Giannis Anestis (34 years old), his goalkeeper FC Botosanigave an interview to GSP.ro in the Mogoșoaia training camp of the Moldovan team. The Greek spoke about the impressive course of this season, about the adaptation in Romania, Răzvan Lucescu and Elias Charalambous.
Anestis did not venture to talk about the title. He declared that Botoșani's main goal is to qualify for the play-offs. The Moldovan team is in 3rd place, two points behind the leader Universitatea Craiova.
Having been in Botoșani for a year and a half, the Greek declared that he quickly adapted to our country, being cultural similarities between Greece and Romania.
In dialogue with Gazeta Sporturilor, the goalkeeper also recalled a unique moment in his career. He was a player at AEK Athens when Ivan Savvidis, the owner of PAOK, entered the pitch with a gun at the end of the match, knocked out by the referee. Răzvan Lucescu's team would lose the 2018 title following the shocking incident with Savvidis in the foreground.
EXCLUSIVE VIDEO. Giannis Anestis, goalkeeper of FC Botoșani, interview for GSP: “The first objective is the play-off”
– Hello, Giannis, and congratulations on the course of the first part of the season!
– Thank you. We have done, in the last 6 months, a very good job together as a family. I hope we continue this year and achieve more.
– You have already met for several days. How is the camp going?
– I worked hard the last two days. We will continue to do it to prove on the field that we are good and I hope we will have good results in the future.
Giannis Anestis / PHOTO: Imago
– The championship will start again soon. What is the objective for the rest of the reason?
– First of all, our objective is to take it match by match, to take 3 points each. Then, the first objective is to be in the play-offs. But like I said, we want to take it game by game and collect points. In the end, we will see where we finish the season.
– Do you think you can win the title? Do you have hopes that this can happen?
– I don't want to think that far. We have 9 games left in the regular season. If we qualify for the play-offs, then we will fight for the title, as everyone does.
Giannis Anestis: “The only difference between Romania and Greece is the weather”
– You have been in Romania for more than a year. What do you think of the Superliga from what you've seen so far?
– It is a quality championship, there are many good players, they are aggressive. More or less, it's like the Greek Super League.
– What do you think about Romania and the city of Botoșani? What was your first impression when you got here?
– To be honest, the country did not surprise me, we have the same culture. The only difference is the weather, but I'm used to it. People were welcoming. The world came to me, integrated me into the atmosphere of the team and the atmosphere of the city. Everything went very well.
Giannis Anestis, witness to a shocking moment: “You never see a patron who enters the pitch with a gun, it was strange”
– You played for AEK Athens, a rival of PAOK, the team coached by Răzvan Lucescu. What do you think about the Romanian coach?
– He has been working in Greece for many years. I think he is one of PAOK's most successful coaches. He won titles and Cups. As far as I know, he does a very good job.
– You were at AEK when Savvidis entered the pitch with a gun at the end of that match. What do you remember about that night, were you shocked?
– It was kind of weird, to be honest. You never see anything like that on a football field, a patron walking onto the field with a gun. He didn't threaten anyone, he went to talk to the referee. I hope that this will not happen again in the future.
– In 2014, you faced Elias Charalambous, who was a player. Now, he is the coach at FCSB. How do you like him and his team?
– I think he did a very good job there in the last two years, they won two titles. Lately they have recovered and I think they are doing a good job in Romania.
94 matcheshas Anestis at AEK Athens
