THE Rui Vitoria talked about his away match Panathinaikou against New Saints (12/12/24, 22:00) for the 5th matchday of the League Phase in the Conference League, with the Portuguese coach of the “cloverleaf” stressing that his players must get the win.
Rui Vitoria focused on what the Panathinaikos players have achieved in the short time he has been on the club’s bench, with everyone in the team aiming to improve even more the “clover”, in his words, at the press conference ahead of match against New Saints (12/12/24, 22:00) for the Conference League.
The Portuguese coach also referred to the team’s reconnection with the world, which was further strengthened in last Sunday’s game (8/12/24) in Tripoli and the “clover”‘s 1-0 win against Asteras.
Vitoria’s statements
Do you have in mind the points you need to collect to get to the next stage of the Conference League? Is there a calculation for the two games that Panathinaikos has in the competition?
“I think Filip (sr. Djuricic) said it quite well and I would agree with him. We are a big team and you always play to win, no matter what the stakes are. We are not looking at whether we want 3 or 6 points, but to get the victory. We are facing an opponent who also wants victory, because he has his own goal of qualification. We must respect the opponent, but not lose our identity. We play quite well, regardless of the opponent, the venue and the competition. This is the approach we have. The match here is important, as will be the next ones and we are now concentrating on this match…”.
In the last two games you have moved to a 9-man and 8-man rotation, but the cohesion of the whole has not been lost. Is this a good guide for the sequel?
“Something I want to share with you is that I am happy with the players. This is in line with what I said when I came here, because we have very good players. We are talking about a team with consecutive games every three days. We have 9 games in a row, played five and have four to go. Certainly for a coach, like me, it is satisfying to see that whoever I use, the performance of the team does not change. Regardless of the event we compete in.
This fills me with hope that we will do even better. As I said before, we are experiencing a complex process with the series of games, the team has improved a lot in determination, in the will to win.
It can turn the tide of a match when it is adverse. I think that the players have responded in a short time to the ideas that we have passed on to them. We definitely have things to improve, but with the… photo of the moment, I am satisfied”
After the Astera game, you sent the players to thank the fans for their support. Do you see it as a gain to reconnect the team with their world?
“I will agree. I think that in any club, let alone a big one, when people are united in a common vision, the stronger the whole is. We felt this against Asteras Tripoli, where in difficult weather conditions for everyone, we received a big boost and tried to repay it.
They were two things interrelated. They gave us a boost, we scored the goal and we celebrated a great victory together. The fans pushed us, we helped them with our will. Certainly not everything will always be perfect, things often don’t go the way we want, but we will try to improve…”.
The players of Panathinaikos were represented by Filip Djuricic who reported
Panathinaikos is looking for qualification to the next phase. You have two “rolls”. What do you need to change from the games we’ve seen so far in League Phase for the team to do their job?
“Our last match against Helsinki went very well and the only thing we need to improve on is the finals. We shouldn’t change much, except for the finishes. If we play with the right energy, with the quality we have, we will go to the next phase. We need 6 points and we are more than capable of doing that.”
You are in amazing shape this year and apart from your performances and appearances, the most important thing is that you look “hungry”. What has changed in you this year?
“In every match I try to do my best and show my best, even though sometimes things don’t go the way you want. This year I feel calmer. I can focus on my work, I don’t have the national team anymore, I’m more focused. I’ve learned that if you don’t do things with will and passion, you won’t succeed.
This appetite “pushes” me. Thank you for your kind words and I will be here to do my best.”
For Panathinaikos to have hopes, they will have to win tomorrow. What should the team look at tomorrow, what should they pay particular attention to in order to combine both spectacle and substance?
“We play in a big team, so every match is important. Our approach must always be the same, we are a big team, we want to dominate every game, regardless of the opponent.
There are strong opponents, others less strong, but we must always look to do the best. Let’s play like in the last matches, with the will to win. And luck helps a lot, of course.
We have to face the opponent and continue, doing our duty.”
You said that Panathinaikos does everything well except the finishes? What is it that the team is doing that is not finishing as well as it should, based on the quality of the players?
“I think game by game we’re playing a lot better. There are a lot of details to talk about. It is important that we create important opportunities. It has to do with our confidence.
We are trying, we are a little behind in scoring, but I think that is not so important because we are improving. I believe that with a little patience things will improve.”