Giannis Michailidis characterized Marseille as a team with great quality but stressed that PAOK also have very good players in their squad, pointed out the cross crack and finally stressed that the team is determined to qualify.
Unlucky was Giannis Michailidis, who has completely torn his anterior cruciate ligament and will be out for at least six months.
Speaking to Cosmote after PAOK’s draw against Marseille in the Conference League quarter-finals, the young defender argued that Dikefalos can react and hold his own against top-flight teams.
At the same time, he emphasized that his team was determined to qualify, referring in particular to Andelino Vierinias, whom he described as the “leader” and “flag”.
Details of what he said to Cosmote:
“I’m happy about qualifying, I was sure they could do it. I would like to be in Gent but my injury is difficult. I’m glad they passed; snapshot”.
How he is doing after his injury: “My leg is not doing so well, now I understand what happened. I have Calvary ahead of me, I’m going to work and I made a bet with myself that I’ll come back stronger. “I’ll definitely be out in six months depending on how my foot reacts, but the most important thing is that I’m fine.”
On whether he was optimistic about the game against Gent: “There is trust between each other and the coach. It was a difficult game in the first half but we worked very hard. It was a historic night, we were 100% determined to qualify. “When you’re out you’re more stressed, but we came in stronger in the second half and didn’t give the opponent a chance to react.”
On the psychology of the team and how much Lutsescu contributed: “We had a tough time with bad results for a while, but that makes the teams stronger. The coach also helped a lot with how much psychology he will give to each player. Psychology for me is 60-40, that’s an important part. There is quality in the team and it was only a matter of time before we would react. “As for Vierinias, you don’t see that very often, he’s a leader, a flag and we little ones learn from him.”
Which opponent would you like to face in the next phase of the Conference League: “I would choose Roma, it’s good that strong teams come, we like challenges, I’ll choose Feyenoord because we dealt with that in preparation and we have nothing to fear. We like to get difficult qualifiers. “At this stage I can’t say that one team can play better than another at Toumba.”
To change position: “The truth is that at first I didn’t like it because I like scoring goals, but I worked hard, I didn’t know the position. And I’ve developed a lot with this coach and I want to thank him for that.”
For the draw against Marseille: “Regardless of the opponent at this stage, we would definitely face a strong side, we avoided the worst and the most important thing is that if we get past Marseille, the semi-final draw is passable. We’re not afraid of anyone, it’s a team like us and it’s 50-50. Marseille have quality, they have performances with big teams, but we also have good players to react to, but it’s still a game. “Paris plays in the league, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
To be able to make the trip to Marseille: ““When I finish the operation, I will travel.”
