Bolton Wanderers legend Stelios Giannakopoulos says he was convinced by Sam Allardyce to come to the club due to the what the Whites were set to become in Premier League.
Greek winger Stelios joined Wanderers in the summer of 2003 from Olympiacos in his native country. He went on to become one of the club's legendary players in a golden era during the 2000s.
He was part of a team which also boasted the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha, Ivan Campo, Fernando Hierro, Ricardo Gardner, Kevin Nolan, Jussi Jaaskelainen and Kevin Davies. His time at Wanderers also saw him play in two UEFA Cup campaigns with the club.
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Stelios went on to play 177 games for the Whites across five season, scoring 28 goals in that time. He left in the summer of 2008 for Hull City.
Reflecting on his move from his native Greece to the Reebok Stadium as it was then known, Stelios admits that his team mates at Olympiacos found his move to Bolton amusing at the time owing to where the club was in 2003. But he was convinced to come by Allardyce and his vision for what Wanderers later achieved as he achieved a dream to play in the English top flight.
Speaking to the BBC's Wanderer podcast, Stelios said: "I will be completely honest with you, most of my team mates were laughing at me! Because Bolton was not the Bolton it became three or five years later, it was not this size of club.
"But for me it was a Premier League club that had the potential to achieve what it really achieved in the following years. I was always a step ahead in my thinking and I could realise the potential.
"This is the reason I signed for Olympiacos because I could realise there would be a potential, there would be the momentum and there would be a start of winning titles and winning trophies.
"This is the reason I signed for Olympiacos and this is the reason I signed for Bolton Wanderers as well., because I got convinced by the gaffer Big Sam. We had a conversation, he explained to me what exactly the club was about. It was a club that was building to become a very good power and a big power in the English Premier League.
"Of course if you mention Premier League and you are English, you cannot get it, but if you live outside of England and you hear Premier League, it's every young footballer's dream to play in England in the Premier League. It's a dream and for me that dream was becoming a reality.
"I couldn't say no. I could see and I could sense inside my heart the potential that Bolton Wanderers had in that time and I was experienced enough to understand what Big Sam wanted from me, what he was expecting from me and what I was expecting for the club for me.
"I got convinced. He also explained to me what was the plan for the club and how we were going to build in order to be successful with other big players and big names as well and it was not difficult to get convinced and come here and sign for the club."
The former Greek international, who won Euro 2004 with his country, also spoke of the summer of 2005 where he was courted by both Manchester City and Liverpool. City made a bid of £1m to sign the winger that summer but the Wanderers man was not interested in that opportunity.
Liverpool under Rafa Benitez, the newly crowned European champions, also made contact with Stelios numerous time and were keen to bring the winger to Anfield. But Stelios spoke of how talks with Allardyce led him to stay put at Wanderers and put pen to paper on a fresh three-year deal.
He said: "It was not speculation. It was reality. Man City, I wouldn't consider myself to join Man City in those days because it was the Man City that it is today. It was a completely different team and we were competing in the same position in the table with Man City.
"Liverpool is a different story. Liverpool in 2005 I was very, very flattered because Rafa Benitez, he was calling me every single day and he knew that I had a buyout clause of £1m in my contract.
"For Liverpool, £1m or £2m or this kind of price are very low prices and very good money to sign a player like me for this kind of money. Obviously that was a big temptation for me in those days in 2005.
"But at the same time, Big Sam really wanted me to stay in the club and he managed to convince me in his office to renew my contract for three more years and besides the situation that Liverpool was a big club and it was a big dream for every player to play in such a club, I was convinced by Big Sam to renew my contract for three more years and stay with the club and commit my future to the club.
"I played my football with Bolton in the Premier League, I play with Bolton in Europe and despite the size and history of Liverpool, Bolton has its own history and I haven't regretted that I renewed my contract with the club. I have very big feelings for the club, not only me but my family as well, my two kids are playing for the academy so we love it here."
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