Panos, which 04 places do you definitely have to visit in Greece?
Retsos: Of course, there's Athens and Thessaloniki, the second biggest city in the country. Then there's definitely Crete and the Peloponnese, the peninsula in the south of the mainland.
What do you think is typically Greek?
Retsos: Eating together with the extended family with nanna, grandad, uncles, cousins and so on. The Greeks make a lot of time for that.
Where did you grow up?
Retsos: I was born in Johannesburg in South Africa but moved to Greece at the age of two and I grew up near Athens, to be more exact in Agios Dimitrios, a place south of Athens.
Who do you think is the greatest Greek ever?
Retsos: Aristotle, for me our greatest philosopher.
Your favourite Greek dish?
Retsos: Pastitsio, our type of pasta bake. It tastes better than Italian lasagne...
What don't you like so much about your fellow countrymen?
Retsos: Well, sometimes we are rather disorganised. In Germany nearly every family has an itinerary for the whole week – I like that. It's completely different in Greece. We don't look so far ahead and live life more day by day.
Your secret tip for tourists?
Retsos: I'll have to pass on that one. But although people might groan: You have to see the Acropolis! That's definitely not a secret tip but it's an incredibly impressive structure.
What smell do you associate with Greece?
Retsos: The sea air I breathe when I drive on a coast road with the window open.
Your favourite football club in Greece?
Retsos: Olympiacos, my hometown club.
FC Augsburg are top of the table for the first time in their Bundesliga history. After two wins for starters, FCA lead the German top-flight with six points and a goal difference of 7 to 1. This Saturday, 12 September (kick-off: 15:30 CEST), Augsburg are looking to build on their strong start to the season against the Werkself. The lowdown on our next opponents.
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Just in time for the start of the school year, everyone was hard at work again at NaturGut Ophoven. For the 21st time, Bayer 04 have supported the annual ‘BioBrotbox’ campaign, which puts together a healthy breakfast for first-year primary school pupils in Leverkusen – and not only contributed 1,904 muesli bars but also plenty of enthusiasm too: Together with the U19 players Burak Kir and Clinton Wilson, Emily Wallrabenstein and Paulina Platner from the Women’s Bundesliga team helped with the packing. The latter was clearly delighted “that Bayer 04 are helping out with regional projects like this and showing their commitment to the local community”.
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