"It is my dream for Olympiacos to build a strong team in Greece and in Europe"

Olympiacos football team technical manager Ilija Ivic spoke in ‘Interview of the month’ on ‘Vodafone live!’ Sports about the reasons he joined Olympiacos, this year’s transfers and the aims set by his club.

Exclusively for Vodafone live! 3G subscribers, the interview with Ilija Ivic is available, complete, in text as well as in video form, which they can access any time on Vodafone live! Sports, provided they are on a 3G network.

Speaking of the reasons that led him to assume the post as Olympiacos’ technical manager, Ilija Ivic said: ‘The reason that made me accept the post as technical manager for Olympiacos is certainly that this is the job I have chosen to do for some three years now, when I started with AEK. And, of course, when I spoke with the Kokkalis family, and these were the people who had brought me to Olympiacos as a player, they immediately made me accept the offer, an offer that came from the one team I had also loved greatly and with which I embarked on my international career…’

Referring to this year’s transfers in Olympiacos and his views on which player will turn out to be the revelation for the team, Mr. Ivic said: ‘I would not like to single out any of the players that we got. I believe that this year the time had come for Olympiacos to renew the team. A lot of players have left - twelve contracts were expiring and only two of these have been renewed; so, I would say that this is a new page for Olympiacos.

The point is that I have faith in all the players; they have quality and they will perform well.’

On the issue of whether Olympiacos needs a credit for time, Mr. Ivic said: ‘It certainly needs a credit for time, because it is a new team… We see other teams, such as Milan, where a lot of players have been playing together for many years. I believe that most of the players are already experienced. They have played with big teams and they will adapt very quickly.’ And he added ‘We are thinking of building a new team; a team that shall play together for many years. And, to put it in your words, Olympiacos is always under the same obligation: to win. Both in the championship, and in the cup. Without talking big, I just believe that we have the capacity and that we shall try to do something better in Europe.’

Read or watch Ilija Ivic’s interview on ‘Vodafone live!’ and find out more about Olympiacos’ upcoming matches, the Champions League favourites, the course of the team in the Greek championship, and his dream as technical manager in Olympiacos.

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Mr. George Papadakis, Senior Media Relations Coordinator, tel.+30210 6702211, mob. +306944 800069, e-mail george.papadakis@vodafone.com