Olympiacos head coach José Luis Mendilibar spoke at the post-match press conference after the win against Ajax in Amsterdam, referring to the fans who travelled to the Netherlands for the match and commenting on the team’s journey in the UEFA Champions League.
Below is the full press conference of the experienced coach:
You needed three wins to qualify and you achieved it. What more can we expect from Olympiacos?
That was indeed the objective, but we never thought of it as something we had to do. We went match by match, hoping to make it to this day. In the end, we managed it, and now we have either Atalanta or Bayer Leverkusen ahead of us — and we continue.
A comment on the many fans who stayed outside the stadium and celebrated you after qualification, and how much more can this team can grow?
I truly want to thank all the fans who managed to come and watch the match, as well as those who travelled knowing it would be very difficult to get into the stadium. At the very least, we gave them joy — the joy of returning to Greece with the qualification secured and the chance to watch more Champions League matches live. Now we have one more qualification to aim for. Reaching this point is already a big achievement. We’ve had a strong run in the competition, we are ranked 18th, right in the middle of the table, and we’ve left many teams behind us. We hope it doesn’t stop here and that we can continue into the next phase.
February brings a demanding schedule, with two more European matches added. How do you plan to manage this?
In the same way we’ve done so far. We know it’s difficult because we play every three days, but that’s why we have a large squad — so all players can contribute and help the team cope with this demanding schedule.
What were the key elements that helped the team get what it wanted, especially after the 70th minute? And in the knockout matches, will there be less pressure without the ‘must-qualify’ factor?
What we did was stay persistent and keep trying. In the first half, Ajax were better than us, they had chances but didn’t score. In the second half, our performance improved. They equalised, but we showed that we could do it and that we would score again to regain the lead. It was difficult because we faced a strong team that troubled us in the first half, and after our goal we even had to clear the ball off the line — but that’s how we managed to secure qualification.
A comment on Babis Kostoulas, who was here watching the match — we know you follow his progress closely.
He hasn’t played much so far, but whenever he does, he makes good use of the time his coach gives him. He recently scored a very nice goal. He does whatever the coaches ask of him and helps the team. Sometimes the team needs you to take responsibility, other times you come on to give a teammate a rest. He’s doing well, he’s young, he has a lot of football in him, and he will do well.
For the first time in its European history, Olympiacos have recorded two consecutive wins in January. Does the timing matter?
You’re finding things I didn’t even know or hadn’t heard before — and even if I had, I wouldn’t really think about them. We hope to get another win in January. We’re facing teams that didn’t play midweek and are well rested. We just keep working. We don’t think about whether it’s January or not — we focus on our job and on trying to win matches.
You achieved a major milestone with three consecutive wins in the UEFA Champions League, something Olympiacos had never done before. How do you assess the journey so far, and what do you hope for next?
With the structure of this competition, many things can happen. You know you’ll definitely need three wins, but you don’t know exactly how many points will be needed so as to choose your matches. We want to win every game. We started against Pafos, which we didn’t beat, and after the red card the match became even more difficult. In other matches, we tried hard but didn’t get the points we wanted. Given how the competition works, we’re satisfied with the way qualification came. A victory gives you strength and boosts your morale, allowing you to hope for more victories in the matches ahead.
