Those who experienced the great Stavros Daifas era in the early 80’s have something to remember about defensive midfielder Vangelis Kousoulakis who literally “ploughed” the midfield during games, and who had a penchant for scoring memorable goals and dishing out assists
Kousoulakis became a football star in an era where few existed on the local scene. An exquisite goal he scored against Panathinaikos at the latter’s Leoforos Alexandras Stadium is historic, not only for the obvious competitive reasons but also because it was “captured” on film during the shooting of a commercial.
He posted a distinguished career from a player who seemed to be ahead of his time, a “box to box” midfielder years before that term came into use. For Vangelis Kousoulakis, Olympiacos was a great love that he discovered when he decided to take the “big step” and leave Iraklis Thessaloniki, where he played since he was a youngster, and head south to the major port city of Piraeus and Daifas’ team. Olympiacos was itching for a return to the top of Greek football at the time.
For seven seasons, from 1979 to 1986, Kousoulakis literally “plowed” the pitches with his endless endurance and heightened talent, able to play both as a defensive midfielder and as a more offensive-minded behind-the-strikers player. He was also known for his penchant for scoring memorable goals and dishing out assists.
With Olympiacos, which he came to love and which constituted the most distinguished chapter in his pro career, Kousoulakis won four championships and one Cup. He was always among the Club’s protagonists, a member of Daifas’ “golden team”, which dominated Greek football.
Kousoulakis is among the top players who wore the red-and-white stripes, and wholly honored the jersey he wore.
A ‘box-to-box’ midfielder even before the term was coined
The championship tie-break with Aris
Out of the protagonists of the 1980 championship, Kousoulakis prominently figures on a “short list”. He scored during a tie-break end-of-the season game against Aris Thessaloniki on May 24, 1980 in the central Greece city of Volos, wildly celebrating his first major success with the Reds. Playing for Olympiacos he was living a dream, as he himself has emphasized on many occasions since then.
“When I was a kid I used to say I wanted to play for Manchester United! But in Greece the big team was Olympiacos. It gave me so much, and I gave back a great deal, too. I worked very hard to win that first championship, and I have it in my heart more than all the others. Not because we beat Aris in the tie-break with my goal, but because I won a title I had never imagined in my childhood dreams.”
The ’golden derby’
Koussoulakis became a key member of the team from his first minutes with Olympiacos. Along the way, the relationship he developed with the Club’s other stars was excellent and it’s said that he was one of Stavros Daifas’ favorite players, as the latter saw in him the spirit of a fighter that he wanted everyone in the team to have.
Kousoulakis, apart from his great technical skills, his dynamic play and his boundless talent, was always a fighter who fought to win every game and provided tremendous energy to the team in the midfield. At the same time, he was destined to go down in Greek foorball history as a… first TV star!
In one of Olympiacos’ great moments in 1980, and specifically at the Leoforos Alexandras Stadium against archrivals Panathinaikos Athens, he scored the only and game-winning goal with a powerful shot from outside the penalty area. That goal that was filmed by a crew shooting a commercial for a chocolate bar. Kousoulakis’ goal would determine what was subsequently called the “golden derby of ION”, referring to the name of the well-known local confectionary maker.
The Olympiacos star admitted years later, in an interview, that he didn’t even realize that a commercial was being shot at the venue, with the advertising spot subsequently played for years on Greek television. “For me it was a good thing, the goal I scored in the Leoforos Alexandras was remembered by the entire world,” he would say.
Kousoulakis, apart from his great technical skills, his dynamic play and his boundless talent, was a fighter on the field. Here he scores on a penalty shot against Doxa Dramas.
Maradona like
Kousoulakis scored beautiful and significant goals during his tenure with Olympiacos. One memorable goal was against Ethnikos, and was very reminiscent of the one scored by the incomparable Maradona against England at the 1986 World Cup. On his part, the Olympiacos midfielder started running with the ball just above the team’s penalty area and in a frantic sprint passed anyone in front of him, reaching the height of the Ethnikos’ area to shoot hard and straight, sending the ball into the net for the game-winner (0-1).
The “golden derby of ION” with two actors in the stands watching with suspense as Kousoulakis scored became… viral before the term viral was known.
The MVP of four straight titles
Olympiacos in the early 1980s had many great players, which is why the team won four consecutive championships. For most people at the time, Kousoulakis was the most valuable player in this journey, which kept Olympiacos at the top of Greek football. He was never one of the team’s “vendettas”, but he was one of the players who gave his heart and soul for the jersey. An accomplished player, Kousoulakis recorded 169 appearances with 24 goals with the Reds. He made seven out of eight penalties he took, and scored crucial goals from free kicks.
In 1986 Koussoulakis left Piraeus and Olympiacos, the “Olympus” of his career, to return to Thessaloniki and play two years with Apollon Kalamaria, closing out his great career in 1988 with 412 appearances with 31 goals in the first division. He also had 15 caps with the national team and scored once.
