GIORGOS ANGELOPOULOS: We start out as the underdog
Giorgos Angelopoulos spoke to NOVASPORT FM about the past and the new season, about the statements made by Dimitris Giannakopoulos and about the Olympiacos fans.
“We are happy and proud for Olympiacos and for what we achieved this past season, winning the European and the Greek Championships. We begin a new season with a very large percentage of the team, abou 85-90% remaining the same as last season. We have a new coach, Mr. Barztokas. It’s the first time a Greek coach takes the steering wheel of a European Champion. There had been a small delay in the final choice. We do believe in him and I think we are going to do fine. The highest we can climb in Europe, the better. Goals in Greece remain the same”, the co-owner of Olympiacos BC commented and then spoke about the few changes made with the team roster: “Things are simple. You don’t change a winning team and that’s the basic principle we followed this season. Many things took place during previous seasons, each time the reasons for the changes being different. It hadn’t been our choice only to change the players”.
Talking about the statements made by Mr. Dimitris Giannakopoulos according to which Olympiacos is the favorite for the second place, he said: “We agree with what Mr. Giannakopoulos has said. With the present Committee charged with appointing referees, Panathinaikos remains the favorite for the first place and Olympiacos for the second. Just like it was last year. Nothing has changed. We always see changes regarding the Committee for football, but nothing ever changes with basketball”.
Mr. Angelopoulos was asked about the presence of the fans in the Peace and Friendship stadium: “Olympiacos does not need the Angelopoulos family, or anyone else. If the fans are close to the team, then the team needs nothing more”.
Asked whether choosing a capable but not experienced coach hides a risk he answered: “For sure there is a risk, but a calculated one. We thought about it and spoke with the coach. There are no magical solutions to guarantee success. It’s a conscious choice that we gave a lot of thought and we do believe in the coach. We have been watching him for years and we know him”.
And he closed repeating: “I think that last year’s favorite had been Panathinaikos and is once again this season. We start out as the outsiders. We like that. It went very well last season”.
