Van ‘t Schip: “This is how we want to play football”
Greek national team boss John van ‘t Schip was delighted with the fantastic performance against Bosnia in UEFA Euro 2020 qualifying, while opposing manager Robert Prosinecki admitted that the result was fair.
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This is the national team which we want to see. Playing wonderful, free-flowing football, Greece completely outplayed a lacklustre Bosnian side at the Olympic Stadium to earn a pulsating 2-1 triumph. In the first half, Vangelis Pavlidis’ clever goal was promptly cancelled out by Amer Gojak, but an own goal from Adnan Kovacevic in the 88th minute handed Greece a well-deserved victory in Group J of Euro 2020 qualifying.
“We’re happy with the result, but we’re even more happy with the performance,” stated Van ‘t Schip in his press-conference. “We have seen progress in all four games so far since I arrived, and today was a very good performance from the team. However, this is only a small step. We want to continue. We were fresh, and maybe Bosnia were tired from their previous game. We choose to play football. It was difficult at times during the first half, but the freshness beat the Bosnian team in the second.”
“We kept possession and played great football,” continued the Dutchman. “It was a different game when we played Italy, but we had shown great signs as a team especially in defence. We want the boys to have belief that they can play more football than what they are used to. We’re giving them confidence, and today it worked. Nevertheless, this is a process. The performance is more important than the result. If we continue moving in this direction, more positive results will come.”
“In the past, everyone thought that we could only play defensive, counter-attacking football because we’re Greece,” said Van ‘t Schip when asked about the approach. “There was a difference today; we played a possession-based game in the opponent’s half. We created a lot of opportunities. This is how we want to continue. Of course, there will be ups and downs, but we’re in the building phase.”
On the other hand, Bosnia manager Robert Prosinecki was furious with the performance of his team at the OAKA: “We cannot play well in two consecutive matches,” bemoaned the 50-year-old. “We didn’t have possession and our new players made no difference at all. Unfortunately, we have missed the opportunity to qualify for Euro 2020 from this group. To be honest, it looked as though we didn’t want to win. Greece deserved this victory because they played with hunger and desire. We did not play well, there can’t be any excuses.”
Tasos Bakasetas, who played superbly against the Bosnians in the number 10 role, feels that he had been playing out of position for the last three years: “Today, you saw me playing in my best position,” revealed the Alanyaspor player. “I had previously been playing out of position for three years. I played well in this position at Panionios. In the past, we were always afraid to play attacking football, but the coach knows that we have talent. We have a lot more confidence now. We want to build on this win.”
The impressive Dimitris Limnios thanked the coach for giving him a chance: “I want to thank the coach for giving me an opportunity, I had been working hard in training. I feel in great shape at the moment. Before they equalised, we had missed a few clear chances, and we should have won by at least three or four goals. We have quality in this team. We thank the fans who came to the stadium and those who watched on television. We proved that we are capable of achieving great things.”
Goalscorer Vangelis Pavlidis also shared his views: “Van ‘t Schip wants to see the passion which had previously been missing, we’re in the process of creating a new team. All of us are passionate and honoured to be representing the national team. My goal? I waited for the pass, and I managed to score. We want to play at our best with our fans next to us.”
