Injured LuaLua backs team-mates
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
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Lomana LuaLua will be sitting out Olympiacos CFP's second leg at Chelsea FC - but told uefa.com users' he has every confidence that the Greek side can upset the odds.
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'Nothing to lose'
While his team-mates were preparing for the tie at Stamford Bridge, aiming to follow the first-leg goalless draw with a repeat of their away victories at Werder Bremen and S.S. Lazio in the group stage, LuaLua was taking part ina Ford Talk Football Expert Chat with uefa.com users and made this confident predicition: "I believe anything's possible at the end of the day. We don't have anything to lose. We played really well at home. They didn't score which was a good thing. Obviously they want to win this. We've just got to be patient and try to go with the game plan. Again, anything's possible. Football's not mathematics. In the first leg people thought Chelsea would beat us easily."
Injury
However, LuaLua will play no part in the city in which he was raised after moving from Kinshasa, having dislocated a shoulder in Saturday's 1-1 draw with Asteras Tripolis FC. "I'm really, really, really gutted and down," the 27-year-old said. "Obviously, as a footballer you always want to play against the best. I'm really gutted. Especially as I come from London. To play this game would have meant a lot to me. Not just me but all of us. Words can't express how I feel. Not just this game but to miss quite a lot of games."
Greek improvement
LuaLua is in a good position to assess Chelsea, having spent his entire career in England before his summer switch from Portsmouth FC to Olympiacos, but he has been impressed by the Greek Super League. "Obviously the Greek league is a league that is trying to progress, to get to the same level as the English league," LuaLua said. "It's competitive. The Greek teams are doing really well in Europe. The Prem is obviously more physical but the Greek League is more technical."
'Athens is beautiful'
Not only is LuaLua impressed by the football, but he is fond of the city of Athens too. "I love it!" he said. "I'm from the Congo. I've travelled around a bit and Athens is the closest thing to my country. Athens is beautiful. The weather is very nice, the people are friendly. Anyone who knows me will tell you I'm very laid back and it suits me!"
