd minute gave us energy. If we had conceded an equaliser, maybe we wouldn’t have had the same intensity. But we showed great passion, ran extremely hard and held on to this important victory.
