Olympiakos will play on Saturday (20:00) against OFI in the cup final at OAKA, aiming to lift the trophy for the 29th time in its history.

Jose Luis Mendilibar addressed the press conference regarding both teams and emphasized that Olympiakos has no advantage, as OFI is a tough opponent.

Mendilibar’s Press Conference

“I want to highlight the great value of OFI and its coach, and to emphasize that they are here. When the season started, they were not considered favorites. They are a very strong opponent. I also started winning trophies two years ago, even though I have been a coach for 30 years.

Certainly, we might be considered favorites in theory. But that doesn’t give us any advantage. I absolutely do not believe, nor do I want to believe, that we will be relaxed. We never stopped. We want to face OFI, which has made things difficult for us. Tomorrow, we need maximum concentration and, with all due respect to the opponent.

We are happy to be here and want everything to go smoothly. We want to be the best. We are happy to be here.

It’s true that against teams that weren’t considered so big, we had a lot of difficulty. We will not change our style of play. We need to bring out our best possible selves, even though the opponent will challenge us the most. We don’t know if we will succeed, but we must be our best.

Kostoulas will not be available. Orta has trained with us, so he is likely to play. As for my decisions, I have roughly made them. However, there may be many changes afterward.

We must be prepared for all scenarios. We are the two best teams, and we shouldn’t think we will win easily. We should be ready for extra time and penalties, and keep trying.

Giving motivation is simple. You need to stay competitive. For the fans, this is a celebration. We want them to be happy. For them, it’s the final. We all must do everything for the fans because it’s natural for the final to be played with an audience. It should be a final where everyone leaves happy.”