Bolton Wanderers supporters nonetheless get a heat glow once they keep in mind Greek midfielder Stelios Giannakopoulos.
With a eager eye for objective and the flexibility to hunt out his team-mates with pinpoint accuracy, Giannakopoulos featured closely for Bolton throughout their longstanding tenure in England’s high flight again within the early to mid-2000s.
Catching up with FourFourTwo not too long ago, the 49-year-old mirrored on his time spent in England and mixing it with the Premier League’s huge boys throughout his glory years below Sam Allardyce.
WATCH | Why Germany Have Been The Finest Workforce At Euro 2024 (So Far)
Was it all the time your ambition to play in England, earlier than becoming a member of Bolton in 2003?
To be trustworthy, I didn’t like English soccer as a child. It was very completely different again then. There weren’t too many groups making an attempt to play out from the again after I was a younger footballer – the English sport was all about getting the ball ahead as rapidly as doable. However you develop up and realise the extent, and I realised that it is a league it is advisable come to, to show issues to your self and others. Nikos Dabizas, who was enjoying for Newcastle on the time, put in a phrase in order that I could possibly be satisfied in regards to the high quality of the Premier League. By this time [aged nearly 29], it was most likely the subsequent step for me and my profession.
It was an thrilling time to be at Bolton…
The very best options, enjoyable and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox each week.
Sure, it was a superb interval for me, for the followers, for the membership, for the city – for everybody. It was unreal. We certified twice for Europe and we have been most likely one of many Premier League’s hardest groups to play towards. Enjoying for Huge Sam [Allardyce] was unusual initially, but it surely turned a lot simpler as we received to know one another and I started to see what he needed and demanded from the gamers. All the things was arrange very effectively. I believe that when you’d requested the likes of Arsenal and Manchester United which group they least appreciated enjoying, it could have been us. We have been very effectively ready. We had some nice backroom workers and our scouting community was incredible. We used Prozone, so we knew the whole lot in regards to the opposition. Add the person expertise and the perspective of these gamers, and also you get an appreciation of why we received the outcomes that we did.
Sam Allardyce was supervisor at Bolton Wanderers for eight years from 1999-2007
What’s your greatest reminiscence of that point?
I’ve loads of completely satisfied recollections, as a result of we performed towards huge golf equipment and managed to spoil the social gathering! We beat Arsenal a few instances, together with within the FA Cup after I scored a diving header. I don’t have good recollections from the 2004 League Cup Ultimate towards Middlesbrough, however we nonetheless received there. Then Europe! The place do you begin? Qualifying two years in a row was outstanding. To not solely play towards Atletico Madrid, Bayern Munich and Marseille however get outcomes towards these groups is loopy, actually. We introduced recollections to the Reebok that I don’t assume will ever come once more. Among the finest emotions for any footballer is being recognised, strolling about – you realise simply what an affect the group had in town. After all, today the children don’t recognise me, however their dad and mom do.
Extra Bolton Wanderers tales
League One promotion and relegation permutations: Who wants what on the ultimate day?
Ranked! The high 50 Soccer League gamers 2023/24
I watched Conor Bradley play for a yr at Bolton Wanderers – he was clearly destined for Liverpool stardom
