Kyriakopoulos in Gazeta: “In Greece they do not respect me, they are assertive and make strange statements”

In terms of the level of organisation, how do a small and medium sized team in Italy, such as Sassuolo, compare with Greek teams?

New Sassuolo training center, built in 2017. It’s fantastic and definitely can’t compare to Astera. It is 2-3 levels better, despite the fact that Asteras also has a good training center. Regarding the top Greek teams, I don’t think there are big differences, because they also have excellent facilities. In Greece we lose it elsewhere, in non-competitive matters. After all, we deal with them the most.

Do you feel that living away from Greece is calmer to deal with football exclusively?

I feel very calm, I just focus on football. However, I have been informed of what is happening in Greece because it is my country. In the second division, many players have not been paid for a long time, and the league has recently started again after a while. On the other hand, in the first division, AEK and Atromitos have been handling jobs for a long time. Things we should not pay attention to. In Italy, if there is a wrong whistle for Juventus or Inter, we will not sit down in the next few days to discuss which of the two teams the referee prefers. And we will not say that any team controls the refereeing. Something that may be written or said in the newspapers and in the media in general, but the groups will not continue to deal with it. Two days later, it was all over. Everyone is looking forward to the next match. That’s what’s kept me calm, I never deal with matters that are extra competitive.

What you say has two translations. One is that teams aren’t extra competition at all, and the other is how managements have managed to completely cut off football players from them. Which is correct?

I think the departments are working, they are filing their complaints. This, however, is not a matter of the player. In Greece, I see players coming out in public and complaining about referees and coaches making outlandish statements. Why do we deal with them? We have to look at what we do within the four lines.

What was the most dreadful moment during your time in Italy?

The first time we played at Juventus. I saw Ronaldo, Higuain, Bonucci and Dybala next to me. I was thinking I was inside a PlayStation, wondering “what am I doing here?”. It was only two months after I was transferred from Asteras and it seemed like a dream. In the blower before going out I started to press. The other time I was in awe was when we beat AC Milan 5-2 recently. Both were highlights I had in Italy.

What is the most beautiful atmosphere that you faced in the Italian stadiums?

One in “San Siro” in the matches against AC Milan. Juventus Stadium may sound… supersonic, but the atmosphere at Milan’s home matches cannot be compared to anything.