Ioannina said goodbye to Marios Economou today. In Agios Nikolaos Kopanos , where he may once have played as a child, where they know the man behind the athlete, the funeral of the 33-year-old veteran international footballer turned into a final farewell full of tears, hugs and impossible acceptance. Friends, relatives, former teammates, sports figures and a large crowd were present to accompany him on his last journey — a young man, father of a minor child, who left too early and for unjustified reasons.
The traffic accident that cut the thread of his life occurred at noon on Saturday, May 23 , on Stratigou Makrygiannis Avenue in Ioannina, near the “Hatzikosta” hospital. The motorcycle driven by Marios Economou collided with a car driven by a 63-year-old driver , who, according to testimonies, attempted a U-turn on the road. A routine movement, a split second, and a living, strong man found himself fighting for his survival in the ICU of the University Hospital of Ioannina, with craniocerebral injuries that ultimately proved insurmountable. In recent days, doctors had begun brain function tests, but the tests did not have time to be completed. Marios Economou breathed his last, ten days after the collision.
The man who left was a footballer who lived Greek football to its fullest, but also an international career that few achieve. His career includes 74 appearances with Bologna , 64 with AEK , 20 with Copenhagen , 23 with PAS Giannina and 21 with Panaitolikos , while he had also played for SPAL , Bari and Cagliari . A career that began in Ioannina, passed through the biggest stadiums in Italy and Denmark , found its peak in AEK in an era of titles and a strong presence in the Greek Super League, and ended with dignity in the summer of 2024, when he “hung up his shoes” wearing the Panaitolikos jersey. In the meantime, he also wore the Greek National Team jersey , confirming that his talent was undeniable.
The announcement by PAS Giannina , the team that was his “first love” and the last stop of his career in his native country, had a special weight: “Today the PAS Giannina family mourns. Always with a smile, always with kindness.” In these few words lies perhaps what those who knew him closely remember most: he was not only the footballer with 74 appearances in Bologna or 64 in AEK — he was the man with the smile , who never lost it.
The mourning for his loss was not limited to Ioannina or Greece. Statements were issued by UEFA and the EPO , proving that his presence in European football left a mark beyond borders. The PSAPP — the association of professional athletes — issued its own message of condolences, while an impressive array of clubs rushed to express their grief: AEK , Olympiacos , PAOK from Greece, Copenhagen and Cagliari from abroad, along with Sampdoria , Levadiakos , Niki Volou , Panthrakiko , Kalamata and Panaitoliko . Each statement was a small tribute from people who experienced him in the locker room, in training, in matches — and remember the man.
Greek football is mourning Marios Economou for the second time in a few days that it has lost a footballer, at a time when the sports community has not even had time to recover from a recent loss. This coincidence makes the mourning even heavier.
What makes his death particularly painful is not only his age — just 33 years old — but the manner. A car accident , a reversal that shouldn’t have happened there and then, and a life that ended without having said everything he had to say. He leaves behind a minor child — that’s the heaviest of all. Losing a father at such an age is a wound that doesn’t heal easily.
In Agios Nikolaos Kopanos , where the people of Ioannina said goodbye to Marios Economou today, there was emotion that needed no words. It was the emotion of those who knew him and cannot believe that they will not see him again. His memory, as PAS Giannina promised, will remain alive — in the people who loved him, in the fans who applauded him, and in a child who grows up wearing his father’s jersey.
