It’s all in the journey, in the travels, in this incessant procedure of collecting experiences that subconsciously shape our character. In September 1989, several Greek families were preparing to leave their homes at Gagarin, Uzbekistan to return back home. They couldn’t resist the temptation.

Among the hundreds who packed their bags were Pavlos and Maria and their four children: Dimitris, Zinaida and the little twins, Alexandros and Kerasia.

It was a tough decision, but they took it. Greece was waiting. It was the birthplace of their ancestors and had heard about it through narrations of elders. The train would not wait. The big journey had already begun. The “international friendlies” of the neighbourhood, betweens Greeks, Russians and Uzbeks, were a thing of the past for 8-year old Dimitris. He couldn’t fathom the extent of the change his life would undergo.

Back to Greece

The trip, the train, the move… Everything seemed like vacation to Dimitris, as he had his pals with him. Giorgos, Ilias and most of the gang were also travelling to Greece as the move was massive. “Many families moved out of Uzbekistan back then. We were living in a neighbourhood of Greek Pontiacs. We all resided in a complex of houses built around a big ground where we would play football. Most families eventually moved out. We all wanted to return to Greece. We had to move”.

The long trip from Uzbekistan to Greece was somewhat entertaining, sometimes boring, definitely tiring and undoubtedly eventful. The Papadopoulos family almost parted with the father of the household. In one of many stations, Pavlos Papadopoulos got out of the train to buy provisions and almost missed it. “I remember the train speeding away from the station, my father running to catch it and us watching from the windows. Thankfully he caught it in time and jumped inside”, the forward of PAOK says.

Adjustment efforts

The movie-like experience came to an end upon disembarking. They had to adjust to their new life. The initial plan was to establish their home at Thessaloniki, where most Pontiacs decided to live. The plan got modified however and the Papadopoulos family went to Athens and settled at Egaleo. They stayed with some relatives until bus driver Pavlos and kindergarten teacher Maria got jobs to earn their living.

Adjusting was tough. “Everybody looked at me differently, as if I were an alien. I didn’t know Greek that well. Despite having gone to school in Russia, I had to start all over again, from first grade, in order to learn Greek. Until then I had not realized the changes I would experience”, “Pap” admits.

Although he wasn’t the best student, Dimitris was a fighter and managed to go through the first two years at Egaleo successfully. His father got a job and in 1991 the family moved to a house of their own at Ano Liosia, next to the gypsies of the area.

They had no problem with that. Having been born in Uzbekistan as Greeks and returned to Greece as Russians, they knew how to adapt to various situations and knew better than to be annoyed by diversity. “It was a huge experience. Gypsies are not at all as most people depict them. They would not annoy us if we wouldn’t annoy them and they would respect us if we would respect them. I still remember those long summers of waking up or falling asleep to gypsy music”.

The gypsies’ mentality was close to his father’s advice: “Never hurt anybody. However, if you get hurt, you should hurt them back”. Despite his explosive character, Dimitris never harmed anybody. He was a well-behaved boy who would unbend his mind through sports. As all children of his age, he would leave home early in the morning and return in the evening, tiptoeing to avoid being seen by their parents. “Back then our parents had tougher issues to deal with, so I got away with it”, Papadopoulos remembers.

Lessons in football

His love for sports and his need to channel his energy in a creative manner led him to Akratitos youth system. Everything was smooth sail from then. Under the guidance of Dimitris Tsaros, the little “Czar” grew and showed his potential.

At the age of 16, he signed his first professional contract and started playing with the senior team. At the age of 18, he was already a starter for the third-tier team and one year later he was receiving rave reviews in the second tier. His impressive displays earned him a spot in Greece U21 team along with Salpingidis, Nastos, Tavlaridis and Vakouftsis. His trip was far from over though…

At Leoforos, Greece U21s prevailed 3-1 over England and Dimitris was among the scorers and the best players of the encounter. That’s when Burnley FC came knocking. At the age of 19 and without knowing a word of English, he decided to pack again. His parents backed his decision and he had a huge motive: he would be able to help them financially.

A life-defining experience in England

Everything was difficult in England. From the simplest of things, such as driving on the wrong side of the road, to the adjustment in new professional situations. He remained with B team for one year in order to get accustomed to the new style of play and then played his first matches. He didn’t get to live long at his home in Manchester. England was not covering his needs. “Everything and everyone was utterly professional but there was no feeling. I can understand today how important that spell in England was for my evolution, but I couldn’t stick there”, he says.

At that time, the prospect of FC Dynamo Kyiv appeared. Dimitris packed his bag to travel to Ukraine to discuss a new transfer. But he never went on that trip. Panathinaikos were fast to secure his signature and he never regretted it.

His best year

In 2003-04, “Pap” played his best games, won the Greek double, was called to Greece national team and was part of the triumphant side that won UEFA Euro 2004. His dream however didn’t end in Lisbon.

A few days after the Greek players returned home from Portugal, they were invited to Takis Fyssas’ rescheduled wedding. Papadopoulos attended the event and met there the woman of his life, Amalia Kyparissi. They got married four years later, in 2008, and she became his travel companion around Europe.

After his career at Panathinaikos, Papadopoulos –true to his nomad nature- had spells at Lecce, Zagreb, Vigo… He became a collector of experiences in a very complicated domain, such as football. His constant moves in search of a new team took their toll on his competitive consistency. He acknowledges that now that he has settled down in Greece, but he doesn’t seem ready to part with his habit of club-hopping each season. As previously said, it’s all in the journey. At the end of the day, our choices and errors determine who we really are.