From heartbreak in the Europa Conference League to a €20 million transfer, Hull City owner Acun Ilıcalı explains how Kostantinos Tzolakis' penalty-saving masterclass turned a bitter rival into a priority target.
Hull City owner Acun Ilıcalı reveals how he started admiring former Olympiacos goalkeeper Konstantinos Tzolakis, ultimately leading to buying him as the first-choice shot-stopper for his club.
The goalless stalemate between Hull City and Aston Villa in Matchday 3 of the Premier League confirmed that Tzolakis kept his third straight clean sheet of the new league season. Apart from the one Stoke City goal in the EFL Cup second round, which led to a 5-4 penalty shootout victory for his team, the Olympiacos youth academy graduate has yet to concede a single goal in the Premier League. In this period, he has started against Manchester United, newly promoted Coventry City and Aston Villa.
Turkish businessman Ilıcalı made Tzolakis a priority target for Hull City during the summer transfer window, and after a few delays, he finally got the player he wanted on a 20 million euro deal from the Piraeus-based club.
Speaking to the press via De Marke Sports, Ilıcalı remembered the 2024-25 UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-final clash between Olympiacos and Fenerbahce, where Tzolakis made three saves in the shootout to send the Greeks to the semi-finals of the tournament. "To be honest, Tzolakis is a special player for me. If you’re wondering where I remember him from, unfortunately, he had saved three penalties against Fenerbahce in the Conference League and had caused me pain. From that day on, I had my eye on him, and I started watching him ever since," remarked the Hull City owner.
He further went on to add that the Tigers' goalkeeping coach gave him three names for the starting role between the sticks at the club ahead of the summer transfer window. One was Tzolakis, and the other two were from Spain and Germany. However, Ilıcalı decided to bring the 23-year-old to the club, firmly backing his own and his coach's choice. He said: "We have Erbil Bozkurt, who is our goalkeeping coach. I trust him and have a lot of faith in him. He gave me three names. One was in Spain, the second was Tzolakis, and the third was German. I chose Tzolakis, and I did the right thing."
Apart from Tzolakis, Hull City also brought in midfielder Christos Mouzakitis from Olympiacos. The former UEFA Youth League winner was included in the squad list for the Aston Villa outing, but he was not involved on the pitch by head coach Sergej Jakirovic. He is tilted to feature against Sunderland in the EFL Cup.
