2024-03-03 06:29:16
PAS made the dream of returning to the Super League come true, leaving promises for an even better continuation. What the people of Gianni had been waiting for was realized! The return – after a year – to the salons came… off for the runner-up of the Football League. If this was also combined with the championship, it would be ideal.
The big bet, however, remains the establishment in the big division, without the team becoming an “elevator”.
Founded in 1966 and through the club’s 45-year history, Epirus fans can remember unique moments from PAS. Moreover, the images given to the public by former players such as Glasmanis, Alvarez, Papachristou, Bonovas and Mouffe remain indelible in memory. More modern heroes were Kormaris, Yiannis Tatsis and Saitiotis. As for this year’s protagonists? Sialmas and Bakayoko, two of them.
The team’s longest absence from the elite was between 1991-2000. The course had even more difficult days, when in the seasons 1997-98, 2004-05 and 2005-06 it was in the third division. In every difficulty, PAS is reborn from its ashes, but at the same time it also takes care of the production process. The goal remains the promotion of local players (such as Seitaridis).
The owner Giorgos Christovasilis in difficult times, last year, with the relegation to the Football League, did not put it on his feet. That would be the easiest solution for him. It would also save him a lot of stress. However, he remained determined to lead the team to where its friends want to enjoy it. He gave the anointing for the rebuilding of the playing department to the Belgian coach Stephan Demol and the results justified his faith and perseverance. Both know the secrets to a good course. As for the president of the team, two years ago he found himself again with PAS in the salons and used to keep Ilysiakos standing in the Second National League.
Giorgos Christovasilis: “I want a new palace for the team”
For the fourth consecutive year, the helm of PAS will be held by major shareholder and president George Christovasilis. The powerful man admitted to “d” that “after a difficult year, the team returned to where it deserves, in the Super League. We are already looking at the next day, where changes will be made in all areas, with the aim of not playing in the Second National League again. We were all justified for our trouble. I feel, like all sports fans in the city, happy and optimistic. Changes will be made for the better, to lay the foundations for the coming years.” Then Mr. Christovasilis said that “from the beginning of the period we wanted to be close to our goal and to clean up as quickly as possible. Last year at this time we were upset and skeptical about relegation and tomorrow. We are now looking to staff the team – as needed – at all levels, in roster, technical team, administration. Of course, in football, external factors also play a role, in addition to the competition. We try and are okay with all our obligations. People were a bit disappointed this year and understandably so. He wanted to see results and a team that will win the return to the big division again. We, as Kontohorians already, grew up with PAS Ioannina”. In the end he revealed his dream: “Hopefully in a year we will have the latest information about the new stadium. The historic headquarters in Zosimades, while it has many improvements, is an old-fashioned stadium. We want to see PAS in a palace outside the city limits – about 4 km – and on top of Egnatia”.
D. Sialmas: “The world supported us in difficult times”
Among the major protagonists of this year’s PAS is Dimitris Sialmas. The 25-year-old striker, speaking to “d”, asserted: “We all had to prove a lot and it was our obligation to raise the team to the big league. It was a difficult season, and especially when you’re in the championship, it becomes even more difficult. PAS should not become an elevator. They must be firmly in the big league. This year we found the perfect chemistry, players, technical team and management. Last year, in the Super League, in the first half of the season I didn’t have the opportunity to help as much as I would have liked, but that was also a matter of the coach (sr.: Paraschos, Anastopoulos). This year I believe that I also put a stone in the whole effort”. Sialmas added that “with good additions, the team has the foundations to achieve what it wants in the Super League as well. The people are always there, maybe this year we missed his massive presence in some matches, but in difficult times he knows how to support the team, whether at home or away. He is the 12th player of Ioannina throughout history”. After all, Sialmas is one of the favorite children of the platform and, as he emphasizes, he wants to continue in the team: “I wish other clubs had a president, like Mr. Christovasilis. My contract is coming to an end, but my desire is to stay here.”
“General” Stephan Demol
Stefan Demol (photo) is the coach under whose guidance Ioannina return to the Super League. Born on March 11, 1966 in Belgium, he has worked in several groups. He sat on the Greek benches for the first time in the 2003-2004 season on behalf of Aegaleos. In fact, the 45-year-old coach led the club to the UEFA Cup groups. From 2010, he took over PAS Ioannina.
Theodoris Linardos
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