The life of Nektarios Tsakalos, the son of Greek immigrants from Perama and Chalkidiki, is like a fairy tale.
Three and a half years ago he left his birthplace, Australia, to make a new start in his parents' homeland, Greece.
A few years later, he not only managed to set up his own business in the hospitality industry (an endeavour that did not have a happy ending), but also to revive his dream of rugby league.
Although he hadn't played the sport he loved as a child for years, he managed not only to compete at a high level again, but also to become an international with the Greek national team.
Speaking to SBS Greek, Nektarios Tsakalos refers to the circumstances that played a decisive role in his decision to get involved again with the sport he loved.
"I was born in Newcastle, Australia and the number one sport here in Newcastle is rugby league. I grew up with rugby league and I loved it. I played from a young age until I was 25. I stopped playing between the ages of 25 and 30. I went to Greece to live permanently and I visited a chiropractor who was Greek-Australian and he informed me that there was rugby league in Greece. I told him I wanted to play and he sent me to a team called Athens Raiders. I started playing there. I had experience in rugby league and I was playing a bit well. I knew the rules and I was a good player and they saw me and told me to trail in the Greek national rugby team and that's how I got into the national team," he said.
O Νεκτάριος Τσάκαλος κάνει τάγκλιν κατά τη διάρκεια αγώνα της ομάδας του Athens Raiders Credit: Supplied/Nektarios Tsakalos
"It was a bit difficult at first, because Greek is not my first language. I didn't know Greek well. Now that I've been in Greece for a while I speak better. I understand better, I write and read better. I had no friends there. It was a new life from the beginning. The good thing is that I went to the motherland and I had some roots and they helped me a little bit with my papers, but it was hard at first. Very difficult."
Nektarios Tsakalos shares with us the most important moment in his career with the national team so far.
"For me it will be when we played in Norway and won. It was very nice. We had our coach from Australia Steve Georgallis come over and it was a nice experience because he has played at a high level in both Australia and England. I tried to learn everything I could from him. It was a very nice experience to get into that atmosphere for those two weeks that I played with the national team," he said.
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