WINNERS

KOSTAS MANOLAS
His name had become one of the hottest in the European transfer market – and rightfully so. A stalwart warrior in the AS Roma backline, he helped them reach the Champions League semi finals in season 2017 (where he scored that massive goal that eventually knocked out Lionel Messi’s Barcelona). Despite this, the club failed to provide any silverware in the five seasons he played. It was time for a change in his career and after a lot of speculation, Napoli were the ones to secure the services of the 28-year-old defender for the next few years, providing him with a whopping 4.5 million euros per season.

CHRISTOS VOLIKAKIS
We may have featured his name in our column in the the past, but the Greek cyclist continues to give us reasons to do so. His recent accomplishment involved walking away from the 2019 European Games in Minsk with not one, but two gold medals in his suitcase as he was able to win in both the scratch and in the points race. The 31-year-old remains in great shape, and hopefully will be able to qualify for the Olympic Games should he continue in this way.

SINNERS

STEFANOS TSITSIPAS
Sometimes, it just isn’t your day. That can be said for Stefanos Tsitsipas who began his Wimbledon competition in the worst possible way, getting knocked out by Thomas Fabiano who is currently ranked at number 89. The game went to five sets and young Stefanos was eventually worn out by his opponent. But to his credit, the 20-year-old did not look for any excuses after the game and simply admitted that Fabiano was simply the better man on the day. He can find solace in the fact that his was not the only shocker of the first round of the tournament, as Alexander Zverev and Venus Williams were also disqualified.

GREECE VOLLEYBALL MEN’S TEAM
They made it to the final, but just couldn’t take that crucial last step. And even though they survived the group stage of the European Silver League, they just didn’t have what it takes to beat the Romanians in the final. The blue-and-whites tried their hardest but it simply wasn’t good enough as they lost the game 3-0 (25-21, 25-23, 25-21) and were forced to settle for second best. It should still be considered a major step forward for the sport in the country.