“Born winner” is the title of the autobiography of Yiannis Ioannidis, the famous “Blonde” of Greek basketball, who left an indelible mark on the sport.
By Niki Kotsou – Source: realnews
One year after the last farewell to the great Greek basketball coach Giannis Ioannidis, his autobiography was published by “Psyhogios” publications, which was edited by journalists Vassilis Skoundis and Dimitris Karydas.
Shortly before he passed away, Giannis Ioannidis wanted to record the most important milestones of his career. The book it came about after 78 hours of “Born Winner” discussions with the two curators. Although the time between the completion of the writing and the publication was intervened by the death of Ioannidis, the editors kept the texts almost unchangedrespecting the final form which he himself had approved.
Giannis Ioannidis enjoyed great success having served in Aris, Larissa, Olympiakos, AEK, but also in the national basketball team and of course he could not fail to mention his roots, Thessaloniki: “I may have spent a large part of my life in Athens, but for me Thessaloniki is everything: my roots”.
The “Blonde” confesses his love for the orange ball and what he says is impressive: “From the first day I stepped on a concrete court I was inoculated with the basketball craze”. At this point, in fact, he notes a tragic coincidence. He mentions, characteristically, that if his father had lived longer, he would never have been involved in sports, because he was negative in such an eventuality. Also, it refers to the 60s-70s, when he took his first steps in the first team of Aris, where he was given, for the first time, the nickname “Xanthos” by Anestis Petalidis.
Starting at Aris, where he broke the basketball establishment with the 1979 championship, he went on to build an empire of titles, shaping the team’s golden era (1985-1990). The narrative continues with the emblematic period of Nikos Galis and the return of Ioannidis to the “yellow and black” in 1982. Characteristic is his wise saying “Victory has many fathers, defeats are orphans”referring to two defeats of Aris which were the occasion for the creation of the great team. During the years of the “yellow” empire (1985-1990), Ioannidis dispels a decades-old myth: the rumors that before the final four in Munich in 1989 he had hired a martial arts teacher for self-concentration and self-defense lessons in the forest of Sheikh Shu. The truth was simpler: hard daily training was enough to prepare the players.
1991 marks his legendary move to Olympiakos, with him confidently declaring: “I knew the team I was taking over would reach the top”. The newspapers of the time, covering the agreement with Sokratis Kokkalis, welcomed him with characteristic headlines such as “Blonde Romel in Olympiakos”.
The “red and white” era was about to write history with brilliant names that were glorified: Paspali, Tarlats, Fasoulas, Tarpley, Kambouris, Nakits, Bakatsias. The deeply religious Ioannidis attributed much to the will of God. After a period of rumors and tensions, the collaboration with Kokkalis came to an end. The next stop was AEK, a choice that, he says, “almost looked like a one-way street”, followed by a return to Piraeus, about which his wife, Ioula Ghouzelopoulou, had expressed her reservations.
National team of Greece and NBA
His tenure with the Greek National Team was incomplete, as he was not given the opportunity to complete his work. In the continuation of the narrative, he describes the his transition into politics and the caustic comments that accompanied her, with his wife remaining a constant support in his choices. He also denies rumors about his indifference to the NBA, revealing that he had received several offers from foreign teams. He makes special mention of the people who stood by him, with a special place for Anestis Petalidis and Makis Natsis, the so-called “Barou”. He is clear about the big “no’s” of his career: “I mainly identified with two teams in my career: Aris and Olympiakos. I could not go to the opposite camp. It would be a betrayal of my beliefs and the people who loved and supported me”. The narrative concludes with references to his political career and his off-field life.
The preventions, the jacket and the atherostomy
In the last part of his narrative, Yiannis Ioannidis speaks with humor about his prejudices, admitting their influence on his life: “I didn’t wear the same jacket, but I had many of the same jackets… There is no one in sports who does not constantly repeat something which has been good for him”. He speaks candidly about his atherostomy but also about his deep faith, while the book closes with a collection of personal thoughts and memories – perhaps the most authentic moments of his autobiography.
See the Realnews article
Source: www.enikos.gr
