Lemonis pride at Madrid draw
Tuesday, November 6, 2007
Article summary
Olympiacos CFP coach Panagiotis Lemonis paid tribute to the club's players and fans after they earned a crucial Group C point against Real Madrid CF.
Article body
Olympiacos CFP coach Panagiotis Lemonis paid tribute to the club's players and fans after they earned a point in a 0-0 Group C draw against Real Madrid CF that kept their UEFA Champions League hopes alive. Meanwhile, Madrid coach Bernd Schuster bemoaned two "dropped points" in Athens.
Panagiotis Lemonis, Olympiacos coach
The way the match progressed, this point is very important towards our group prospects. I believe we won our fans over tonight, they helped us a lot in some crucial moments. I think they understand that we're making a big effort in building a squad they can be proud of. In Madrid I wasn't happy about the result, but today I am happy with the way we earned a point despite all our injury and suspension problems.
I want to make a special reference to Anastasios Pantos, who is not a superstar, but for me he is. I also want to congratulate [Rodrigo Javier] Archubi and [Konstantinos] Mendrinos, who were called in to play despite having very little time on the pitch - they did really well in a very difficult game. I also want to point out the collective spirit of my side. Our two remaining matches are very important. The international break is very welcome in order to prepare for the match against [S.S.] Lazio, hopefully with our injured players fit again.
Bernd Schuster, Real Madrid coach
We were in total control in a very tight match and I'm happy with the effort of my players. We were expecting a goal to come, but our possession didn't translate into goals. We dropped two points here when I think we deserved all three because we created a lot of chances and were very patient. We would have liked to seal our qualification tonight. I know that Real Madrid have never won in Greece, but today we came really close.
Now we aim to play with the same level of concentration in Germany against Werder Bremen in order to progress to the next round. I don't worry about our lack of finishing. We created many chances, we hit the woodwork twice and the Olympiacos goalkeeper produced some good saves. Their fans create a special atmosphere and their home support will be an important asset for the Greek side, especially if qualification is still at stake on the last matchday.
