Vasilis Botinos – The ‘Red Torpedo’

Vasilis Botinos’ life could be turned into a screenplay without any embellishments at all. Projected against a red-and-white background, there’s no doubt what the title would be: “He didn’t give an inch!” Because Olympiacos’ towering left winger even stood up to the military junta without a second thought.

He kept his head

held high, even when the Colonels’ henchmen threatened him with a pistol in the Georgios Karaiskakis locker room. And when, in a game against Apollon Athens at the Karaiskakis stadium, fascist cronies wouldn’t allow him back onto the pitch for the second half, the Olympiacos fans kept shouted for Botinos until the goons backed down and let him play. He was a different kind of hero for the port team, and we say different because, quite simply, no one since has been able to fill Botinos’ shoes. Those who saw him play wax lyrical about the winger who worked… wonders.

As they tell it, there’s nothing Botinos couldn’t do, and the proof is in the chants they sang for him at the Karaiskakis stadium. “The torpedo”, the crowd in the stands would yell as they watched the legendary ace dribble the ball past his opponents like they were standing still. “Crazy Botinos” was the chant as the atmosphere at the Karaiskakis stadium pulsated with the fans’ expressions of love for the ace from Volos.

He could have easily been a sprinter with his impressive speed, while as a youth he played water polo and basketball. Botinos was a huge personality in Greek sports.

The transfer

Botinos was born on October 19, 1944 and started his football career in Volos in 1962. He played in the Thessaly province in central Greece for two years as a center forward, and his achievements there attracted the interest of many teams. But it was Botinos’ destiny to play for Olympiacos, which is how the “torpedo” became a resident of Piraeus. Having transferred to Greece’s main port at the age of 20, he would make history there. And if it hadn’t been for his serious injuries, he could have reached the football “stars” and achieved even more with Olympiacos.

As it was, he won two championships and three Cups in the red-and-white strip, and he will go down in history as one of the best wingers in the club’s first hundred years in existence. Interestingly, Vasilis Botinos could just have easily ended up a track athlete, given his impressive speed, while he had played polo and basketball in his youth, as well. All in all, he was a larger-than-life div in the annals of Greek sport.

Standing up to the Colonels

Botinos wore the Olympiacos stripes for seven years, from 1964 to 1971, scoring 42 goals in in 134 appearances. That he always put in sterling performances in the team’s all-important derbies was, of course, one of the reasons he was such a favorite with the Olympiacos fans.

Not even the junta could bring Botinos up short, and everyone has heard the story of how he stood up to military officers from in the Colonels’ regime. Νone of us forget the incident described above, when a military officer threatened Botinos with a pistol and the “torpedo” didn’t so much as blink. That’s why the regime was so keen to end the career of an Olympiacos player who’d had the courage to stand up to them.

Real friendship

What is also noteworthy is the close friendship that developed between Botinos and Giorgos Sideris. When Botinos transferred to Olympiacos at the age of 20 and moved to Piraeus, he initially stayed in a hotel in the city.

But there was always a plate of hot food for him round Sideris’ house, and Botinos would never forget this kindness, or how much Giorgos Sideris and his family helped him when he first came to Olympiacos, and after that, too.

Botinos worked with Marton Bukovi, a manager who has himself become a legendary div in Olympiacos lore.

The Hungarian appreciated Botinos’ talent and potential and always spoke highly of the Legend’s winger. But Botinos also had a special place in his heart for Bukovi, in appreciation of how much the great Hungarian coach had helped him.

The only thing Bukovi tried to change about Botinos—albeit unsuccessfully—was his overfondness for dribbling. Still, Bukovi couldn’t stop himself smiling, if somewhat ruefully, every time he saw him dribble from one end of the pitch to the other.

“Crazy Botinos” loved to leave the opposition for dust, because he knew how much the Olympiacos fans adored to see him do it.

Bukovi asked him to pass the ball sooner and to cut down on the “tricks” with the ball, but the Olympiacos winger couldn’t resist driving the fans crazy. “I like to see the Legend’s fans happy,” he used to say about his style of play.

A “crazy” Botinos wanted to constantly dribble past his opponents and arouse the Olympiacos fans with his dazzling actions.

The Leap to the Heavens

Botinos also played for the Greek national team, and the goal he scored against Switzerland in the 1970 World Cup qualifying match will never be forgotten. The Olympiacos winger beat the Swiss goalkeeper in the air with an amazing jump that was destined to go down in history.

It was a leap to… the heavens, and Botinos liked to talk about his amazing goal.

Some years later, during a trip to Zurich, the Olympiacos ace was surprised to see graffiti about the goal in question on the side of an apartment building. No further commentary was needed, because the graffiti artist said everything there was to say about that particular goal.

Things could have been even better if the giant of a player hadn’t had to deal with so many serious injuries. Those torn muscles cost him dearly, as they prevented him from rising to the levels he could have

Injuries

Vasilis Botinos’ talent was undeniable and his career in Olympiacos will go down in history. Still, things could have been even better if the giant of a player hadn’t had to deal with so many serious injuries.

Those torn muscles cost him dearly, as they prevented him from rising to the levels he could have.

In fact, since Botinos often had to clench his teeth just to stay on the pitch and play, the situation quickly reached the point of no return.

Everyone agrees that without these problems, he’d have had an even longer career with the Reds. Even so, he had a talent for standing out and for leading Olympiacos.

Botinos played for the port city team for seven years. When he left in 1971, he wore the Panaigalios jersey for a year before capping off his career at Panionios in the 1973-1974 season.

He passed away on February 16, 2022 at the age of 77, defeated by the coronavirus.

But the “red torpedo” will always have a prominent place in the golden annals of Olympiacos, and the Legend’s fans will never stop chanting “Crazy Botinos”…