A revealing interview was given to “Betarades” by Eki Gonzales. The Argentinian who was “adored” as few by the world of Panathinaikos spoke about what he experienced in Greece during the time he wore the green shirt.
The 44-year-old veteran midfielder spoke about incidents that happened with his teammates in Athens and referred at length to the famous episode with Mario Galinovic in Crete.
At the same time, he emphasized that while he was in Greece, Olympic he always had her help arbitrationwhile commenting on the statement that “one Gonzales equals two Rivaldos”.
Excerpts from what he said:
“I didn’t know much about Greek football. Before I went, about 6 months ago, I told my then wife that I would love to go to Greece, to the islands. Then the proposal came from Panathinaikos, so we said ok, let’s go.
I found a very competitive team, a very good league. We played in the Champions League. I had a great time in Greece, I found what I expected. When I joined the team, we won the double. Shum was good, I adjusted easily. Greece also won Euro 2004. It was a surprise for everyone. Greece had a very good team, it was like Paraguay or Chile in the Copa America.
Panathinaikos was a professional team. I had fights with Papadopoulos and sometimes with Geka. Papadopoulos and I spoke at the game but we didn’t argue. We pushed each other. I tried to talk to him after two years, Eki told me, I speak Spanish now. Olisadebe was a very good player, a bit injured, but a huge player.
Shum was very relaxed, he was not that tactical. There are some technical managers who want a lot of tactics. Shum was telling us to be calm…
In the second year we lost the championship by one point, tied with AEK. Olympiacos always had help from the referee. It was clear. When we played against them, they had that help. It was common for them to receive help.
I don’t like talking bad about my teammates. How to compete with Rivaldo? They certainly made some mistakes against Panathinaikos. It was difficult to play against Olympiakos with the players they brought and with the refereeing. Maybe, we were a little behind, but we fought.
I don’t know why Shum left. We had a very good relationship as far as I know. Maybe I’m missing something. I was embarrassed when they said I was doing for two Rivaldos. Rivaldo is one of the best. Rivaldo is a hundred… Eki. Konstantinou was strong, fast, tall. In the years he was there he didn’t have such good moments with the ball, but he started to score goals. He was important.
Fyssas was very nice, but I hadn’t spent much time with him. I don’t remember the fight with Nini. I don’t remember many things. Not even with Geka. It wasn’t a big deal.
With Galinovich, I remember. Mario is a very good boy. We were going to Crete. We had a very relaxed match before the game. I scored a goal, Mario took it out, but it was a goal. And he says it wasn’t a goal. I said it’s a goal and he pushed me. When he pushed me, I punched him. I thought he was going to kill me. We were separated.
It took about 10-15 players to hold him down. Then he relaxed and told me why I pushed him. It didn’t kill me after all. We didn’t pay a fine. We shared the room and that’s all.
I was not very satisfied with the people running Panathinaikos, they could do better things with the investments they made. They made some mistakes. It was Zaetz who made mistakes. Velich. I don’t like it when they’re wrong, knowing they’re wrong, but they’re doing it for profit.
This is bad. Because by taking some players they may have extra money for themselves, but they don’t care about the team, the fans and even the owner…”.
Source: Sport Fm
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