By Nikos Varlas / varlas@eurohoops.net
Kostas Sloukas made his return to Olympiacos after five successful years with Fenerbahce and spoke to Eurohoops about this transitional period during the team’s media day before the tip-off of the season in September.
The 30-year-old guard spoke atmosphere on and off the court, his expectations and goals with Olympiacos, his impressions from Fenerbahce and the reason behind his decision to return to Greece for the Reds.
“The characters of the guys, Vassilis (Spanoulis), Kostas (Papanikolaou) and Giorgos (Printezis) remain the same, just like their thirst. The team wasn’t at its desired point for the last two years, so now maybe the motivation is even bigger now. Our co-existence is perfect and it feels like not a single day has passed. The most important thing is that they respect me and my career and I respect them for what they have achieved. There is appreciation from all parts, long-term friendship and good chemistry. I missed that on and off the court”, says Sloukas about the changes that might have occurred during his absence.
Referring to the current season as Olympiacos is not competing for a domestic title and qualifying for the Final Four seems to be an overrun, he explained:
“I’m always totally aware before I make any decision and I think Olympiacos was 100% the best choice of my career. This means that my goals as an athlete go hand in hand with the team’s goals, even though it looks like the team is not going after a EuroLeague title or the Final Four. Olympiacos’ goal is to make the playoffs. What happens from that point on is another discussion”, tells Sloukas.
“The team is being built every day through practice. I believe in the team like our coach and every player does and this shows. It just takes a lot of work. We have the material to work on but let’s be honest, we are the outsiders. However, I’m positive that we could bring something good out of this. I will say this again, it’s a minus for us not to compete in the domestic league because that title gives you a different prestige, more games, more motivation, it shapes you. Though I believe that the team can achieve a lot with the right guidance and calmness”.
Sloukas finally revealed one reason behind his decision to return.
“Motivation. For me, it’s the biggest one to achieve something with Olympiacos and with my teammates, with whom I’ve spent several years with, also the crowd here in Greece. All of that is a mix that made me wish to return and succeed with Olympiacos”