My first writing attempt was a unique football ‘scrapbook’, something like a documentary in printed form.
It is composed of brief texts and a plethora of rare pictures
It featured many stories from Greek and foreign football, that apart from a purely athletic background, they also had a literary flavor (dramatic or comic) and a historical dimension.
The result was a fully anthropocentric composition.
In this first book, I attempted to communicate my great love and special relationship with football, as seen not through the eyes of fanatic (quite the contrary), but as a phenomenon
that incorporates human condition and experience in a unique and unprecedented way.
How would football be regarded, if it weren’t for blind fanaticism on one side and the aversion and prejudice against it on the other.
The book is divided into 11 chapters
1. A Democracy for all
2. When History dribbles football
3. Them or us
4. Breakthroughs, successful and failed
5. It's a matter of character
6. The tricks of fortune
7. When the round goddess meets tragedy
8. Is there justice in this world?
9. Prime and decline and redeemable time
10. Cases of vindication
11. Life is like a ball
Upon circulation, in 2005, the book received some very good reviews but it had the fate of every book (or film) that is not backed and promoted by a strong system.
I am fairly confident that this same book would have had an extremely good fate, had it been released by a major publishing house with all the benefits that come with that, such as an aggressive strategy, professional sales promotion, radio and television presentations, journalists and experts who would talk it up, and of course, had it been authored by a well-known writer.
Even so, apart from the very good reviews, with time, the book attracted many proponents, both famous and anonymous and still has strong impact, but within a narrow circle.
My publisher and friend, Michalis Panagiotopoulos, did everything he could; he paid large sums in royalties, in order for the book to include many and rare photographs, but despite his good intentions, he did not have the expertise to properly promote it.
An official book launch event was held, in May 2005, and some remarkable people were on the presenters’ panel, namely Elias Bazinas, Aristeides Kamaras, Lakis Papastathis and Philippos Syrigos.
I already knew the first three very well, but I got to meet Philippos Syrigos for the first time, on that occasion. He had come across the book by accident, as Michalis had sent it to “Eleftherotypia” for Stathis, the cartoonist. This is how Philippos discovered the book, read it and liked it so much, that he called me up and asked to present it. Since that time and until his death, we had been close friends. That was the case with Elias Bazinas as well.
Another very special man, and also a good friend, Panos Geramanis had been scheduled to join the panel, but one week before the presentation he suddenly passed away. The news of his death was very sad and painful.
Three days earlier he had called me at the radio station, and we had the chance to make a special show, dedicated to the book, that he had liked very much. That show was the last time Panos Germanis’ voice was ever heard..
In spite of the years that have passed, not only has my desire to write books not subsided, but on the contrary it has substantially matured. They can be either books on sports or about cinema, short stories, or better yet, flash fiction.
Besides, I have been writing for many years; my scripts, of course, but also articles and essays, commissioned to me.
