“Excellent! It was very important for AEK”

PAOK battled this season to a tie with AEK for the title. In the end, the team from Athens prevailed, and the Romanian coach believes that Răzvan Marin played an important role in the title won by AEK. Răzvan Lucescu also pointed out the fact that AEK had fewer matches in a critical period of the championship.

Răzvan Lucescu: “Răzvan Marin made an exceptional championship!”

“Răzvan Marin made an excellent championship. A certain conjuncture is needed. AEK had the whole winter off. They went out of the Cup on January 12, they beat OFI in Athens, and they had a match on Sunday. They have compacted and got the stuff and gained confidence.

They progressed to Europe, but without the play-offs. For us it was the most terrible period. In the winter, against them, we played Betis, Lyon, Celta Vigo twice, Olympiakos and Panathinaikos twice. It was a huge mental consumption for us. It was also the accident with the fans that affected us emotionally. It affected us. I was away for a week then. You also need a conjuncture in football to push a team forward.

Coming back, Răzvan Marin was very important for them. They have very good players who can destabilize, Nikolic is a serious coach. He organized the team very well. He managed to manage the beginning part which was not the easiest for them. Slowly, slowly, and with the chance to play once a week in the winter, they reached top form, physically and mentally, when it mattered,” said Răzvan Lucescu on the Fotbal Shoe show from Prima Sport.

• Răzvan Marin has played in 48 matches in all competitions for AEK this season. He scored 7 goals and provided 9 assists. It is quoted by specialized websites at 3.5 million euros. He still has a contract with AEK until 2028.