José Luis Medilibar was asked to comment on COSMOTE TV about Olympiacos’s draw in the Europa League, knowing that the “Red-and-Whites” will have to overcome significant obstacles to advance in the tournament.
The Basque coach highlighted the strength of the opponents, stressed that there are no easy games, and when asked about his promise of yet another European trophy, he gave his characteristic response: “We’ll see… We’ll take it one step at a time.”
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Here’s what he said in detail:
On how he viewed the draw: “It’s fine. The draw has been made, and whatever it brought us, it brought us. We imagine the predictions have already begun. We know everyone will be talking about who we’ll beat, who we’ll lose to, and how many points we’ll end up with. Let’s not forget that we have to play.”
On the matches against Milan and Marseille: “Two historic teams. Milan more so than Marseille. Milan is a team that has played in the Champions League for most of its history, and Marseille has passionate fans—we’ll be playing there.”
On Sparta Prague and Rennes: “Sparta is a team that always puts in good performances and runs, whether in the league or in Europe. They always do well, and you have to take them seriously. Even though everyone says you have to beat them, you’ll have to play well to do so. Rennes is a French team that, like all the others, is physically fit, and you’ll have to run a lot.”
On Jagiellonia and Celié: “New teams for us, new countries. We’ll get to know new teams from new cultures. Teams that are used to competing in Europe and that you have to watch out for because they have ambitions.”
On Hoffenheim and Torrense: “Hoffenheim, a German team—it’s unusual that they’re in the 4th pot; they’re definitely strong and play a fast-paced game. Torrense deserves a huge round of applause for what they’ve achieved; they won the Cup while playing in the second division. They’ll definitely give it their all in every European match, especially the home games—including the one against us.”
On the schedule and whether he has a preference: “Yes, we’ll play on September 16–17, and then there will be a long break. In countries where it’s cold, we should go as early as possible and not wait until the depths of winter.”
On the promise of another trophy after the Conference League: “Let’s see if we can manage to win another one, completely different from the one we won back then. We’ll take it step by step.”
*photo source: KYPE
