The Greek shipowner is the owner of the two revelation teams of the year: one has won two European cups, the other is second in the Premier League
Evangelos Marinakis enjoys a dream moment. The Greek shipowner, according to Forbes among the thousand richest men in the world, is adding to his professional successes those with the teams he owns, Olympiacos and Nottingham Forest: the Greek club, first in the standings, has been named the revelation team of 2024 at the Globe Soccer Awards after the victory of the Conference League in the final against Fiorentina and of the Youth League in the last act of the event against Milan. The English one is second in the Premier League. Not bad…
Marinakis, for you 2024 will remain a year to remember.
“Olympiakos became the first Greek club to win two European cups in the same season. It was something difficult to even imagine.”
Does having achieved this goal against two Italian teams make you even more proud?
“I like Italy and I admire your teams. Beating Milan and Fiorentina was a special satisfaction and confirmed that we have an important youth sector. Not only because we won the Youth League with our boys, but also because In the first team there are, among the starters, four players who grew up in our academy: only we and Barcelona have so many.”
The Youth League final against Milan was without history, the Conference League final… was trilling.
“El Kaabi’s goal in extra time was a liberation and saved us the pain of penalties. I had already suffered enough at the start of the match, in the moments in which Milenkovic scored the 1-0 goal which was disallowed for offside.”
Did that goal give you the idea of signing the Serbian defender for Nottingham Forest?
“We’ve been following him for some time and it was a really good deal (12 million plus bonuses, ed.) because he’s playing great. Last season we conceded a few too many goals and we saved ourselves in the last few days, while now…”
Now you are second, together with Arsenal, but ahead of Chelsea, City, United…
“It’s a great satisfaction that rewards our work. In the pre-season the results had comforted us and we were confident, but the boys are going beyond expectations: there is a great team spirit between the older and younger players.”
Nottingham Forest won two European Cups in 1978-79 and 1979-90, but have not played in it since 1980-81. What would the qualification be?
“A dream that becomes reality. Sometimes it happens and you have to believe in it. We will do our best to give this satisfaction to our fans.”
First in the Greek championship, second in the Premier League: what is Marinakis’ secret?
“The work, choosing the right people to have alongside us and the fans. Our people in Greece drag us, but the atmosphere is also fantastic in Nottingham: in our stadium you can feel the history of a club that won the European Cup Champions”.
Speaking of the right people, she wanted Lina Souloukou back with her, fresh from the not positive experience at Roma.
“We know each other well with Lina because she worked with me at Olympiacos: she is a manager of great depth and international experience. I am convinced that at Nottingham she will help us achieve ambitious goals.”
Given last season’s successes in the final against Italian teams, are you waiting for the next face-to-face match with our football?
“Above all, I would like to reach another final. If it is against an Italian team…”.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED