Discoveryfootball.com editor-in-chief Manos Staramopoulos met Tasos Strantzalis in a place that resembles more a football memory shelter than an office. The walls speak. Faded photographs, jerseys heavy with sweat and history. And he, calm, with a look that has seen the game differently, more clearly.

DF: Mr. Strantzalis, if I asked you to go back to the beginning, where would time stop?”

“In Fotolivos. That’s where everything begins. Where football wasn’t a profession, it was a breath. I was born on August 31, 1952, but I was born in football a few years later, when I first wore the jersey of Doxa Drama.”

DF: When you were 12, in the Doxa youth team… What do you remember?”

“I remember dirt. I remember voices. I remember myself chasing a ball as if it were the only thing that mattered in the world. From 1965 to 1968, I grew up with the team. I wasn’t just a player. I was part of it.”

DF: In 1969, Antonis Georgiadis promoted you to the first team…”

“Antonis Georgiadis didn’t just give me a chance. He gave me trust. And trust for a young footballer is heavier than any contract.”

DF: And the debut? Two goals…”

“Yes… against Alexandros the Great. 7-0. The first two were mine. That day I didn’t understand what happened. I just played. Then I realized that my life had changed.”

DF: As I remember, you were a number 10 in Doxa Dramas

“I didn’t like the power. I liked the thinking. The pass before the pass. The shot when it was necessary. I was a number ten. One of those who carry the game. I didn’t shout. I let the ball do the talking.”

DF: You were one of those who “bleeded” the jersey…”

“It’s not a figure of speech. It’s true. For Doxa I played as if it were my home. And it was.”

DF: The transfer that never happened to AEK…”

“In 1977. AEK was interested. Loukas Barlos heard things… rumors about my health. And it was all over before it started. I didn’t get bitter. The ball knows.”

DF: Greek national team — one appearance…”

“And yet, it was enough for me to feel what it means. In Prague, against the Czechoslovakia national team. Starting player. With coach Lakis Petropoulos. A moment that never goes away.”

DF: 156 appearances in the A’ National Team, over 500 in total… without a title.

“The title was the world. The recognition. I may not have won any cups, but I won many eyes. And that cannot be bought.

DF: The end?

“1985, Kavala. One year. And then silence. In 1986 I hung up my boots. But football never leaves you.”

DF: Today, how do you see football?”

“It is faster. Stronger. But less… human. The 10-pointer is missing. The free-kick. The creator, the dribbler.”

DF: World Cup — your favorites?”

“The Brazilian national team with Carlo Ancelotti will be very strong. The Spanish national team has Lamine Yamal. I also see the Portuguese national team and the German national team. And of course the Argentina national team if Lionel Messi plays.