Three icons from Greece’s famous Euro 2004 winning team are in store for a two-week trip down under as they share their skills and engage with the community twenty years on from their historic achievement.
The players will visit both Sydney and Melbourne this coming December, and are being brought over by Greek Australian Nikos Mouzourakis, who runs the Football Brilliance Academy (FBA).
The three icons coming include Giorgos Karagounis, Angelos Charisteas and Greece’s captain at Euro 2004, Theodoros Zagorakis.
“To be honest, not even in my wildest dreams did I think this would be possible or that this could even happen,” Mouzourakis told Neos Kosmos.
The FBA owner had previously brought Karagounis to Australia in 2022 wherein the Panathinaikos icon participated in a legends exhibition match and oversaw training sessions with the kids of the academy among other activities.
One of the players, Anthony Fanos, has since been signed to Panathinaikos’ academy off the back of Karagounis’ praise.
Mouzourakis explained that the opportunity to bring the Greek legends over arose last year when he took part in an exhibition match with them.
“Karagounis invited me to play a game in Greece with the legends. I luckily was already planning a holiday to go there so it worked out, and I met numerous other players like Zagorakis, Nikopolidis, Charisteas and more,” he said.
He explained that he spoke to them briefly about the work he does with the kids in the academy, and that they expressed interest in coming down under themselves.
“They were very receptive to the work we are doing…Karagounis was showing the players some clips of the kids and they were loving it. They showed a lot of interest in it and that is heartwarming for us,” Mouzourakis said.
The Greek stars will be in Australia from 5-17 December during which they will engage in numerous activities, such as a Gala Night Dinner, training sessions with the kids and a legends exhibition game.
Mouzourakis confirmed that another goal is engaging even further with the Greek community as a whole, which showed tremendous enthusiasm in Karagounis’ visit two years ago, with the aim of maximising their time in Australia.
“Karagounis left last time and did not stop raving about it. He shared his experiences with so many people and that is wonderful. I want that to be the case for all the players that we can manage to bring over,” he said.
“I want them to experience what it is to be Greek here in Australia and see how we are as Greeks and how proud we are of our Hellenic identity.”
Mouzourakis admitted that bringing them over in the 20th anniversary of Euro 2004 was another major factor, believing the visit will illuminate the players on the impact the team’s achievement had in the wider Greek community outside of the homeland.
“It is particularly relevant, I believe, to demonstrate in the 20th anniversary of the Euros win how much their achievement meant and continues to mean to us as members of the diaspora.”
The FBA owner stressed that the players are all still in very good physical condition and can play at a good level, making it possible to organise an exhibition game (which will be held in Sydney towards the end of their trip).
“I played with these guys last year and I was shocked at how good they still are,” Mouzourakis said.
“The game will be quite entertaining with the legends getting involved. We will also have some other legends to make it a big spectacle similar to what we did in 2022.”
Mouzourakis stated that the whole trip is a “dream come true” for him and that his goals are now set on making it as good an experience as possible for both the players and the general public.
“I feel that the players’ visit is a positive way I can give back to the Greek community as well here in Australia, and now feels like the perfect time to do it with it being the 20th anniversary of the Euros win,” he said.
“The last time we brought Karagounis, it created a great atmosphere for the Greeks here and it was an experience that really enlightened me a lot. I would love to recapture that and hopefully make it even bigger this time as we bring more players as well.”