WHEN Takis Fyssas was a Hearts player, there was a belief at the club that they could carry the fight to the Old Firm. Fifteen years after leaving, his opinion hasn’t changed.
One of the heroes of the Tynecastle outfit’s 2006 Scottish Cup win, Fyssas was part of a squad that also separated Rangers and Celtic in the top-flight standings, claiming a place in the Champions League qualifiers as a result.
He is now the Technical Director of the Greek national side, but Fyssas has designs on making an emotional return to Hearts in a similar position, and says that along with former teammate Robbie Neilson as manager, he has the vision and ideas to take the club to the next level.
“Robbie was an excellent person,” Fyssas said.
“He knew he wasn’t a fantastic player but he knew his value to the team. He was a team player and he did everything for the team. Robbie was so important to us and I had the greatest respect for him - I still do.
“I was working with Panathinaikos as the technical director in 2015 and came over to Edinburgh to watch a player on a secret mission.
“It was a central defender [Danny Wilson] and I was at Tynecastle and I saw Robbie, who was the manager, after the game. I was in the dressing room and I saw what he was like as a manager.
“We had a chat about the player we were interested in and we spoke about the memories we had together. He is a really friendly guy and we had a great time together.
“I kept an eye on his career and while Hearts had difficult moments in the second division last season, this year has been so successful.
“To get into Europe, finish third and reach the cup final is great but I think they can do better.
“They need some fresh ideas, you don’t always have to spend a lot of money.
“I have been a technical director with Panathinaikos and Greece and it would be a dream for me to come back and work for Hearts.
“I believe I could make them even better.”
Fyssas is hoping that the class of ’22 can emulate his own Hearts team by lifting the Scottish Cup at Hampden on Saturday, and he will be especially pleased for the ‘excellent’ Craig Gordon – who remarkably, also played in that 2006 triumph – should such a scenario come to pass.
The former Greek international and Euro 2004 winner has played in plenty of big games in his career, and the run up to this weekend’s showpiece occasion reminds him of a final he once played in while at Benfica.
Back then, opponents Porto were involved in a European final in close proximity to the domestic cup final, and he hopes that Europe League finalists Rangers may be as similarly distracted as Jose Mourinho’s troops were back then.
“Rangers, this season, are a great team, they play very good, especially in Europe,” said Fyssas.
“They have a final that they are going to play in the Europa League. So, it reminds me a lot of when I played for Benfica when we played Porto, a big derby, before Euro 2004 when Mourinho was their manager.
“One week later, Porto played against Monaco in the Champions League final and they won 3-0. But one week earlier, we played against them in the Portuguese cup final and we won 2-1 in extra time.
“I scored in this game. I made it 1-1 and put the game in the balance. For me, I had in my mind that Porto mostly had the desire to play in the final of the Champions League and that it was an opportunity for Benfica to again bring trophies to the club.
“This cup was the first that the team won for 10 years and then Benfica started to rise again.
“I just wanted to let you know that, because Rangers have another final to play, maybe Hearts, maybe it’s time for them to give everything and show them that they want to win this cup more.”
*An Audience with Takis Fyssas takes place at the O2 Academy in Edinburgh on Sunday June 26th. For tickets please visit www.headlineevents.online/takis-fyssas
