Olympiacos F.C.

Olympiacos

Full name	ΠΑΕ Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς (Olympiacos Club of Sportsmen of Piraeus)
Nickname(s)	Τhrylos (Legend) Erythrolefkoi (The Red-Whites) Kokkinoi (The Reds) Dafnostefanomenos (The laurel-crowned)
Founded	10 March 1925 (1925-03-10)
Ground	Karaiskakis Stadium Piraeus, Athens, Greece
Ground Capacity	32,115[1]
Owner	Evangelos Marinakis
Chairman	Vacant
Manager	Vítor Pereira
League	Superleague Greece
2014–15	1st
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Active departments of Olympiacos
Football	Basketball	Table tennis
Volleyball (Men's)	Volleyball (Women's)	Athletics
Water Polo (Men's)	Water Polo (Women's)	Swimming
Sailing	Canoeing	Rowing
Boxing	Kickboxing	Taekwondo
Fencing	The Club

Olympiacos F.C. (Greek: ΠΑΕ Ολυμπιακός), also known simply as Olympiacos, Olympiacos Piraeus or with its full name as Olympiacos C.F.P. (Greek: Oλυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, transliterated "Olympiakós Sýndesmos Filáthlo̱n Peiraió̱s"), Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus, are a Greek professional football club, part of the major multi-sport club Olympiacos CFP, based in Piraeus.

Olympiacos are the most successful club in Greek football history,^[2] with 41 Greek League titles,^[3] 26 Greek Cups,^[4] 16 Doubles^[5] and 4 Greek Super Cups, with a total of 71 national titles, all records. Olympiacos' dominating success can be further evidenced by the fact that all the other Greek clubs have won a combined total of 37 League titles.^[6] Olympiacos also holds the record for the most consecutive Greek League titles, as they are the only team to have won 7 consecutive championships (1997–2003), having broken their own previous record of 6 (1954–1959).^[7] In addition, it is one of three clubs to have never been relegated from the top flight of Greek football; in European competitions, they have reached the quarter-finals twice, in the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League^[8] and the 1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup.^[9] Olympiacos is also one of the founding members of the European Club Association.^[10]

Olympiacos' home ground is the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus.^[11] The club is the most popular Greek club^{[12][13][14][15][16]} with around two and a half million fans inside Greece and millions of others in the Greek communities all over the world.^{[17][18][19][20][21][22]} Olympiacos was placed ninth on the 2006 list of clubs with the largest number of paying members, with 83,000 registered members as of April 2006.^[23] In 2014, that figure increased and the team boasts 98,000 registered members.^[24] They share a great and long-standing rivalry with Panathinaikos, with whom they contest the derby of the eternal enemies.

History

Early years and domestic success

Olympiacos was founded on 10 March 1925, in the port of Piraeus, when the members of "Piraikos Podosfairikos Omilos FC" (Sport and Football Club of Piraeus) and the "Piraeus Fans Club FC" decided, during a historical assembly,^[25] to dissolve the two clubs in order to establish a new unified one, with an emblem depicting the profile of an Olympic winner. Notis Kamperos proposed the name Olympiacos and Michalis Manouskos expanded it to its current name, Olympiacos Syndesmos Filathlon Pireos. However, it was the Andrianopoulos brothers, who significantly raised the reputation of the club and brought it to its current glory^[26] Members of a prosperous family, they made the name of Olympiacos known over Greece. Yiannis, Dinos, Giorgos and Vassilis were the first to play. The youngest of five, Leonidas Andrianopoulos made his appearance later on and played for a long time (1927–1935). The club's offensive line, made up of the five brothers, soon became legendary. Olympiacos immediately caught the attention of locals. Back then, their fan base consisted mainly of the working class, with the team's home ground at Neo Phaliron Velodrome, before moving to its current Karaiskakis Stadium. They became Piraeus' champions in the seasons 1925, 1926, 1927.^[27]

In 1926, the Hellenic Football Federation was founded and organized the Panhellenic Championship in the 1927–1928 season. This was the first national championship, where the regional champions from EPSA league (Athens), EPSP league (Piraeus) and EPSM league (Thessaloniki) competed for the national title during play-offs, with Aris becoming the first champion. The Panhellenic Championship was organized in this manner up until 1958–59. However, in the second season (1928–29) a dispute arose between Olympiacos and the Hellenic Football Federation and did not participate in the championship with Panathinaikos and AEK Athens deciding to follow Olympiacos. During that season they played friendly games with each other and formed a group called P.O.K.. The fourth Panhellenic Championship took place in 1930–31 and found Olympiacos winning the Greek national league title for the first time in the history of the club. This was the starting point of a very successful era of Olympiacos.

By 1940, Olympiacos had already won six championships in eleven seasons^[26] and by 1960 they had won fifteen championships in twenty-three seasons, as well as nine Greek Cups. The legendary Olympiacos team of the 1950s, with key performers such as Andreas Mouratis, Ilias Rossidis, Kostas Polychroniou, Thanasis Bebis, Ilias Yfantis, Babis Kotridis, Giorgos Darivas, Babis Drosos and Savvas Theodoridis, won the title six consecutive times, from 1954 to 1959, as well as the cup in 1957, 1958 and 1959, an unmatched achievement in Greek football history. Hence, after the 1950s, which saw Olympiacos winning numerous titles, the club gained the nickname of Thrylos, meaning "Legend".^[26][28]

Sporadic success and Goulandris era

The first championship as a Top National League, called Alpha Ethniki, was held for the first time in the 1959–60 season, however the 60s and the early 70s were not as fruitful for Olympiacos, having won only two championships and six cups. Another chapter began in 1972, after Nikos Goulandris became president. He appointed Lakis Petropoulos as coach and signed top-class players such as Giorgos Delikaris, Yves Triantafyllos, Julio Losada, Milton Viera, Michalis Kritikopoulos, Romain Argyroudis, Maik Galakos, Lakis Glezos, Kostas Davourlis, Giannis Kyrastas and Dimitris Persidis. Under Goulandris' presidency, Olympiacos won the title three times in a row from 1973 to 1975, combining it with the cup in 1973 and 1975.^[26] The team's best year was the 1973–74 season, when Olympiacos won the league with record points (59) and goals (102). Following Goulandris resignation from the presidency in 1975, the team went through a relative dry spell in the second half of the 1970s. However in the early 80s, when the championship turned professional, Olympiacos emerged again as the dominant force in the Greek football, winning the title four times in a row (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983). Key players during this period included forward Nikos Anastopoulos, midfielder Tasos Mitropoulos and goalkeeper Nikos Sarganis. Alketas Panagoulias, who had also been manager of the Greek national football team and the United States national soccer team, coached the team between 1981 and 1983 and again in the 1986–87 season, earning the championship title in 1982, 1983 and 1987.^[26]

Olympiacos experienced its darkest days from the late-1980s until the mid-90s. In the mid-80s Olympiacos came into the hands of Greek businessman George Koskotas who was soon accused of and convicted for embezzlement, leaving Olympiacos deep in debt. On the pitch, the team, without a serious management, spent nine seasons without a league title, 1988 to 1996. This period is so called as Olympiacos' stone years ^[29] and the 1987–88 season was the worst ever for Olympiacos, as the club finished 8th in the league.

Era of success (1996–2010)

Olympiacos' era of success began with attracting players of international magnitude like Zlatko Zahovič, Giovanni, and the World Champions Rivaldo and Christian Karembeu. Olympiacos won seven consecutive championships, beating their own past record of six, with their best season being 1998–99, when under the guidance of coach Dušan Bajević, they celebrated the Double and the qualification to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, their best-ever European campaign. Bajević was sacked in 1999 and in the period that followed (1999–2004) Olympiacos employed eight coaches. The best-known are Ioannis Matzourakis, Takis Lemonis, Trond Sollied, Oleg Protasov and Siniša Gogić.

Despite constant management changes and lack of managerial stability, Olympiacos kept on winning championships, except for the season 2003–04, when they finished second after switching three coaches in a year. In 2004, Olympiacos rehired Dušan Bajević and signed 1999 World Footballer of the Year Rivaldo. The end of the season found Olympiacos with both domestic trophies but without Bajević, who resigned; in his place, Norwegian coach Trond Sollied was hired.^[30] They also signed Cypriot striker Michalis Konstantinou from arch-rivals Panathinaikos. During the season 2005–06, Olympiacos won all the four derbies against their major rivals, Panathinaikos and AEK Athens, something only achieved once more, during the season 1972–73. The combined goal total in these four matches was 11–3 in favour of Olympiacos. They also beat AEK Athens 3–0 in the Greek Cup Final to clinch their second straight double and managed to win 16 consecutive matches in the championship, breaking their own record.

After a record-breaking season, in the 2006 summer transfers, Trond Sollied signed seven players. However, Sollied did not live up to expectations in the UEFA Champions League 2006–07 and was replaced by Takis Lemonis at the end of 2006. Lemonis transferred the young star Vasilis Torosidis, and though Lemonis won the third consecutive championship for Olympiacos, he failed to win the Greek Cup after a surprise elimination by PAS Giannina.

In the summer of 2007, Olympiacos made very expensive transfers like Darko Kovačević and Luciano Galletti and realized the most lucrative transfer in Greek football history, by selling striker-midfielder Nery Castillo to Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk for the record sum of €20 million ($27.5 million).^[31] Because of a clause in Castillo's contract, Olympiacos received €15 million and the remaining €5 million were given directly to the player.^[32] Furthermore, a controversy started between the team and Rivaldo, as Olympiacos did not wish to renew the player's contract, despite the fact that Rivaldo had featured heavily in the club's successful campaigns, both in Greece and abroad. Former player Ilija Ivic was selected for the role of the team's football director. The team didn't start well in the Greek championship, but it achieved a stunning performance in the Champions League, qualifying for the last 16 as they finished second in their group, level on eleven points with group-winners Real Madrid.^[33] However, the team's less than satisfactory performance in the league, coupled with the defeat from Chelsea in Stamford Bridge, prompted club owner Sokratis Kokkalis to sack coach Takis Lemonis. The team's assistant manager, Jose Segura, coached the team for the remainder of the season. Although Olympiacos managed to win both the Greek Cup and Championship, Segura returned to his previous position.

In the summer of 2008, Olympiacos made prominent transfers, signing Diogo Luis Santo, Avraam Papadopoulos and Dudu Cearense, and appointed Ernesto Valverde as the new coach with a three-year contract worth approximately €6 million.^[34] The 2008–09 season started badly for Olympiacos, with the team losing their first few official matches, against Anorthosis Famagusta for the Champions League third qualifying round, and was eliminated from the tournament, which resulted to a seat in the UEFA Cup first round, where Olympiacos beat Nordsjælland to qualify for the group stage. The team also started good in the Super League Greece 2008–09, winning every match at home, but facing difficulties away. After an impressive UEFA Cup run at home, the team managed to get through to the round of 32, facing French side Saint-Étienne.

In the summer of 2009, Olympiacos signed major players, such as Olof Mellberg from Juventus for €2.5 million,^[35] English striker Matt Derbyshire from Blackburn Rovers, midfielder Jaouad Zairi from Asteras Tripolis, and Enzo Maresca from Sevilla. Many other players returned from loan spells, such as former Real Madrid defender Raúl Bravo, Georgios Katsikogiannis and Argentine midfielder Cristian Raul Ledesma. Olympiacos appointed former Brazil legend Zico as their coach and started the 2009–2010 season with great success, as they qualified for the Champions League final 16, finishing 2nd in Group H only 3 points behind Arsenal,^[36] despite the absence of numerous first-team players due to injuries. They faced Bordeaux in the final 16 and lost the first match at home (0–1). In the second match, despite Bordeaux's early lead, Olympiacos leveled the match and missed some great chances to score a second goal, before eventually losing in the duying moments of the match (1–2). Domestically, Olympiacos secured a 2–0 derby win over arch-rivals Panathinaikos, with striker Kostas Mitroglou scoring twice.^[37]

2010–present

In 2010 Evangelos Marinakis, a successful shipping magnate, bought the team from Sokratis Kokkalis. During the first year of his presidency, Marinakis appointed fans' favourite Ernesto Valverde as coach (who came back for a second –equally successful– tenure in the club) and signed players with international magnitude such as Albert Riera, Ariel Ibagaza, Kevin Mirallas, Marko Pantelić and François Modesto. As a result, Olympiacos won the Greek title for the 38th time in its history, 13 points ahead of the second Panathinaikos.

In 2011–12 season, the team's roster was strengthened with players like Jean Makoun, Pablo Orbaiz, Ivan Marcano, Rafik Djebbour and Djamel Abdoun and with Ernesto Valverde as their coach for the second straight season, Olympiacos had a very successful campaign both domestically and internationally. They won both the Greek league and the Greek Cup to complete the 15th domestic Double in the club's history. In European competitions, Olympiacos had a solid Champions League campaign, having been drawn in Group F against Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund and Marseille. Despite delivering 9 points in the group, with two emphatic wins against Arsenal and Dortmund at home (both with a 3–1 scoreline) and an away win against Marseille (0–1), they lost the qualification to the knock-out stage after Marseille's controversial 2–3 away win in Dortmund in game 6, with Marseille scoring 2 goals in the last 5 minutes of the match to come back from an early 2–0 Dortmund lead. Olympiacos continued in Europa League where he was drawn to play against Rubin Kazan. The Greek champions eliminated the Russian side with two wins (1–0 in both Kazan and Piraeus) and were up to play against Metalist Kharkiv in the Last 16 of the competition. They won the first match in Ukraine with David Fuster scoring the winning goal (0–1) but in the second match, despite their early lead and the plethora of missed chances (they hit the woodwork twice in the first half), they conceded two goals in the last nine minutes of the game and lost the qualification to the quarter-finals.

At the end of the season Ernesto Valverde announced his decision to return to Spain, thus ending his second successful spell at Olympiacos. The club announced the Portuguese Leonardo Jardim as their new head coach. The team performed very well in the Greek league and had a decent Champions league campaign, gathering 9 points in Group B, after wins against Arsenal (2–1 at home) and Montpellier (1–2 in Montpellier, 3–1 in Piraeus). Despite the relatively good results, Leonardo Jardim was replaced by the Spanish coach and Real Madrid legend Míchel. The team went on to celebrate the 16th Double in their history, by winning their 40th Greek Championship, 15 points ahead the second PAOK, as well as their 26th Greek Cup after a 3–1 win against Asteras Tripolis in the final. The 40th Greek Championship title gave Olympiacos the 4th star on top of the club's emblem, which was a major goal for the club and especially for the fans.

The expectations for the 2013–14 season were very high, especially after the signing of players like the Argentine world-class striker Javier Saviola, Joel Campbell, Roberto, Alejandro Domínguez, Vladimir Weiss, Delvin N'Dinga and Leandro Salino. Olympiacos had a great season both domestically and internationally; in Europe, they were drawn in Group C of the 2013–14 Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica and Anderlecht. After a great performance in the group, Olympiacos finished second with 10 points and qualified for the Last 16 at the expense of Benfica (1–0 win in Piraeus, 1–1 draw in Lisbon) and Anderlecht (0–3 win in Brussels, 3–1 win in Piraeus). In the Last 16, they were drawn to play against Manchester United. Olympiacos, after a solid display, won the first leg with a comfortable 2–0 (Dominguez 38', Campbell 55), in a match where they dominated totally and missed chances to even extend the lead. Despite the two-goal advantage which put them within touching distance of a quarter-final place for the first time since 1999, Olympiacos lost 3–0 in the second leg in Old Trafford, having missed an outstanding double chance to equalize the score in minute 40'. The Greek champions pushed on in the last 10 minutes to find the crucial away goal, but to no avail. Although the ticket to the quarter-finals slipped out of the club's hands, Olympiacos' overall performance and the fact that the club managed to qualify to the knockout phase (Last 16) of the Champions League for the third time in six years (2007–08, 2009–10, 2013–14), marked a very successful European campaign. Domestically, Olympiacos won their history's 41st Greek Championship very convincingly, 17 points ahead of the second PAOK.

Crest and colours

When, in 1925, the merger of the two clubs of Piraeus, Athlitikos Podosfairikos Syllogos Pireos and Omilos Filathlon Pireos, gave birth to the new football club, the latter was unanimously baptized Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus, a name inspired from the Ancient Olympic Games, the morality, the vying and the splendor that they represented in Ancient Greece. Consequently, the club adopted the laureate teen as their emblem, which symbolizes the Olympic Games winner, a crest that underwent minor changes through the ages. Red and white were chosen as the colours of the crest; red for the passion and white for the virtue.^[38][39]

The typical kit of the team is that of a shirt with red and white vertical stripes, and red or white shorts and socks. The shirt has taken different forms during the history of the club, for example with thin or wider stripes. The second most common kit is the all-red one and next the all-white one. Olympiacos has used several other colours during its history as an away or third kit, with the most notable of them being the monotint black or silver one. The most common kits of Olympiacos during their history are these below (the year of each one is indicant):

1950

1978

1979

1985

2000–01

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

2013–14

Sponsors and Manufacturers

Since 1979 when football became professional in Greece Olympiacos had a specific kit manufacturer and since 1982 have had a kit sponsor. The following tables detail the shirt sponsors and kit suppliers of Olympiacos by year:

Kit suppliers
Dates	Supplier
1979	Umbro
1980	Puma
1980–1984	Asics Tiger
1984–1992	Puma
1992–1993	Umbro
1993–1994	Lotto
1994–1995	Adidas
1995–2000	Puma
2000–2005	Umbro
2005–2015	Puma
2015–	Adidas

Shirt sponsors
Dates	Sponsor
1982–1983	Fiat
1984	Travel Plan
1984–1988	Citizen
1988	Toyota
1989	Bank of Crete
1989–1990	Athens '96
1990–1994	Diana
1994–1997	Ethnokarta MasterCard
1997–2000	Aspis Pronoia
2000–2005	Siemens Mobile
2005–2006	Siemens
2006–2009	Vodafone
2009–2010	Citibank
2010–2013	Pame Stoixima
2013–	UNICEF

Stadium

The Karaiskakis Stadium (Greek: Γήπεδο Γεώργιος Καραϊσκάκης), situated at the Faliro area of Piraeus, Greece, is the traditional and current home ground of Olympiacos. Named after Georgios Karaiskakis, national hero of the Greek War of Independence, it hosts Olympiacos home matches for the most of the club's history.^[40]

It was built in 1895 as a velodrome, to host the cycling events for the 1896 Summer Olympics in Athens. Its official name was Neo Phaliron Velodrome (Greek: Ποδηλατοδρόμιο Νέου Φαλήρου) and the pitch was covered with curm. Olympiacos started using it since its foundation in 1925. In 1964, the stadium was renovated, taking its current name and the shape it had until 2003, with an athletics track around the pitch.^[41] Being one of the most important sport venues in Greece, it hosted the 1969 European Athletics Championships and the 1971 European Cup Winners' Cup Final between Chelsea and Real Madrid.^[42]

Olympiacos left the Karaiskakis Stadium temporarily, to play home games at the newly built Athens Olympic Stadium, in 1984. After a five-year use of the biggest stadium in Greece, the team returned to their traditional home, where they played until 1997. It was then that Olympiacos got back to the Athens Olympic Stadium, where they stayed for another period of five years. In 2002, the Olympic Stadium was closed for renovation works due to the 2004 Summer Olympics and Olympiacos moved to the Georgios Kamaras Stadium in Rizoupoli, home of Apollon Smyrnis, for the following two seasons.

The Karaiskakis Stadium had fallen in disrepair and its use was passed to Olympiacos in April 2003; the club took the responsibility to build a new football-only ground in its place, to be used for the football tournament of the 2004 Olympics.^[43] In return, Olympiacos got exclusive use of the stadium until 2052, covering all maintenance costs and also paying 15% of revenue to the State. The old stadium was demolished in the spring of 2003 and the whole project was constructed in the record period of 14 months. It was completed on 30 June 2004 at a total cost of €60 million.^[44] Nowadays, the Karaiskakis Stadium is one of the most modern football grounds in Europe, also hosting the museum of Olympiacos^[45] and several facilities around.

The Gate 7 Tragedy

The history of the Karaiskakis Stadium and Olympiacos was marked by the worst tragedy that ever hit Greek sports, known as the Karaiskakis Stadium disaster. On 8 February 1981, Olympiacos hosted AEK Athens for a League match, which ended 6–0, in an unprecedented triumph for the host team of Piraeus. During the last minutes of the game, thousands of Olympiacos fans at the Gate 7 rushed to the exit, to get to the stadium's main entrance and celebrate with the players, but the doors were almost closed and the turnstiles still in place, making the exit almost impossible.^[46] As people continued to come down from the stands, unable to see what happened, the stairs of Gate 7 became a death trap; people were crushed, tens of fans were seriously injured and twenty-one young people died, most of them by suffocation.^[47]

Supporters

Olympiacos' traditional fanbase comes from the city of Piraeus, where the club is based, as well as a good part of the rest of the Athens area. The club's popularity increased during the 1950s after winning consecutive titles and setting several records, and they became the best-supported football club in the country. Traditionally, Olympiacos used to represent the working class, but the club has always attracted fans from all the social classes and their fanbase is not associated with any specific social group anymore.^[48][49]

Olympiacos is the most popular of the Greek clubs according to UEFA^[12] and numerous polls and researches.^[50][51] Several newspapers and magazines' polls rank Olympiacos as the most popular club in Greece with a percentage varying between 29–37% among the fans and 20.3–29.3% in total population, which corresponds to around two and a half millions of supporters in Greece.^[14][52] The club is overwhelmingly popular in Piraeus, where almost half of its population supports Olympiacos,^[53] while their support in the whole of Athens reaches 45.1% of the fans, making them the most popular club in the Greek capital.^[54] They are also the most popular club in the working class with a percentage of 37% and in all age groups,^[53] as well as among both male and female fans;^[55] the vast majority of their fans comes from the centre-left and centre-right of the political spectrum.^[53] Outside of Athens, Olympiacos is the most popular club in Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, the Aegean and the Ionian Islands.^[56] Additionally, they have the highest average all-time attendance in Greek football, having topped the attendance tables in most of the seasons in Super League Greece history.^[57]

In 2006, Olympiacos was placed in the top ten of the clubs with the most paying members in the world, holding the ninth place just ahead of Real Madrid.^[58] As of April 2006, the club had some 83,000 registered members.^[59] Olympiacos and Red Star Belgrade fans have developed a deep friendship, calling themselves the Orthodox Brothers. Usually, Olympiacos supporters from several fan-clubs attend Red Star's matches, especially against their old rival Partizan, and vice versa. More recently, the Orthodox Brothers have started to include fans of Spartak Moscow in their club.

Olympiacos fans are renowned for their passionate and fervent support to their team, with the atmosphere at home matches regarded as intimidating. When they played Newcastle United at home in the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, the match was televised in the United Kingdom on Channel 5 and the guest commentator was former England international Tony Cottee, who was constantly mentioning how great the atmosphere was. During the game he was asked whether it was the most atmospheric stadium he had been to and replied: "I'd have to say it probably is. You hear a lot about various places and the atmosphere there but when you go you realise it's not all that... But this place is the real deal."^[60] The experienced Czech international winger Jaroslav Plašil paid further testament to the hostile atmosphere created by Olympiacos fans at home before his team Bordeaux visit Karaiskakis Stadium, where he had played during his time at AS Monaco and stated: "It was one of the most intense atmospheres I've ever experienced in a stadium, so I expect it will be a bit like hell for us. Their supporters really can help their team."^[61] Paris Saint-Germain superstar striker Zlatan Ibrahimović spoke of his admiration for Olympiacos supporters after an Olympiacos–Paris Saint-Germain match on September 17, 2013: "They played in front of their fantastic public. Olympiacos supporters were amazing. My friend Olof Mellberg played here and he talked to me about the supporters. I never saw it live, but now I understand. It's amazing. It's a big advantage for Olympiacos."^[62][63] PSG billionaire owner Nasser Al-Khelaifi stated: "I have big respect for the fans here. I've never seen fans like Olympiacos' fans in my life."^[64]

Affiliated clubs

Red Star Belgrade^[65][66]

FC Spartak Moscow

Rivalries

Traditionally, Olympiacos' main rival is Panathinaikos and their so-called derby of the eternal enemies is the classic rivalry in the Athens area and Greek football in general.^[67] The two teams are the most successful and most popular Greek football clubs, and the rivalry is also indicative of social, cultural and regional differences; Olympiacos is traditionally seen as the classic representative of the working class of the port city of Piraeus, while Panathinaikos is considered the club of the Athenian higher-class society, although nowadays this differentiation has weakened and the two clubs have similar fanbases.^[48][49] The two teams are the most successful in Greece and together have won 61 titles, therefore their rivalries come as no surprise.^[68] The hatred is so intense that many violent incidents have taken place in several regions of Athens, especially before or after a derby. On 29 March 2007, a 22 year old Panathinaikos fan, was stabbed to death at Paiania, a town close to Athens where a women's volleyball game between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos was scheduled to take place that day, during a pre-arranged clash between hooligans of the two clubs. That incident caused major upset in Greece and sparked a large police investigation into the organized supporters scene, while all team sport events in Greece were suspended for two weeks.^[69][70][71] The derby in 2012 was abandoned as petrol bombs, flares and missiles were thrown at fans and police at the Olympic Stadium, causing parts of it to be set on fire.

Another major rival of Olympiacos is AEK Athens, due to their proximity and strong on-pitch rivalry.^[72] The rivalry between Olympiacos and PAOK dates back to the 1960s, when Olympiacos negotiated to acquire the player-symbol of PAOK, Giorgos Koudas. The rivalry also stems from the competition between Athens and Thessaloniki, the two biggest cities in Greece.^[73] Another rival of Olympiacos used to be Ethnikos Piraeus, the second-most successful club of Piraeus, but the rivalry was dissolved when Ethnikos Piraeus was relegated from the top tier of Greek football.

Statistics

European performance

Olympiacos has a long presence in UEFA competitions, debuting on 13 September 1959, against Milan for the 1959–60 European Cup, being the first Greek team in a European competition. However, they were to play against Beşiktaş for the preliminary round of the 1958–59 European Cup, but withdrew.^[74] They celebrated their 200th European game on 23 February 2010, against Bordeaux in the first knockout round of the 2009–10 UEFA Champions League. Olympiacos was also the first Greek team to advance to the next round of any European competition, eliminating Zagłębie Sosnowiec for the 1963–64 European Cup Winners' Cup. Their best European results were reaching the quarter-finals of the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League, where they were eliminated by Juventus, and the quarter-finals of the 1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup, before losing to Atlético Madrid.

At the European level, Olympiacos have a strong record in home games. This has been proved by some long-standing unbeaten sequences, especially in the UEFA Champions League, where Manchester United was the first team to beat Olympiacos at home, in the latter's fifth consecutive participation in the tournament with its new format. In addition, Olympiacos gained impressive wins at home, like the stunning 6–2 victory over the then Champions League runners-up Bayer Leverkusen in the 2002–03 UEFA Champions League, and three consecutive large wins in the 2008–09 UEFA Cup, 5–0 against Nordsjælland, 5–1 against Benfica and 4–0 against Hertha Berlin.

Best campaigns

Season	Achievement	Notes
European Cup / UEFA Champions League
1974–75	Last 16	eliminated by Anderlecht 1–5 in Brussels, 3–0 in Athens
1982–83	Last 16	eliminated by Hamburg 0–1 in Hamburg, 0–4 in Athens
1983–84	Last 16	eliminated by Benfica 1–0 in Athens, 0–3 in Lisbon
1998–99	Quarter-finals	eliminated by Juventus 1–2 in Turin, 1–1 in Athens
2007–08	Last 16	eliminated by Chelsea 0–0 in Athens, 0–3 in London
2009–10	Last 16	eliminated by Bordeaux 0–1 in Athens, 1–2 in Bordeaux
2013–14	Last 16	eliminated by Manchester United 2–0 in Athens, 0–3 in Manchester
European Cup Winners' Cup
1963–64	Last 16	eliminated by Lyon 1–4 in Lyon, 2–1 in Athens
1965–66	Last 16	eliminated by West Ham United 0–4 in London, 2–2 in Athens
1968–69	Last 16	eliminated by Dunfermline Athletic 0–4 in Dunfermline, 3–0 in Athens
1986–87	Last 16	eliminated by Ajax 0–4 in Amsterdam, 1–1 in Athens
1990–91	Last 16	eliminated by Sampdoria 0–1 in Athens, 1–3 in Genoa
1992–93	Quarter-finals	eliminated by Atlético Madrid 1–1 in Athens, 1–3 in Madrid
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League
1989–90	Last 16	eliminated by Auxerre 1–1 in Athens, 0–0 in Auxerre
2004–05	Last 16	eliminated by Newcastle United 1–3 in Athens, 0–4 in Newcastle
2011–12	Last 16	eliminated by Metalist Kharkiv 1–0 in Kharkiv, 1–2 in Piraeus

Notable wins Season Match Score European Cup / UEFA Champions League 1974–75 Olympiacos – Celtic 2–0 1974–75 Olympiacos – Anderlecht 3–0 1983–84 Olympiacos – Ajax 2–0 1983–84 Olympiacos – Benfica 1–0 1997–98 Olympiacos – Porto 1–0 1998–99 Olympiacos – Ajax 1–0 1998–99 Olympiacos – Porto 2–1 1999–00 Olympiacos – Porto 1–0 2000–01 Olympiacos – Lyon 2–1 2000–01 Olympiacos – Valencia  [a]1–0 [a] 2002–03 Olympiacos – Bayer Leverkusen  [b]6–2 [b] 2003–04 Olympiacos – Galatasaray 3–0 2004–05 Olympiacos – Liverpool  [c]1–0 [c] 2004–05 Olympiacos – AS Monaco  [d]1–0 [d] 2004–05 Olympiacos – Deportivo La Coruña 1–0 2005–06 Olympiacos – Real Madrid 2–1 2007–08 Werder Bremen – Olympiacos 1–3 2007–08 Lazio – Olympiacos 1–2 2007–08 Olympiacos – Werder Bremen 3–0 2009–10 Olympiacos – Arsenal 1–0 2011–12 Olympiacos – Borussia Dortmund 3–1 2011–12 Marseille – Olympiacos 0–1 2011–12 Olympiacos – Arsenal 3–1 2012–13 Montpellier – Olympiacos 1–2 2012–13 Olympiacos – Arsenal 2–1 2013–14 Anderlecht – Olympiacos 0–3 2013–14 Olympiacos – Benfica  [e]1–0 [e] 2013–14 Olympiacos – Anderlecht 3–1 2013–14 Olympiacos – Manchester United 2–0 2014–15 Olympiacos – Atlético Madrid  [f]3–2 [f] 2014–15 Olympiacos – Juventus 1–0 European Cup Winners' Cup / UEFA Cup 1963–64 Olympiacos – Lyon 2–1 1971–72 Dynamo Moscow – Olympiacos 1–2 1972–73 Olympiacos – Cagliari 2–1 1972–73 Cagliari – Olympiacos 0–1 1972–73 Olympiacos – Tottenham Hotspur  [g]1–0 [g] 1979–80 Olympiacos – Napoli 1–0 1992–93 AS Monaco – Olympiacos 0–1 1995–96 Olympiacos – Sevilla 2–1 1999–00 Juventus – Olympiacos 1–2 2004–05 Sochaux – Olympiacos 0–1 2008–09 Olympiacos – Benfica 5–1 2008–09 Olympiacos – Hertha Berlin 4–0 UEFA Europa League 2011–12 Rubin Kazan – Olympiacos 0–1 2011–12 Metalist Kharkiv – Olympiacos 0–1

Biggest wins Season Match Score European Cup / UEFA Champions League 1974–75 Olympiacos – Anderlecht 3–0 1997–98 Olympiacos – Slavia-Mozyr  [h]5–0 [h] 2002–03 Olympiacos – Bayer Leverkusen 6–2 2003–04 Olympiacos – Galatasaray 3–0 2007–08 Werder Bremen – Olympiacos 1–3 2007–08 Olympiacos – Werder Bremen 3–0 2011–12 Olympiacos – Borussia Dortmund 3–1 2013–14 Anderlecht – Olympiacos 0–3 2013–14 Olympiacos – Anderlecht 3–1 2014–15 Olympiacos – Malmö 4–2 European Cup Winners' Cup 1968–69 Olympiacos – Dunfermline Athletic 3–0 1986–87 Olympiacos – Union Luxembourg 3–0 1986–87 Union Luxembourg – Olympiacos 0–3 1992–93 Chornomorets Odesa – Olympiacos 0–3 UEFA Cup / Europa League 1993–94 Olympiacos – Botev Plovdiv 5–1 2008–09 Olympiacos – Nordsjælland 5–0 2008–09 Olympiacos – Benfica 5–1 2008–09 Olympiacos – Hertha Berlin 4–0 2010–11 Besa Kavajë – Olympiacos 0–5 2010–11 Olympiacos – Besa Kavajë 6–1

Notes

National league records

Outline	Record
Record win	11–0 (vs Fostiras, 1973–74)
Most wins in a season	30 (1999–00)
Most goals scored in a season	102 (1973–74)
Fewest goals conceded in a season	13 (1972–73)
Longest sequence of wins	16 (8th day of 2005–06 – 23rd day of 2005–06)
Longest sequence of unbeaten matches	58 (3rd day of 1972–73 – 27th day of 1973–74)

Honours

Domestic competitions

• Greek Championship
  • Winners (42) (record): 1931, 1933, 1934, 1936, 1937, 1938, 1947, 1948, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1966, 1967, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1987, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015

• Greek Cup
  • Winners (26) (record): 1947, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1981, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013

• Double
  • Winners (16) (record): 1947, 1951, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1973, 1975, 1981, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013

• Greek Super Cup
  • Winners (3) (joint record): 1987, 1992, 2007

• Greater Greece Cup
  • Winners (3) (record): 1969, 1972, 1976

European competitions

• UEFA Champions League:
  • Quarter-finals: 1998–99

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:
  • Quarter-finals: 1992–93

International competitions

• Balkans Cup
  • Winners (1): 1963

Players

Current squad

As of 28 January 2015^[75]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 2 MF Giannis Maniatis (captain) 3 DF Alberto Botia 5 MF Luka Milivojevic 6 MF Ibrahim Afellay 7 FW Konstantinos Mitroglou 8 MF Delvin N'Dinga 9 MF Jimmy Durmaz 10 MF Alejandro Domínguez 11 MF Pajtim Kasami 12 MF Franco Jara 14 MF Omar Elabdellaoui 16 GK Roberto (3rd captain) 17 FW Dimitris Diamantakos 18 MF Andreas Bouchalakis 19 MF David Fuster (2nd captain)

No. Position Player 20 DF Kostas Giannoulis 22 GK Andreas Gianniotis 23 DF Dimitris Siovas 24 DF Tasos Avlonitis 25 MF Kostas Fortounis 26 DF Arthur Masuaku 27 FW Jorge Benitez 28 FW Nikos Vergos 30 DF Leandro Salino 33 GK Eleftherios Choutesiotis 42 GK Balazs Megyeri 45 MF Felipe Santana 60 MF Abdisalam Ibrahim 77 MF Mathieu Dossevi

Out on loan

As of 8 September 2014^[76]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player DF Vasilios Karagounis (to Reggina) DF Manolis Tzanakakis (to Ergotelis) DF Charalambos Lykogiannis (to Ergotelis) DF Konstantinos Vlachos (to Fostiras) DF Leandro (to Lamia) MF Sambou Yatabaré (to Guingamp) MF Aleksandar Katai (to Crvena Zvezda) MF Saša Zdjelar (to OFK Beograd) MF Marko Janković (to OFK Beograd) MF Pelé (to Levadiakos) MF Nikos Katharios (to Panionios)

No. Position Player MF Dimitris Kolovos (to Panionios) MF Konstantinos Plegas (to Panachaiki) MF Dimitris Siopis (to Fostiras) MF Neilos-Aggelos Psychogios (to Hamburger II) MF Panagiotis Vlachodimos (to Nîmes Olympique) FW Anastasios Karamanos (to Atromitos) FW Nikolaos Ioannidis (to Borussia Dortmund II) FW Michael Olaitan (to Ergotelis) FW David Henen (to Everton B) FW Marko Scepovic (to Terek Grozny)

For recent transfers, see List of Greek football transfers summer 2014

Olympiacos U20 squad

Olympiacos U20 is the youth team of Olympiacos. They participate in the Superleague U20 championship^[77] and in UEFA Youth League competition. They play their home games at the 3,000-seater Renti Training Centre in Renti, Piraeus.^[78]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player GK Aris Vlachos GK Michalis Iliadis GK Giorgos Strezos DF Anastasis Bougioukos DF Dimitris Gkoutsios DF Giorgos Makrostergios DF Giannis Sotirakos DF Argyris Toufas DF Antonis Vatousiadis DF Praxitelis Vouros DF Panagiotis Volonakis MF Giorgos Lyras MF Ioannis Paidakis

No. Position Player MF Dimitrios Voutsiotis MF Giorgos Kanavetas MF Gianni Laci MF Boban Lazić MF Alexandros Margaritis MF Achilleas Nasiakopoulos MF Antonis Papasavvas MF Christoforos Pasalidis MF Charalambos Rentzis MF Manolis Saliakas FW Kostas Garefalakis FW Ilias Ignatidis FW Nikos Vergos

Former players

Personnel

Management

Position	Staff
President [79]	Evangelos Marinakis
Chief Director	Giannis Vrentzos
Chief Executive	Dimitris Agrafiotis
1st Vice-President	Savvas Theodoridis
2nd Vice-President	Sokratis S. Kokkalis
3rd Vice-President	George Louvaris
4th Vice-President	Giannis Moralis
Technical Consultant	Juan Jose Lorenzo
Strategic Advisor	Christian Karembeu
Sports Director	Pierre Issa
Team manager	Kyriakos Dourekas

Technical and medical staff

Technical staff[80]
Head coach[81]	Vítor Pereira
Assistant coach	Filipe Almeida
	Luis Da Silva
Analyst
	Antonis Lemonakis
	Giannis Vogiatzakis
	Giorgos Martakos
Goalkeeping coach	Alekos Rantos
Fitness trainer	Christos Mourikis
	Manos Smpokos
Youth team coach	Vasilis Vouzas
Youth goalkeeping coach	Vasilis Alexoudis
Scouting staff[82]
Head of Scouting Department	Juan Jose Lorenzo
Scout	Nikos Vamvakoulas
	Georgios Amanatidis
	Dimitrios Barbalias
	Giorgos Kokolakis
	Giovanni
	Luciano Galletti
Medical staff [83]
Head doctor	Christos Theos
Physio	Nikos Lykouresis
	Alexis Kapetanakis
	Nikolaos Koulopoulos
Nutritionist – Physiologist	Maria Lykomitrou

Managerial history

Olympiacos F.C. presidents

Founder and first president of Olympiacos, Michalis Manouskos

Legendary player, founding member and president (1954–1967) of Olympiacos, Giorgos Andrianopoulos

Nikos Goulandris, president of Olympiacos (1972–1975)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Olympiacos FC.

• Official Website of Olympiacos Piraeus (Greek) (English)
• Official Twitter Page Olympiacos Piraeus (Greek)
• Olympiacos Supporters Official Website (Greek)
• Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation

Olympiacos CFP Founded in March 10, 1925 Based in Piraeus Professional departments Olympiacos F.C. Olympiacos B.C. Amateur departments Olympiacos S.C. Olympiacos Water Polo Club Olympiacos Women's Water Polo Team Olympiacos women's volleyball Swimming Athletics Boxing Table tennis Sailing Fencing Canoeing Rowing Wrestling Taekwondo Kickboxing Inactive departments Racing Women's Basketball Men's Handball Women's Handball Shooting Synchronized swimming Gymnastics Chess Diving Cycling Tennis Weightlifting Facilities Karaiskakis Stadium Peace and Friendship Stadium Melina Merkouri Rentis Papastrateio Hall Piraeus Rentis Training Center Athletes Football Basketball Volleyball (Men's) Volleyball (Women's) Water Polo (Men's) Water Polo (Women's) Coaches Football Basketball Volleyball (Men's) Volleyball (Women's) Water Polo (Men's) Water Polo (Women's) Presidents Football Supporters Gate 7 PEFO Gate 7 Tragedy Rivalries Derby of the eternal enemies Olympiacos–A.E.K. rivalry Olympiacos–P.A.O.K. rivalry Derby of the eternal enemies (basketball) Anthems Hymn of Olympiacos Websites Olympiacos CFP Olympiacos FC Olympiacos BC

Olympiacos F.C. Players Managers Seasons Honours Current season History Olympiacos F.C. in Europe Gate 7 Tragedy Stadium Karaiskakis Stadium Training ground Renti Training Centre Supporters Gate 7 Hymn of Olympiacos Rivalries Panathinaikos rivalry A.E.K. rivalry P.A.O.K. rivalry Figures Andreas Mouratis Márton Bukovi Giorgos Sideris Julio Losada Predrag Đorđević Giovanni Christian Karembeu Other sports Olympiacos B.C. Men's volleyball Women's volleyball Men's Water Polo Women's Water Polo Swimming Athletics Boxing Table tennis Sailing Racing Parent club: Olympiacos C.F.P.

Olympiacos F.C. – current squad 2 Maniatis (c) 4 Botía 5 Milivojević 6 Afellay 7 Mitroglou 8 N'Dinga 9 Durmaz 10 Domínguez 11 Kasami 12 Jara 14 Elabdellaoui 16 Roberto 17 Diamantakos 18 Bouchalakis 19 Fuster 20 Giannoulis 22 Abidal 23 Siovas 24 Avlonitis 25 Fortounis 26 Masuaku 27 Benítez 30 Salino 33 Choutesiotis 42 Megyeri 55 Ghazaryan 77 Dossevi 99 Olaitan Manager: Pereira

Superleague Greece teams Current (2014–15) Asteras Tripoli Atromitos Ergotelis Kalloni Kerkyra Levadiakos Niki Volos OFI Olympiacos Panathinaikos Panetolikos Panionios Panthrakikos PAOK PAS Giannina Platanias Skoda Xanthi Veria Former AEK AEL Akratitos Apollon Kalamaria Apollon Smyrni Aris Aspida Xanthi Athinaikos Atromitos Piraeus Chalkida Chalkidona Diagoras Doxa Drama Edessaikos Egaleo Ethnikos Asteras Ethnikos Athens* Ethnikos Piraeus Fostiras Goudi Athens Ionikos Iraklis Kalamata Kallithea Kastoria Kavala Korinthos Makedonikos Megas Alexandros Megas Alexandros Katerini Naoussa Olympiakos Chalkida Olympiakos Volos Panachaiki Panargiakos Panegialios Panelefsiniakos Paniliakos Panserraikos Peiraikos Syndesmos* Pierikos Proodeftiki Rodos Thermaikos Thessaloniki Thrasyvoulos Trikala Vyzas *only in pre-HFF championships Former (from Cyprus) AEL Limassol APOEL EPA Larnaca Olympiakos Nicosia Omonia Nicosia

Founding members of the ECA Ajax Anderlecht Barcelona Bayern Munich Birkirkara Chelsea Copenhagen Dinamo Zagreb Juventus Lyon Manchester United Milan Olympiacos Porto Rangers Real Madrid