Jose Boto revealed PAOK’s agreement with Andre Vierinias to stay for another year in a TV interview, while stressing that he believes in qualifying against Marseille.
PAOK Technical Director Jose Boto spoke exclusively to Total Football at OPEN, where he announced that he has reached an agreement with Andre Vierinias to remain with the team for a further year and only signings are pending.
At the same time, the Portuguese referred both to what happened in France to the Marseille fans and, of course, to the qualifying case he believes in. As he said, PAOK wants to be the team that will make history in Greece by qualifying for the “4” of the Europa Conference League.
-What exactly happened to the serious incidents of Marseille hooligans in Marseille?
“I knew that Marseille fans had problematic behavior but I’ve never seen anything like it. I hope we don’t see similar behavior from them in Thessaloniki.”
I believe our fans should focus on the game like us, being our 12th player during the game will be very important for us and focus on the support they will give our team and the Marseille -Forget fans. Will they come at last?”
– Do you think UEFA will allow or ban the presence of Marseille fans in Toumba?
“From what I saw in the first game there was a lack of organization and that was a failing of UEFA. I cannot predict what decision they will make.”
On the picture of PAOK in the first match in Marseille against Marseille:
“I’m happy with what the team achieved in Marseille. We have to assume that Marseille are second in one of the best leagues in the world, in one of the top 5.
The differences in budgets and competitions are big, between Greece and France, and we proved, especially in the second half, that we can play against similarly sized teams like Marseille.
i am optimistic Why; “Because what we did in the second half shows us that we can beat a team like Marseille.”
-What do you think are the chances of PAOK qualifying for the next phase?
“I’m also optimistic because I train every day, I see how the players train every day, how the coach and the team prepare the games, and I’m optimistic because in Thessaloniki we will play with our 12th player. I know our fans will play a crucial role, they will help the team in the 90 minutes.”
For the atmosphere that PAOK fans created at “Velontrom”:
“When we arrived at the Velodrome in Marseille and we went to the pitch, when we saw this picture from our fans, I will share my experience and I have been working in football for several years, but I felt something special because our fans wore it” .
-What data should PAOK have to qualify in the next phase?
“We have to be very focused because these games are usually judged in detail. Then we need 90 minutes of concentration, absolute concentration in the game and it’s very important to play without fear of them like we did in the second half, that we weren’t afraid of Marseille and we don’t respect Marseille that much. “We respect the opponent, but not too much.”
-How important is it for PAOK to qualify for Europa Conference League “4”? What is this challenge for you personally?
“ENo team in Greece has reached such heights for many years. Clubs grow with such experiences. Not just players and coaches. I think what we have achieved so far has been very important and difficult to achieve. If we take this step, the big step but possible, I think it will be something great for our club, for Greece and for Greek football.
It won’t be the first time for me, we’ve played in two Europa League finals with Benfica and in a semi-final with Shakhtar, but if we reach that level the year I came to PAOK, it will be for me something more important than the Benfica final”.
-You said that you think of a special role for Andre Vierinias. Forza Newspaper announced that PAOK and Vierinia will stay together for another year. What do you have to tell us about this?
“When I spoke about the role of Vierinias, my mind and Andre’s thought was about fighting for another year. I think it proves every week that he can play another year, that he can be an important player with a role in the PAOK team, but also to pass the values ​​from PAOK to PAOK.
From then on we talked about it, we might not have signed the contract but Andre knows that and we talked about wanting him to play for PAOK for another year. “We have already discussed almost everything, now we have to sign the contract.”
