Kostas Slokas moves to Panathinaikos, causing controversy in Greece
Posted : 15 July 2023
This week, Kostas Slokas made waves in Greece by making a controversial move from Olympiacos, where he was an icon, to their hated rival Panathinaikos.
Panathinaikos paid a significant price to acquire Slokas, aiming to strengthen their team and assert their presence on the European stage, while also provoking their city rival. Slokas justified his move by claiming that Olympiacos didn't show him enough respect.
This move has raised questions about its potential consequences and whether Slokas will regret it in the future. Comparisons to past cases of "traitors" in world sports who made direct transfers between rival teams are being examined.
Determining the largest transfers between sworn rivals involves considering the size and significance of the rivalry, a direct move from one club to the other, and the overall impact of the transfer. Notably, some of the world's biggest rivalries, like Partizan Belgrade against Red Star, haven't witnessed such symbolic transitions. In American sports, college rivalries dominate, and transfers between arch-rivals are rare.
Additionally, in the era of free agents, the meaning of symbols in these transfers has been somewhat diminished. For instance, kicker Adam Vinatieri, an icon of the New England Patriots' Super Bowl victories, moved to their arch-rival Indianapolis Colts, which didn't sit well with some fans.
European basketball, too, has few instances of such major symbolic transfers. CSKA Moscow and Maccabi Tel Aviv's geographical distance prevents them from having a fierce rivalry. Italy lacks a significant basketball rivalry, leaving the focus on the rivalries in Greece, Turkey, and Spain, where no major symbolic moves have occurred.
The impact of Slokas' move to Panathinaikos remains to be seen, and the significance of such transfers varies depending on the context and history of each rivalry.
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