Kyrgiakos ready to rumble
Iconic Australian and IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 club Sydney Olympic FC officially unveiled the competition’s star signing former Greek International Sotiris Kyrgiakos at the well renowned Alpha Restaurant in Sydney on Monday.
Attended by over 20 media personnel across local and metropolitan print, radio and television press, the excitement was evident as Kyrgiakos entered the press room which has been labelled as the biggest coup for a IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 club signing a player of Sotiris’ stature.
Flanked by coach Grant Lee, Club President Chris Tsioulos and Technical Director Arthur Diles, Kyrgiakos has signed for two home matches for the Blues which will see him debut this Sunday in their round 2 clash against the Blacktown Spartans at Belmore Sports Ground with kick off scheduled for 5pm while his final game will be the round 4 fixture against St George FC on Sunday 6th April.
The 34-year-old strapping centre back has played in the toughest leagues across Europe adding English Premier League giants Liverpool FC, Scottish side Rangers and German Bundesliga outfits Eintracht Frankfurt and VFL Wolfsburg amongst Greek clubs Panathiniakos and AEK Athens to his impressive CV.
“I am very happy to be here in Australia.
“Thank you to Sydney Olympic for giving me this opportunity where I hope the fans and supporters of the game will come out and support us.
“It’s great to be part of the IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 competition and I hope my experience can assist the coach and the players in playing good football and achieving positive results.
“I am hoping that this will help raise the profile of the club and with the help of the coach and the team, we will be playing hard for the three points starting this Sunday.”
Asked what his thoughts were on the round 2 clash against the Blacktown Spartans in what will be a huge day for the club the big defender replied.
“I know that they will be a tough side as they’re coming off a good victory and I have heard that they have a few former Sydney Olympic players too so it should be a good spectacle.”
Along with the IGA NPL NSW Mens 1 competition, the Hyundai A-League could well be in Kyrgiakos’ sights but the former Greek international remained coy and reiterated he is here to assist Olympic first.
“I will see how it all works out for me with Sydney Olympic as this is my first priority.
“If something eventuates, that would be great, but I am not sure what the future holds, it will be more of a wait and see.”
Sydney Olympic coach Grant Lee was full of praise of his new prized signing and was looking forward to Kyrgiakos’ presence at their training sessions starting Tuesday and match day.
“A player of Sotiris’ stature is great for the competition, the club and the players involved at Sydney Olympic.
“A player of his experience and knowledge is priceless and I know that the players especially the younger ones will benefit greatly from this.”
-By Mark Stavroulakis
