The general strikes in Greece were not only the reason behind Werder Bremen’s early arrival in Athens but the effects of the strike measures could even be felt at the pre-match press conference...
The general strikes in Greece were not only the reason behind Werder Bremen’s early arrival in Athens but the effects of the strike measures could even be felt at the pre-match press conference...
The general strikes in Greece were not only the reason behind Werder Bremen’s early arrival in Athens but the effects of the strike measures could even be felt at the pre-match press conference at the OACA Spiro Louis Stadium. Only a handful of German journalists made it to the Panathinaikos press appointment ahead of their Champions League group clash with Werder Bremen - and there was no sign of any Greek presence whatsoever! That aside, the good humoured Athens coach Henk ten Cate was happy to answer the questions of the German journalists who had made the trip.
For the Panathinaikos Athens Dutch coach, it will be his third clash with the Green-Whites - and the third time in a different position at a different club. First time around, ten Cate was assistant coach at FC Barcelona, on the second occasion he was trainer at Ajax Amsterdam and now he is head coach of 19 time Greek champions Panathinaikos Athens. The 53 year old remembers the last two meetings very well.
“I have twice gifted Werder in the past,” both with Ajax, in the first leg of the UEFA Cup and as co-trainer of the Catalan giants, ten Cate recalled: “This could be third time lucky for me and I’ll get the presents this time.” His counterpart at Werder, Thomas Schaaf, commented: “We want to make ourselves even less popular in Greece than we already are. We want to raise our game and get a win here this time. I’m convinced that we can and will achieve that. We started very poorly against Panathinaikos three years ago but then we got things together and played well after that. On Wednesday evening we’ll be looking to prove ourselves right from the outset.”
