Olympiacos head coach José Luis Mendilibar, speaking after the victory over Panathinaikos at the “G. Karaiskakis”, said he was satisfied with his team’s performance, while stressing that the “red-and-whites” could have scored more goals. He also noted that everyone wanted the win for the fans.
In detail, what the experienced coach said:
How satisfied are you with the win over Panathinaikos, and are you once again concerned by the number of chances your team missed?
Of course it concerns me that we miss so many chances, because we want to kill games off earlier and not allow the opponent to keep hoping. With the opportunities we created, we should have scored more goals. But in a derby the opponent plays too and defends well. The statistics show that we were the better team on the pitch, although the scoreline with just one goal doesn’t reflect that.
How pleased are you that your opponent did not register a single shot on target?
We’re pleased with how effective we were defensively. Offensively we do many things well up until the final touch – we create chances but don’t score. Defensively we were effective because we didn’t allow the opponent to threaten us, but when the score is only 1-0 there is always a danger.
In a playoff series like this, does a team need more players like Rodinei on the pitch?
The truth is that he is a very competitive and attack-minded player. We like him in that advanced role and want him to play as high up the pitch as possible, not just because of the goals, but because he offers so much. He creates danger, delivers good crosses and we like seeing him play higher up the field.
Do you feel frustrated by some of the results in the league, considering things could have been different? Also, a comment ahead of the match in Nea Filadelfeia, where the team must win to secure second place.
We have to win the final match and we’ll be fully prepared. More than anything, we need to be mentally ready, because there will definitely be physical fatigue. The Super League schedule was strange; we played three matches over the course of a month and then played the same number of matches within a single week. Of course we’re not satisfied with the number of points we’ve collected, but in football what matters are goals and points. We didn’t score enough and we didn’t get the wins, so it doesn’t matter that we played well. AEK performed well in the playoffs, got the victories they needed and are taking the title.
What is the situation with Hezze and Martins ahead of the AEK match?
Martins was not substituted because of an injury, it was a tactical change. Hezze took a hit and we hope he will return to normal training from tomorrow.
For the first time with you on the bench, Olympiacos played a match without being in contention for a title, yet the fans were here and applauded the team. What does that mean to you and the squad?
It was one of the things we discussed before the match. We wanted the win for our fans because they are always with us and always support us. We wanted the victory for them. Of course there was also the motivation of securing second place. It’s important to finish there and fight for qualification to the Champions League. We didn’t want to appear without motivation. We wanted the win for our fans and for the chance to qualify for the Champions League.
