Q&A With Rayo OKC Forward Georgios Samaras

Georgios Samaras has scored in big competitions at the club level for teams such as Celtic FC and in the biggest soccer stage in the world, the World Cup, with the national team of Greece. Now, Samaras, 31, has joined Rayo OKC of the NASL for the 2016 season as he attempts to guide the expansion side to a successful debut season. Samaras spoke to Matthew Levine of NASL.com about playing in the Old Firm Derby, joining Rayo OKC, and more.

Levine: As a child you used to stay up late and watch some basketball games and Michael Jordan may have been one of the players you took to from a young age. Did you take anything from watching other athletes like Jordan?

Samaras: A lot of people when I was young I was an admirer of. I tried to learn from them and one of them was Michael Jordan, for sure. My father would wake me up at 6 a.m. before school to see the third or fourth quarter.

When I was young I watched a lot of sports. One of them was Jordan, [Johan] Cruyff, and Marco Van Basten. I tried to steal things from them. That’s what you do as a young boy, you try to copy and learn from them.

Levine: You scored the penalty kick in the last World Cup to send Greece to the second round for the first time. Can you talk a little about that moment of scoring the goal and what it meant to you and the nation?

Samaras: I’ll say what I said after the game. For me, it didn’t mean anything. For my teammates a lot and my country even more. I cannot take full credit for scoring the goal because soccer is a team effort.

It was very important that we went through for the first time in our history. It was a great feeling, it’s great to score a goal. For my country and my team it means more than myself.

Levine: One of the stops along the way has been at Celtic. What was it like playing for an important Scottish club and in a game such as the Old Firm Derby against Rangers?

Samaras: It was seven great years, a great club, with fans all around the world. I had a great time. I love that team from the first day to now. I’m very lucky that I was a part of the club for so many years.

The Old Firm games aren’t something I can really explain to you in words because you need to be there and see it and feel it. You need to book tickets to go to Glasgow to go to one of these games. It’s something you need to live.

Levine: You also played with Manchester City in the Barclays Premier League, and West Bromwich as well, and what do you take from the those experiences and at Celtic that you can help guide some of your younger teammates at Rayo OKC?

Samaras: My biography is good, but if you’re not mature enough to learn the game the problem is yourself. The thing is when you have the experience to learn from your mistakes and learn from other people then you can try to help the young boys. I believe I can help them with my experience and say things that will make them better if they want to hear it. If they want to hear it that’s good, but if they don’t that is their decision.

I’d like to help on the pitch and off of it and the boys are very hungry to learn at Rayo OKC. Hopefully we’re going to have a nice run this season.

Levine: The first step is getting back on the field after spending some time out injured [Samaras made his debut against FC Edmonton, coming on as a second-half substitute], but how great would it be to get back on the field for Greece as well. You’re inching closer to reaching 100 caps. If you were to reach that number what would it mean for you?

Samaras: Numbers are numbers. I’m not a guy who goes for the numbers – how many goals, how many caps. I had the injury for the last six months, so now I’m fit again and will start to play football again and enjoy it.

Hopefully I’ll be back with the national team. I’ve had great moments with them and great success over the years. If the coach decides to call me to the national team then I will be there. If he doesn’t call me I will work even harder to show him I am good enough to play.

Levine: What are the expectations heading into this year? There’s the split season so what is the initial expectations looking at the Spring Season? Is it just getting into the groove of playing? Have you set certain targets for yourself?

Samaras: Personal targets I don’t have. I’m not a guy that will say I will have 35 goals in the season, give another 20 assists. I don’t set fixed numbers. I don’t have that sort of ego. I just want to be very competitive in each game.

Everyone knows we are a new club, so I don’t know what people are expecting from us. I’m telling you now we have a very good team. I want, and I believe, the realistic target as a team we want to be competitive and try to win every game. That’s our target and we can be that with the talent on this team. We’ll go all in to win the games.

Levine: Can you talk about what you’ve seen in terms of the growth of the league, spending some time in New York recently with the Cosmos and where can you see the league going in the next few years?

Samaras: That’s up to the people in the NASL – finding new cities, new clubs. There are great clubs – New York, Miami FC, Minnesota. They are trying to grow up and bring more quality players.

It’s something that needs time and everybody needs to appreciate it. We have to be patient because I believe in the next four or five years the soccer here will be competitive with Europe. It needs time, but we are here to help and I’m glad I’ll be a part of the story.

Levine: How excited are you to be in Oklahoma City and to really get the season going?

Samaras: Of course I’m excited. I’m very happy how things are going. It’s a great community here and hopefully as a team we do our best to be a part of the community.

We need to make our own story in OKC and hopefully they will treat us well and we’ll help each other.