It’s been the Lionel Messi show all summer over the US – but Giorgos Giakoumakis is a leading contender to be the main man in attack come the end of the season.
The Greek forward left Celtic earlier this year for Atlanta United and his first season in the States is going swimmingly, scoring 14 goals in 22 matches to leave him joint-top of the scoring charts. Messi’s move to the MLS at Inter Miami has brought plenty of eyeballs to the league but punters hoping to catch a glimpse of him at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium were disappointed after he missed out the clash.
Giakoumakis and co pounced by winning 5-2, with the club’s social media account taking a cheeky jibe at their opponents by saying “tell em to bring the whole squad next time.” There was also plenty of praise for their international forward, who according to one post, has the “golden boot calling” before harping back to his Celtic days.
To the tune of 99 Red Balloons by Nena, Hoops fans serenaded him with a chant that went “Giakoumakis comes from Greece, when he plays he scores with ease, he leads the line he plays up top, our number 7 gift from God!” And Atlanta hold him in heavenly status too, claiming “He’s back, our Greek god.”
Even with the World Cup winner injured, Messi was all the talk in the build-up. But Atlanta boss Gonzalo Pineda confidently boasted: “A lot of things that are going out there in the atmosphere and everything seems to be about Inter Miami.
“About Messi, about all that. And I told them we have to turn that down to ‘it’s about us, it’s about Atlanta United’.”
Giakoumakis was a big fan of the tune that had him down as sent from above. He told Celtic View last year: “I love it, whenever they sing my song. I just love it. I just enjoy it. As I said before, I will always remember it.
“This song, sometimes, when we’re celebrating in the dressing room with my teammates, they make fun of me. We don’t have it on, but they sing it on their own. Our goal is to make our fans really proud and happy. I feel really important for this club, the fans make me realise this every single game. It’s something I really appreciate.”
