Giorgos Giakoumakis signed for Atlanta United in the 2023 winter transfer window, filling the void Josef Martinez left in the attack when moving to Inter Miami.
Atlanta vice president Carlos Bocanegra scouted Europe to find the heir to the number seven shirt before turning Scottish Premier League giants Celtic to sign the striker on a permanent deal.
Fast forward six months later, Giakouamkis - nicknamed 'GG' by just about everyone in Atlanta who has interest in their soccer team - has done considerably well by scoring 10 goals in 17 appearances, all while dealing with a nagging hamstring injury in his first season in a new league. He insists the transition to American life was no problem, reflecting in his performances.
"In Greece, we share a lot of things with American culture. So when I came here, I mean, we've always been admiring the, the way of lifestyle, what you have here," he said in an interview with 90min.
"Even the sense of humor is really common and all the stuff that made me feel so comfortable since the first moment. I can't say the same about Scotland because we are totally different. You know, they're British people, they're more unique, they're different. So, I mean, nothing bad with that, but it was kind of another way I had to get used to that [in Scotland]. So, coming here [Atlanta] was much easier for me."
When Atlanta United came calling for his goal-scoring services, Giakoumakis didn't hesitate to join the likes of Thiago Almada to play in the futuristic Mercedes-Benz Stadium. But after living a home game, the player admitted to feeling "at home."
"Many, many factors contributed in order to make me feel like home and to make it just much easier and much faster [adjustment]."
"One of the reasons was, of course, was the people from Atlanta, the board and the people around the team, but also the fans really showed me that they appreciate me at first and how they show me every time that they love me. So, I feel the same way and I feel that it's my responsibility to deliver every time I play."
The 2023 MLS-All Star player has definitely delivered, and his goal catalogue from this season has been rather intriguing. One of his more impressive strikes took place against the Colorado Rapids in May, where Atlanta dominated the game and triumphed 4-0.
"It [his favorite goal so far] was against Colorado that chipped the goalkeeper...It was a nice goal. I needed a nice goal because most of my goals were maybe one touch inside the box as a striker. So I needed to do something more complicated. I didn't need it actually, but I wanted it," he said to 90min.
"So it was something really nice for me and it was also a special moment because I came back [from injury]. It was the first game back from a tiny injury, and I was even happier because of feeling healthier and scoring, back to scoring goals. So it was a double meaning for me."
Now, the target is winning the golden boot.
"That's one of my targets. That's one of my goals."
"But I'm trying to face every game individually, like go week by week and score as many goals as I can, first of all, for my team to help them finish as high as possible in the table and then do something very good in the playoffs. So, I know for a fact that if you keep scoring, first of all, it helps your team and then eventually probably the amount, of course, is going to be really critical to winning [the Golden Boot]."
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This article was originally published on 90min as Giorgos Giakoumakis opens up on his first season in MLS with Atlanta United.
