Olympiacos head coach José Luis Mendilibar spoke after his side’s 1-1 away draw against AEK in the final fixture of the league campaign, also reflecting on the team’s overall season.
In detail, what the experienced coach had to say:
“Today we did everything we could to win the match. We started the game strongly, we created chances to score; we wanted to get the goal that would give us the win so we wouldn’t have to think about what was happening in the other match or depend on that result. We didn’t manage to do it, though. We conceded from the opponent’s shot, but the other game also ended in a draw and we achieved our objective of finishing second, despite not winning.”
In the playoffs, apart from the first match against AEK, Olympiacos were either better than or equal to their opponents, yet they still didn’t win the games they wanted. Why do you think that happened and what will you change next season?
In football, the team that creates the most chances, plays the better football, or dominates the match doesn’t always win. Sometimes the winner is simply the more clinical side. We were often superior to our opponents and created more chances than they did, but we lacked efficiency and didn’t get the results we wanted. What matters to us is continuing to create opportunities, to play attacking football and to keep putting ourselves in those positions, because eventually the goals will come. We would be worried if we were a team that wasn’t playing well. We will continue working to improve the areas we need to, so that we not only perform well but also get the results we want.
Olympiacos were the better side in the last five matches, but there was also a period earlier on when the team didn’t perform well. Was that due to demands of the UEFA Champions League, or should you perhaps have rotated the squad more?
It’s true that once our UEFA Champions League campaign ended, both the team collectively and some players individually didn’t look as good as they had before. That can happen because psychologically you may feel that you’ve given everything, and without realizing it you let your intensity drop. But that was never our objective. Our intention was to remain as strong as we had been before. It turned out that while we were competing both in Europe and in the league, things were going better and we looked stronger. After that, however, we didn’t get the results we should have against teams that were theoretically weaker. It wasn’t intentional and certainly not part of our mindset. This can happen to teams or individual players, and it happened to us as well. I always do what I believe is right. Looking back and thinking about that I should or shouldn’t have done won’t change anything or offer solutions. I’m the type of coach that usually rotates that squad quite a lot, and if I didn’t do it at a given a moment, it’s because I believed that was the correct decision at the time.
I want to congratulate AEK on winning the championship. In football, you need to know how to take a defeat and how to win. I don’t know why they were chanting my name, but it would be better for everyone to focus on their own team and the opposition in peace. You need to be good both at losing and at winning.
Let’s settle once and for all the speculation that started from MD1 of the playoffs. I assume you’ll be continuing as usual next year?
I believe so, yes. I’m under contract, and at least nobody has told me otherwise.
