It was and still is one of the fading memories of my childhood. The voice of Diacoyannis, which could be heard from the black-and-white screen, was simply stuck in the mind of the six-year-old: “Papaioanna, Papaioanna, Papaioanna…”.

In the AEK Cup final with Panionios in 1979, the theme was the same: to see Papaioannou score a goal. But three days earlier, he managed to “hang up” his shoes, and that is how Nikos Anastopoulos became my hero.

In all these years, I have never caught myself thinking that Papaioannou is a football recluse. But his story was unique, charming. Turn to singing, meeting with Kazantzidis, touring Germany with Marinella and Nikolopoulos, Real Madrid.

I wanted to find him somewhere, sit him down and tell him, “Start talking, man.” And how is life, he came and told me…

In February 2006, Panaitolikos celebrated his 80th birthday. A trip to the countryside and a topic for a newspaper, a unique combination.

The great leader of the Union and the National Team was the guest of honor at the team’s events for two days, wanting to give the event as much shine as possible with his presence.

Getting to know each other on the first day at Papastrateo was typical, as was the subsequent dinner. That’s where the first confirmation came to my eyes: Comedian, prankster, nice guy to hang out with without the slightest hint of vendetta.

The next night, after the award ceremony and before leaving for the hotel, I won the lottery …

“Are you leaving for Athens tomorrow morning? Will you take Mr Mimi with you? He doesn’t want to take a taxi,” Panaitoliko president Fotis Kostoulas told me.

“Well, yes, President. Imagine if I was speechless and sat in the back seat for three hours without talking…,” Mimis intervened, and amid everyone’s laughter, the meeting was “blocked”.

He closed in the morning in the reception of his hotel, and in the evening I managed to put into my mind a series that I would … direct the conversation. I didn’t want the interview, I wanted it not for the record to be kept as a memento, only for myself. To make your own fairy tale. From a myth that would tell me about myths.

After talking for about ten minutes, we headed to the car. He stopped abruptly and was startled to see a two-seater sports coupe.

“Let’s go with this? ‘Shouldn’t I take the president’s taxi?'” he tells me, and after I assured him that the leg … was light, we went inside. The doors closed, the engine started, and the journey began…

Stops…

“Hatsipanagis Aki. This one was made from a different material. Twin brother of Maradona. It was something else, something else. I looked at him and said what the pulp does. This will never happen again. Then the other Mimis (Domazos) and Nestor (Nestoridis). The first was the computer. He looked up and knew how many teammates and opponents were ahead and how many were behind. The general himself, he did not want to lose to anyone. Nestor was my teacher. We hit it off right away. In the zone, no one took the ball away from him, he was an excellent dribbler and master, he saw the net from everywhere.

– “AEK is a mother. We are all her children. She raised us and we raised her. I have been bitter many times, but such things happen everywhere and in your own family, don’t you quarrel with your wife, with your children? Some ate her flesh, hurt her, wanted to shrink her. The crime was with the field. But such groups, with such people and what they bring with them, do not die. And if they get into the 3rd team, they will immediately get up, build stadiums and win championships again.”

“We have always had players. But never National, because EPO was meant for festivals. These people never sat down to draw up a plan. Let them say come here, we have them, they and they. For people to look for talent all over Greece. You are in Agrinio. How many players have you missed? Nionio (ss. Tsamis), Apostolakis, Mikhos. But each party has placed party dogs in the Federation. Neodymokratis took the blue coach, PASOKcis the green one. Now this has changed. The big ones take the Federation, and the Olympians put the Olympians, Panathinaikos on Panathinaikos, and so on. I was abandoned like a dog when I was an assistant coach in the national team. They brought an employee and told me that you were leaving.”

“Stelios (Kazantsidis) was a cold man. He stood in the middle and cleaned specifically for his breed. Pontians. But he had self-destructive tendencies. He did good to others and harmed himself. Then he did not help me with the issue with AEK. My fellow villager Nikolopoulos told him that I sing, we met, I sang a play for him, he said, finally, you will come to Germany together. Anyway, this is what people will come to hear, will they come for me? I met him from Nestoridis when I was transferred to AEK. I didn’t tell him that in the village I sang his songs when Christ played the bouzouki at the holidays. I was crazy about his songs. I forgot, my stress and suffering are gone. Then I also met Marinella. Lady with a capital K. We went to Germany for ten days, had a good time. It was then that Stelios began avoiding nightclubs. I opened the program, sang two songs, and before I sang them, Stelios made me do some tricks with the ball at the beginning to excite the audience. We arrived at the Munich station by train, it must have been October 28, we were met by 5,000 people. They lifted Stelios in their arms. I will never forget this, as well as the fact that when we finished the concerts, Stelios paid for the whole orchestra, singers, dancers, we received the agreed money, and he took what was left. He advised me to return to the ball. He told me that I see you, you are suffering. And he went and talked to AEK to get me back.”

– If I went to Real Madrid, everything would be different. And Greek players will go abroad to play earlier, and Greek football will become more famous. It’s about the amount of money they gave to AEK. Four and a half million drachmas was crazy money at the time. I was very sad that I didn’t go. I was convinced because Puskas himself told me that they would take me. But you never know what could happen. Every obstacle is for good.”

Time flew by quickly. The trip was too short to tell me more.

We’ve already arrived. I offered to take him to his home in Stamata, but he refused. Don’t give you any more trouble. I told my daughter to come and pick me up,” he told me, and more than out of professional habit, I asked him for an interview about the future.

I got what I wanted. The taste of another era. Difficult but romantic. The eras when most of the great people were born in this place…