Golden Soft Sombrero Moment with Steve Panopoulos
NSL Club:
South Melbourne
Achievements: Two Championship medals and a club best and fairest.
Member of South Melbourne’s World Club Championship squad in 2000
Diegos Verdict:
Bleeds South Melbourne blue and white blood, and perhaps a little garlic souvlaki sauce.
Hardworking, disciplined midfielder who liked to take on the big boys.
Will go down as one of legends of Bob Jane stadium and Billboard’s 'Goya' nights.
Some Golden Soft Sombrero Moments with Steve Panopoulos
Panopoulos on the big 200th game party…
Diegos: " Congratulations on your upcoming 200th game for South Melbourne.
Your journey through the ranks at the club has been a romantic one; from ball boy to premiership winner to World club championship representative.
Tomorrow is your big day. In quiet moment have you spent time reflecting on your career at the club?"
Panopoulos: "Not really to tell you the truth. It wasn’t until the middle of the week that someone told me that I was up for my 200th this week.
I’m actually in the middle of wedding preparations so no I haven’t spent that much time thinking about it.”
Diegos: “ So is your wedding bonbonaire going to have you, your wife, a bag of almonds and a soccer ball with ‘200’ on it?”
Panopoulos: "No way I’m not going to go for something that Greek.”
Diegos: "The Diegos know that you don't like to blow your own trumpet.
We know that you like to put a lid on things and keep them low key but surely for your 200th you must have something pretty spectacular in store if you score a goal.
A picture of your girlfriend on your t-shirt when you do the headless chook goal celebration or ripping off your shorts and throwing into the crowd perhaps?
What are you going to do?
Panopoulos: "Someone suggested that I rip off my shirt and throw it into the crowd but it would look like I’ve got another shirt on underneath with my hairy chest.”
Soft Sombrero Moment December 2001
Panopoulos on the World Club Championship 2000…
Diegos: "The Diegos want to take you back to one of the biggest moments in the club's history - the World Club Championships in Brazil in 2000.
We know your stature in the game from a playing perspective is unrivalled in the NSL but unfortunately your stature with regards to height is slightly lacking.
Now against Vasco da Gama when you had a chance to get a world famous result for South but the ball came to high a skimmed the top of your head leaving an open goal gapping did you wish at the time that you had a few more inches up your sleeve in height?
Panopoulos: "Yes definitely. I tell you if I’m to reflect on my career, that’s probably the biggest regret. It is something that comes into my mind fairly often.
I think of what might have been if that goal had gone in, the headlines the next day around the world that South Melbourne had drawn with the great Vasco da Gama 1-1.
Who knows what could’ve happened for me personally, the club and Australian soccer in general. It would’ve been unbelievable.”
Diegos: “Another exciting thing that happened for you at the championships was that you got David Beckham’s shirt.
Can you tell us a little about the journey the shirt’s had since you brought it back? Are you planning when you retire to take it around Australia and make some money on the side from it? How did you get the shirt? What did you say to the ‘Posh-Lover’ to get it from him?”
Panopoulos: "What happened was that he actually came on as a substitute in that game and I was luckily standing right next to him when the final whistle went and I said, ‘I want your shirt’ and he told me that he would give it to me in the dressing room.
We all went into their rooms after the game and met all these superstars – Teddy Sheringham, Andy Cole etc – and some of the players started swapping tops.
I remember Solskjaer looking at me because I hadn’t swapped my top. I think he felt sorry for me, thinking that I was too shy and offered to swap his but I just shook my head and said ‘no’ which in hindsight was quite a funny moment; me knocking back the shirt of one of the world’s great strikers.
Beckham ended up coming in a bit late because he had to do a ‘dope’ test. Everyone tried to get his shirt but he refused.
He then saw me and made sure that I ended up getting it.”
Soft Sombrero Moment December 2001
Panopoulos on scoring at the World Club Championship…off the field that is…
Diegos: "Well you may not have scored on the footy pitch but it seems you certainly did pretty well scoring in the Copacabana discos with the news that you are going to get married to the lovely Andrea, a Brazilian bombshell you met during the tournament.
Its good to see that Angie's team discipline on tour was pretty tough and that the players adhered to the curfews.
You obviously got the girl but was the World Club Championship the biggest thrill you've had at the club?
Panopoulos: "Yes definitely. The moment that really sticks out in my mind is walking out on to the pitch for our first game against Vasco and getting the biggest ‘boo’ you could ever hear.
It echoed around the stadium. Our national anthem was playing and we couldn’t even hear it. The Brazilian anthem then came on and the stadium was just rocking.”
Soft Sombrero Moment December 2001
Panopoulos on today’s soccer kids…
Diegos: "You of course did it hard yards coming through the ranks starting off as a ball boy at South.
Eddie Krncevic this season has introduced some impressive youngsters to the seniors but disturbingly the Diegos have found out that they haven't done their ball boy apprenticeship like you did.
Has this made them 'soft'? Do the young kiddies need a bit of toughing up?
Panopoulos: "I don’t know about that.
I don’t think the pace of the game has increased that much. The advantage the young boys have got these days is that when I made my debut most team teams had older, more experienced players, whereas now the average age of teams is much younger.
I just don’t think that the players are as hard as they used to be.
When I first started training we had guys like Gary Hasler and Kevin Muscat kicking us at training. Usually I’d leave training with a pronounced limp.
I think that we are a bit softer on the young boys at training these days.”
Soft Sombrero Moment December 2001 |
