Kyriakos: “There is an announcement for the Cup final – Anyone who wants Savvidis will find him”

PAOK’s position on the issue of the Cup final is clear, as stated by Kyriakos Kyriakos in an interview he gave to the radio station, City of Primo.

PAOK PAOK’s adviser pointed out that the Big Head of the North wishes to observe the announcement for the final, underlined that anyone who wants to contact Ivan Savvidis does so, and how the owner of the team continues to deal with its operation every day, how the players have exaggerated themselves as well as the coach this seasonand finally mentioned that the PAE has not stopped dealing with the issue of the new stadium.

What he said in detail:

Why do you rarely speak?

“In 2023, in order for a group to express itself, there is no need to personalize its messages. There are announcements, social media. And because you know me, you know that my opinion is that in football the agents should talk less and more the real protagonists who are the coaches and the players”.

But you are addressing the world of PAOK



“The world of PAOK knows that we are in a very special, transitional, difficult season of the last 10 years, the most special season. He has been with the team since the beginning. It was realized early, and this has to do with how we communicated it, and the difficulty of the project of rebuilding the team, and they were informed of the difficulties faced at the beginning by teams who want to support such a project. He started to have by his side, maybe not the majority, but enough people who believed in this project, which is still growing”.

And now PAOK is going to win the championship?



“Without this being a demand from the team’s players. As the major shareholder of the team said at the beginning of the season, PAOK cannot play to finish 4th. Without the championship as a goal since the beginning of the season, PAOK is currently within the goal of the championship. Just because the players overdid themselves, so did the coach and it’s the atmosphere in which they all work together. In a championship in which it also counts what position you finish. This year’s championship has goals until the last moment, because it matters what position you finish for Europe. At this moment, PAOK has exceeded time more. In order to win the championship, there are 9 matches left, which PAOK must win all of them”.

Should we wait to talk about the seat of the Cup final after the replay with Lamia?



“Why talk about the venue of the Cup final? Since the announcement exists. The announcement states Volos or abroad”.

Is it true that the more competitive the league, the more toxic it becomes?



“That’s true, that’s why I said before that it’s good for actors to talk less. I will not play Robin Hood and the good boy. It is a strategy for us to keep a low profile. The calmer the team, the better the results. As long as there is irritation, it shows in the results.

Without wanting to go into too many details, because there is no need, our strategy this year is that of 2019. We say what we think is necessary. We hear that only Lucescu is talking. It’s not like that. First of all Lucescu does not belong to another company. He represents PAOK. He is the most important member of PAOK’s daily life. The protagonists of the field are the ones who can also speak. It doesn’t matter, that’s the way it is.”

But for Lucescu they say that he talks and that he contributes to the toxicity



“That’s a good question for Lucescu himself. Of course, the most likely is that he will answer you with a wave of the hand about how much he is interested and the second is that it is about pursuing him. He wants to draw attention to himself to relieve the team.”

Yes, but we cannot say that PAOK does not contribute to toxicity



“Here we have to make a definition of toxicity. Because complaining about something that has happened is not toxic. Toxicity is complaining for a whole week and creating a climate for something that hasn’t happened and ultimately may not happen at all. Alas, we too have spoken out, we have protested, we have also said one more thing. But by talking more we will give them more stimuli. I realize that people often feel the need to talk. However, we speak where we want. You can’t communicate everything during a season. I told you that the main strategic objective is for the team to devote itself to its football. The sooner he manages to overcome all the difficulties and deliver the football he wants, the sooner we will all be happy. Some from the stands, others from PAOK”.

Why has the stadium issue stopped?



“PAOK has not stopped pressuring, communicating, exchanging plans with the company that has undertaken the design of the project, making the necessary adjustments and corrections. The first plans we got were impressive, however looking at their construction needs we saw that it would take us too much time to change building conditions that would take a lot of time and which have been very clearly outlined by the Presidential Decree that we requested. That is why some adjustments are made that take time. The stadium will be built and will be built in place of the old one. No decision has been changed on this.

The schedule still calls for the new stadium to be there in the stadium’s 100 years. Not even the intention, the final touch to have the opinion of the world. You realize that in a pre-election period, some promises and commitments may be made which, however, practically need more time to be realized. To give a design for consultation we must be sure that the technical specifications are of a design that can be done. The P.D. it is very specific as to what is allowed to be done. That’s why some adjustments had to be made. So first there is the process of internal consultation, in order to take the next step. Until the end of the season, it is difficult to do anything”.

The main reasons we expect from last summer news?



“The main reasons are 1) that technical projects of this scope need what technicians call ‘maturing’ which means you have to get a plan and run the building permit process. This was a process that takes about a year anyway. These run perfectly normal, at the same speed. Only the public consultation has been delayed, without however affecting the rest of the actions.”

On the issue of Kautanzoglei?



We’ll see about that later when we’re ready. We have encountered problems which we have mentioned several times. Since the bulldozers are not ready to enter Toumba, we have stopped pushing, however we hope that when the time comes and with the next Government, the necessary actions will be taken.

For the Sports Center?



Regarding the Sports Center, it is true that we have not communicated much. The space must first be secured. It is a matter handled by Angelos Anastasiadis. The venue will be in eastern Thessaloniki, a place that Anastasiadis knows well. We hope to have developments in this matter during the summer.

Where is Ivan Savvidis?



Whoever wants to find him finds him. We talk to him every day. I’m tired of saying it. Yes, we have found a different way of communicating than we were used to, but we still talk. We, the executives, the coaches, the players, see him and communicate with him all the time. As much as I could jokingly say that we complain because we see more of him than we would like. I can’t tell you when it will appear. When the reasons that have limited his travels disappear. He is in very good health.

The determination to carry out the projects will be seen in practice

You know that I don’t lie, when I don’t want to answer something I say that there is no need to learn everything. An issue, a project like that of the stadium, he has opened it himself. It wasn’t on the agenda. He didn’t even have to. It doesn’t belong to him. Ivan Savvidis is clearly responsible for such grandiose projects. The stadium issue is something he started himself. He wants to leave this property to PAOK. At some point the journalists asked me why you have to release something for the stadium every week? There is a strategy to this whole thing. First, Ivan Savvidis wants to finish with this stadium.

People were used to seeing him all the time and from that he went to zero



When Ivan Savvidis came, he did not have the daily friction with the Greek reality. And his own decisions have to do with his maturation, as far as the Greek reality is concerned. I don’t think PAOKtsis feels that Savvidis has given up. They hear about projects that are technologically sophisticated. Even in this season that we called transitional, he proved that when there is planning, persistence and patience, when you don’t bend to adversity, when you set a goal, you succeed. Sometimes faster, sometimes slower. We see it again this year.

What PAOK are we waiting for in the new season?



“More or less the same, with a few qualitative additions. In general, what I can say because the analysis will be done by Jose Boto, is that next year it will be the same PAOK with a few quality additions. Plus – minus one, two, I’m referring to the eleven. There are football rules which you can generally predict. Yes, there may be departures or additions outside the program. They are corresponding things that you cannot predict.

It is not possible to make many changes every year. You build a team to keep it at the top for three years, with few changes. For example the process of goodwill does not change in a day. Last summer’s Koulierakis has a different price than today’s. He will also be priced differently than next year’s Koulierakis. It’s a process that you build.

We also talked about self-sufficiency. Self-sufficiency does not mean meroduli merofai. Let’s say that PAOK sells all its players and gets 50 million. The same year he can give him 80 and in 2 years 100 million. So it’s not like I’m selling a player this year, to get someone cheaper, to say I’m seeking self-sufficiency. When Ivan Savvidis said that, he had this in mind. Because this concept has been misunderstood. By selling the players at the right time and price, you secure the income that will help you be self-sufficient. At the same time, you will also have a team that will be a champion for years.”

Lucescu’s contract ends in 2024. What to expect?



Initially to stay until then. And then I think it’s everyone’s wish that the collaboration go many years further than the initial agreements, but all this step by step.