Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News
Stelios Giannakopoulos feels Olympiacos are the team of destiny in this year’s Europa Conference League – just like Greece were at Euro 2004.
The 49-year-old played nearly 200 games for Olympiacos before spending five seasons in the Premier League with Bolton and then a shorter spell at Hull City.
He was also part of the Greece squad which upset France in the quarter-finals and then hosts Portugal in the final to win the European Championships 20 years ago.
Giannakopoulos – who won 77 caps for his country and started the final in Lisbon – told BBC Sport ‘this reminds me of our run in Portugal.’
“It was a huge statement for Olympiacos to win two games (in the Conference League semi-final) against Aston Villa, especially away from home,” he said.
“You match a club like Aston Villa – with huge players and a very good manager, with a Champions League position in the Premier League – away from home, that says a lot.
“That says that Olympiacos has gone really far, beyond Greece, And this reminds me of Euro 2004, especially the game when we managed to beat France with all the big stars, that was a big indication and the trigger point that we can go all the way and win the trophy.
“In this case, Olympiacos has it with Aston Villa. This is a sign for me that it’s time for Olympiacos to go all the way and win this major trophy.”
It all comes down to this 🤩@johnsportraits x #UECLfinal pic.twitter.com/zUPaHglkvS
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) May 29, 2024
Giannakopoulos says it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity for Greece’s most decorated club – with 47 titles in 99 years – to land the first European trophy in Greek football history – and on home soil in Athens.
He said: “It’s a huge thing for myself, being part of the Olympiacos family, for the club itself, it’s a unique opportunity, it’s a historical opportunity. It’s a European final in Greece so I think we have a life-time opportunity to…
Source link : https://www.101greatgoals.com/news/conference-league/
Author : Alex Hoad
Publish date : 2024-05-29 08:32:36
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
