Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis attended the Gazetta Awards of the sports site on Monday night, presenting an award to Otto Rehhagel, the soccer coach who led the Greek national team (2001-2010) through World and European championship qualifications.
Mitsotakis, who was accompanied by his wife Mareva Grabowski-Mitsotakis, told the audience at the Athens Concert Hall (Megaro) he was "truly moved to be with you today, and truly an honor to present an award to a man who led a unique trajectory, a team effort that brought our country to the top of Europe. I think none of us will forget that summer of 2004, and I think the least we could do 20 years later is to honor the leader, the great protagonist of this effort."
The premier added his wish that "these awards coincide with the opening of sports fields under different rules than those we experienced in the past, as a collective effort, with everyone helping," referring to the opening of soccer and basketball sports arenas reopening on Tuesday after violent incidents shut them down.
His wife presented a lifetime achievement award to Fani Halkia, retired Greek hurdler who won gold in the women's 400m hurdles at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, setting an Olympic record during the semifinals of 52.77 seconds.