Evangelos Marinakis: Proud of Diaspora Greeks, ‘Who’re All Together, United’

Τhe founder and CEO of Capital Maritime & Trading Corp and Olympiacos FC President Evangelos Marinakis focused on what he called the unity and close ties between the Greeks of the Diaspora, speaking on the occasion of the 86th Greek Independence Day parade down Fifth Avenue in Manhattan on Sunday.

Marinakis expressed his pride and heartfelt emotion over the honor of being one of the parade’s Honorary Grand Marshals, and the fact that the Olympiacos float stood out and garnered the crowd’s cheers as it rolled down Fifth Avenue. “It was a very nice parade,” he said, beaming.

“We see all Greeks united together, along with our brothers and sisters from Cyprus, celebrating this great day,” Marinakis stated, in reference to the 204th anniversary of the beginning of the Greek Revolution and the struggle to liberate Greece from the Ottoman yoke.

“What made a positive impression on me is how much love and solidarity they show each other, with many of them (Greek-Americans) having achieved truly great things,” he added.

Pride – Twice as Greek

Owing to his own experience, as lived abroad for several years due to professional commitments, Marinakis referred to a deep bond between Greek expatriates with their homeland.

“You are doubly happy about your country’s successes when you are far way,” he said, explaining: “So yes, Olympiacos fans abroad are Olympiacos fans twice over. They are extremely proud of the great achievements of Olympiacos, their team, over the last two years.”

The head of Olympiacos, one of the few business leaders invited to the White House this past week for an annual event celebrating Greek Independence, spoke about Olympiacos FC, the Reds, who brought joy to all the Greeks of the Diaspora by winning European championships, while he emphasized the “the positive response” he receives from the people as a result.

Additionally, he cited the greatness of sport and its contribution to “the Greek youngsters who have played successfully and scaled summits”.

Marinakis emphasized the contribution of sports and the decisive role they can play in youth’s education and progress, a conviction that he has proven in practice by investing in youth academies and giving opportunities to youngsters. Along these lines, the president of Olympiacos cited prospects that are opening in America, which has now started to invest much more in association football, or “soccer”, as it’s called in the States.

An award to Olympiacos’ leader

On Saturday evening, the president of Olympiacos was honored at an event that took place in New York City, at the Melrose Ballroom, to commemorate the team’s 100th anniversary.

The “red-and-white” fans’ association in the US metropolis honored the head of Olympiacos, under whose leadership the senior team won the UEFA Europa Conference League, while the U19 team won the UEFA Youth League, both during the 2023-2024 season.

‘We never give up’

In accepting his award, Marinakis told an enthusiastic audience that:

“100 years is not enough for our team. I am very happy to be with you tonight. Last year was perhaps the most important year in the history of our club. We won two European championships. The first team in Europe to win two European championships in the same season.

“We are particularly happy because the beginning was very difficult. There were many obstacles along the way, ups and downs. We never gave up. We made corrective changes and did everything that was necessary, and in the end, we reached the finals and won the cup.

“I also think that it was just as important, maybe even more important, to win the Champions League for Youth. We have shown that Greece has talent and can play a leading role in Europe and beyond.”

We’re conquerors of summits’

“When we went and played in Brazil at the Maracana Stadium in the final, we may have lost, but we played very well and – as they told us there – we deserved to win.

“It was something very important for our players and we see that Olympiacos is one of the few, perhaps the only team in Europe, that has four key players from its academy in its seniors’ starting lineup – starters from the academy – 17, 18, and 22 years old. These players are protagonists in Greece and Europe. I believe that this is very important, and that the youth of Piraeus are also the youth of Greece.

“We decided that the Cup trophies would be displayed around Greece, as well as in cities abroad that have a large number of Greeks. The Cups also came to America, to New York, and will go to Chicago, something we are very happy about. We saw two million people all over Greece celebrating the Cup trophy, as well as hundreds of thousands going to be photographed with the Cup, to kiss it. Among them, we are sure that there were also some who were not Olympiacos fans – They were Greeks, and they were proud of their homeland.