The Eternal Leader, Papanicolaou in The Gods of History – Essays – Nikos Zervas – Essays

It’s past 02:00am, ‘Double’ title celebrations Olympiacos in Oacacontinued out of SEF and the Angelopoulos Brothers, give an interview. Panagiotis Angelopoulos intervened “I forgot Kostas Papanicolaou, our leader, and he is very important” To a colleague’s question about the residence statuses of Sasha Vyzenkov and Kostas Slukas. Of course, there couldn’t have been a different development for most of the 33-year-old striker, who fully sticks to the ‘red and whites’ and has proven that many times over.

His renewal was considered a final deal even before he entered talks with the organization, but in professional sports you can never be sure of anything. At the end of the day it matters – it shows a lot and How is an agreement reached. Given this, the common desire of both sides was the strongest basis for continuing the captaincy, perhaps until the end of his career, in Piraeus. the Papanicolaou, is coming off an excellent season, which is rightfully considered one of the best in his career. With all due respect to his teammates, some of whom may be more talented, their own “gap” or average playing time has been covered a few times. All these years, those who watch the sport carefully and don’t rely solely on stats know that if “Pap” is missing, or if it’s not quite right, things get tough.

His competitive and not just his personality is hard to find, perhaps completely understandable even to another… non-believer, when he ends his career. He is …the glove that perfectly fits into all coaches’ plansIt contains all those elements necessary for the proper functioning of the team in all lengths and widths of the parquet. There are plays that make you wonder how he can be so ubiquitous on defense and work so perfectly with or without the ball on offense. Excitement, experience, team spirit, self-sacrifice, spirit, smile, jokes and beautiful messages. All these elements distinguish it from the first seasons of the origins of basketball in Olympiacos and are now included in the A complete package of sophistication and maturity. Get the last year and label it “leader”. A role he proved from his second official match in this capacity (including shouting at the awarding of the Super Cup to Christos Bovet for lifting the trophy first), that he could serve perfectly, as a worthy successor to Vasilis Spanoulis and Georgos Printzis.

Next to the legend built by his former teammates and friends, he is now rightly named, following the news of his three-year contract renewal. I hope he’s doing well, closing 2026 15 years in the team who grew up into a man, whom she loved practically, “attached” to everything that accompanied her and served her in the best way, without forgetting for a moment what she herself had offered him since he was an innocent child. How could he not, despite the slight difference that appeared in his agent’s first appointment with the Olympiacos team, take the situation upon himself and summarily end the matter? He even acts as a … breakwater for the reactions that were there from the decision to leave his dear friend, Kostas Sloukas? Commander residence It wasn’t worth waiting any longer.

Of course, this special move was not needed to understand how Papanikolaou works at all levels and how important an asset he has been to Olympiacos for years. They’ve gone before Scores of moves on and off the field, culminating in his decision to pressure Barcelona to let him return and refuse more money from Panathinaikos when he left the NBA. He knew very well that the resumption of his career would take place in absolute safety here, where he was loved and embraced from the first minute. He’s won it back with multiple titles, a Final Four and worldwide recognition from a tough audience, yet he has a benchmark Distinguishing between behaviors and evaluating decisions.

For all these reasons, Papanicolaou had no idea of ​​leaving the helm, and Olympiacos certainly took the risk of changing the team captains. happened Best personality and athlete To ensure results on the floor and locker room tranquility for another three years. “No place like home, we fight together!” A few kind words. Most of them are verbs. Which Costas Papanicolaou categorized in the “red and white” history pantheon and in the highest layers of consciousness of his world. He will remain there until he decides to stop playing basketball, with Olympiacos he will be in contact if he chooses to continue serving the sport from another position. For now, he still has it much to give And a lot of work to do…

note: As with all great athletes, so with Papanicolaou, it would be naive for someone to think that all these years everything was… rosy in his daily life in the team, for example the shots he was taking or his relationship with the coaches. But his personality is so different, strong and team-oriented that even difficulties or any obstacles turn into a stepping stone to better days and moments. And he came out stronger and more useful. A positive card and consideration for the common good. A true leader, even before he officially took the title…

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