Buffet on Fournier: “Will a player like that come and say “I want to come” and you say “no”?”

An opportunity that could not o Olympic to let go to waste characterized her Evan Fournier the sports director of KAE, Christos Buffetsspeaking on EOK WebRadio. In fact, he praised their effort Angelopoulos brothers both for this important transfer, and for the rest of the moves that have been made, as well as for the works at SEF. Finally, he mentioned the big evening (06/09) dedicated to George Printezis stressing that it will be a celebration worthy of his offer. Christos Bafes spoke in detail:

For the great evening dedicated to George Printezis: “Let’s go for the second… Oscar. I think it will be a celebration worthy of the contribution and history of Giorgos Printezis to Olympiakos. Worthy of last year’s celebration we had for Vassilis Spanoulis. For us, the specific nights, both last year’s and this year’s, are as important as winning titles. We believe that we should and must honor the team’s history. These two have contributed the most to “writing” the most golden pages in the history of Olympiakos. It is important that it is the first game of the season this Friday, a season that is special in itself, because it marks the 10th anniversary of Olympiakos. Olympiacos is the biggest multi-sport club in Europe, I don’t think anyone can dispute that. It is the team with the most sports and with European titles in most of them. And Vassilis Spanoulis and Giorgos Printezis are not just the “flags” of Olympiacos basketball, but two “flags” of the Olympiacos club in all sports and will forever remain in the memory of our fans. I think the evening will be very moving. It’s the least that can be done for George. That we will experience a unique evening at the packed SEF”.

For Giorgos Printezis: “George’s path both on and off the field is an example that all young athletes, all young children in all sports should follow. Greek sports needs more… Printezides. George is an example and it is no coincidence that he is loved by all Greek fans”.

For Printezis’ best moment at Olympiakos: “The petachtari in Istanbul. It is the picture of our life and that will never change. It’s Spanoulis’ pass, the comeback, against a team that if we play 20 times we will lose 19 times, it’s the whole phase. This phase was and will remain forever in history. It was her and Spanoulis’ three-pointer in OAKA. These two phases will forever accompany Olympiacos basketball, but also Olympiacos in general.”

On whether the Olympiakos organization is reflected in the person of Printezis: “Georgos is a humble child, smiling. He is a man who tried hard to succeed and Olympiacos as a club brings that out. It expresses effort, “battle”, toil, everyday life. It is a team of the people, of the port, this is how it was created, this is how the foundations of the team were laid. George is the exponent of this philosophy, because he tried very hard, he felt rejected many times, but he didn’t give up and succeeded.”

On whether Printezis wanted to end his career with a European title: “Obviously, but it ended by lifting the championship, which was important in the return of Olympiakos to A1 with what had been done. But maybe, yes, the title would be like watching a Hollywood movie. What happened in Belgrade with Olympiakos playing in the minor final while 13-14 thousand Olympiakos were excluded and did not stop singing to say “goodbye” to George, I think this would be a dream curtain in the career of any athlete, this the applause. George was an artist on the floor, an artist and I think this was the ideal conclusion to this tremendous career.”

For the red seats at SEF: “They will enter half the stands. Little by little we will place them on half the rigs. All this is done at the expense of Olympiacos without Olympiacos getting anything from SEF. Simply out of respect for our fans we try and will continue to do as much as we are allowed and in cooperation with the management of SEF. From the pocket of our presidents. In a stadium that does not belong to Olympiacos, does not belong to Olympiacos, money is spent only because the people of Olympiacos deserve the best and we try to create the best possible conditions. There will be other things, many things. Every year, things happen at SEF and we think that if it weren’t for Olympiacos and our private initiative to make things happen at SEF, it would be in a tragic situation.”

On signing Evan Fournier and saving the best for last: “There is never an end to a team like Olympiakos. You can never say “over”. That is, a player will show up and say “I want to come” and the conditions will be ideal and you will say “No, because we are done”? There is no end to these teams in professional sports. The conditions were created, there was patience, there were right moves, they were done as they should be and together we celebrated a great transfer, one of the most important this summer in Europe. The presidents have shown over the years that when it’s for the good of the team they don’t hesitate to do what they have to do. They showed it last year during the year, they showed it this year and they show it every summer. This is the great asset of Olympiakos, these two who are at the “helm” of the team, Panagiotis and Giorgos Angelopoulos. For decades they have been spending time from their families, their businesses and money in a “bottomless well” for their great love, Olympiakos.