Tassos Venetis knew from the start Celtic’s Giorgos Giakoumakis was going to muscle his way to the very top.
He is just delighted things are working out for him in the Hoops after he had his own Greek tragedy at AEK Athens.
Giakoumakis scored a brace on Monday to dump Dundee United out of the Scottish Cup and to take his impressive run since the end of January to seven goals and nine in total for the Premiership leaders.
That impressive run has been rewarded with an international recall by new Greek boss Gus Poyet for this month’s games in Romania and Montenegro.
Venetis said: “I am delighted to see Giakoumakis do so well at Celtic. A lot of what he has been doing has been all over the sports channels and on the internet in Greece.
“It is like Giakoumakis is back again. It is great to see.
“Giakoumakis is perfectly suited for Scottish football because he is a good striker. He is also big, strong and physical.
“He has scored a lot of goals for Celtic since he got over his injuries and I believe he will be a very big player for them.
“He is a goalscorer and a matchwinner and he can be the sort of player that helps a club like Celtic win titles and trophies.
“I really believe in this boy that he can make the difference. He is back in the Greek national team as well so that is a mark of how well he is doing.”
Venetis played against Giakoumakis as one of Greece’s top young talents although his rapid rise was curtailed when his dream move to AEK Athens in 2017 turned into a nightmare.
The former Dundee United and Ross County player believes Giakoumakis deserves enormous credit for the way he has got his career back on track, first with VVV-Venlo in Holland and now kicking on again under Ange Postecoglou at Celtic.
Venetis, who has recently stepped down as sporting director at AOK Kerkyra, said: “When AEK bought him I thought he would make a really big impact.
“He had a bad injury that left him on the sidelines for a long time. After that he never really got a chance or much game time at AEK. I don’t know what happened behind the scenes but I am not sure how much AEK Athens helped him because it was a big jump going from Platanias to there.
“They didn’t help him to adapt and to switch to a big-club mentality.
“I was certain he was going to be a big star but he didn’t get much of an opportunity. It ended up not being the right club for him.
“AEK are a big club who need results and they need them now.
“Giakoumakis didn’t really get his chance and he had a couple of loans before he was sold to VVV-Venlo. It was in Holland where his career has really come to life again when he scored 20-odd goals.”
Venetis remembered playing against Giakoumakis when he was a talented teenager coming through at Platanias when he was an experienced defender.
It was no surprise to see even then a young Giakoumakis managed to muscle through and come out on top.
Venetis said: “I remember he was a very strong striker and he loved to battle with defenders for the ball.
“He was very strong for his age, as strong as the most experienced players. He had a lot of confidence but he could also score goals.
“We played against him a couple of times and he scored on both occasions.
“He was a constant threat. He also had good movement and was decent in the air.
“He was seen as one of the best young players in Greece and that was why AEK Athens bought him.”
The Celtic star will now be looking to make his mark with Greece. He already has six caps but will want to be a big part in Poyet’s plans.
And Venetis added: “Greece have a lot of good strikers. Giakoumakis is a good player and has a lot of qualities.
“Vangelis Pavlidis at AZ Alkmaar is the main striker just now but there is no reason why Giakoumakis can’t play alongside him or off him.
“I think they would make a good partnership
“Now he is playing regularly for Celtic, he will only grow in confidence and get better and better. The emergence of the real Giakoumakis at Celtic will provide the new Greek coach with a pleasant problem.”
