Corriere dello Sport (Ariprandi) – “My life is here in Rome, I’m fine here”. If he were to leave at the end of the season, Kostas Manolas would certainly do so by shedding a few tears. For the Greek defender, Rome has become synonymous with home, five years spent in the capital without ever ending up in the spotlight, living his life in Casal Palocco among friends, the team and the family: “My life is very simple – Manolas admits in an interview with the Greek program Il turista, “I spend most of my free time at home with my family. I like that”.
THE PLAYER – His future could be far from Rome and Roma. The €36 million release clause is attracting the attention of the top European clubs and his new agent Mino Raiola could set off an auction to offer the Greek the best wages. “How do I approach my career? Like life: I can go far and achieve excellent results but I always have to keep my feet on the ground and remember where I started from. Football, like life, gives you nothing. You have to fight to reach the goals”.
OBJECTIVES – His feet are on the ground, always remembering his past: “When I was little, my grandfather gave me my first pair of football boots. My mother said that my first word was ‘objective’ while I was holding a football. It was not ‘mom’ or ‘dad’z Something inside me immediately understood that I would become a footballer, even though I did very well at school. I took everything from my uncle, one of the strongest defenders in Greece. I started fighting to pursue my dream and now I am at an excellent level thanks to my family, who have always supported my goal. My father was a doctor in Naxos, he left everything to help me. I did three training sessions a day to reach a good level”.
THE BEGINNING – From scrap to champion, Manolas fought and sweated to get to Rome: “When I was still a boy and I was looking for a team, I found on the internet an announcement from AEK Athens that they were looking for youngsters to join. I told my parents that I was going to go try out and then the club signed me. But then after a few months, the coach told me that I was not ready yet, so I took a taxi to go to Fyli and the day after I signed a professional contract for Thrasyvoulos. In life, we must always be sure of ourselves”.
