From the moment he assumed the presidency of Olympiakos Pireaus, Vangelis Marinakis has set about trying to establish a stronger football academy at the club.
His aim is simple, to have more young talent feeding through to the first team.
To pursue this goal, Marinakis and his associates are extending their reach well beyond Greece, in an attempt to capture young footballers from around the world.
Their first academy abroad was recently established in Sydney and is headed by former Olympiakos players Chris Kalantzis and Kyriakos Tohouroglou.
Last week in Athens, Tohouroglou joined the managers of the Olympiakos Academy in Greece, Darko Kovacevic and Babi Zelenitsa, to announce the establishment of the Sydney operation.
“It’s very important that Olympiakos established such academies and Australia is a country where many Greeks live and we are certain that amongst them there must be many talented young footballers” said Kovacevic.
He added that it is important that Olympiakos educates these players in terms of football skills and the Olympiakos ethos.
“Our club has a winning attitude, we strive for the best always and its important that any young players understand this because this is the strength of our club,” Kovacevic added.
The former player said Olympiakos was working hard to emulate the model of Spanish giants Barcelona.
“We want to have a first team made up primarily of players that have graduated from our youth teams,” Kovacevic said.
Olympiakos believe the key to future success will be determined by their ability to attract the most talented young players.
The Sydney academy will include players aged between 5 and 16, who will undergo training programs the Greek players participate in, Tohouroglou said.
He said he believed the Greeks of Australia were “more Greek than us here in Greece” and thought it was crucial that Olympiakos tapped into that market.
