WINNERS

APOSTOLOS PAPASTAMOS
The 18-year-old from Chania made history last week, after winning the Gold metal in the 400 metres individual medley at the World Championships. With the times he recorded, the young athlete has already reached the necessary level to advance to the Tokyo Olympics. If he does appear at the Japanese pools, he could cause trouble for many of the favourites, as he is constantly smashing his own records. This is definitely a name that we will be hearing more of in the near future.

AUSTRALIAN BOOMERS
The Australian Boomers made history last week, as they finally succeeded in taking down the United States, even if it was just an exhibition match. Having the support of over 52,000 people behind them in Marvel Stadium, Andrej Lemanis’ men demonstrated their high skill level and proved to the rest of the world that the Americans are far from unbeatable, just a few short days before the start of the FIBA World Cup in China. It’s worth mentioning that this was Team USA’s first loss (with the inclusion of NBA players in their squad) since the 2006 semi-final against Greece in Saitama.

ΟLYMPIACOS
Dominating their opponents, even in their away games in Europe, Olympiacos are showing a type of playing style that they never have in the past. Under Portuguese coach Pedro Martins, the club is flourishing, and that clearly shows on the pitch. The proof of this came last Wednesday night, after they sealed their return to the Champions League group stage with a second 1-2 win against FC Krasnodar, a club with a budget worth two times that of the Greeks, six short nights after demolishing them 4-0 at home.

SINNERS

AEK
Just four games in and already the club is out looking for a new coach! After yet another disheartening performance that saw the 2017/18 champions lose to Xanthi at home, Miguel Cardoso is no longer at the helm of the club, after chairman Ioannis Melissanidis decided that drastic changes were needed to improve the team’s image. Hopefully his replacement will be able to handle the dressing rooms in a much better way and make the most of the resources the club will give him, with a squad that includes players such as Petros Mantalos, former Barcelona defender Dmitro Chygrynskyi, former Roma winger Daniele Verde and former Norwich striker Nelson Oliveira.

FFA
Once again, the Football Federation of Australia drops the ball. This time, it was their failure to properly assess the situation of Alen Stajcic’ removal as head coach of the Matildas that caused frustration within the community, as they never allowed the man in question a chance to defend himself or tell his side of the story. This led the Australian Football Coaches Union to release a statement, expressing its great concern for the way the decision process review was handled.

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS
There’s definitely something going on with the wonder child of Greek tennis. His failure to advance to the next round of Wimbledon was repeated in the final Grand Slam of the year. The 20-year-old was knocked out in the first round of the US Open by Andrey Rublev (4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-7 (7-9), 5-7), in what was a climactic battle that was ultimately decided in the third set. Hopefully he can begin to turn things around next year in Melbourne with the support of the Greek community.