Tsilianidis: “I was psychologically affected by the canceled goal against PAOK”

THE Kosmas Tsilianidis talked about his career and this season with his jersey OFIbeing the λε guest of the week in Super League and in the standard interviews conducted by the organizing authority.

“My personal goal this year is to slowly find rhythm, to find my steps, to be able to gradually balance my performance to the levels I want and had, to get more minutes of participation and to help my team as much as I can. on the field, doing the best I can “he said initially.

Kosma, recently, on the occasion of your own injury, you mentioned the need for psychological support of footballers. Apart from injuries, what other causes can negatively affect a player’s psychology to the point that he needs specialized help?

First of all, our ancient ancestors said the following: “A healthy mind in a healthy body”. In sports, it is not enough to have only a healthy body and to be strong, but you must be healthy and mentally, in order to be able to cope with the needs of sports, competition, championship.

Therefore, as we do our training every day to be properly in the games, so sometimes, some a little, some a lot, some not at all, we need to work mentally and it is very important to have a person in the team who can to help them.

Beyond that, for the young kids, who enter the first team, now train with the adults and the demands go up daily in training, it is certainly very difficult to be able to manage all this.

In the future they may be asked to fight, making the requirements and intellectual management even more difficult. I believe that these children can be helped immediately by the existence of a sports psychologist.

Certainly the malicious criticism that exists, because we are public figures, most of the time for many is unmanageable, with the result that they constantly fall spiritually when the team is not doing well or if they themselves do not have the performance they want, so they are not who they really are as footballers, based on their abilities.

In this area, the sports psychologist will play a very important role, in helping these children to manage it, in emphasizing what they need to do from now on in order to come back and be even stronger.

Finally, there is life after football! Many times we athletes, because we have learned all our lives to have a routine, to go to our training and to have a certain way of life, when it stops, we lose the ground under our feet.

We do not know how to manage it, so we often lead to very dark paths. It is a very enjoyable process, to know that there are people who can help you through psychoanalysis and through various other methods to move forward in your life and to be stronger even after football.

Hello Kosmas, every time before you enter the field to play, your first thought was before your injury and now after your injury. I really wish you a lot of goals in any team you go to, preferably I prefer you to stay with us.



My thinking before each race has not changed. It was the same before my injury and it remains the same now that I’m back. Because I believe so much in the positive energy and energy that people who love you can give you, I always think of my own people, my parents, my family, my girlfriend, who is always with me in the stands and I believe that he fights with me every time on the field.

I think about them, I draw strength from them and I am ready to enter the fight and give it my all.

What did you want to be when you were little?



I remember dreaming of becoming a footballer when I grew up. I slept every night with a ball next to me in bed and during the day, wherever I went I had a ball on my feet.

I am very lucky that I have succeeded and I have realized my dream. I wish all the children of the world to follow what they love and make their dreams come true.

How much did the canceled goal in the match against PAOK affect you psychologically, after such a long absence? Do you think that if the goal counted, it would have an impact on your faster return to good performances?



It definitely affected me very negatively! Apart from the fact that I scored against a great opponent, such as PAOK and even more so at home, the most important thing for me was that my family was in the stands, the people who support me and I wanted to be with them after such a long absence. I dedicate this very important goal.

Unfortunately, some people did not allow me to do that and my feeling after the fight was anger. I do not think that it would help me to return psychologically faster.

I am no longer so much influenced by such decisions. I keep trying, I keep training and I know that if I do not give up and if I am who I should be, I will be given another chance and I have to be there to seize it and be strong.

After such a serious injury, did the psychological stress or the physical one make it more difficult for you?



Both are equally difficult. Physical training is very difficult, long and very psychedelic, because you are forced to do things and this kind of training, which you do not like, does not satisfy you is not so much related to what you love, which is football.

You really need to fight spiritually with yourself to be disciplined and stay true to the plan of recovery.

Psychological training is just as important and quite difficult, because you are now far from the lights and flattery that football offers you.

You have the time to “talk” to yourself, to see how you have to manage the unprecedented situation you live in and you definitely have time to spend with your own people, to see who really supports you and who is by your side in difficult times.

You had some good years and you deservedly won your transfer from OFI. Making your best years statistics up to your injury, what is your goal with the team? Do you think it is right that you have not been called up to the National Team yet, especially after your best year?

My personal goal this year is to slowly find rhythm, to find my steps, to be able to gradually balance my performance to the levels I want and had, to get more minutes of participation and to help my team as much as I can in the stadium, doing the best I can. I do not consider it unfair that I was not called up to the National Team of Greece.

Unfortunately I was very unlucky because when I was ready to be called to the friendlies in the USA, unfortunately the coronavirus came into our lives. From there on, everything has gone “wrong” in my football life, with the result that I have not been given the opportunity yet.

I believe that if I am healthy and strong, I will be able to fight with all my being and by showing what I can do on the field, to fight very hard lest I ever manage to take this opportunity. I think I owe it to myself!

What are OFI’s goals this year?



The goals of the team based on the current scoring situation, is definitely to be able to enter the top six, to claim a place in the play offs and to do the best we can there.



How do you judge the atmosphere in the team and how much did it help you to return strong on the field?



The atmosphere in the team is very good!

He helped me a lot, as well as all the children who are members of this group.

It is very important to have this atmosphere of calm and stability in a team, because now you only have to deal with football, with what you love and the conditions are ideal so that a footballer can improve and give 100% of his potential. .

If you could change anything in your career, what would it be?



I would not change anything in my career, in terms of my choices. I believe that we are our choices and that is why we must support them and fight for them until the end!

What advice would you give to a child who dreams of playing ball?



The most important thing for a child is to really have fun doing what he does, because football is a sport, a game and kids who are just starting out in football should see it as a game.

The advice I can give them later is, growing up, not to stop working to achieve what they really dream of.

Only with work and dedication can you achieve your dream, that is, to play football!

Kosma, what do you consider to be the best moments so far in your career and what is your advantage in the position you are playing in?



My professional debut with Iraklis is a very important moment, as for any footballer and will be forever etched in my memory. The trip to Europe with Asteras Tripolis but also the one we achieved with the children here at OFI are very important moments.

Regarding my advantages regarding the position I play, is my ability to converge and collaborate indoors but also the intensity and energy in my game, which are very important in modern football.