Having already made history with APOEL Nicosia, coach Ivan Jovanovic is now dreaming of the biggest shock in European football: knocking out Real Madrid.
This season APOEL became the first Cypriot side to reach the last-16 of the Champions League and they then stunned Lyon by defeating them on penalties to set up a quarter-final against the nine-time European champions.
Ahead of tonight’s first leg against Jose Mourinho’s team in Cyprus, Jovanovic said: “It is a very difficult match and we must give a top performance against one of the best teams in the world. I have achieved almost everything in the last four years with APOEL but I still have a dream. To eliminate Real.”
When told about that comment, Mourinho said: “Coaches are allowed to dream when their players allow them to, and since they are at this stage of the competition they are allowed to dream. APOEL are a very balanced team. For many, this may mean nothing, but for me it means a lot and I hope my players realise this too.”
