Dimitris Giannakopoulos has opened up about the long-standing rivalry between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos, offering a provocative assessment of the relationship between the two Greek basketball giants.
Speaking on the Euro Insiders podcast, the Panathinaikos president discussed the rivalry with Olympiacos, his relationship with the club’s owners, the Angelopoulos brothers, and his previous attempts to ease tensions between the two organizations.
Dimitris Giannakopoulos believes the rivalry is fundamentally different from the one that exists in Greek football and argued that Panathinaikos and Olympiacos should not even be viewed as comparable basketball institutions.
Dimitris Giannakopoulos rejects Panathinaikos-Olympiacos comparison
Asked directly whether there is a rivalry between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos, Giannakopoulos offered an unusual response.
“I think there’s a rivalry between Olympiacos and Olympiacos. What do I mean? What I mean is that I cannot put Panathinaikos and Olympiacos in the same sentence. We are two totally different clubs in terms of dynamics, two totally different clubs in size, in ethics, in everything. So I believe all this is a childish row. It’s them against them.”
Giannakopoulos then argued that the rivalry is largely a product of football rather than basketball.
“You think that there’s some rivalry? It comes from football. There is no rivalry in basketball. Olympiacos football, unfortunately, has a number of leagues, a number of championships. But this is basketball. We’re two totally different clubs.”
The Panathinaikos president was also asked about the historical roots of the rivalry and why the two clubs remain so closely connected in the public conversation.
Giannakopoulos takes aim at Olympiacos fans
Giannakopoulos then made a provocative remark about Olympiacos supporters and their relationship with basketball.
“Yes, yes, Olympiacos fans have learned over the last 10 years that basketball is an orange ball and not a black-and-white one.”
He elaborated by recalling the atmosphere he experienced at Olympiacos games years ago.
“No, no, please, I mean, it’s true. You used to go to the stadium when Olympiacos played 10 years ago, and you used to hear: ‘Offside, offside.’”
Despite his criticism, Giannakopoulos made it clear that he respects Olympiacos supporters.
“I respect Olympiacos fans a lot. I respect fans of every club. But I cannot accept that Panathinaikos in basketball can be mentioned in the same conversation. I think we have 44 titles, they have 21. I mean, it’s double the score.”
The long-running tension with the Angelopoulos brothers
The conversation also turned to the long-running disagreements between Giannakopoulos and the Angelopoulos brothers, who own Olympiacos.
Asked whether the conflict had gone too far at times, he described his approach as a simple case of action and reaction.
“When they throw a small stone at you, if you remember very well, you take rocks, and luckily, in this area, there are huge rocks. You just take one and throw it back.”
“But it all happened – action, reaction. The reaction can never be avoided. And there’s a difference between telling the truth and telling lies.”
Dimitris Giannakopoulos was then asked whether the relationship between the two organizations could ever improve, given how deeply rooted the conflict has become.
“I’ve said this thousands of times. I’ve tried this. I tried to humanize it. Let’s play one-on-one and send the money to the orphanage. No.”
“We made shirts, half Panathinaikos, half Olympiacos, with ‘Against Violence’ on the back. I called him. I asked him, ‘Would you like me to come to the stadium and bring some of these, and we sit together?’ He answered, ‘I’m very sorry, but our team, our fans, our organization is not ready to support something like this.’ It was in the news a few weeks ago.”
“There is no will on the other side”
The Panathinaikos president also highlighted attempts he claims to have made on a personal level to maintain a more cordial relationship with the Angelopoulos family.
“On a personal basis, I used to send champagne every name day, every Christmas. When their sons or daughters were born in the hospital. And I heard that they kicked my plants outside because they thought that I had put a microphone.”
He claimed that those gestures did not lead to a change in the relationship.
“There is no will on the other side. There is no will.”
Dimitris Giannakopoulos claims he was physically attacked
The Panathinaikos president was also asked whether he would be willing to sit down with the Angelopoulos brothers and attempt to resolve their differences.
“Many times I’ve said that I’m ready to sit at the same table. I sat at the same table once. I was physically attacked by one of the two of them. That was at the Ministry of Sports office a few years ago.”
