APOEL staged a comeback at GSP Stadium and secured a 3-1 victory over Aris in Matchday 9 of the Cyprus League by Stoiximan.
After the game, Nikos Papadopoulos highlighted the factors that led to the comeback. For his part, Artem Radzkov said almost… nothing.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
Highlights of what was said:
Nikos Papadopoulos (APOEL): “Congratulations to my players on the victory, and to the fans for their support. Today is a special day for us, and the fact that I’m here on this day is a blessing.
We started with a goal by the opponent; we fell behind, but our energy, passion, determination, and mindset put us ahead at halftime. We won a tough game against a good, fast team; we played quite well, and this victory came through a tremendous effort.
This day certainly helped us become even better with the ball at our feet. I’ve said many times that soccer gets complicated when there’s an opponent, and today’s opponent deserves congratulations because they’re a very good team.”
Artyom Radzhkov (Aris): “We thank the fans who came to the stadium for this difficult game.”
Tassos Bakasetas (APOEL): “We’ve seen the same pattern in the last three games. We fall behind on the opponent’s first chance, but then we play our game. We have players who can handle situations like this. We scored a goal at a crucial moment. In the second half, we gave up some space—that’s just how the game goes—but then the third goal came, and we secured the win.”
On his personal performance: “I’ve felt great from the very beginning. It’s wonderful to be surrounded by healthy people who treat you right—the team staff, my teammates, and the fans. I struggled at first because I hadn’t played any games, not even friendlies, but now I’m finding my footing. I’ve settled in very well, and the team and the coach helped me with that.”
On whether Ivan Jovanović’s presence on the field served as extra motivation: “Mr. Jovanović and I have known each other for several years; we’ve also worked together with the national team. I didn’t see it as motivation; he knows what kind of player I am, and I know him, too. The motivation was for the team to do justice to the occasion in front of the fans who came out to celebrate this anniversary of this great team.”
