“We have proved that Olimpija has a bright future.”

Olimpija draws with Qarabag in Baku. The champions of Azerbaijan hold on to their advantage from the first match in Ljubljana and qualify for the Europa League group stage. The Dragons will play in a conference league for the first time this autumn. After the game, head coach Joao Henriques and Latvia’s national team player Justas Lasikas, who also has national team duties next week, summarised their impressions for the club’s website.

Joao Henriques: “We played a very good game in Baku. After a home game that was not our best, we proved that we can pick ourselves up. Unfortunately, the result didn’t go our way. The referee had a few decisions, like the 11th penalty for the home team, which were questionable and we don’t agree with them the most. But at the end of the qualifying period, I have to say that I am extremely proud of the players, they did their job. They created chances, they proved that Olimpija has a bright future. Now we have to prepare for the group stage of the conference league. We are very ambitious, we even had the chance to play in the group stage of the Champions League and then the Europa League. Nevertheless, it is the first time for Olimpija to play in the European group stage, we wanted to do that and of course we are happy. First we have a home game against Mura, then the national team break. It will be tough, but we can’t wait. The ball dance will also be very interesting.”

Justas Lasickas: “We knew from the start that we had to fight. We had to score early to get back in the game. We didn’t succeed, but I’m proud of all the boys because we didn’t give up until the end. We showed a fighting game and caused them problems. We had a chance to play in the Champions League, that was our goal at the beginning. It may sound naive, because we played against huge clubs and big names. But that’s okay, we weren’t scared of anybody. We are not looking back, we are focused on the autumn part, at least six more good European games, which we will play with the greatest pleasure. Some players have a few days off, I have national team commitments, but as a footballer you want to play a lot, so I’m looking forward to it.”