Panathinaikos ready for 'hard task'
Wednesday, 16 February 2005
Panathinaikos FC will be hoping to get their season back on track tonight as
they welcome Sevilla FC to Athens for the first leg of their UEFA Cup Round
of 32 tie.

  

Angelos Basinas of Panathinaikos


Coaching problems
With the future of coach Zdenek ?casny shrouded in uncertainty following a
string of poor Alpha Ethniki results and their Greek Cup elimination by AEK
Athens FC, assistant coach Panagiotis Fylakouris admitted that Panathinaikos
had their work cut out against the Spanish high-fliers.

'No weak points'
"Our priority is to avoid conceding goals," Fylakouris said. "Our task is
hard. Sevilla are among the Primera División's best teams. They have no weak
points, they are a very well-organised group and can turn a match around in
five minutes. A minor mistake can become fatal if we do not pay attention."

'Respect but no fear'
That said, Fylakouris added that there was no reason to fear Sevilla. "We are
not stressed," he said. "We must respect but not fear our opponents. I am
confident we will win. Panathinaikos are Greece's ambassadors in Europe. We
must show our personality on the pitch, we must be ready to fight in order to
get the positive result which will help us qualify."

'Two-legged tie'
Sevilla coach Joaquín Caparrós was equally expectant ahead of his side's
trip, saying: "I expect my players to approach this match with the same
attitude and predisposition as they have always shown. This is a two-legged
tie and so, although the result is important, the return leg will count as
well. Our aim is to put in a good game here, then do exactly the same in the
second match. If we want to reach the next stage then that is how we must
approach the tie."

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