Nikolić: 'My players deserve to live the Champions League'

AEK coach Marko Nikolić emphasized his team's readiness and determination to qualify for the Champions League League Phase, describing the upcoming playoff match against Levski Sofia as crucial. Nikolić stated that his players deserve to experience the Champions League, highlighting their commitment to fighting for a place in the tournament.

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We are ready for these matches. There are no excuses at AEK, I have the best players in the world.

"We are ready for these matches. There are no excuses at AEK, I have the best players in the world," Nikolić declared. He acknowledged that Levski Sofia has a rhythm advantage, having played more matches, but insisted AEK would strive to neutralize this. The Serbian coach expressed satisfaction with his squad, noting that while they have experience in the Europa League and Conference League, their Champions League experience is limited.

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My players deserve to live this. We will fight and in six days we will fight in Athens, to bring the Champions League to Greece, as we are the only team that can do it.

Nikolić stressed that his team respects their opponents, who are the reigning Bulgarian champions. He dismissed the notion of defining favorites based on budgets or past performances, pointing to AEK's own league title win despite not being considered favorites. The coach promised his players would give their all on the field to achieve their goal of bringing the Champions League to Greece.

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What I will promise is that we will die on the field to succeed and I believe we will succeed.