Konstantinos Mavropanos is relishing his return to Greece and the chance to face a familiar foe in Olympiacos.
Born In Athens, Mavropanos is briefly back home with his West Ham United teammates, as they prepare for Thursday’s UEFA Europa League Group A match against the Thrylos.
The 25-year-old is certainly eager to make the most of being on home soil and make an impact, if called upon.
“It’s a good feeling to come back home and play against a good team like Olympiacos,” Mavropanos said. “It’s a good feeling to be back at home, but when the referee blows his whistle to start the game, then I will be ready.”
Growing up in the capital, Mavropanos was inducted into the passionate, intense Greek football culture from a young age. With three leading sides in the area, with Olympiacos joined by Panathinaikos and AEK Athens, the would-be defender was not short of options to indulge his growing love of the game.
As such, the summer signing knows just what to expect in terms of atmosphere at The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.
“I’ve been around many of the stadiums in Athens as a kid and one of them was Olympiacos,” he said. “This is a good club, with passionate people, and the atmosphere inside the stadium is really amazing. On Thursday, it will be another good atmosphere.
“I think the last game I played against Olympiacos was at this stadium, for a Greek team [PAS Giannina], and it’s always good to come back here and play against them.
“The Olympiacos fans, they are so passionate with their football, and they will be a tough opponent tomorrow because the fans will give them more energy during the game.”
Nonetheless, Mavropanos is confident the team will be able to counter their Greek opposition on Thursday evening.
While the Irons suffered defeat last time out, away to Aston Villa, the centre-back believes the team have the ability to bounce back on the European stage.
“Olympiacos have good individual players and they are really good in the counter-attack. They have some points we have to take care of. It will definitely be a tough game.
“We always follow the plan of the coach. We have a good team and our set pieces are one of the parts of the game that we want to make goals from. We’ve seen it in a couple of games that we can do this and I think this is going to be one of the parts we need to utilise tomorrow.
“The game against Aston Villa, we didn’t get the result that we wanted. But the schedule in English football is really busy and I think, after the game, you have to start focusing on the next one really quickly. We are ready for this game against Olympiacos. We are well prepared.”
Having played the full 90 minutes in the two other Group A matches played so far this season, Mavropanos will be eager for another start against a team he saw play often as a child.
The Greek is loving life in east London so far and hopes to continue to impress for his new Club on his return to familiar surroundings.
”West Ham were the winner of the UEFA Europa Conference League and has a big history as well, so I didn’t have to think about the move too much. I was really happy when I had the offer and I immediately said yes.
“It’s really good to be part of this team and the manager tries to help me a lot, as does his coaching staff, so I’m feeling good at West Ham United.”
