At the press conference of the match against Aberdeen, Lucescu made it clear that he does not want to accept a negative question from the moment PAOK qualified and emphasized that if this happens he will leave. That’s why he didn’t answer a related question he received about the goals his team conceded, the Romanian said good night and left.
Lucescu saw PAOK secure qualification to the next round of the Europa Conference League despite a draw against Aberdeen, and in the press conference he was clear from the start as he said he did not want to take a negative question once his side had qualified.
And the Romanian said it and did it and did not answer a relevant question, after a 15 minute interview of course, which he accepted about the two goals conceded by his team, he said “good night, the team qualified” and left.
As for what counts more, 2/2 on defense or 20 finals on offense:
“I said it before coming to the press conference, if today I receive a negative question, I will tell you that we qualified and good night. It was a match we had to win and we deserved the victory.
We are unbeaten after 10 matches in Europe, in the next phase of the competition, while I remember the negativity that existed after the first matchday at home against Beitar. We have made significant strides forward as a team.
We continue in Europe and in February despite this result which we did not like based on our effort. I am satisfied with the image of the team. I understand that the team is in a stressful situation at the moment. We created many phases, we scored two goals. It’s unfair for us the result, but that can happen in football.
Our goal was to qualify and we succeeded. We conceded the first goal from a cross from the right, but in general we didn’t concede any chances.
I’m… crazy but I always tell the truth, Aberdeen’s second goal in the match came from a big mistake by the referee, because at the beginning of the phase Samata is fouled. Then there is the big ball, which Aberdeen wins the foul and scores the goal, in a foul that was very easily given to the opponent”.
On whether he was surprised that Aberdeen forced PAOK:
“We completely controlled the match from the beginning, our goal was qualification. It is an important step forward because we want to continue in the competition. In both matches we were better than the opponent and we deserved more today. I have no complaints from our players “.
On whether he believes that PAOK is taking quick steps forward towards the goal:
“We have qualified for the next stage and now we will go to the match against Eintracht to get the first place. We have to stay stable and strong psychologically, this will also help us for the game in Germany.
The last match is not there, we also have the last match at home. This is our goal, the first match after this or better… the next one. We are a team that must take advantage of every situation, every mistake of the opponent. For the competitions within Greece, we are in contention. With the way our team is structured, we have to look at the match against Panaitolikos. That’s the only way we’ll get the most out of every match, where for us the goal is the three points.”
On whether this Aberdeen game is a management lesson ahead of the Eintracht game:
“Football is like that. Sometimes you’re going to be lucky and sometimes you’re going to be unlucky. Sometimes luck will be with the chances, sometimes the ball won’t go in the net. We’ve seen that many times in the last month with our own team. We have to enjoy our qualification to the next stage and when the time comes we will see the match against Eintracht. This qualification gives us confidence, a stronger bond between the players and the effort they have put in. It gives us joy and we want to continue so”.
About Samata’s goal and his picture:
“People in Thessaloniki are demanding in general and not only with Samata. There are players who adapt more easily, but not many. And there are some others who need a longer period to adapt to a new situation. We have to be careful with Samata, in training he shows great will, great responsibility. Step by step he is getting better, we all help him and support him to face the next matches better. He gives everything for the team and things will work better for him too.”
For the many goals conceded by PAOK and if he considers the fact that he concedes two goals per match to be circumstantial:
“Thank you very much, we have already qualified good night!”.
