In Brief
Xanthi hires Matzourakis for the fourth time Super League side Skoda Xanthi announced yesterday that it has hired Yiannis Matzourakis to replace departed German manager Wolfgang Wolf. This is the fourth time in his career that the 60-year-old coach has accepted the job at the Thrace club. Last year, he left Xanthi just before the start of the league and then joined OFI Crete, which was relegated to the second division at the end of the season. Interim coach Costas Constantinidis will now take over at the club’s scouting division. Meanwhile, Wolf fired a parting shot suggesting in an interview that Greeks have no patience and want immediate results. Koutsokeras returns to Olympia helm Former Olympia Larissa player Vangelis Koutsokeras is officially taking over again as the head coach of the basketball club, following its merger with crosstown rival AEL Larissa. Koutsokeras, who last year was assistant to coach Giorgos Bartzokas, is replacing Giorgos Kalafatakis, who resigned late last week. He had coached Olympia for two years when the team was in the A2 division. Meanwhile, newly promoted Ilisiakos announced yesterday the acquisition of former AEK and Olympiakos captain Nikos Hatzis. The experienced guard convinced coach Stergios Koufos he is essential to the Zografou club’s roster. Boxing win Greek-Australian boxer Michael Katsidis beat American Vicente Escobedo in Las Vegas late on Saturday in an interim World title bout. Katsidis suffered a suspected broken jaw but scored a split-point decision to set up a World-title bout with World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez. Water polo U20 The women’s Under-20 national water polo team finished fourth in the European Championship in Naples, Italy. In the match for third place, Greece lost 13-10 to the Netherlands on Sunday, although the Greeks complained about some biased refereeing in the Dutch team’s favor.
