Bartzokas: «We need to be mentally ready»
Olympiacos traveled to Istanbul with 13 players, in view of tomorrow’s (11/01, 18.45 CET) game against Fenerbahce, for the 20th round of the Euroleague.
“As an organization, we have done the best we could so as to return to some kind of normalcy, however, as you can all understand, what we will be bringing on the floor, and not just us, but all the team, is still a question”, the ‘reds’ coach, Giorgos Bartzokas, commented. On whether there are similarities to the first Covid wave that had hit Olympiacos, the said: “I don’t see any similarities, because at that time, a lot fewer player had contracted the virus than our current tally, however, they were down with the Delta variant and circumstances had been totally different. With Omicron, the time needed for them to return to practicing was lesser. But, as I’ve said before, we have had many more cases now which resulted in minimum operating for some time”.
Talking about the absence of Nado De Colo and Jan Vesely, he said: “We made an effort to explain to the players that Euroleague games are always a matter of mental approach. Suppose we are a bit more relaxed because De Colo or Vesely are out, then we are definitely going to pay for it. That’s how I think we got to lose to Red Star. I mean we weren’t mentally ready to play a tough game. The game against Fener is also going to be tough, because it’s an important game in the effort our opponent has been making to secure a place in the final eight. And of course, it’s still very early in the season, it’s only the first game of the second round and we can’t feel comfortable. We have to be ready to play strong and win”.
Asked if there has been anything positive pertaining the situation, given that some players have had the chance to spend some more times with their families, he made clear: “What I can say, is that a patient is still a patient, regardless of being together with family or not. There is a general fear of the disease. It hasn’t been pleasant. As you probably remember, in the last two games we played at home, against Bayern and Villeurbanne, as well as the one against Panathinaikos on the road, we had made good performances and we obviously had wanted to continue playing keeping up with the rhythm. The fact that we have stopped playing for 19 days is not good for us”.
Finally, when asked to make a wish for the new year, he said: “I wish for health. We have confidence in our team, we feel we are a good team, so, I think that if we are healthy, we will be able to fulfill our goals. I wish for health for everyone, it’s not just us… That we leave behind this predicament that has befallen us the fastest and in the most painless fashion possible”.