‘The situation is out of control and will not change. Our lives are
endangered and it’s very painful to talk about this.’ Alexandros Tzorvas is the Panathinaikos and Greek national team goalkeeper. He talks about the situation in Greece, where footballers have suffered regular attacks from violent fans.Alexandros Tzorvas is the best goalkeeper in Greece. His jersey at his club Panathinaikos may show number 30, but he certainly is the number one goalkeeper on both his team and the national squad. His stellar play and impressive saves in the World Cup play-off with Ukraine in 2009 helped his country secure a ticket for the World Cup in South Africa, as Greece held on to secure a 1-0 aggregate win. Last season he conquered the Greek title with Panathinaikos and his performance at the 2010 World Cup capped a great year.
‘As a young boy, I always wanted to be a goalkeeper. It came to me naturally and I decided to stay in goal’, the 28-year-old Alexandros says to FIFPro. He enrolled at the Panathinaikos academy. Although most people were confident about young Alexandros’ talent, it took him years to become the number one goalkeeper at the Athens’ giants.‘Many years passed until I could establish myself in my position at the club. I went to four different clubs in order to get the proper experience needed as a goalkeeper.’ Between 2001 and 2005 Alexandros spent 4 seasons on loan at Agios Nikolaos, Markopoulo and Thasyvoulos. Panathinaikos even traded him to OFI in the summer of 2007, but recalled him one year later. Since, he has been a regular in the line-up.
‘Unfortunately it’s quite difficult for a young goalkeeper in Greece to receive the confidence from a big club and to establish yourself at a young age. In our country, you cannot find phenomena like Iker Casillas and Víctor Valdés, who are playing as from the age of 18.’
As a 26-year-old Alexandros finally got the chance and he made use of it. With great pride he has mastered his job. ‘In Greece, Panathinaikos is one of the major clubs with a long history. Over the years the club also proved to be a very competent ambassador at the European level. I think that every professional sports person would feel very proud to compete at such high level and in such a historical club.’
Being a lifelong fan of Panathinaikos, it is even more special to Alexandros. ‘I have always followed the club. When I went to Panathinaikos at the age of 10, I already was a fan. If I did not play for the club, I was in the stands. In the 18 years since my arrival, my love for the club has grown even bigger.’
Alexandros will never forget the 2009-2010 season, as Panathinaikos managed to grab the title for the first time in six years and the second time since 1996. ‘It’s soul stirring. I can’t describe with words what I felt when we won the championship. This was very important for me and for the club, because in the last 15 years Panathinaikos couldn’t manage to become champions for different reasons, and not always sportive ones. I felt that God blessed me to experience that big dream.’
That wonderful feeling has eluded Alexandros. He did play all three group matches at the 2010 World Cup, and returned home a happy man. But hardly one month later the harsh reality in his country awakened Alexandros, Greek football being plagued by fans’ violence. Football hooligans are not only fighting with each other, they are fighting with the players too.
Alexandros was in the midst of it. On February 19th right after the final whistle of Panathinaikos’ controversial 2-1 loss at Olympiakos, fans of the home team invaded the pitch and went after the Panathinaikos’ players. Alexandros was one of four players who were unable to escape the violence.
‘This game clearly showed how inadequate the security system is in the Greek stadiums. The fans of Olimpiacos - if I can call them fans - physically abused us until we managed to get into the players tunnel. I was hit and I am sure that this will happen again.’
‘Yes, I was scared.’
‘But after we returned to our dressing room, we didn’t feel any fear, we only felt anger. Our adrenaline was still high, because we felt that we should have won a very important match by a score of 2-1, but in reality we lost 2-1. (With the score tied at 1-1, the referee controversially disallowed a Panathinaikos goal, and in the closing minutes he controversially allowed an Olympiakos goal, ed). We were deprived of the championship!’
Talking with the press immediately after the match, Alexandros’ teammate Djibril Cissé announced that he will leave Greece when this season is over, although his contract runs until 2012. The French striker has had it with the violence and racist abuses. Alexandros regrets Cissé’s decision, but also understands him: ‘The damage to Greek football done by the violence is massive. Even worse, it will be difficult for every Cissé or every Gilberto Silva to come to our country.’
Even Alexandros himself is thinking of leaving his native country. ‘As a professional sportsman, it is my ambition to compete in another championship if a chance occurs. But it is also my intention to escape this misery.’
‘Frequently all kinds of things are thrown to us … from cell phones to glass bottles. The strange thing is, we have grown used to this kind of reality.’
‘The situation is out of control and will not change. Our lives are endangered and it’s very painful to talk about sports. This year we, the players of Panathinaikos, have been attacked twice. Once by our own fans after a very sad result and another time by the Olimpiacos fans.’
‘After this sad event two more incidents occurred where fans invaded the pitch. Both took place in Thessaloniki. At one of these occasions fans of Aris chased their own players into the dressing room because their team lost. During the other one fans of PAOK tried to attack AEK players because their team didn’t manage to qualify for the Greek Cup final.’
It is time for the national authorities to intervene, says Alexandros, who is also a member of the board of the Greek footballers’ association, PSAP. ‘Currently, there is no state to punish these hooligans, to imprison them, to make them realize that there are laws and that they will be punished if they break these laws. Do not forget that our country is going through a difficult period from a financial point of view, and that the people are looking for ways to defuse their problems. This could be one of many reasons of why this is happening.’
‘The most appropriate solution would be punishment. Meaning that the regulations that are in force in other European championships should also be introduced in the Greek championships. Other European competitions do not show any indication of violence. This should be the case here, too.’
Some experts also blame the players, as their sometimes disrespectful behaviour on the pitch would instigate violent behaviour in the stands. ‘I can agree with that’, says Alexandros. ‘But if this is used as an excuse for what is happening, then this is a very poor excuse. There has been some tension on the pitches, but everyone is just trying very passionately to do his best to help his team win. It’s been a really long time since there was a violent incident on the pitch caused by football players.’
In recent weeks, the professional footballers in Greece and their association PSAP tried to take action and protest against the violence. They threatened not to play in the 26th round of the championship, but this protest failed due to lack of support from all 16 teams in the Super League.
In spite of this unsuccessful protest, all footballers in Greece have had it with crowd violence. Alexandros: ‘We decided at the start of the season, that in case of crowd violence both teams will step off the pitch. It’s a quite radical action, and it’s a shame that we football players have to take such a decision. I am repeating that it should be the State’s tasks to look after its athletes. Regrettably, sooner or later we might have to realize our decision.’
Despite of all violence and lack of protection, Alexandros still cherishes the game, his hobby, his profession. ‘Being a professional goalkeeper, I will enjoy every single day as long as I do this job and as long as I’m wearing my gloves and stand between the goalposts. I always have the same feeling as the first time I put my gloves on.’
SOURCE: fifpro.org
