Right now many in Athens, just like in Liverpool, are scratching their heads wondering what the hell just happened. Just days after pledging his allegiance to AEK Athens for the next four years, Sotiris Kyrgiakos was snapped up by Liverpool. On his official website, Kyrgiakos issued a statement explaining his decision.
In all my life I didn’t hide under any circumstances. I always took the risk of my decisions. That’s how I was raised. Last week I made a statement in which I was saying that I will be a player of AEK FC for the next four years. Today, my biggest challenge in life contradicts to what I was saying. That’s life. Many times it plays tricky games.
I would like to inform the fans of AEK FC that on Monday I received an offer from Liverpool. An offer that I accepted. That offer came the time that AEK has very important games for the Europa League but the fact that I will play for Liverpool is the biggest challenge I ever had in my life. I have reached my final decision. Despite the efforts from the President, the coach and the administration, that did anything they could to keep me in the team, staying at AEK was not something I could do.
I would love to thank the fans of AEK that loved me from the first time I went to the club. I would love to thank also the President, the coach and the administration for our cooperation all this time. AEK is a big team. I wish to AEK all the best and I will always have a place in my heart for AEK.
I'm sure a lot of Athens supporters feel betrayed, but I can understand his point of view. Kyrgiakos is approaching the end of his career and more than likely only has a few really good seasons left in him. To have a club like Liverpool come knocking at the door with the opportunity to play against top clubs and challenge for titles is an amazing chance. He would be silly not to answer the call.
I think Principal Vernon has officially taken over the English Football Association. The FA has charged assistant manager, Sammy Lee, with improper conduct. I know it's shocking. Who would have thought that the FA would have a problem with someone questioning a decision during a match. Also on the Breakfast Club detention list are Peterborough manager, Darren Ferguson, and Norwich's manager, Paul Lambert. Simon Jordan, chairman of Crystal Palace, has also been asked to explain his comments following his side's defeat to Bristol City. Hopefully, all of the individuals involved will escape punishment as well as learn something about themselves in the latest coming of age reprimands.
I never really understood why various individuals belonging to a club's staff get so much guff from the FA. I guess someone has to be the whipping boy since they can't very well penalize the fans or journalists. Since that's the case, I'll go ahead and throw this out there: officiating in this league sucks. There, now we'll wait and see who gets beaten for my atrocities.
One final thought. Ryan Babel will be making a cameo on UK hip hop star, Sway's new album. I think that's real good Ryan. Something tells me that you are going to have plenty of time to work on your music career.