SPORTS

Rocha: ‘We may make history in London’

Panathinaikos coach Juan Ramon Rocha fancied his team’s chances against Tottenham in the last group game of the Europa League in two weeks’ time, that will decide which of the two clubs will advance to the last 32 of the competition.

“Every single person at Panathinaikos to be involved in the game at Tottenham will be fortunate to be there, in such a major game, in which we may make history,» said Rocha, who only took over from Portuguese manager Jesualdo Ferreira last week.

Speaking on Antenna television after Panathinaikos’s 1-0 win over Maribor, the Argentine manager went on to remind that «Tottenham has got a great roster with fantastic players and belongs to one of the world’s best leagues, but in Europe Panathinaikos has got a greater history than Tottenham.”

Asked whether he would return on foot from London should Panathinaikos beat the Spurs next month, in the same way he had promised to return from Portugal if Panathinaikos beat Jose Mourinho’s FC Porto in 1995 (Panathinaikos won 1-0 in that game), Rocha said that «it will be easier for me to do that now that they have built the tunnel under the English Channel!”

“But you see, Mourinho has moved on to coach Real Madrid, whereas I am still here, at Panathinaikos,» he added with a grin on his face.

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