this will be posted up on the
www.paok.com.au website. We also have several more articles you can go through and read.
FORZA PAOKARA!
ZISIS THE WAYAnyone who is a true PAOK supporter knows he needs to be 100 percent united behind Zisis Vryzas and the board in their effort to continue the rebirth that Theodoris Zagorakis began. This support needs to be stronger than it was for Zagorakis, because without being dramatic, this is PAOK’s last chance.
Let’s get real here for a moment, for the first time in decades we have a President (Vryzas and Zagorakis before him) and a board comprised of people like us, PAOKTSIDES, whose intentions and motives our beyond doubt.
After the resignation of Zagorakis, the man who brought them to the club, and seeing the stress and pressure he was put under by PAOKTSIDES, they could have easily jumped ship and said why bother? These people are there because they love PAOK, they don’t have hidden motives. Do we forget so quickly, the position the club was in two and a half years ago?
We need to thank and support Zisis Vryzas unconditionally for accepting the Presidency; he could have easily said “thanks but no thanks, I am comfortable in the general manager’s position”, particularly after seeing at close hand the pressure Zagorakis was subjected to. Vryzas and his colleagues considered leaving after the resignation of Zagorakis, but to his credit he urged them to stay on and continue the resurrection of the club he loves. Vryzas did not seek the Presidency, he was asked to accept the position by both Zagorakis and the other board members because he is the man to take the club forward.
Vryzas has all the credentials to be a great president of PAOK, he is knowledgeable, has new ideas, and possesses an excellent knowledge of the European football landscape, having played abroad for a number of years in the superior football cultures of Italy and Spain. Since his retirement, he has occupied various technical and administrative positions at PAOK with success. He has shown in his dealings that he is direct and honest, traits sadly missing in Greek football and society.
Vryzas is the only credible solution for the future of PAOK, and we must ensure he succeeds; the alternative is a return to the suffering caused by the rotating presidency of frauds posing as saviours.
For these reasons we need to support Vryzas 100 times more than Zagorakis, give him our complete trust and allow him to work without interference and pressure to ensure we have a team that represents PAOK with dignity.
Support for Vryzas is essential, otherwise we will return to the era of misery and humiliation.
THOSE WHO SUPPORT VRYZAS, SUPPORT PAOK.
PAOK NOW NEEDS THE SUPPORT OF THOSE WHO TRULY LOVE THE CLUB
Those supporters, who form their opinions from the media and talk shows and try to assert them on the club, need to realise that they are being manipulated. No one is beyond criticism, not Zagorakis, not Vryzas, but criticism and judgement should be based on an individual’s legacy and achievements over a period of time, not on individual decisions.
Below is the response Roberto Baggio (who has lived in Argentina since 2005) gave when asked in an interview which team he supports.
"How did I become a fan of Boca? It's an interesting story. On a rainy Sunday, I was at home with a friend, and there was a game on TV. The score was 4-0, and was played at the Boca stadium, La Bombonera. At one point they scanned across the crowd at the fans: they were dancing, singing, and twirling flags and banners. It was a contagious joy. I said to my friend, 'It's beautiful to do this when your team is winning.' And he turned to me and said: 'Roberto, are you watching? Boca are losing 0-4! …' From that moment Boca has become my team. That stadium gives me incredible feelings."
I relate that response to PAOK, because that is what Toumba Stadium was in the 1980’s, a unique brotherhood, what it means to be PAOKTSI, united behind the team, making up your own mind independently, and knowing the difference between friend and foe. Living in Australia, it’s incomprehensible that any supporter would be nagging or complaining about anything. A PAOKTSI puts PAOK first, and therefore would unconditionally supports a President and an administration that have embarked (and have already achieved results) on a long term effort to make PAOK a force, not creating misery and division from within.
