Giorgos Giakoumakis had a difficult start to life at Celtic but has firmly become a hero of the supporter after his goalscoring exploits in the second half of last season.
Arriving with injury and fitness issues, we didn’t see the best of the Greek international until the turn of the year but he played a blinding role in the title win, filling in for Kyogo Furuhashi and eventually scoring 17 goals in all competitions.
It led to a fan chant being created to the tune of 99 Red Balloons by Nena, with the lyrics being: “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 naturally, he’s enjoying the adulation.
Speaking to The Celtic View podcast today, he was asked how it feels to hear the tune at games and stated: “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.
“That’s one of the reasons I will try to give my best on the field and to score some goals – I already miss scoring goals and celebrating with them.”
Giakoumakis has come off the bench in Celtic’s opening two games but will undoubtedly get starting opportunities soon, especially when the schedule livens up and the Bhoys get back to playing mid-week and at the weekend.
He’ll be a crucial part of the assault on multiple competitions this season and is clearly brimming with the confidence being a hero of the Celtic fans gives you.
Let’s hope he gives us many more reasons to share the love over the next 12 months!
In other news, The Celtic transfer machine begins to move again with Sky Sports update.
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