[4] In the meantime he had enlisted in the period 1937 to 1939 in the First Army Regiment, where he organised a strong football team with the support of Lieutenant Colonel Agisilaos Sinioris.

Due to the lack of food, with the beginning of the Occupation, he turned the butcher shop into a liquor store, but he was soon arrested because some prohibited items were trafficked there.

From July 1941 he remained imprisoned for a year and 12 days, for a long time in the Tatoi labour camp, was given to him thanks to the celebration of the occupying forces for some of their success on the war front.

His house, on the other hand, had been almost completely destroyed by the German bombing of the port of Piraeus on April 7, 1941, and the family of Giannis Vazos was hosted in their paternal home, until the purchase of a new one in Kokkinia (today Nikaia).

Despite his father’s wishes, for Giannis to carry on the family business, he joined the unofficial Apollo team, with his teammates later known as Roussos, Vouvoudakis and Hatzisavvas .

In the spring of 1931, he immediately accepted the proposal for joining Olympiacos, from the consultant and talent scout George Alekaki (their old defender ) who "was impressed by his dynamism, his intelligence, his stubbornness and his cunningness".

The following year, 1932–33, he was both the natural successor to the position of the main striker, with George Andrianopoulos having retired since the summer of 1931, as well as the formal, when the legendary Podara himself had already been awarded the relevant "title" after his excellent first appearance with the first team.

This had taken place since September 20, 1931, in the maiden meeting of Olympiacos for the Greek Cup, a 4–1 victory over Atromitos (still on Acharnon Street), with Vazos scoring 3 goals, despite him being used as a midfielder.

It has been said that before the first match, the 17-year-old asked for and received the "vote of confidence" of his teammates, in order to "lead the eleven" from this crucial position, according to an expression of the time.

These players, of completely different qualifications and game, quickly formed an attacking trio with a maximum contribution to winning 5 Panhellenic Championshipsin the next 6 years and participated in 1933 in two matches of the National team for the Balkan Cup of Bucharest.

[9] He participated in 11 of the 13 final and / or qualifying phases of the Panhellenic championship or National category that the red and whites played during his days,[10] with the exception of the virgin period 1931-32 in the club and the first post-war 1945-46.