Olympiakos for Ioannidis: “We will love you for eternity”

The death of Yannis Ioannidis spread sadness throughout the Olympiacos basketball family. The red and white KAE said goodbye to the “blonde” of Greek basketball with a long announcement and at the same time added a black background to the profile pictures of their social media accounts as a sign of mourning.

The announcement from KAE Olympiacos in detail:

“The “red and white” family mourns a serious loss. Giannis Ioannidis, the reformer of Olympiacos basketball, is no longer with us. The great coach, who was revered by very few of our team’s friends and who left an indelible mark on Greek basketball, breathed his last today (October 4th) at the age of 78.

“Xanthos”, as he was called, was born on February 26, 1945 in Thessaloniki and his great weakness (after his daughter) was the orange ball. He started as a player at Aris, but very quickly realized that coaching suited him better fit. He started his professional career in 1978 at Aris, with whom he worked great in the 80s! With the Thessaloniki team he won twelve Greek championships (1979, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990), five Greek Cups (1985, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990) and led them to three consecutive Final Fours the Euroleague (1988, 1989, 1990).

In 1991 he said the big “yes” to the Olympiacos proposal, moved to “Limani” and started “building” the “Red and White” empire! With our team he won four Greek championships (1993, 1994, 1995, 1996) and one Greek Cup (1994) and led them to two Final Fours (1994, 1995).

However, with AEK, on ​​whose bench he “sat” from 1996 to 1998, he did not manage to celebrate a title, but in 1998 he “reached” the Final Four of the Euroleague. He was also coach of Larissa (immediately after his first spell at Aris) and the national team. After his second term at Olympiakos (1999–2000), he left coaching and became involved in politics.

From the 2004 elections to the January 2015 elections, he held the position of MP for the Thessaloniki constituency 1 with the New Democracy party. After the 2007 elections, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Culture with responsibility for sport, a position he held until October 7, 2009. After his re-election in 2009, he performed the duties of the Department of Political Responsibility Sports of New Democracy. In the new coalition government of ND, PASOK and DIMAR formed after the June 17, 2012 elections, he was again appointed Deputy Minister of Sports until June 2013.

“And when the moment comes when you leave the port, we will love you for life, Ioannidis Yannis…” Olympiakos’ friends sang to him. Now we will love you forever, Coach.

Nice trip…”.