– The early years of his career were neither particularly successful nor peaceful. This made his talent release too late. But this happens sometimes. I hope he has all the best – Celtic coach Angie Postecoglou said of Giorgos Giacomakis.
The 27-year-old striker is the star of the Scottish Premier League. Giacomakis won the hearts of Celtic fans last season, scoring 13 goals and crowning the team’s top scorer. A year ago, the Greek was shining in the Netherlands, scoring 29 goals in 33 matches for VVV-Venlo. Today Giacomakis presents shows in Champions LeagueAnd two years ago did not cheer the buffets in the league.
Three goals in the league
The Greek came to Poland in the spring of 2020 for a six-month loan from AEK Athens to Górnik Zabrze. It was not known what to expect from him. On the other hand, Giacomakis came to Poland from a big club. On the other hand, he never conquered the capital of Greece.
Coming to Zabrze, Giakoumakis had only one successful season in his career. In the 2016/17 competition, he scored 12 goals in the colors of AO Platanias, which made him transfer to AEK. In the first league, it was supposed to rebuild after an unsuccessful period in Athens.
But also in our periodical it did not flicker. In 12 matches, he scored three goals and assisted. The result did not come to their knees, but the Greek helped Gornik stay in the league. Zabrze wanted to stop him, but they could not agree to provide compensation. Then the Dutch VVV Venlo paid 200,000 for it. euro.
– He was not a guarantor of an unknown number of goals, but he wanted to work, so I personally decided to rebuild it. He was not trained, but we took him to Gurnick. The epidemic helped him, because he was in good shape, he improved the standards, so after the return of the matches he jumped into the team and got chances from the coach of Brosz – he said newonce.sport Then sporting director Artur Patek.
– We really wanted this boy. I believed he was in a super mental and physical condition, going forward. We fought for him for as long as we could, and in the end he was beyond our capabilities. 200 thousand euros was unpayable for us. Especially during an epidemic. It is known what the Górnik club is, what it pays for and practically does not allocate large sums for it Transfers – he added.
Shoot the Dutch league
Today in Zabrze they can spit in the chin. It is difficult for many to understand what Giacomakis did in the Netherlands. hat trick With FC Emmen (5:3) on his debut in the Eredivisie, he heralded an amazing season for the Greek.
At the end of January 2021, after only 19 league matches, Giacomakis scored 20 goals. Tony van der Linden scored so many hits this fast in the 1956/57 season!
Giacomakis cheered up and walked away from the competition. Suffice it to say that in that time the next top scorer scored 11 goals. As much as Giacomakis scored in January only! In the history of the Eredivisie, only the legendary Marco van Basten scored more goals (12) in a month.
– For the past three years, I played without self-confidence and self-esteem. This was the main reason my development stopped. I missed a new opportunity and found it here – said Giacomakis in an interview with Dutch media.
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Georgios does not have a great resume, but he can provide more than goals and assists. I got to know his mentality and approach to work. I saw potential in that, so I thought it would be a boost — explained Stan Falk, who brokered Giacomakis’ transfer from AEK to VVV Venlo.
‘He became a Celtic superhero’
With 26 goals in 30 league matches, not only did the Greek win the title of top scorer in the tournament. Giacomakis received a call with the Greek national team and another transfer. And all this despite the fact that VVV Venlo has dropped from Leagues.
On August 31 last year, the last day of the transfer window, Celtic contributed £2.5 million to Giacomakis. The Scots warned me at the last minute Werder Bremen. And they certainly don’t regret it.
In Celtic, as in VVV Venlo, Giacomakis was happy. This happened despite the fact that due to injury, the Greek made his debut only at the end of September, and shooting was banned only at the beginning of this year.
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From September to the end of last year, Giacomakis played eight times and scored one goal. – I wanted to go straight to the first team here and score goals from the first game. It turned out to be more difficult than I thought. I got infected at first, then COVID-19 caught me. After him, I had complications and could not recover and form. It was a very difficult time for me – said the Greek in an interview with the Scottish media.
Giacomakis was finally fired at the end of January. Since then and until the end of the season, he played 19 matches, scoring as many as 16 goals. In the Premier League, he scored a total of 13 goals, which allowed him to win the title of top scorer, and Celtic regained the championship from their domestic rival – Rangers.
– Perhaps fate knows that Giacomakis is good in white and green – Nikos Makrakis, the first Greek coach, laughed in an interview with the Scottish “The Sun”. – He always had a goal. He worked, was humble and obedient. That’s why it is where it is. He became a Celtic superhero.
Value increased at least 50 times
Over the summer it looked like Giacomakis could change the club again. Famous journalist Fabrizio Romano stated that Premier League clubs were seriously interested in the striker. price? At least 10 million euros. This means that player value has increased 50 times since moving to VVV Venlo.
In the end, Giacomakis stayed and today has offers in the Champions League, where the Scottish champions, among others, compete with Real. This season, the Greek may not be too impressed, but he still shoots regularly. In 13 matches, he scored six goals. He defeated goalkeeper Hibernian twice this past weekend.
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After last season, despite the good achievements, I felt that I still had work to do here. In fact, I’ve only played a few months at my level. When I dealt with my health issues, I became very sick,” said Giacomakis.
“I knew that feeling before, so I knew what I wanted to do this summer,” he added. I wanted to stay. When I had a great season in VVV Venlo behind me, I wasn’t happy either. Supposedly I scored a lot of goals, but we didn’t manage to stay in the league, I was furious. Here I won the championship and the crown of the King of Archers, but I also felt dissatisfied.
– I want another good year. or even better. I became more selfish, my ego grew. I feel like a stronger, better and self-confident player. I want to achieve everything here again. Then I’ll think about what I’m going to do next.
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