Spanoulis: “Olympiacos gave me life moments – I didn’t change history, but the presidents”

In a bright, moving evening, his jersey Vasilis Spanoulis with the number “7” he climbed forever to the top of the SEF.

“Kill Bill” himself was clearly emotional during the ceremony, but even with such strong emotions he had the clarity to give credit to the Angelopoulos brothers, presidents of Olympiakos, stressing that they were actually the ones who changed history team’s.

In detail what he said at the press conference:

“For me it’s a two-day event that ended in a fantastic way. A two-day event that is unusual in European terms and has nothing to envy on a global level. Today in particular will remain indelible to me throughout my life, because it is the reward for all that we did at Olympiakos. These were made thanks to the presidents, Mr. George and Mr. Panagiotis Angelopoulos. I want to thank them once again in public for what they have done for me these 11 years culminating in today. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. It’s touching what happened to me.

Olympiacos gave us lifelong relationships. It’s not just racing. If you don’t build human relationships, you can’t have racing success in my opinion. Through difficulties, through successes, we built a team with solid foundations. A team is not built without strong and capable management. Mr. Giorgos and Mr. Panagiotis are also responsible for this, who are the people who revived Olympiakos and have brought it to the top of Europe. None of this would have happened if they hadn’t trusted me, if they hadn’t trusted their gut, my talent and my character.

Many say that Spanoulis changed the history of Olympiakos. I didn’t change it. First it was changed by the presidents of the team, because they took me and gave me the opportunity to show my talent and my leadership. I had my teammates, my coaches, the gymnast, Andreas Gatzoulis, with whom I have a family relationship, I’ve known him since I was 14 years old, the people behind the team who worked incredibly hard in the last few days for what we saw yesterday and today, physiotherapists, caregivers, doctors, the world, because Olympiacos does not exist without the world. Olympiacos and the world go together. My relationship with the world was built, not created from the first moment. We fought both sides and managed to build something strong. That leaves me at the end.

I want to thank those who came to honor me, to show me their respect and appreciation for all the effort, all the sweat and all that we have achieved in these 11 years. I should also thank those who did not come because they had their own personal reasons. I have contacted everyone and I completely understand.

I want to say that whether in good times or in difficult times, I gave my soul for the team. I hurt, I sweated, I gave everything, I never sold a fan, but I tried with my character and my game to lead a team, with the support of my teammates and coaches, to achieve what we achieved. It doesn’t matter how many titles we got, but that we built a culture, which will remain indelible in everyone’s mind. We built a team with solid foundations, which continues to star. This is the most important thing.

Having an organization retire your jersey isn’t like a race, it encompasses eleven whole years. So much has been going through my mind these days. I feel immense respect for Olympiakos. It’s a great honor and a blessing to do this thing in my own jersey.

Those who were to come were here. My relatives, my family. There were others who did not come, we saw them in the VIDEO. The presidents were here, my teammates were here. The ones I wanted were here. From my family, I believe my first daughter looked forward the most to when we will come to SEF”.