Olympiacos hail heroic Roberto display
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Article summary
Míchel said "words can't describe how good Roberto was" after the win against Juventus, the Olympiacos FC goalkeeper adding: "Our work is based on making people happy."
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Article body
• Pajtim Kasami's first-half strike gives Olympiacos victory against Juventus
• Olympiacos goalkeeper Roberto "proud and happy" after stellar display
• Míchel says "words can't describe how good Roberto was tonight"
• Massimiliano Allegri acknowledges Juve were "below par" in first half
• Next games: Juventus v Olympiacos (4 November)
Roberto, Olympiacos goalkeeper
It was very important to win today. A victory in the Champions League is always important, but today it was a difficult match that could have sent us top of our group once more. We did it and we are very happy.
[Regarding the fans chanting his name] I am delighted. Our work is based on this: making people happy with our performances so that they can help us get good results. Tonight everything aligned perfectly. It's one of those nights when you return home happy.
[If it was special to play like that with Gianluigi Buffon at the other end] I am very proud and happy to play against a goalkeeper who has been the benchmark of quality for my whole life. I always enjoy playing in the Champions League, against the best; tonight was such a night.
We must start taking points away from home. It won't be enough getting points just at home. That's why we have to try and make the most of this result next time in Turin, to try and complicate things for Juventus.
Pajtim Kasami, Olympiacos midfielder
[Kostas] Mitroglou had the ball and passed to me. In this level of competition you don't have the luxury of time to think. I aimed for the left post, the ball went in and we won. That's the most important thing. I'm very happy with these three points. We recorded a very important victory that will boost our morale ahead of the upcoming games.
Paul Pogba, Juventus midfielder
Winning an away match has never been easy. If we want to get through the group stage, we must win, and this is where we have to improve our performances and be more efficient in front of goal. If we don't score goals, we won't go any further. We intend to win all the remaining fixtures, simple as that.
Míchel, Olympiacos coach
I'm very happy today, not just because of the result but because of the mentality of our players. We are back to winning ways after playing very well for more than an hour. We played like we did against Atlético Madrid on matchday one and against Manchester United, SL Benfica and Anderlecht last season.
The common thread running through all these games was team work and our goalkeeper. Roberto was splendid today. Words can't describe how good he was. He has been improving from the day he came. Spain's national coach Vicente Del Bosque should consider him.
The Juventus fans are probably disappointed, but we played very well. When a great team loses everyone talks about it, but we did very well tonight. We did a lot of good things. We read Juventus well and the players did what they had to do. When you play like a team you always have more credibility. We cannot hide two things tonight: we played like a team should and we have a fantastic goalkeeper.
Massimiliano Allegri, Juventus coach
We made a lot of technical errors. Olympiacos pressured us very well, they were effective in their counterattacks. We improved in the second half. We moved up the field and could have equalised but we wasted a lot of chances. I'm sad but we still have three games to go. I take responsibility.
We were well below par in the first half. I believed Andreas Pirlo could influence and organise our game but Olympiacos pressured us very well. Even though we have lost against both Atlético and Olympiacos, I'm still confident we can qualify.
We expected Olympiacos to drop back and try to hit us on the counter, and that's how they scored. We must forget this match. Team morale will not be affected by this.
Gianluigi Buffon, Juventus goalkeeper
We played very well in the second half, created many chances but failed to score. We deserved at least a point, taking into account our chances. However, we regret not having played better in the first half. Had we performed throughout as we did after the interval, we would be talking about a different result. This defeats complicates things regarding qualification.
Carlos Tévez, Juventus forward
Roberto produced an unbelievable performance and Olympiacos should be grateful to him for this victory. We must turn the page and find the strength to move on. We must remember that we are Juventus. We didn't come here to lose. Throughout their history, Juventus have always been very strong domestically and falter a bit in Europe. We must change that. It's a mentality issue and it's up to us to turn things around.