"We must follow our routine"

Under the sound of cheering by dozens of Olympiacos’ fans that were present at the FanZone, the coach of Olympiacos, Giorgos Bartzokas and the captain, Kostas Papanikolaou, made the following statements.

“The fans of Olympiacos are always very enthusiastic, the same goes here as well”, was what the coach commented and went on with the following: “Only two players are here, Papanikolaou and Vezenkov. The rest are at the hotel, keeping up with their routine. That’s what you need to be doing, the usual staff. We have a certain routine, practice, watching video… I asked from my players to not get overly involved with their people that have traveled here or the Media. I’m sorry to say that, but talking to reporters a lot, to agents that are all here and they have a job to do, is not in our usual routine and we have to avoid it”.  

On his part, the experienced coach, Kostas Papanikolaou, talked about Sasha Vezenkov been awarded the MVP trophy. “I’m happy for Sasha. He’s our team mate and a guy that has worked really, really a lot. Not only this year, but ever since he’s been with the team and in the previous years as well. It’s a validation for him, that comes through team work. It’s very important for him, but also for the club to have such player in its roster and that we are contesting for a huge trophy right now. Because that’s what really matters, like Sasha also said”.  

And he concluded: “When you have a recipe that works, it’s kind of a trap to try and change it. Because that’s what has made you successful up to now. How we are going to approach the game is definitely not our job, but rather that of the coaching staff. I think though that what has carried us here will be the main core of where we are going to rely on and of our approach to the game. That’s the essence of it all along with the will in all of us”.