By Alex Molina / info@eurohoops.net
Dimitris Giannakopoulos has opened the door to a possible future away from Panathinaikos, admitting that he has “one and a half foot in, half foot out” as he reflects on his long-term involvement with the Greek club.
The Panathinaikos owner spoke in the poodcast EuroInsiders about his relationship with the club, the enormous responsibility that comes with leading one of Greece’s most supported sporting institutions, and his determination not to leave the same burden to his children.
“I love Panathinaikos. I grew up in a house where the word Panathinaikos came up every ten minutes,” Giannakopoulos said. “It wasn’t something that I wanted to be involved with.”
His involvement, however, eventually became unavoidable. In 2012, Giannakopoulos even attempted to find a buyer for the club, but his father persuaded him to reconsider.
“My dad told me, ‘Please, don’t do this to me, this is my legacy’,” he recalled.
More than a decade later, Giannakopoulos believes he has gone beyond what was originally expected of him.
“I think I passed the level of what was expected,” he said. “I never said that I am going to be here forever.”
That uncertainty is closely linked to the responsibility he feels towards Panathinaikos supporters. Giannakopoulos estimates that between three and four million people follow the club, making his position about far more than the performance of a basketball team.
“I have the responsibility of three or four million Panathinaikos fans who will wake up in the morning with a smile or not,” he said. “I think about them a lot.”
The landscape of European basketball has also changed significantly during Giannakopoulos’ tenure. With the sport attracting increasing investment and club valuations rising, he believes Panathinaikos has reached a completely different financial level.
“Basketball is changing. The valuation of Panathinaikos is now half a billion,” he said.
That increase in value could eventually become an important factor in any decision regarding his future. Giannakopoulos made it clear that, regardless of what happens next, he does not intend to automatically pass the responsibility of running the club on to his children.
“I am definitely not going to pass to my kids the obligation and be in the position I was in 2012,” he said.
Asked about where would he be in five years, Dimitris Giannakopoulos said that he would be watching the games on television as a fan “shouting you should get another center, you should get another forward”.
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