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Marios Iliopoulos was very satisfied with the performance of AEK against Asteras Tripoli and he hastened to express it to the coach of the team with the joy of a small child.
Something that Matias Almeida himself – always honest about how he feels safer and connected to the clubs he works with – has never hidden, is the relationship he wants to have with the owners. Direct contact, clear conversations, honest discussions are elements that help his work, strengthen his relationship with the team.
After the change of ownership of PAE and the departure of Dimitris Melissanidis, it was (also) a new situation for him. New boss at the helm, a new relationship in the bud, and obviously the right amount of anxiety about how it’s going to turn out.
Marios Iliopoulos puts his own stamp on AEK and Greek football, he is a factor with a distance from the usual. Extroverted, with a dynamic temperament, a gift for communication and a desire to become one with the world. But even with Matias Almeidas, he remained anything but inactive.
From the beginning he took care to show him by actions rather than words that he wanted to strengthen his work in every way. He brought to AEK the footballers he wanted – with prominent cases of Lamela and Pereira -, he didn’t even discuss the flight of Pineda, he put a crown on the cake with the addition of Martial.
Contracts were signed that the Union did not give following a very different economic strategy, on the grounds that wardrobe inequalities should not be created. He left behind this rather outdated concept, it is reasonable to expect a competitive return.
The demands, the complaint, the apotheosis
All this time, Iliopoulos is present to dispel any doubts or concerns that arise in the coach’s mind. He is the first one who wants to see Almeida succeed, win titles again. And he does everything to defend his work, either by spending money, or by “chasing” in every (legal) way those who wrong AEK.
When he sees something on the field that upsets him, he won’t hide it. His statement after the match in Serres, according to which ”today regardless of anything else, our team didn’t give their fans what they deserved.” demonstrates the truth of the word. He didn’t like what he saw, he didn’t hesitate to express it.
However, he will be just as expressive and as generous as he should be in his words when something “fixes” him. His joy was evident after the end of the match against Asteras Tripoli, the result of which combined with others, brought AEK back to the top.
The owner of PAE went down to the locker room to take a shot at Almeida. She hugged him warmly and told him ”Matias, AEKARA is magic today”. With the spontaneity and joy of a small child, he held the coach in his arms and continued to tell him jokes that made the Argentine laugh out loud, moments that for the AEK coach are not only special but also very important.
Obviously the owner-coach relationship will always be a special situation, this applies to all clubs, everywhere in the world. There will be good and bad team days that will affect the emotions of the moment.
In the end, honesty is what counts, both in the good and the bad, and in this phase, AEK absolutely needs to be calm and internally united. Because the hard times are ahead of her.
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