West Ham's Mavropanos and manager David Moyes preview Olympiakos Europa League tie
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00:00 So, yeah, I didn't really support the team,
00:03 because like my father also, he was a person who liked to watch football
00:07 and not being someone who supported specific ones,
00:10 so, yeah, I was just a fan of football.
00:13 Did you support many of the team-mates?
00:17 No, I think the Greek people are really passionate about football,
00:20 and the atmosphere in every stadium is amazing,
00:23 so tomorrow again I think it's gonna be really good.
00:30 Yeah, as you saw last week, the last game of Olympiacos,
00:37 there were some of the things that you said,
00:40 but in European football I don't think they really do the same things,
00:44 because it's a different game, you know,
00:47 and they respect more the opponents.
00:51 Maybe, yes, the first month was difficult,
00:54 but I was able to adapt after a bit,
00:57 so it was a good change of my career.
01:01 It was Arsene Wenger, though?
01:03 No, it was good for me to meet first Mr Arsene Wenger,
01:07 because he helped me a lot to adapt to the team
01:10 and being part of the club at that moment.
01:13 Did you always?
01:14 Yeah, for sure, it was a target to come back,
01:17 and I'm really glad to be part of West Ham.
01:21 Can I just ask you again about the crowd,
01:24 do you think silencing the crowd is going to be vital,
01:26 because they've got so much passion,
01:28 and if the home team get into the game they can really push them on?
01:31 No, as I said, the atmosphere in Greek stadiums are amazing,
01:35 and they are always passionate with football,
01:38 but I think we have our supporters tomorrow,
01:42 and I think it's gonna be good for us to have them,
01:44 because they can give us more energy as well and push us more.
01:48 No, I mean, West Ham was also the winner of the Conference League,
01:53 and the club has a big history, so I didn't have to think a lot about it,
01:57 I was really, really happy when I got the offer,
02:00 and I said directly, yes.
02:03 In terms of David Moyes, how have you found working with him so far?
02:06 Yeah, it's really good to be part of his team,
02:08 and he tries to help me a lot, also the coaching staff,
02:15 so I'm really feeling good.
02:17 I think we're about two hours away from your boyhood club,
02:20 I think it's pronounced Apollon?
02:22 Yeah.
02:23 Apollon, talk me through your memories of playing for them.
02:26 No, this was my team when I was really young, I was not professional there,
02:30 but I was there from six to 18 years old,
02:35 so I spent a lot of time there, and it was next to my home as well,
02:38 so, yeah, they helped me a lot to grow.
02:41 What do you like about them?
02:43 They have good individual players, and they are really good in countering the target,
02:49 and they have some points that we have to take care of,
02:52 so I think it's going to be a tough game tomorrow.
02:56 How do you expect to impose yourselves on them?
03:00 One thing their coach mentioned...
03:02 We always follow the plan of the coach,
03:05 and as you said we have a really good and tall team,
03:09 and the set-pieces are one of the parts of the game that we want to make goals,
03:17 and as we showed in a couple of games, we can do this,
03:22 and this is going to be one of our parts that we can make goals.
03:28 So, for the game against Assavilla,
03:36 it was of course a result that we didn't want to,
03:39 and it was a bad day, I can say,
03:42 but because the plan of the English team is really busy,
03:45 I think after the game you just forget about it and you are focused on the next one,
03:50 so this is what we did, and we are already focused on the game,
03:54 on the tomorrow game, so yes, we are well-prepared,
03:59 and we are here to give our best,
04:02 and about myself, for sure it's a good feeling to be back at home,
04:10 but when the referee whistles, the game is as always a game with every team,
04:16 it doesn't matter if it's a Greek team or a team from a different country.
04:20 Is it possible for TV reasons to have an answer in Greek from the players?
04:26 Yeah, OK, one more question.
04:28 Thank you.
04:29 So, yes, I think that, if I'm not wrong,
04:34 the last game was against Olympiacos that I played here for a Greek team,
04:37 and it's always good to come back here and play against Olympiacos for now,
04:42 and it's a good feeling, as I said before.
04:47 Can I ask a second question?
04:50 About the fact that you are discussing with Reco and Pashkali...
04:53 Yeah, I spoke already with my team-mates from the national team,
04:59 and I have a really good relationship with them,
05:01 and I'm looking forward to playing against them tomorrow.
05:04 Thank you, everyone. We'll call it there.
05:06 The last question to have it in Greek is for our TV, if possible.
05:10 Pete, the same question?
05:12 In Greek.
05:13 If you're happy to.
05:15 Yeah, yeah, of course.
05:16 I think that the last game I played on a national team level was against Olympiacos,
05:21 and it's a special feeling to come here and play,
05:24 and of course I spoke with my team-mates from the national team,
05:29 because I have a really good relationship with all the kids there,
05:32 so yeah, I've spoken to the kids.
05:35 Thank you, guys.
05:37 Thank you.
05:39 ...elections, obviously, on a man you worked with for a long time.
05:44 Incredibly sad news.
05:47 Wonderful man, gave me a big opportunity in my career,
05:53 took me when I was a young manager from the lower leagues
05:56 and gave me a job in the Premier League.
05:58 Brilliantly supportive.
06:02 I couldn't have had a better chairman.
06:06 As a young coach, when I look at modern football nowadays
06:10 and how difficult it is for many young managers to make their way,
06:14 Bill Kenwright was great to work with.
06:17 Great times, over 11 years with him,
06:21 and we had some successful moments.
06:25 He'll be sadly missed, and to the whole family,
06:28 they know how I feel, and really disappointed that Bill's left.
06:33 Awesome.
06:35 First of all, I have to say that this is a very close-knit event.
06:39 A man came along, with whom I had the good fortune to work with first.
06:42 An exceptional personality, a leader of a team,
06:46 who gave me the opportunity to coach and work with a team.
06:50 We had many successes together, warm congratulations to his family.
06:54 That's okay, that's okay.
06:58 In terms of team news for tomorrow, has everyone travelled?
07:02 The only one who's not travelled is Vladimir Koufal.
07:06 He was a bit tight, so I left him at home.
07:10 Are Cresswell and Johnson here?
07:12 They're both here, yes.
07:14 Are they ready to play?
07:16 As I said, Johnson's probably a little bit further ahead of Creasy at the moment.
07:20 But they're both ready to play.
07:24 Hi David, this is an atmosphere that's renowned around Europe, around the world.
07:40 You've managed to deal with a team before.
07:42 What's it like being a manager on that touchline?
07:46 They've got great support here, fantastic enthusiasm.
07:52 It's great, isn't it?
07:55 Coming to a football city where football really matters.
07:58 That's what you want.
08:01 You want the passion, you want the atmosphere.
08:04 But we also want good behaviour from our supporters and from Olympiacos supporters.
08:10 It's a game, and we know it's really passionate.
08:14 But it's really important that everybody works well together and we end up having a good night.
08:20 There were a few security concerns.
08:23 I would like to say that the atmosphere we're going to face tomorrow is certainly a very nice atmosphere.
08:28 The fans are really enthusiastic here in Greece.
08:31 They will support their team warmly.
08:33 There's enthusiasm.
08:35 Let's not forget that we're going to the football.
08:37 So I expect a great and very good communication and behaviour
08:41 from our supporters and from Olympiacos supporters.
08:44 Let's not forget that we're here to play a game and nothing more.
08:48 There were a few security concerns, especially in Olympiacos' last home game.
08:52 It had to be abandoned.
08:54 Are you in any way concerned about your players' own safety?
08:58 I know your family sometimes come and watch these games, worried about their safety as well.
09:02 All we want is a good football game.
09:07 It's great that you have passionate supporters.
09:10 To be a passionate supporter, you have to be a good supporter as well.
09:13 You're not helping your club.
09:15 That includes our supporters as well.
09:18 You have to be passionate, you have to be enthusiastic, support your team well.
09:23 You're not doing your club any favours if you're getting bans or stadium bans
09:30 or your team getting thrown out of Europe, for example.
09:33 You have to be well behaved and we want the supporters to be that.
09:38 In regards to the fact that the Olympic and Panathinaikos' football match is being cut off,
09:45 I'm not worried at all.
09:47 We're here and I'm sure that the support of Olympiacos' players and their fans is there
09:51 so that we can play a very good match.
09:53 The Olympiacos' fans are passionate, they love their team, they're a passionate crowd.
09:59 I'm not expecting any behaviour that will affect the course of the Olympic match
10:05 or any punishment.
10:08 I'm sure that we'll enjoy a very good match.
10:11 Do you recall when you played here with Manchester United back in 2014
10:14 how important the crowd were for their performance, how it got them going into the game?
10:18 Did it have an impact on the game at all?
10:20 It did. It was a really big night.
10:22 It was probably one of my most disappointing nights
10:25 but it ended up being one of my biggest, best results when we won 3-0 at Old Trafford.
10:30 Everybody knows that coming to Athens to play any of the teams here can be tough games
10:37 and Olympiacos is a really tough game.
10:40 They're a serial team in European football for many years,
10:47 sometimes the Champions League, sometimes the Europa League.
10:50 The football club itself has lots of experience of European football.
10:55 Is it possible to quieten the crowd or have you just got to live with it?
10:59 No, I think you just have to embrace it and enjoy it.
11:03 As I said, if you're a football man you want big atmospheres.
11:07 In regards to the general relationship with the crowd,
11:13 I would say that, as I said in 2014 when I was at Manchester United,
11:17 we had a really exciting match that we won 3-0 at Old Trafford.
11:20 Despite the difficulties of that night, everybody had a great time.
11:24 In any case, I would say that Olympiacos is a very serious team,
11:27 a team that is extremely experienced, whether they're playing in the Champions League or the Europa League.
11:32 The crowd will be excited, they'll be enthusiastic, but in no case will it affect the way the match will be played.
11:38 It will be a very beautiful match.
11:40 I'm going to test your memory.
11:43 What is the craziest atmosphere you've experienced as a player or a manager?
11:47 You are testing me now to give you...
11:52 I actually think that the atmospheres in recent seasons have been really big.
11:59 The more I go back, I was a young player who played for Celtic against Juventus.
12:03 I think playing over in Turin was probably the biggest atmosphere I can remember.
12:07 Was that Fiery Crackers fireworks?
12:09 Yes, I think just the atmosphere in the level of the game as well.
12:12 I think football throughout Europe at the moment, we've been in Belgium, we've been in Denmark,
12:18 and I think everywhere we've been we've found the atmospheres strangely a bit different from the Premier League.
12:24 We've got really big supports, but I think the atmosphere in Europe at the moment is very big.
12:31 Even in Holland you can see the level of the way they support their teams.
12:36 In regards to the fact that I've experienced the most intense atmosphere on the pitch,
12:42 I would say that it's very difficult for me to remember.
12:44 So I mean that I see that in all European countries, most clubs, most teams have very passionate supporters and fans.
12:50 Now, if I go back in time, I will remember a game I played as a player for Celtic against Juventus.
12:57 Either in Belgium or in Denmark, wherever you are, you can see that the fans are very, very passionate,
13:03 and that's very beautiful. In the Premier League we have a different approach,
13:06 we see what's happening in the games in Holland, it doesn't bother me, it doesn't bother me,
13:10 it's very beautiful to see fans loving their team.
13:13 I should have probably said Celtic Rangers games as well.
13:16 Welcome, mister.
13:22 You and your team are the winners of the Conference League, a few months ago in Prague,
13:28 in the final with Fiorentina.
13:30 The team has, let's say, the next step, the next goal is to win the Europa League.
13:40 This experience from the last conference has given you more confidence,
13:46 and personally to yourself, as a qualified coach, and for your own personality,
13:52 let's say, to win this trophy.
13:57 Welcome, manager. Capitalising on last year's wins of the Conference League,
14:02 is this your next step in your career and your clubs also?
14:06 Do you want to win the Europa League?
14:08 I guess that you have the know-how, you have the knowledge, you have the appropriate tools,
14:11 you have the players, so is it something you want to add to your personal trophies?
14:15 Yes, please.
14:17 Meta Megalis Charas.
14:19 We've actually had two very good years in Europe, but for West Ham it's something that we've not had it regular.
14:28 We're not like Olympiacus, serially in Europe every season,
14:34 but the last two years we've done really well.
14:36 We've got to a semi-final and a final,
14:38 semi-final of the Europa League and then the final of the Conference League last year.
14:42 So I hope it's a wee bit of a lucky charm, European football for me,
14:48 and we can keep it going.
14:50 We've had a good run and I want to try and do it again.
14:53 We've started this group very well.
14:55 Tomorrow night is a really tough game for us, but we've had a great start to the group.
15:00 I would like to say that obviously in the last two years our European career has been very, very good.
15:07 Of course we don't have the stability of teams like Olympiacus,
15:10 which has a constant presence through the results it brings to Greece in European organizations.
15:15 Yes, we've participated in a semi-final, we've participated in a final that we've won.
15:19 I hope I'm lucky with my place, and why not, to win the group.
15:25 In any case, to talk about tomorrow's game, it's going to be a tough game,
15:28 a very beautiful game, in which I hope we'll win.
15:32 Hi David.
15:33 Hi there.
15:34 You mentioned Celtic Rangers and Celtic Juventus.
15:37 Is it actually the people that make the atmosphere?
15:40 Is it having working-class people that are grounded in football?
15:44 Is that really what gives the atmosphere more than anything?
15:48 Yes, I do believe the culture of the city, the people,
15:56 are always the reason why you get big atmospheres.
15:59 But what we've got to remember is that football is a game.
16:02 We're seeing so many things happening throughout the world just now,
16:05 so just remember, we're all here to enjoy a game of football.
16:09 Support your team really passionately, because the players thrive on it as well.
16:13 Our players do as well.
16:15 So we really just want to see supporters enjoying it.
16:20 It's great that we get full stadiums, it's great that we get great atmospheres,
16:23 it's part of the game.
16:25 That's why, when you're a young boy, you want to play at the top level,
16:28 you want to be involved in these sort of games.
16:32 In regards to the intense and beautiful atmosphere
16:36 that has been experienced in the Celtic vs Rangers match,
16:39 or in the Celtic vs Juventus match,
16:41 it's the people, the supporters, the fans that create this beautiful atmosphere.
16:46 It's the culture of the people that creates the beauty of the game.
16:49 I repeat, we're here to play a game, football is a game.
16:52 So I like to see fans who support the game, who support their team,
16:57 and it's great to see that the atmosphere is full stadiums,
17:01 whether in Europe or in the rest of the country.
17:04 And just very quickly a procedural one.
17:07 Newcastle, in the Champions League, they started their pressure late in UEFA,
17:11 I had a bit of a chat with them.
17:13 Are you expecting UEFA to get in touch about something similar?
17:17 With us?
17:18 Yeah, just because it started a bit late.
17:20 I can answer that one.
17:22 The cut was 8pm for the deadline, but they asked us to extend it.
17:27 We did give them a caveat saying that we could be late,
17:29 so it's probably more one for UEFA than for the club to answer.
17:32 Thank you.
17:33 We had a chat about UEFA, the coach can't answer.
17:37 The answer is that he will give answers to the club
17:40 about the future of working with UEFA and some other management issues.
17:44 Hi David, it's a follow-up to the earlier question about the atmosphere.
17:47 When the stadium is so intense and you're trying to communicate with the players
17:50 and they can't hear you, how tough is that as a manager?
17:52 Because I remember the game against Brighton, we had to give a note to Jared,
17:55 some half-winding, get the pen up tomorrow.
17:58 I think as I'm getting older, my voice is going as well,
18:00 and you can hear the hoarseness.
18:02 But you have to accept it, your information is very difficult,
18:09 or you try and pass it on through the nearest player to get to the players.
18:14 But in big atmosphere, noisy atmospheres, it's very, very difficult.
18:18 Another question about the atmosphere in the stadium.
18:22 The question is how the players manage to hear the instructions.
18:25 Obviously, I say that maybe my voice is hoarse and I can't shout because of my age,
18:29 but what we do is, with the closest player, we pass on the information
18:34 which will then be passed on to the other players.
18:38 Last question for you, David.
18:39 You spoke about your future last Friday and your intentions today, of course.
18:44 I know you've got your social media, but it's caused a lot of debate
18:47 among West Ham fans and social media.
18:49 My question to you is, having won the Conference League,
18:51 having transformed the club, set great records,
18:55 does it surprise you that people still doubt your managerial ability?
18:58 I think in this role, you're always going to be questioned of results.
19:05 I think we've had a great run.
19:07 I think, I've said before, I think West Ham are probably one of the best periods at the moment.
19:11 People are entitled to their opinion. I don't do social media.
19:15 Partly for the reasons, probably, that you've just told me that question.
19:21 Because you want to keep positive, you want to stay strong and keep doing the right things
19:26 and not listening to outside noises, and I try not to listen to outside noises.
19:32 It has to do with the comments that are made on social media
19:36 about my role and my position in the team.
19:39 The team has certainly transformed.
19:41 In any case, I won't be in the process of listening to all this noise,
19:45 all these discussions that are made around the various comments on social media.
19:49 Everyone who has the right, obviously, to have their own opinion.
19:51 They can question my ability to train the team, but that's not my concern.
19:56 I keep my eyes closed as a coach, to train the team with the necessary professionalism.
20:02 Last one now, in the back.
20:04 I would like to ask a question. Welcome to Greece.
20:06 Thank you.
20:07 Has he spoken to Dinos Mavropanos about the Olympiakos?
20:12 And if he thinks he knows well, about Pontense, who has played in England,
20:16 against the Wolves, in recent years.
20:18 Or does he distinguish between another Olympiakos player,
20:21 if he has made an impression on some Olympiakos players, other than Pontense?
20:24 So, welcome coach. My question is, have you talked with Dinos Mavropanos
20:28 about tomorrow's game, and Olympiakos in particular?
20:31 And probably, do you have any discussions about Pontense,
20:34 who used to play with the Wolves?
20:36 Is there any other player that you will focus on for Olympiakos tomorrow?
20:40 Yes, we have spoken with Dinos about Olympiakos.
20:44 And we know Pontense very well from his time at Wolves.
20:50 So we're well aware of him.
20:52 We probably have more knowledge of Pontense than maybe even Dinos,
20:56 because we've played against him quite a bit in recent seasons.
20:59 He's done very well for Wolves. I thought he played very well at his time there.
21:03 So, yes, we've done as much work as we can. We understand what we can.
21:10 We have two games now, one away from home against Olympiakos,
21:15 and the next two weeks' time we come to London Stadium.
21:18 So, we'll get to know each other quite well over those two games.
21:24 [ Foreign Language ]