Rui Borges praises the Greek’s capacity for suffering.
Rui Borges praised Ioannidis for the effort he put into recovering from his injury and said that the 1-1 draw in the derby at the Luz stadium, against Benfica, is the right result.
If there had to be a winner, who would it be?
The game ended as it had to: in a draw. It couldn’t be more honest. I think the draw ultimately reflects what the first and second halves were like, so that’s pretty much it.”
How did you decide to summon Ioannidis?
“Ioannidis gives us good things. We knew he wasn’t able to help us for very long, not because of the injury, but because of the time he was out. It was something I also had to understand with him. He trained, I asked him how he felt, to make the decision whether I could bring him in or not. I listen a lot, I like to listen to the players and that’s what I did.”
How did he feel tonight?
“I don’t know about tonight, I didn’t sleep with him. But yesterday I felt he was good, and that’s why he was called up. He felt good, very confident and very eager to help the team. These are the kinds of players who define a football team and a group. He wanted to come back as quickly as possible, not to play against Benfica, but to help the team. He has an extraordinary personality and character. All of us, the staff and his teammates, were very surprised by his ability to fight against the injury. We were expecting him to be out for six weeks and he came back after three. I have to praise that.