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Bartzokas: «Armani is not invincible»

Olympiacos’ delegation left for Milan, where tomorrow (26/11, 20.30 CET) will be playing against Armani, for the 12th round of the Euroleague.

“They are a very good team defense wise, but they also have a very good offense”, the ‘reds’ coach, Giorgos Bartzokas, stressed. “They are a team that passes the ball and I have high appreciation for teams that pass. They have a very good coach, like I said before, they pass the ball really well and have very good facilitators. They know the game very well, Rodriguez and Delaney can both control the game very well. They are an especially dangerous team, because they defend well and have experience. Adding Melli is also very important for them. Of course, they are not invincible. They have lost their last two games. I don’t know how easy it is for them to lose a third one in a row, but we are going to try to win”.  

Asked whether there has been introversion following the loss against Panathinaikos, he replied: “There is introversion, it’s true. But there is no whining within our team. However, there is introversion, because we put ourselves in a position to receive fair but also unjust criticism. Like we have said though, the schedule is heavy and we have too many obligations. We have a game immediately after, which is good. It’s a game of significant importance and significant difficulty”.

Finally, asked about how he manages the intense criticism against him, he said: “I’m quite experienced by now. It’s my second tour with Olympiacos and I know what to expect. Many of the things I’ve been reading are predictable. To me, they are extremely predictable. I think that a coach’s job is entwined with criticism, fair or not as well as with doubt against one’s face. It happens in all team sports. Even the most successful coaches all over the world have often been the recipients of public ridicule, so I can’t be complaining. It’s really expected according to my opinion. It was a game we had to win the way it evolved. Criticism makes us better, but sometimes we can see through someone’s motives”.