Giorgos Vardinoyannis’s last public television appearance has taken on special significance following his death at the age of 90. The legendary president of Panathinaikos had given an interview on Stavros Theodorakis’s show “Protagonists,” hosted by Stavros Theodorakis, as part of a special feature on the Alexandras Avenue stadium.
“The Captain” spoke about his journey with the “clover,” his special relationship with Gate 13, how he dealt with transfers, and the infamous incident involving a gun, which has become associated with his name in the history of Greek soccer.
ΣΧΕΤΙΚΑ ΑΡΘΡΑ
His love for Panathinaikos began when he was a child
Giorgos Vardinoyannis’s relationship with Panathinaikos had begun long before he took the reins of the club. As he explained, his decision to support the “clover” was linked to players he admired in his youth.
““I’ve always been a Panathinaikos fan, ever since middle school, because of Linoxylakis. Back then, the heroes were Linoxylakis, Voutsaras—supposedly Cretans. I wasn’t a die-hard fan,” he had said.
His involvement with the team intensified in the 1970s. At first, he attended games as a fan, with season tickets being a regular part of his daily life.
“After 1970, I started buying ten season tickets, because Giorgakis Vardis also wanted to go, so I started having ten season tickets,” he recalled, describing how his relationship with Panathinaikos gradually developed.
His daily life was intertwined with Leoforos
Vardinoyannis’s devotion to Panathinaikos wasn’t limited to game days. As he himself described, he spent a large part of his life at the stadium on Alexandras Avenue, even attending to details concerning the condition of the facilities.
“He lived there day and night. I don’t know where he ate or how he ate, but what I do know is that he slept at the stadium,” he had said, referring to the man who had dedicated himself to caring for the grounds.
According to his description, there was a room next to the locker rooms where he slept, while his work on the field continued from early morning until nightfall.
At the same time, he insisted that his administrative role had not diminished the fan in him. “A passionate president, but I haven’t lost my fan spirit,” he had emphasized.
In his interview, he also addressed the distribution of tickets, explaining that he disagreed with the idea that all of them should go to the home team, as he believed the revenue of smaller clubs should also be protected.
Gate 13 and the decision regarding the fan clubs
One of the issues he addressed was his relationship with Panathinaikos’ organized fan groups. Vardinoyannis described how tackling the illegal ticket trade led him to make decisions that affected the operation of the fan clubs.
As he explained, he discovered that tickets sold at regular prices were ending up on the black market through fan clubs. This development, combined with incidents in the stands, led him to decide to abolish the fan clubs, with the exception of Gate 13, which was reorganized as the Panhellenic Panathinaikos Fan Club.
He wanted to make it clear that he did not seek to abolish the historic gate of the organized fans.
““I never abolished Gate 13. On the contrary, I elevated it to the Panhellenic PALEFIP of New York, Gate 13,” he had stated.
In his view, the fans recognized the effort that had been made to rebuild the team, a fact that, as he noted, explained the absence of strong reactions during that period.
The infamous “gun” incident and his own version of events
One of the most talked-about moments in Giorgos Vardinoyannis’s career was the story involving the gun, which for years was part of his public image.
In his final interview, he gave his own account, distinguishing between carrying a gun and his behavior on the field. “I carried
a gun, but not because of the field. I didn’t flaunt it,” he said.
At the same time, he denied that he had ever attempted to draw his gun in front of the crowd, dismissing such accounts as myths.
“I never made a gesture to pull out the gun or pretended to pull it out on the field. Everything else is myth,” was his characteristic statement.
Rotsa, soccer decisions, and the president’s role
Vardinoyannis made no secret of the fact that he played an active role in decisions concerning Panathinaikos’s on-field operations. His opinion carried significant weight, and his collaboration with Juan Ramón Rocha included discussions about the team’s image and the selection of the starting lineup.
Referring to the 1995 season, he had described his own perspective on what happened with the team, noting that he believed its on-field operations had become disorganized.
As he explained, his discussions with Rotsa were regular and concerned both the problems that arose and the game plan.
““Every Friday he would come and tell me about his problems and those of the team, and we would discuss how we would play on Sunday and the lineup,” he had said.
He maintained that he did not view his role as an opportunity to force his own choices on others. He preferred to ask questions and offer the coach a different perspective so that he could reconsider his decisions.
“I was the one who decided on the transfers”
What he said about Panathinaikos’s transfer policy was particularly interesting. Giorgos Vardinoyannis clearly stated that he had the final say on roster additions and that he preferred to handle things directly, without the involvement of an agent. “100
%. I didn’t want agents. I dealt with it directly,” he replied when asked about control over transfers.
His philosophy was based on the belief that too many changes could disrupt the balance of a successful team. For this reason, he did not consider it necessary to make transfers every year, even when fans demanded it.
A telling example was the one he cited from the 1995 championship victory. As he recalled, he had congratulated the players in the locker room, telling them that their performance had left him with no choice but to refrain from making any signings.
Panathinaikos won the double in 1996 and reached the Champions League semifinals, largely retaining the same core group of players.
““We won the double in ’96 and made it to the European semifinals, and I hadn’t made a single transfer. With the same players,” he had emphasized.
For him, the issue wasn’t just financial. The arrival of many new players could upset the balance in the locker room and affect the cohesion the team had developed.
““It’s not just financial damage; you’re also disrupting the team you’ve built,” he had said, explaining why he preferred targeted moves rather than sweeping changes to the roster.
Relationships with Opponents and Personal Disagreements
The interview also touched on his relationships with officials from other teams, as well as the conflicts that marked that period in Greek soccer.
Vardinoyannis recalled, among other things, that Stavros Daifas had apologized to him several years later, after he had already stepped out of the limelight. “Much
later. By the time he had already left. Daifas apologized profusely to me for not having treated me well,” he had said.
At the same time, he spoke about his relationship with Dimitris Konstantinidis, whom he described as a friend, despite the soccer rivalries that existed between their clubs.
As he explained, their personal relationship remained separate from the disagreements that arose in the world of soccer.
This final interview served as a retrospective on how Giorgos Vardinoyannis viewed management, the day-to-day operations of the team, and his relationship with Panathinaikos. Through his own accounts, decisions, events, and opinions associated with his long tenure as the club’s president were brought back into the spotlight.
