Prepublication – Pelkas in Toumba Magazine
Rather than a simple interview, it was a detailed account of his professional career so far. Mature to recognize his mistakes and convert them to inner power, capable to combine innate quality and hard work, ambitious enough to set new and tougher objectives all the time… Dimitris Pelkas proves that the No10 shirt isn’t too heavy for him and that leaders should test their own limits before setting out to explore those of their team.
The Greek international midfielder features in the collectors’ magazine Toumba that is nowadays on sale in limited copies. You can purchase it directly via the Pre-Order procedure.
Here is an extract of his interview, brought to you on paokfc.gr. Starting chronologically from his first steps in football and his teenage adventures:
«When you are young and the team you love show so must faith in you that they even entrust you with the No 10 shirt, it’s impossible to say ‘no’. It’s impossible being able to see clearly and decipher why the club and me both mismanaged the situation. It was beyond my control. I was an 18-year old. Those who argue that a teenager is able to handle impeccably such a situation and make important decisions without errors, are clearly fooling themselves. Our errors define us, shape our character. Even the most erroneous decision can prove useful. As long as we keep our eyes open in order to acknowledge how the errors helped us. Therefore I don’t regret anything».
Dimitris Pelkas has grown literally and figuratively. And Răzvan Lucescu has played an important part in his transformation:
«It’s very important to enjoy the coach’s trust. I am grateful to Mr Lucescu for his unwavering support throughout last season. He is a very good coach, both in the tactical part of his work and in preparing us mentally for the matches. It was very tough to turn things around after getting eliminated from Europe and being able to keep a balance in the dressing room with just a few games under his belt. PAOK have many quality players and they all deserve to play. But that’s not feasible. Lucescu is fair, can manage all types of personalities in the roster and he is credited for keeping us a close-knit family with no complaints».
PAOK sealed 2018 by leading the standings with an 8-point distance from the closest rivals. How does Pelkas reacted when told that his team are favourites to win the league?
«We feel strong. We believe in our team. I believe we have learned from our mistakes and have a clear objective. We don’t care about being favourites or not or what even being favourites means. This is a topic fitting for chats or analysis. We play football and we don´t let such talk affect us. We must be totally focused in order to achieve what we want».
Purchase now the collectors’ issue Toumba and get a coupon for 30% discount on PAOK products at PAOK FC Official Stores. Furthermore, those who purchase Toumba via Pre Order option, will enter a draw for a signed shirt of Aleksandar Prijović.
