Father of little Giannakis: “He wants to meet with the presidents of the Big 5 – He took his life in his hands”

THE little Giannakis he has become a symbol for Greek fans, since his love for football is such that not even the mobility problems he faces prevent him from going to all the stadiums. His young friend PAOK he underwent an operation in the US a few days ago with the aim of gradually getting back on his feet. But this is not his only dream, since he wants to contribute to the elimination of toxicity from Greek football and that is why he wants to meet with the Big 5 presidentsas revealed by his father, Kostis Papastephanakis.

What he told Metropolis 95.5 in detail:

-how his family is dealing with the surgery done in the US: “There is no fatigue, there is courage. When you see that kid with that smile, there’s no way anything can stop you. Everything went well in America, we had positive energy from all over the world, regardless of color. The surgery went well. Success is 100% after surgery, the doctors assured us. What remains now is physical therapy and strengthening of the child. But they don’t scare us because we have the support of the team, so the team’s physiotherapists will deal with it”.

– the course of Giannakis’ rehabilitation: “The surgery did what it was supposed to do, that is to remove his spasticity and give us the possibility to mold the muscles and teach them to work from the beginning. What needs to be done is to wake up the muscles and for Giannis to get up and walk. It depends on what work will be done with her physiotherapy. The minimum is about two years. If you consider that he has been doing physical therapy for 14 years, two years is nothing. Yannis is crazy, he took his life in his hands, this is his talk. He is ready to take the next step.”

-his return to Toumba: “Yesterday we went for a walk in Toumba, because he had missed the stadium. I surprised him, I had told him we were going for coffee. As soon as we entered he made the sign of the cross, he says we entered the temple. I shuddered when we entered because I saw him walking and I had an image of what he wants to do. These are exciting times. Tumba gives him energy. While we were in America and the children were playing, Giannis was sitting on hot coals, he missed that very much. Now that we’re back he’s got a lot of power!”

-the how he has managed to unite all the fans: “I can’t decipher it either. At some point someone had told us that Giannis has a star. I will say this too, that it probably has a star. Someone has to be the “leader” so that we all come together. John said a sultry rant. After surgery she had crazy positive energy. He said that “with the energy I have from all over the world, I can even lift a rocket”!

-John’s plans for the immediate future: “We are now planning its rehabilitation. He has something on his mind, he wants to get the toxicity out of the stadiums and he wants to have a meeting with the big five club presidents to see how we can eliminate it. In America, I was impressed by the announcement made by PAE Aris, I see football differently now. Who said that we are opponents only for 90 minutes and they support the effort of Giannis. Just like the footballers who called him.”