Thousands of AEK and Greek football fans to say goodbye to iconic player today Mimi Papaioannou, who passed away last Wednesday at the age of 81 after years of hardship he had with his health. His body will be on display as part of a popular pilgrimage starting at 9 a.m. this morning at the Holy Trinity Church, across from New Philadelphia’s Opap Arena, which features his image on one of its four pillars out of respect. The funeral will take place at 2:00 pm. His Eminence Metropolitan of Nea-Ionia, Philadelphia, Heraklion and Chalcedon, Mr. Gabriel, and his burial will take place at 16:30. at the Markopoulou Mesogaya Municipal Cemetery.

His body will be displayed today during a popular pilgrimage to the Holy Trinity Church, opposite the Opap Arena.

The news of the defeat caused grief and many teams, institutions and people in Greek football expressed their emotions. The words were spoken from the heart, not for show, because in addition to his indisputable football value, he earned the respect of all Greek fans with his morality and personality. Typical are the words of Giannis Papadatos, former national coach for children and youth and former director of the GGA football coaching schools, who for a number of years was a very close friend of Mimi Papaioannou:

“Mimis was one of the most moral children. A great family man, friend and great player who combined his football qualities with humanity and respect for everyone: teammates, opponents, on and off the field. He was very kind and good-natured, he had rare qualities for his football value, which we do not often meet. Competitively, he was tireless. He also worked in the 90s matches. There were big players who always wanted a Domazu-style player behind them, but he didn’t need it. If he went to Real Madrid, he would change his personal course, not the course of Greek football. Greek football was, is and will remain nebulous, dependent and problematic, like most things around it.”