Papafotiou: “Every day in sports is a new opportunity – creepy what I experienced in the last match”

OR Athena Papafotiouhe officially bid farewell to active action, after a great career, full of titles and awards. The former Panathinaikos leader will continue to serve the club from the position of ambassador, as well as that of the Vice President in the Department of Athletes with Disabilities.

Talking to volleyplanetPapafotiou, referred to special moments of her career, made the report, referred to the moments she stands out from her, and talked about the next day.

Read an excerpt from her interview:

-After 25 years of course, what do you consider the greatest lesson given to you in sports? “I think what I have kept and realized – especially as the years went by – and the successes or failures came, is that you can start from the beginning every time. Every day in sports is an opportunity. Whatever it has been done before, no matter how much you have failed, because failure is the most difficult manageable. In sports you can try and try new things and I think this is a treaty you generally don’t find in activities or in everyday life. “

-Is there at some point, title or experience you got and will stay etched in your memory forever? “We don’t discuss the titles. Everyone is unique. You have invested so much, you have been dedicated and dedicated that the reward of each title is special that is not compared to me. But the moment I set me apart was when I made the decision to leave Greece to try abroad under any condition, mainly economic. Then I was gone with very little money and the ability I had to fight abroad for the first time was the one that made me believe in me, in the sense that I could do it or I am given an opportunity that I can use. I had said that I wanted a little opportunity, nothing else, a little chance to grab it, and wherever it comes out. So when she was given and invited me by Yiannis Athanasopoulos to go to Stuttgart, it was a focal point for me.

This moment is engraved and followed me as I continued to fight. I was always there and saying, look if there wasn’t this time now I wouldn’t be here. It was a decision with every risk, because then I went to a team with little money, a second passer and here I was at AEK, we had the championship, I had a good salary, reputation, recognition. Suddenly I found myself in a group as a second passer with little money and without anyone knowing that it was almost scary. And every time, even when I returned to Greece, I was back at that moment. “

-And in these years now that you have returned, what was the highlight of the Panathinaikos? “Yes, the top was definitely winning the league at the OAKA in the 2022/23 season. We had won the AEK in the semifinals, which we had not managed to win all year and had a terrible team with very good players and it is a shame when the semifinals had not been aired on television because the level was very high. I believed in the capabilities of our team because AEK had very good athletes, though I believed in the team’s operation and believed in qualification.

Then we won Olympiacos in three wins but playing at the OAKA, a stadium that we know what dynamic it has and what a boost can give to athletes … For our data, such a match with 6-7,000 people in women’s volleyball had been played again and winning 3-2. “Stick” the potential of volleyball and does not use them because this was a “firework” and is not the rule. So I’m lucky to have lived right now. “

Read the entire interview here