On the trail that followed by Paphos, which lives in historical moments in recent years has been reported by Harris Theocharous through BWINSPOR FM 94.6.
Speaking on the show ‘Buck attack’ of Sotiris Tambakouthe CEO of the club stood in the vision of Russian owners and the organization that has led him to compete, but also to knock stronger groups.
“Our honor to play with Olympiacos is a great team“, He pointed out about the appointment with Piraeus in the UEFA Champions League, commenting (because of the love for Greek teams in Megalonissos) that”will become a good fight against a team we consider to be ours”
Listen to the relevant excerpt on the BWINSPOR FM channel on YouTube.
In detail, the Harris Theocharous talked to the 94.6 for:
-The fact that Paphos has grown: “Sure, I understand that it is a little surprise about how much it has grown in a short time and has been in the top -of -the -line event. But I can say that an incredible job has been done in recent years. Money has been invested, but not as much as some might think. We try not to leave anything to chance, fortunately we are in this great event. There is a great story, with two groups that became one. The Paphos Athletic Association began and was then dissolved by AE Kouklia. There was football misery in the city, he hadn’t achieved anything football and these people took over, going to the team on another level”
-The emblem of the group: “It creates a sense of responsibility that we are fighting with Evagoras Pallikaridis in the chest, who is a hero of all Cyprus. We see that it becomes widely known, football you know how big it is and we are very pleased. Should have been known everywhere”
-If it looked from the beginning that the team would take over: “The owners had a vision. I am four years in the team. I was told when I took over that the goal was to become the championship and to be in European competitions. To be honest maybe I didn’t believe them. At some point I was told that they want the championship, I might say that people have a dose of madness. It seemed how right they were. Cyprus is similar to Greece. Getting a championship team outside the Big-4 is not easy. We may have been not only out of the Big-4, but out of the Big-8. Coming to a team and winning the cup two years ago, the championship last year, competing in Europe, reaching the ’16’ of the Conference League and winning the great achievement of the Champions League this year. Certainly there is a vision, they certainly made some money. This vision, the organization, the passion was carried throughout the building and we are where we are”
-The progress of the last two years: “It’s not just these two years. The fact that before the last two years he was in the sixth was the beginning. We wanted to lay the bases and that was done. The solid bases have entered, the team was not … a firework and from one moment to another to be in the Champions League. We’ve started this year very early. We have new players, but no one started in these matches. There is an organization, there is excellent scouting, the technical director. It’s nothing accidental”
-The elements that play the biggest role in the successes of a group: “We have similarities to Greece and I am careful (what I say) at times. The fact that Greece deals so much with Cyprus and Paphos is very important. It is important that we see Greeks say about Paphos. This honors us and makes us happy that the Greeks are watching. I think everyone should do their job. Certainly the money is very important, but everyone has to do their job. There is a whole, the coach, the manager, the scouting, the marketing must do their job. This is the key to success”
-The facilities of the club and the creation of the training center: “The training center is something that has been paid in the owners’ pocket, no sponsorships were expected. You know how these things work in Greece and Cyprus … They made an impressive training center to accommodate teams and players. They did a striking coach with three stadiums and grass, hybrids and an even smaller stadium with different grass, with sand. The training center will be expanded and shows how much they want to move on. It can be considered one of the best in Europe.
As for the stadium, we are competing in Limassol on a stadium that is not ours. It is about 40 minutes from Paphos. People have to travel. It is not ours, our stadium belongs to the state. It is not a football stadium, no renovation has been made for 40 years. So it cannot be used in Europe. We have come into contact with the CMO and I think there are details left to get this stadium with revenue and the money the team will spend in order to build a leasing stadium. It will be the stone for the team to go to the next level”
-The course to the Champions League League Phase and the match with Olympiacos: “The fact that we were in the draw shows how far we have gone. As a club. We are considered outsider, of course, we accept the role with pride, but it motivates us even more. Every fight is an opportunity to prove that it is not just the big clubs. The ones you mentioned are huge clubs. It is an opportunity to prove that teamwork, passion and faith can make the difference, and even against Europe’s largest clubs. As far as Olympiacos is concerned, it’s a honor for us. Olympiacos, like the other Greek teams, have many friends here in Cyprus. I think there will be a very good fight against a team that besides the champion of Greece, is a European title. Olympiacos is a great team. Like the other teams we will have the honor of competing against them. I think we will have a good fight against a team that we consider ours.
We had a very difficult way to get here. We played with Maccabi Tel Aviv, Dynamo Kiev, which are also great teams. The Red Star has spent a lot of money on transcripts this year. It was not easy to work, we stayed loyal to the shoot and remained undefeated in six matches, this says a lot”
-The Russian owners and if they had come for a vacation and decided to invest money: “That was. When they came to the court, he had no 10-15 friends in the stands. I told you about the misery that existed. We have an average of 5-6,000 people at home, and out of the world we are entitled to. That is, about 800 spectators. You understand how much we have grown. When Paphos has 40,000 people centrally, with the provinces another 30-40,000. So when you have 9,000 fans in the last match, it is about 10% of the population in the stadium. The owners realized that the city was a sleeping giant. The city had no success in football. The world has felt a bitterness, now there is a football pride! This is the point of clicking, that is, something very big can be done. So they were right (Russian owners), made the right decision“
Source: Sport Fm
I am currently a news writer for News Bulletin247 where I mostly cover sports news. I have always been interested in writing and it is something I am very passionate about. In my spare time, I enjoy reading and spending time with my family and friends.
