Silva: Pana Are Ready
September 30, 2008
Panathinaikos’ high-profile summer signing Gilberto Silva has sent a message out to Champions League opponents Anorthosis Famagusta, stating that his side are ready to face Temuri Ketsbaia’s men in Nicosia and that they have travelled to Cyprus with victory in their sights.
The former Arsenal captain acknowledged the quality of the Trifili’s next opponents, but stressed that a victory for the Athenians would help them take a huge step towards qualification for the knock-out stages of the competition.
The Brazil international was quoted by Sport 24 as saying: “We’re ready. The win is extremely important for us and we will do everything we can for the victory.”
Silva did point out, however, that the match would not be an easy one, especially given that it’s against the same side that dumped Olympiakos out of the Champions League during the qualifying stages.
“We know that the match won’t be easy,” The 31-year-old admitted, “Anorthosis are a good side, but we are going to Cyprus to win.”
The midfielder also opined that, although his side have enough quality, they will need to play a more savvy brand of football to overcome their opponents.
“We have the quality to get the three points,” he continued. “If we win, the chances of us qualifying from the group stages will increase, but we will need to play smart and stay focused.”
He added: “It is extremely important that we have our fans with us.”
New Start
Reflecting on his team’s loss against Inter Milan in their first group stage encounter at the OAKA two weeks ago, the Brazilian admitted that the defeat marked a poor start to their European campaign.
The veteran said: “The result of the first match was certainly a bad one but I don’t think the team played too badly.
“It was a bad start, it is never nice to start with a defeat at home but we also know that it we didn’t lose against just anybody.
“Even so, it would have been significant to have started with a victory.”
Despite the disappointment of the Matchday 1 defeat, Silva sees Wednesday’s encounter as the perfect opportunity for Panathinaikos to make a “new start” to their Champions League campaign.
“On Wednesday we have the chance to make a new start, even away from home,” he noted.
“Anorthosis aren’t a particularly well-known team, but we must be careful, as they eliminated Olympiakos from the same competition.
“It is extremely important that we come back with the three points,” he concluded.