Wearing the armband for your childhood team, lifting the league title above your head, thousands of fans chanting your name. We’ve all had that dream, though I doubt many of us also dared to imagine we’d be only 18 years old at the time.  

Panagiotis Retsos has doubtless had that same fantasy, but unlike the rest of us mere mortals, he’s actually lived the dream. The Greek defender made history when he was named skipper of the side in his first season as a professional.  

Though he left the club in 2017 as a title-winning captain, he returned five years later, resuming his role as a leader in the dressing-room almost immediately. Having first joined Olympiacos aged 10, he has made countless memories at the club, though the day he was first handed the armband as a teenager is naturally hard to beat.  

“I will literally never forget this moment. Nobody expected it,” Retsos recalls. “I remember that both I and some of my team-mates from the academy, were just astonished when he announced it. I didn’t know what to say.

“For an 18-year-old to be named team captain and lead a team of exceptional players and personalities – it meant a lot and it was a very special moment. I think that the coach saw something in me, and I am very proud about it.” 

Now 27, things have changed for Retsos. An injury-stricken few years saw him feature for four clubs in four different countries in just five years after leaving Piraeus for Leverkusen, but it was his boyhood club that helped nurture him back to his best.  

It’s no coincidence that Retsos’ upward trajectory over the last few years is mirrored almost exactly by that of his club. Olympiacos became the first Greek side to win a major European title in 2024, lifting the UEFA Conference League trophy in Athens, and after a year in the Europa League, they returned to the Champions League for the first time in five years.  

“That will remain carved in the memory of all Greeks, in my opinion,’ he says of that fateful night two seasons ago. “It is not easily forgotten. A league title is important, but we had never experienced winning a European trophy before. It was a special moment for all of us.”

With 100 games under his belt since his return to the club, 27-year-old Retsos has evolved as a leader, armed with the years of both highs and lows needed to both help shape the next generation, and provide a sounding block for the dressing-room’s more established faces. “I cannot say when I was 18, I was mature enough and had the experience to make certain decisions, to help someone or get involved in a certain situation,” he explains.

“Now I feel I have that experience and capability to perceive things more easily and comfortably if a player needs some help. And in situations where I have to put myself forward and speak up, as the captain, I think I have the experience to do so.