James Rodriguez intends to leave his wandering adventure and for that he came to new lands. Now he will fight to maintain his prestige in Greece, the country that he guards myths and legends as treasures, where the sky belongs to the gods and the earth –or the field– belongs to the heroes. James arrived in the land of lush ruins and long-awaited Olympus, thanks to Evangelos Marinakis, the powerful and controversial tycoon who owns Olympiacos, and who extended his heavy hand to see if James will turn his recent tragedy into an epic poem.
Marinakis is not a sheikh, he is not a sultan. He is not a manager like Florentino Pérez, the one who brought James to Real Madrid. He is not an ex-soccer player like Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, the one who introduced him to Bayern Munich. But he is another patriarch of European football, owner of the Olympiacos and, in addition, of Nottingham Forest English. And he is a tycoon who values his fortune at about 3,000 million euros, according to Forbes magazine, and is considered one of the most powerful businessmen in Greece.
Marinakis is a robust man, with a pointed beard in which a silvery color appears and that hides a protruding jowls, he has a look that seems, apparently, furious, like one of those looks that do not look, but challenge, order, demand. Marinakis is the boss, the one who makes the decisions, the one who puts up the money, the one who leads the figures to satisfy his passion and that of his fans. He is a fan of football, specifically of Olympiacos, the club from his native Piraeus, the mythical port of ancient Athens, who welcomes James with open seas, like an Achilles who has not lost his fighting spirit and who wants to show it.
This is how Marinakis arrived at Olympiacos
Marinakis bought the club in 2010 with the promise of maintaining the prestige of the team, one of the most successful in Greece. Since his arrival, the club has lived through an era of splendor: ten league titles, seven in a row until 2018, only lost two crowns to date, which were won by AEK and PAOK; it also has three Greek Cups; And if we leave football, under his management the club accumulates European titles in water polo and volleyball, it is because before coming to football, the tycoon was involved with this sport.
He is 55 years old. He is the son of a shipbuilder and a fan of Olympiacos. He is one of those characters that stand out because of his authority figure and respectability. The press does not just call him Marinakis, some call him Mister Marinakis, with apparent reverence. His policy is to bring great figures to the team, who can be attached to the environment, to that demanding and boisterous hobby. Over the years, he has brought players such as Ariel Ibagaza, Albert Riera, Javier Saviola, Alejandro ‘Chori’ Domínguez, Vladimir Weiss, Eric Abidal, Esteban Cambiasso and Mathieu Valbuena, among others. Now, the tycoon put a blow of his heavy hand on the table to shake the other Greek teams and so that there are repercussions in Europe (disputing the Europa League) with the hiring of James, who was missing in Qatar and found a port in the land of apotheosis ruins. And although he had not played in Greece, his arrival there is a relief for his career: like someone who returns, a survivor of the worst hardships, to a borrowed, foreign Ithaca.
Marinakis signed him on loan from Qatar and with a shared salary with Al Rayyan, a bargain: it is unofficially said that he only invested 500,000 euros from the loan and that there is a purchase option. He gave him shirt 10, so that James would feel comfortable, so that his number would speak for him while he learned some Greek. He also brought him together with Marcelo, who left Real Madrid to join this project. Marcelo must have whispered in Marinakis’s ear to say: ‘Mister Marinakis, why don’t you bring James?’ After all, they are old friends. And at the end of the day, James is still in force.
This is how the Greek press sees the owner of Olympiacos
The Greek press sees Marinakis as a powerful guy, but at the same time they endorse his management. Vassilis Konstantopoulos is a Greek journalist for Novasports, and he tells EL TIEMPO how he is James’s new boss.
“He is passionate about football and Olympiacos. He follows the team in various home and away games (mainly in Europe). He was recently elected president of the Super League and has fallen out with the leadership of the Hellenic Football Federation over arbitration issues. Although he is quite a successful and busy businessman, he takes care of the most operational details of Olympiacos. He rarely speaks to the press. If James manages to perform as expected, they will have a great relationship, as has happened with other Olympiacos stars”, he affirms.
Marinakis, who spent more than 160 million euros on transfers this summer, has earned popular support for his management. So many years at the Olympiacos title have given him remarkable recognition. “People love him very much. There has been some criticism this year about the management of the soccer team, but the number of signings has brought peace of mind to the fans”, adds the Novasports journalist.
His domains are not only on Greek soil. Marinakis has spread his power and his passion to other latitudes. In fact, his name gained international fame when he became the owner of the English club Nottingham Forest in 2017. His arrival aroused great enthusiasm among the fans of that old club. He came with promises to qualify for a competition in Europe in five years. Well, this year he gave the first blow of authority, when the club achieved promotion to the Premier League, for the first time in 23 years. In England, the tycoon also speaks harshly, complains about arbitrations, criticizes mismanagement and points to any type of injustice with his team.
Marinakis is a businessman, politician, company and, above all, football. He arrived at Olympiacos in 2010, but since then he has also held other important positions in Greek football. This year he is president of the Superliga – the association that is responsible for the program in the Greek championship and its organization. Marinakis also has an empire made up of a gigantic communications company that includes, among others, the To Vima and Ta Nea newspapers, two of the oldest in the country, and has a stake in the Mega Channel television station. And as if that were not enough, the tycoon has also ventured into politics: in the municipal elections of 2014 and 2019 he was elected councilor of Piraeus.
The curious thing is that all this power does not exclude a social, supportive and philanthropic posture. Marinakis has led outstanding social works, has promoted matches against poverty, such as a historic game between the ‘Friends of Zidane’ against the ‘Friends of Ronaldo’, in 2010, to collect funds for victims in Haiti and Pakistan. He promoted financial support for those affected by the Mandra floods in 2017 and the tragic Mati fires in 2018. The club, under his leadership, offers moral and financial aid to charities and children with cancer. And in sports, he spares no resources for the club’s growth, “with maintenance works at the team’s home to make Karaiskakis the most modern and safest soccer field in Greece,” says the club.
He is also a controversial subject: in 2018 he was accused of drug trafficking in a smuggling case, he was accused of alleged match-fixing and even of being involved in a bomb attack against a referee’s bakery. Marinakis defended himself: “Many things have been said, but nothing has ever been proven,” he told the BBC.
James smiles, it’s a contained smile, he seems overwhelmed, perhaps by the splendor of the Karaiskakis stadium stands, by the noise, by his name chanted in Greek, something that is new to him. But then he smiles, and next to him, the stocky figure of Marinakis, white shirt, his beard pointing to the ground. ‘James Rodriguez’ is playing over the loudspeakers, and the chief elbowed James to make him respond, and James obediently applauded those who applauded him. And the tycoon there, undaunted, serious, as if he were already used to these exhibitions: a few days earlier he had extravagantly introduced Marcelo, who was also in that box with James. Then came the usual photos, Marinakis’s heavy hand squeezing the ’10’, then he gave her the shirt, and more photos, and then, finally, a hint of a smile from this vehement man, who apparently isn’t. Therefore, perhaps a facade that hides a gift of good people: behind a beard there is always something.
Dim Christofidellis is a journalist for Sport 24 in Greece. If asked about Marinakis’s personality, he answers with a single word: “charismatic”. Then he adds: “He has a perfect relationship with the players. He even had dinner with James twice before he traveled to the US with the National Team”. Of course, he affirms that what happens in Olympiacos, beyond the fact that his right hand is the former soccer player Christian Karembeu as sports director, depends on him: “He has partners in Olympiacos, but he has the last word in everything,” he says.
But he is a man of radical decisions, there is no doubt. He has just fired coach Carlos Corberán after only 48 days in charge, he charged him the four games in a row without winning, and now he hired the Spaniard Míchel González. So James, a newcomer, gets a new coach. With a storm begins the landing of James in Greece, where he arrives not only to play again, but to live again, and not to disappoint the new great patriarch who came to his rescue.
Paul Romero
Editor of THE TIME
@PabloRomeroET
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