The question of the winter of Helsinki made Rui Vitoria, 54, to spread their hands – “not ideal”

Greek On Wednesday evening, the Panathinaikos FC collided with a cold Finnish winter in Töölö, Helsinki.

On Thursday, Panathiikos will play at Bolt Arena’s first round of the European Conference League against the Vikingur from Iceland.

Vikingur had to look for a backup field for his home match when there was no stadium that meets the dimensions of the conference league playoffs on his own island.

The question of the circumstances on the eve of the match got Panathinaikos head coach Rui Vitórian Almost to cry.

“If you ask if we want to play with artificial turf, then the answer is, of course not! The coach said, spreading his hands in the chilly media room of Bolt Arena. ”

“This is not an ideal situation, but it doesn’t help – we are a big club and we have to accept the circumstances. We cannot cry from the field, the weather or the opponent, ”he continued.

On the TV screen in the media room read the big one: ”Welcome to Hel“. Although the last word is an abbreviation from Helsinki and not a “hell”, Panathiikos head coach stared at the duplicate text in a moment’s confused.

Icelandic defender Sverrir Ingi Ingason It was not as cold as the other members of the team. For him, the conditions are more tolerable than his coach or most teammates.

“We knew what was waiting for us. We could wait for this kind of weather. I’ve been in Finland before and I like the country, ”Ingason replied as expressionless.

An employee who acted as an interpreter for the Greek team rubbed his hands next to him.

Also, about 20 Greek media representatives on the present were clearly freezing during the media event.

Vikingur in arrangements helped Pekka Mäntylä reported that Greek journalists asked for blankets for a match Thursday night.

The request was rare if, of course, the time of the match in the north.

Mandatory transfer of Vikingur’s home match from Iceland was not a lottery win for the Greeks, as the Icelandic club made sure that guests could experience Northern European winter conditions.

Weekly Needs the benefit of all possible, as it will go to the Thursday night match as a clear underdog.

Ingason, Panathinos, knows the importance of the match for a tiny Icelandic club.

“This is certainly the biggest match in Iceland’s club history. It is a bit strange for the Icelanders to play at this time of year, as in February we usually prepare for the upcoming season. Instead, we have played all the time, ”Ingason said.

In his view, artificial turf is not a problem for Panathinos.

“Vikingur is accustomed to such a game platform, but we are familiar with it.”

Over 10,000 viewers for the Bolt stadium pulling on Thursday are not expected to do so.

About 250 supporters from Iceland will arrive and 150 from Greece. There have been about 500 other tickets in advance.

The number of entry tickets does not indicate the stake of the match, which is great. Greek Media charred coach Vitoria because Panathinaikos has lost its last two matches in their home country.

This is already considered a crisis around the big club.

Panathinos scored ten points and Vikingur eight in the league phase. HJK was eliminated from the follow -up to four points.

UEFA Conference League 1.