Dimitris Giannakopoulos, Panathinaikos BC president, held a press conference today at OAKA, speaking about the past, the present and the future of the team.
"As we did last year, we chose this year too, the direct approach with the media. We consider this to be an honest relation and I will be happy to answer your questions. First of all, I would like to say a big "thank you" to all my associates in the team who helped to avoid problems during the season. I wish to thank mrs Chidiac, Moireas, Katsogiannis, Papadopoulos and all the employees at the office who work day and night so that trophies can keep coming. The season ended with two trophies. We reached the double like last year. During the transitional period we won four titles. It's something that fills as with joy. But we also failed on some things. Our goal was to make this team Greek again, to play attractive basketball. We didn't succeed on this goal. This is the reason mr Pedoulakis was cleared. The fans weren't happy and we weren't happy too. It was something obvious just by seeing the stands. I wish to thank mr Pedoulakis for our collaboration. He offered a lot to the team and we cannot overlook some things. The fact that at some point our views weren't the same, this doesn't mean that we don't recognize his job.
This brought us to Fragkiskos. He is Panathinaikos' soldier and he is always there for us. He is the top athlete in the history of Panathinaikos. We still believe in him. We believed he was the most suitable to take over. He knows the locker rooms, he know what he had to do. We were justified, beside the fact that we read that Panathinaikos got smaller with Alvertis. Man's soul is an abyss. Psychology changed and we got the Basketleague OPAP title. He is a living part of the history of this club and he will stay in Panathinaikos. As team manager he has to offer more. We discussed and we decided that this is where he is going to be. Loyal to the team as always.
As you know our new coach is Dusko Ivanovic. One of the best coaches in Europe according to my opinion. He expressed his faith in our plan. His titles and his job as a coach and player says it all. We believe he is the most suitable. Panathinaikos will be Greek. He will work with the young Greek players. I am saying this and I repeat it so that you know what will follow. I know that you are going to ask me about transactions and the team. You will have the chance to speak with the coach the days to follow. The team is being built by the coach.
I was never involved in the team's transactions. This happened twice. Once with Kapono last year because I believed that we had to enforce the team and the second time with Ping Shang. He was the first Chinese in Europe. We were the first to open China's markets. We'll speak with mr Ivanovic about our moves. There is a certain interest about some players and I believe we can conclude the Greek players' transactions in order to build Panathinaikos of the next decade".
Regarding Panathinaikos' goals he said: "In both seasons we got 40 minutes away from the Euroleague Final Four. Our goal is to give everything to be there. We have simplified the fact as it is something easy. Back in the days, with much bigger budget, it was really hard to get to the Final Four. Sometimes we didn't even reach the play offs. It's not something simple. We are still learning from our mistakes. It was my personal mistake that I raised the bar too high. It won't happen again. We must keep our head down, to work a lot and to talk less. We have now good relations with Euroleague and with big clubs like CSKA. It's clear that we are open in any kind of collaboration. We are Panathinaikos, one of the leading teams in Europe and we have proven that we are hospitable, but we are not going to bend our head".
About the owners of Olympiacos BC he noted: "You must remember that when I took over I used to say in our interviews how important is their presence for basketball. They attacked me with rude words after the Greek Cup Final 2013. They used vulgar expressions and lies. Every year they try to reduce our titles, talking about the referees and about a "system". The fair play committee hasn't decided yet on Aggelopoulos' brothers quotes after the fourth final. I try to defend and they say that I am attacking. It's them. I have every intention to collaborate with all the teams, with Olympiacos and Aggelopoulos brothers. But in order for this to happen they have to apologize first".
On being two years the president of Panathinaikos BC he said: "I feel honored and responsibility to be in Panathinaikos. Everybody thought we were done. We already have a plan. I have the suitable people to run it. My family has inherited to me the knowledge on how to run a BC in order to be successful. My obligations in my company though don't allow me to be 24/7 on the team. There will be an expanded board and certain people will run everything in the team. Of course I will be present. My professional agenda, however, is so full that I cannot deal every minute of the day with the team. I will not be president. Everybody will have his role in a board. There will be people from the team who have proven they love Panathinaikos. People from the family of Panathinaikos. They have helped from different positions already. You will be notified about this the days to come".
Asked about the transactions of the team he answered: "These are things that the coach will tell you. I want to believe that in the next days we will build the team for the next season. There will be changes in the roster and many new faces. A lot of players won't be in the team next season. We have to change our image. I didn't like it, fans didn't like it... And yes there is the possibility to break some contracts if you have to".
About Dusko Ivanovic and matters of discipline he said: "I have the same impression as you. This is the reason I chose him. I believe in mr Ivanovic and the way he works and that's why he was our first choice. I talked with people I trust about Ivanovic. He agreed with us in a heartbeat and he told me that it will be his pleasure to come and work for this plan".
About the plan and the young players and if there is going to be time credit regarding the titles, he commented: "In order not to build on the sand you have to give time credit in a new effort. I will give this time. I would like not only to celebrate cups, but I want a team with homogeneity and it's not our only goal to get the league or the cup next year. Our goal is to build a team for the future and not a title. Of course if we get more titles it will something we are going to happily welcome. Is there anyone who doesn't like to win and celebrate?"
Asked about Dimitris Priftis' future in Panathinaikos and if he is going to continue in the team, he said: "During the next days we are going to decide about the collaborators of mr Ivanovic. I wish to thank mr Priftis, as well as mr Manolopoulos and Fragkiskos Alvertis for what they did, but mr Ivanovic will decide upon his assistants".
Regarding the fact that he is stepping down as a president, he said: "With all the money and the time we invested we had as a goal to celebrate titles. Everybody was saying about "white flags". I still believed... And you saw what happened".
About the possibility to return to a central administration on TV rights, mr Giannakopoulos said that "mr Ilias Katsogiannis is responsible on these matters, as marketing director. He handles these things. I trust him, as I trust all my collaborators, so his opinion will be mine too".
He was about Fragkiskos Alvertis and he repeated that "we discussed and we both had the opinion that he will be team manager, he will be at the same place he was the last couple of years".
Mr Giannakopoulos was asked if the issue with Aggelopoulos brothers can be solved: "I believe that any contradiction must remain on the court. Aggelopoulos brothers have decided otherwise. It's not in my hands. It's their decision now".
Asked if was ever going to "push" Dimitris Diamantidis to play in the National Team of Men he said: "I would love to see all great players playing in the National Team. It's Dimitris' decision though. He has offered a lot to the National Team and he is our flag. We have to respect his decisions".
When asked if Panathinaikos is interested on Nick Calathes and Ian Vouyoukas, he answered: "Calathes and Vouyoukas are two of the players we are checking, as other top Greek players. If I was the coach I would take 12 Greek players. The coach will decide on the roster. We must not forget that we already have two of the biggest talents in Charalampopoulos and Diamantakos. Especially Charalampopoulos according to my opinion, can be Panathinaikos' leader and the National Team's leader in a few years".
The president of Panathinaikos BC was asked also about the transparency: "As a family we haven't fire not even one of our employees and we have kept the salaries in the same level. We are pro transparency. There are balance sheets, all numbers are at the disposal of anyone who wants to see them. The contracts are HEBA' s issue".
Asked what inspired him to seal the deal with Ivanovic he commented: "His beliefs on sports. He is a man who works a lot. I believe that too that results come through hard work. He was my first choice and fortunately we agreed on everything".
Asked why he chose Fragkiskos Alvertis and another coach he stated: "Fragkiskos proved he is a good coach too. With my knowledge on basketball he is 100% successful. I believe that he helped the team in psychology, since he is a maitre in such things".
Finally, about the mistakes he made and which is his biggest mistake he said: "Mistakes happen on a daily basis. The biggest mistakes come from enthusiasm, emotions or when you are getting irritated. I said things I shouldn't have said. I have regretted my statements after the third final. I believe this was my biggest mistake. But I am sure I have made many more".
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