A young teenager attending Wednesday night’s Europa Conference League final in which Piraeus side Olympiakos beat Italy’s Fiorentina 1-0 has captured the hearts of all true soccer fans for his message of unity after the match.
Well known as a dedicated fan of rival Thessaloniki side PAOK, Giannis Papastefanakis has even earned the nickname “Little Giannis of PAOK.”
Giannis made a name for himself in recent years with his message that parents and children should be able to attend soccer matches in stadiums safely, without having to worry about being attacked for the jersey they are wearing. Greek soccer has long been marred by soccer hooliganism and violence.
But as he attended Wednesday’s game wearing his PAOK shirt, Giannis still hoped and predicted that Olympiakos would win.
“I feel that I’m not the Giannis of PAOK but am the Giannis of all teams,” he said after the game, smiling from ear to ear, after he was invited onto the pitch by the winning side to join in their victory celebrations.
What a moment ❤️🤍#UECLfinal pic.twitter.com/pD6fLyRS2B
— UEFA Europa Conference League (@europacnfleague) May 29, 2024
On the pitch, Giannis got a chance to hold and kiss the trophy and was draped in an Olympiakos jersey bearing the name of his favorite Red’s player Ayoub El Kaabi, who provided the dramatic ending, diving to nudge in a last-gasp goal in the second period of extra time.
“We cleaned up. Panathinaikos won the Euroleague and Olympiakos won the Conference League. I was right about all my predictions,” he said. “A Greek team won and I’m just as happy about that as if PAOK had won.”
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