Chapter I – For the glory of Hellas
‘If you need anything, anything at all, just give me a call’. Those had been Héctor’s last words when I left Santander, but they were still in my head when I got to Thessaloniki. After that journey I was as nervous as one can be, but I was also excited and overjoyed to finally be here. I was sure this would be a moment I would cherish forever.
As soon as I walked through the door of the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium, I heard a feminine voice behind me - ‘This way, Mr. Perna, the press conference is waiting for you to begin’. As I looked back, a girl with short brown hair and a pair of glasses was walking towards me. ‘I’m Anastasia Stavrou, the club’s press officer. This way, please’, she said, and I followed her down a corridor.
After a short walk, we entered the conference room. There weren’t many journalists, but there were enough to make me nervous. I had been here before with Héctor, but this time it’d be me answering the questions, and for a second, it scared the **** out of me. In a matter of seconds, though, Anastasia grabbed the microphone and addressed the journalists gathered there. ‘Mr. Perna will now be answering your questions. Remember gentlemen, only one question at a time. If you deem it necessary you may ask Mr. Perna for permission to reformulate the question or to ask a follow-up question’. Noticing I was nervous, she turned to me and said in a quiet voice ‘You don’t have to answer more than one from each of them, just try to give them a headline and it’ll be over before you notice’. I turned to the journalists, and the conference began.
‘Pirmin Rapillard, Goal.com’ said a short guy with a heavy French accent. ‘This being your first job in management, how do you feel about starting your career with a club like Aris?’
‘I think it’s great. I’m really grateful to be given the opportunity to start here. Aris is a big club, it may not be a household name in Europe but it’s a big club with a great history in Greece, and it’s certainly an offer most managers would consider, let alone a new one such as myself’.
I barely had time to drink some water before the next question. ‘Dimitris Papadopoulos, SPORTDAY. As far as I know, the club is quite short-staffed, and three or four members of the current staff are expected to leave in the coming days. Will you be bringing any new faces in the coming days?’.
There was an awkward silence, as I nervously put the glass of water back on the table. A single thought invaded my mind. ‘I’m an idiot. A ****** idiot’. I hadn’t even thought of that, but I had to improvise an answer quickly or my managerial career was dead before it even started. ‘Of course, I can’t run a club on my own, that’s for sure’. The journalist quickly came up with a follow up question: ‘Why didn’t you bring anyone with you, then?’. He had barely finished asking the question when Anastasia reached for the microphone. ‘I said one question at a time. You need not answer that, Alejandro’. Of course I needed to answer that, she knew it, but she had just bought me a few extra seconds to think. ‘Dimitris, right?’, I said. He nodded, and I continued with my answer. ‘Considering I have little experience and little knowledge of the language, I decided to hire locally. I’ve got a list of Greek coaches and other staff members, and you should be seeing a few additions shortly. I also intend to hire a few foreign scouts to increase our knowledge of other regions and secure the signature of young, talented players’. ‘Not bad for a beginner’, I thought. ‘Not bad at all’.
‘Panagiotis Chonos, NovaSPOR. Since you intend to sign young players, I assume you’re planning on staying here for the long term. Considering you’ve only been hired because of your friendship with Héctor Cúper, what makes you think you will last long here?’
Anastasia was about to intervene when I interrupted her. ‘Look, I know I’m new to this. I don’t have any delusions of grandeur. I’m young, but I’ve spent the last seven years learning from a great manager such as Héctor and I’ve picked up a few things, and I intend to learn even more here. But above all things, ever since I started playing football I wanted to make a name for myself in the sport. After my injury, this was the only way to go. And I will not fail. I owe it to myself, and I owe it to Héctor. I will try my hardest to bring success, domestic and European, if I can. For me, for the glory of this club, and… and why not, for the glory of Hellas.’
I stood up, thinking ‘There’s your headline’. In the background, I could hear the press officer’s voice ‘…conference is now over’, but my head was already focused on tomorrow. I was going to meet the team, and I had to start looking for new staff and players. The fun was about to start.
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