“This Is How I Lived Giannis Ioannidis” – Lefteris Subotics at BIMA for “Xanthos”

Giannis Ioannidis died yesterday, Wednesday, October 4.

His 78-year career journey was marked by certain non-negotiable ideas and values ​​for him personally.

Giannis Ioannidis is a very easy going and comfortable person. Just go with his water.

Strong-minded by nature, energetic, passionate and unyielding, he branded the Greek basketball scene with his personality and will be an integral part of a puzzle with the most legendary figures on the floor.

Those who met him, knew him, lived somewhere, somehow, with him, can outline his profile with great precision, recall the past, and be moved by the memories.

him Leftery Subotic We spotted him in Mongolia – just before he took the field for a friendly.

“How could I not remember her?” A direct answer to the question about his first contact with Giannis Ioannidis before he left Olympia and Ljubljana for Aris and Thessaloniki.

“The first time Coach and I met was in Athens”, he recalled and continued the journey through space and time.

“It was the cup final with Panathinaikos and I was with my mum. I had offers from France and Italy too, but that was what convinced me to sign for Aris. The green light was finally given by the coach and I will always be grateful to him for that. I will keep him in my heart for what he did for me on a personal level. .”

Such moves are rare for a player in his mid-80s and adapting to a new environment is a more complex affair. “Pixie” had a coach.

“Especially during my first two years in Thessaloniki, we spent all the Christmas and Easter holidays together. He welcomed me to his house, we had a wonderful relationship, he loved me very much,” she said in our conversation.

The fact that they have been together for so long has not weakened their relationship.

“I knew he was ill and the end was near and I wanted to talk to him. They told me it was not possible as they were not in a position to communicate. The last time I saw him closely was when he was a minister.

They had such strong bonds that distance and time did not tarnish them. Lefteris Subotics explains how and why.

“He identified me first as a player and then as a coach.”

“He personally identified with me first as a player and then as a coach. I had immense respect for him and the many years we spent together at Mars.

I had special respect for his person. As tough as he was in practice and games, he was gentle off the field. A man with a heart too big to match them all. He was always there to help you, you could tell him anything and he would listen.

He passed on the winner’s mentality to us on Mars. He never accepted defeat and neither do we.

In an era filled with plenty of gold dust, smash hits and headlines, standout moments abound.

The veteran coach has opted to keep “that team meeting before the first leg of the final four in Kent” to himself.

“He addressed us with such passion that I shall never forget it,” he recounted and continued his eloquent explanation. “Before we left the field, he gathered us all together to talk to us. He left the coffee and asked us to play for Greece. How we represented the whole country at that time.

He couldn’t take it and whimpered in emotion. He was a proud Greek, a Macedonian patriarch, truly and deeply faithful to religion, even if he cursed his aunts from time to time.”

At the end of Lefteris Subotics, Yiannis Ioannidis “had the role of a father, he was a mentor who undoubtedly defined my path. He and Professor Nicoli greatly influenced me in terms of thinking in my life and paved the way for me.

I also faced him as an opposing coach. Apart from the current match, the immense admiration I have for him has not faded and certainly never will.”