Jose Luis Mendilibar speaks on Armando Gonzalez's potential Olympiacos debut vs. Asteras. The coach gives a full update ahead of Sunday's game.
Olympiacos F.C. want to continue winning in the Super League Greece ahead of Sunday’s match against Asteras in Tripoli, but head coach José Luis Mendilibar expects a difficult game.
Speaking to Nova Sports and talking about whether the Piraeus club will impose their rhythm or show patience, the Basque coach said: “First of all, with respect to the opponent, Asteras. As you very rightly said, there is no easy game, and in Tripoli even less so. We have to stay focused, and each of us has to give his best, so we can be a strong, good team and prove on the field that we are better than them. Otherwise, it is very difficult to win.”
Regarding Armando 'La Hormiga' Gonzalez and whether he will get playing time, he noted: “He has done just three training sessions with us. As a person, his first impression is very good. He is extremely polite, smiling, and we are getting to know him little by little, more and more, both through daily life and through the games. I hope this very good first impression he has given continues.”
Regarding whether there will be changes to the starting 11 compared with the game against Atromitos, since the players who came off the bench were pivotal, Mendilibar stated: “We’ll see on Sunday whether they are rewarded or not. In the end, a team is not the three or four substitutions. A team is not only the 11 who play, but the entire roster. And I believe that, in this sense, we have to be pleased with the players and with the way they work every day. In the end, if you train well, everyone will be able to give what they have inside them.”
Here are all the words from Mendilibar ahead of the Asteras Tripolis' game.
On whether Olympiacos will again be fresher in ideas: “I don’t know. Not all games are the same. You can play a good game, and the next one may not be as good, or vice versa. It would be good to gain some consistency, mainly in terms of our competitiveness, regardless of whether we like our game more or less."
"Our idea is to create chances and try to create as many as possible. From there, our accuracy depends on the day, the player, and many other things. But the idea is to reach the opponent’s box many times, and the other day, against Atromitos, we did it. We scored only one goal, but the picture of what we want to do is there.”
On the fact that four of the five Greek teams are continuing in the European cups and what this means for the league race: “For Greek football, it is very good to have four teams playing in the European competitions. I think it has been a long time since something like this happened. The fact that four of the five teams qualified is very positive."
"It will help everyone, and it will help Greek football, so that people, players and coaches from other countries begin to see Greek football differently. And I believe this will be good. This was the idea we had when we came here: to improve and make Greek football bigger, so that the Greek league gradually rises a little more. And the truth is that the fact that OFI can play in a competition like the Europa League says a lot about Greek football.”
