Facundo Pereyra and Panagiotis Deligiannidis talked to Nova about their team and personal aspirations ahead of the Super League, a few hours before PAOK’s encounter against AEL Kalloni in Toumba, behind closed doors.

“It’s my first time in European football. I participated in the team’s main preseason stage for a fortnight and that helped me a lot to adapt”, the Argentinian attacking midfielder said, before adding: “Through matches and trainings I have gained a fairly decent rhythm and I hope that I will keep improving as days go by”.

Here is the interview of Facundo Pereyra in detail:

During your stay at PAOK, have you found your role in the squad? Do you feel that you have adapted, that you know your teammates and they know you?

“It’s great here, I feel fine. My position on the pitch is mainly upfront. I can play in either flank and I can help from wherever the coach chooses to field me”.

Compared to your expectations before you came to Greece, have you encountered any difference or are things just as you were told?

“No differences at all! When PAOK expressed their interest in signing me and got in contact, I tried to gather as much info as possible from friends who played in Greece. Everybody spoke wonders about PAOK. They told me that it’s a big club, that they fight for the domestic titles and that, as a member of this team, I have to help them remain as high as possible, as they are a traditional force in Greece”.

PAOK fans have an unbreakable bond with the club. You got your first taste of Toumba in the recent friendly encounter against inter. What are your impressions? Considering that the fan power is also strong in Argentina, do PAOK fans remind you of the supporters back home?

“It’s my first time away from Argentina and it is great to see that at least in the stands nothing changes. Our fans are great and they helped us a lot against Inter, chanting for 90 minutes. That is extremely useful as it adds rhythm to our play. I hope they keep it up”.

What did the defeat by Zimbru Chișinău teach you?

“It was a tough encounter against a rival who was defending in numbers. Our concentration faltered and we ended up paying for it. We created several chances to score in the first half, had a header on the crossbar and were a bit unlucky there. After the interval, they made the most of the first chance they got. Afterwards, we were lucky not to concede a second goal when they hit the woodwork. Ahead of the second leg, we need to do what we failed to do in Moldova: be focused for 90 minutes, try for the best and clinch qualification to the group stage.

The Super League kicks off on Sunday, in a setting almost identical to the match of Thursday: PAOK are favourites but without their fans in the stands. Is the team ready? What are the elements you must include in your game to get the desired result?

“We are indeed favourites to win and we must enter the pitch with this mentality. We must prove that we are the better team and not let our rivals challenge our superiority. We must pressure, have ball possession, be focused and convert our domination to goals”.

Deligiannidis: “We only want victory”

Panagiotis Deligiannidis missed most part of the main preseason stage due to a nose diaphragm operation. However he remains one of the new generation members, who have won the privilege of training and participating in the senior team. The 18-year old told Nova: “We are a new team. All newcomers have adapted really fast. On Thursday we suffered a setback. I believe that all guys put on an effort. We were better than our rivals in the first half, but failed to convert our chances. In the second half, we conceded a soft goal from a set piece. Now our main concern is the Sunday game and it’s a pity that we can’t have our fans on our side. We want to start our league engagements on the right foot”.

What is the lesson learnt after the Thursday match?

“Football lesson: when a team carves out chances but fails to score, they will eventually concede and not get the desired result”.

What are your thoughts ahead of the AEL Kalloni game, considering your rivals’ potential is relatively unknown this season?

“The only thing on our minds is to win. A victory will also boost our morale after the unfortunate result of Thursday. We need to show to ourselves and the fans that we can qualify to the UEFA Europa League and also do well in the league”.

A second consecutive game with PAOK as theoretical favourites. Does that have an impact on you? And what about the low age average of the team? Is that a factor weighing in the results?

“I don’t believe we are favourites. We look our rivals in the eye, we don’t underestimate them and we are keen to start the league with a victory”

As the season has just started officially, can you define PAOK’s aims?

“There are several aims. To finish as high as possible in the league, to try to reach (as we did last season) the Greek Cup final and hopefully win it this time, and to qualify for European football. Only time will tell what we can achieve”.