Olympiacos F.C.

For the parent multisport club, see Olympiacos CFP.

Olympiacos

Full name	Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus (ΠΑΕ Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς)
Nickname(s)	Τhrylos (The Legend) Erythrolefki (The Red-Whites) Kokkini (The Reds)
Founded	10 March 1925; 86 years ago (10 March 1925)
Ground	Karaiskakis Stadium Piraeus, Greece (Capacity: 32,115[1])
Μajor shareholder	Evangelos Marinakis
Chairman	Evangelos Marinakis
Manager	Ernesto Valverde
League	Super League Greece
2010–11	Super League Greece, 1st [2][3][4]
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Olympiacos F.C. (Greek: ΠΑΕ Ολυμπιακός), also known simply as Olympiacos, Olympiacos Piraeus or with its full name Olympiacos C.F.P. (Greek: Oλυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, transliterated "Olympiacos Syndesmos Filathlon Piraios"), Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus, is a Greek association football club, part of Olympiacos CFP, based in Piraeus.

Olympiacos is the most successful club in Greek football history, having won 38 League titles, 24 Greek Cups and 4 Greek Super Cups, more titles than any other Greek team and it is one of four teams that have never been relegated from the first division; in European competitions, they have reached the quarter-finals twice, in the 1998–99 UEFA Champions League and the 1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup. Olympiacos is also one of the founding members of the European Club Association.

The club's stadium is the Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus. Olympiacos is the most popular Greek club with around two and a half million fans in Greece and was placed ninth on the list with the most paid up members in the world in 2006, having 83,000 registered members as of April 2006. They share a great and long-standing rivalry with Panathinaikos, with whom they contest in the derby of the eternal enemies.

History

Early years and domestic success

Olympiacos was founded on March 10, 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, to dissolve the two clubs in order to establish a new unified one, with an emblem depicting the profile of an Olympic winner. Notis Kamberos announced the name Olympiacos and Michalis Manouskos completed it to its full name, Olympiacos Syndesmos Filathlon Pireos. The Andrianopoulos brothers, however, were those who significantly raised the reputation of the club and added glory to it. Members of a prosperous family, they made the name of Olympiacos known over Greece. Yannis, Dinos, Giorgos and Vassilis were the first to play. Leonidas 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 fanbase consisted mainly of the working class, with the team filling the Neo Phaliron Velodrome, later to be the Karaiskakis Stadium, and becoming Piraeus' champions for the seasons 1925, 1926, 1927.^[5]

In 1926, the Hellenic Football Federation was founded and organized the Panhellenic Championship in the 1927–1928 season, the first national championship, where the regional champions from EPSA league (Athens), EPSP league (Piraeus) and EPSM league (Thessaloniki) compete for the national title through play-offs, with Aris becoming the first champion. Up to 1958–59 the Panhellenic Championship was organized this way however the second season (1928–29) Olympiacos came to a dispute with the Hellenic Football Federation and did not participate in the championship with Panathinaikos and AEK Athens deciding to follow Olympiacos and doing the same. During that season they played friendly games with each other and together 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. It was going to be a very successful era.

By 1940, Olympiacos had already won six championships in eleven seasons and by 1960 they had won fifteen championships in twenty-three seasons, as well as nine Greek Cups, making it for six doubles. The legendary Olympiacos team of the 1950s, with key performers such as Andreas Mouratis, Ilias Rossidis, Thanassis Bebis, Elias Yfantis, Kostas Polychroniou, Giorgos Darivas and Savas Theodoridis, won the title six consecutive times, from 1954 to 1959, combining it with the cup in 1957, 1958 and 1959 to celebrate the only third double in a row to have ever been won in Greek football history. Hence, Olympiacos is also known as Thrylos, meaning 'legend', after this classic side of the 1950s which won a hatful of titles. It is worth mentioning that Olympiacos for several seasons was not allowed to make use of the Karaiskakis Stadium and, with permission from Panathinaikos, found a temporary home in Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, the ground of the eternal enemy.

Sporadic success and stone years

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 star players Giorgos Delikaris, Yves Triantafyllos, Julio Losada, Milton Viera 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. The highlight for that side 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 period in the second half of the 1970s. However in the early 80s, when the championship became professional, Olympiacos emerged again as the dominant power 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.

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. Soon Koskotas was accused of and convicted for embezzlement, leaving Olympiacos deep in debt. On the pitch, the team, without a serious management, went nine seasons without a league title, 1988 to 1996. This period was known^{[by whom?]} as Olympiacos' stone years. 1987–88 was the worst season ever for Olympiacos, as the club finished 8th in the league, playing to avoid the relegation in most of the season.

Domestic success

Olympiacos' era of success began with attracting players of international magnitude like Zlatko Zahovič, Giovanni, and 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 they celebrated the Double and their qualification to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League, their best-ever European campaign. In this period Olympiakos employed more than eleven coaches. The best-known are Ioannis Matzourakis, Takis Lemonis, Trond Sollied, Oleg Protasov, Siniša Gogić and Nikos Alefantos.

Despite constant management changes, Olympiacos kept on winning championships, except for the season 2003–04, when they finished second after switching three coaches in a year. Olympiacos rehired Dušan Bajević and transferred 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, Trond Sollied was hired. They also signed arch-rival Panathinaikos' striker Michalis Konstantinou. 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 didn't 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 Euro (27.5 million US Dollars). Because of a clause in Castillo's contract, Olympiacos received 15 million Euro and the remaining 5 million Euro were given directly to the player. Furthermore, a controversy started between the team and player 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 manager. The team didn't start well in the Greek championship, but it achieved a stunning performance in the Champions League, managing to qualify to the next round after nine years of unsuccessful European campaigns. However, the team's less than satisfactory performance in the league, coupled with the defeat from Chelsea in the Champions League, in Stamford Bridge Stadium, prompted club manager Socrates 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 €6,000,000.^[6] 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 to 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,Olympiakos signed major players,such as Olof Mellberg from Juventus for 2.5 million euros, English striker Matt Derbyshire from Blackburn Rovers, midfielder Jaouad Zairi from Asteras Tripolis, and Enzo Maresca from Sevilla. Many other players were returned from loan spells, such as former Real Madrid defender Raúl Bravo, Georgios Katsikogiannis, Argentine Midfielder Cristian Raul Ledesma, and promising American goalkeeper Sean Collins. Olympiakos may have began a new era in the UEFA Champions League with the start of the 2009–2010 season. With the appointment of former Brazil player Zico as their coach they have began with a series of wins. Olympiakos so far have had great success, with a 2–0 derby win over Panathinaikos. Coach Zico’s training methods must have been working after he brought the team lots of success after qualifying for the UEFA Champions League Final 16, finishing 2nd in their group 3 points behind Arsenal despite the absence of numerous first-team players due to injuries.So far in the UEFA Champions League 2009–2010 season Olympiakos have not lost a single home game and are up to face Bordeaux next in the final 16.

Crest and colours

Olympiacos' shirt for season 2008–09

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.

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):

1971

1978

1979

1985

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

Stadium

Main article: Karaiskakis 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.

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. 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.

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 February 8, 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. 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.^[7]

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. 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 June 30, 2004 at a total cost of €60 million.^[8] Nowadays, the Karaiskakis Stadium is one of the most modern football grounds in Europe, also hosting the museum of Olympiacos and several facilities around.

Supporters

Further information: Popularity of Greek teams

Olympiacos' fans provide their support with extreme passion at home, as well as away matches. Here at the Karaiskakis Stadium against Chelsea for the knockout stage of the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League.

Mural at the Stadion Crvena Zvezda, Belgrade, featuring the brotherhood between the fans of Olympiacos and Red Star Belgrade.

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.^[9][10]

Olympiacos is the most popular of the Greek clubs according to polls. 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. The club is overwhelmingly popular in Piraeus, where almost half of its population supports Olympiacos,^[11] while their support in the whole of Athens reaches 45.1% of the fans, making them the most popular club in the Greek capital.^[12] They are also the most popular club in the working class with a percentage of 37% and in all age groups,^[11] as well as among both male and female fans;^[13] the vast majority of their fans comes from the centre and centre-right of the political spectrum.^[11] Outside of Athens, Olympiacos is the most popular club in Central Greece, the Peloponnese, Thessaly, the Aegean and the Ionian Islands.^[14] 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.^[15]

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.^[16] As of April 2006, the club had some 83,000 registered members.^[17] 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."^[18] 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 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."^[19]

Rivalries

Main articles: Derby of the eternal enemies and Olympiacos and PAOK rivalry

Olympiacos' fans inside the Karaiskakis Stadium during a derby against rivals Panathinaikos.

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. 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.^[9][10] Many violent incidents between the fans of the two sides have occurred, like the death of Mihalis Filopoulos, a Panathinaikos fan, in a clash of hooligans supporting the two clubs for a women's volleyball match in 2007.^[20]

Another major rival of Olympiacos is AEK Athens, due to their proximity and strong on-pitch rivalry.^[21] The rivalry between Olympiacos and PAOK, although PAOK was rarely a primary contestant of Olympiacos, is long-standing, dating back to the 1960s, when Olympiacos negotiated to acquire the player-symbol of PAOK, Giorgos Koudas. Also relies on the rivalry between Athens and Thessaloniki, the country's two major cities.^[22] Another rival of Olympiacos used to be Ethnikos Piraeus, the second-most successful club of Piraeus, but the rivalry languished because Ethnikos Piraeus no longer plays in the top tier of Greek football.

Statistics

European performance

Main article: Olympiacos F.C. in Europe

Olympiacos players arrayed in Stamford Bridge, in the second match for the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League first knockout round against Chelsea.

Olympiacos has a long presence in UEFA competitions, debuting on September 13, 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.^[23] They celebrated their 200th European game on February 23, 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
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
UEFA 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 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

Notable wins Season Match Score 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 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 – Monaco  [d]1–0 [d] 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 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1971–72 Dynamo Moscow – Olympiacos 1–2 1992–93 Monaco – Olympiacos 0–1 UEFA Europa League 1972–73 Cagliari – Olympiacos 0–1 1972–73 Olympiacos – Tottenham Hotspur  [e]1–0 [e] 1999-00 Juventus – Olympiacos 1–2 2008–09 Olympiacos – Benfica 5–1 2008–09 Olympiacos – Hertha Berlin 4–0

Biggest wins Season Match Score UEFA Champions League 1974–75 Olympiacos – Anderlecht 3–0 1997–98 Olympiacos – Slavia-Mozyr  [f]5–0 [f] 2002–03 Olympiacos – Bayer Leverkusen 6–2 2003–04 Olympiacos – Galatasaray 3–0 2007–08 Olympiacos – Werder Bremen 3–0 2011-12 Olympiacos – Borussia Dortmund 3–1 UEFA 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 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

a. ^{^} Valencia were the eventual runners-up.

b. ^{^} Bayer Leverkusen were the runners-up of the previous season.

c. ^{^} Liverpool were the eventual winners.

d. ^{^} Monaco were the runners-up of the previous season.

e. ^{^} Tottenham Hotspur were the defending winners.

f. ^{^} In the second qualifying round.

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

Main article: Olympiacos F.C. honours

• Greek League : 38

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

• Greek Cup : 24

1947, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1965, 1968, 1971, 1973, 1975, 1981, 1990, 1992, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009

• Greek Super Cup : 4

1980 unofficial, 1987, 1992, 2007

• Greater Greece Cup : 2

1969, 1972

• Balkans Cup : 1

1963

Players

Current squad

As of 1 October 2011.

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Nikos Papadopoulos 2 DF Giannis Maniatis 3 DF François Modesto 4 DF Olof Mellberg 6 DF Anastasios Papazoglou 7 MF Ariel Ibagaza 8 MF Ljubomir Fejsa 9 FW Marko Pantelić 10 FW Rafik Djebbour 14 FW Kevin Mirallas 15 MF Javito 17 GK Franco Costanzo 18 MF Ioannis Fetfatzidis 19 MF David Fuster

No. Position Player 20 DF Iosif Cholevas 21 DF Avraam Papadopoulos (Vice-Captain) 23 DF Iván Marcano 26 MF Vicente Monje 30 DF Giannis Zaradoukas 31 MF Pablo Orbaiz 33 MF Francisco Yeste 35 DF Vasilis Torosidis (Captain) 42 GK Balázs Megyeri 77 MF Jean Makoun 81 DF Giorgos Valerianos 92 DF Ioannis Potouridis 93 MF Djamel Abdoun 99 GK Iosif Daskalakis

For recent transfers, see List of Greek football transfers summer 2011

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player MF Petar Grbić (to Levadiakos F.C.) FW Aleksandar Katai (to OFI Crete) MF Chumbinho (to OFI Crete) MF Wanderson (to Doxa Drama) FW Diogo (to Santos FC) MF Leandro (to Doxa Drama) MF Andreas Tatos (to Atromitos F.C.) MF Giorgos Niklitsiotis (to Helmond Sport) FW Kostas Mitroglou (to Atromitos F.C.) MF Andreas Vasilogiannis (to Apollon Limassol) DF Nikos Papadimas (to Keraunos Glyfadas F.C.)

See also: List of Greek football transfers summer 2011

International players

Djamel Abdoun Rafik Djebbour Kevin Mirallas Jean Makoun Balazs Megyeri (U19) Olof Mellberg Marko Pantelić Ljubomir Fejsa Petar Grbić

Avraam Papadopoulos Vasilis Torosidis Ioannis Fetfatzidis Giannis Maniatis Giannis Zaradoukas

Ioannis Potouridis (U19)

Foreign players

EU Nationals Kevin Mirallas Balázs Megyeri David Fuster Javito Iván Marcano Pablo Orbaiz Francisco Yeste François Modesto

EU Nationals (Dual citizenship) Rafik Djebbour Djamel Abdoun Franco Costanzo Ariel Ibagaza Jean Makoun

Non-EU Nationals Marko Pantelić Ljubomir Fejsa Petar Grbić Vicente Monje

Olympiacos U-21 squad

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Konstantinos Pantos 2 DF Yannis Apostolopoulos 4 DF Giorgos Petropoulos 5 DF Ioannis Polichronakis 6 DF Panagiotis Stamogiannos (Captain) 14 MF Filippos Kurtanovic 15 GK Ivan Babovic 16 DF Evangelos Kabasis 20 FW Dimitrios Diamantakos 21 FW Konstantinos Lavdas 22 DF Stavros Soulis

No. Position Player 23 MF Christos Arianoutsos 24 MF Thomas Makaronas 26 MF Spyros Karatzanidis 32 MF Panagiotis Kokavesis 44 DF Kostas Rougalas MF Georgios Katsikogiannis GK Eleftherios Choutetsiotis FW Nikolas Vergos MF Nikolas Kritikos MF Rafail Soukias

Former players

For details on former players, see List of Olympiacos F.C. players.

Club officials

Board of Directors

Position	Staff
President [24]	Evangelos Marinakis
Director of Football	Vacant
Managing Director	Ioannis Vrentzos
Vice-President	Socrates S. Kokkalis
Vice-President	George Louvaris
Vice-President	Ioannis Moralis
Team Manager	Kiriakos Dourekas

Last updated: June 2009
Source: Olympiacos FC

Technical and medical staff

Technical staff
Head coach	Ernesto Valverde
Assistant coach	Jon Aspiazu
General Director of Football Department	Tasos Mitropoulos
Goalkeeping coach	Alekos Rantos
Fitness coach	Christos Mourikis
Fitness coach	José Antonio Pozanko
Team attendant	Dimitris Karapiperis
Team attendant	Nikolaos Gonatas
Team attendant	Pavlos Pitsilidis
Scouting Department
Chief Scout	Darko Kovačević
Scout	Nikos Vamvakoulas
Scout	Georgios Amanatidis
Scout	Dimitrios Barbalias
Scout	Giorgos Kokolakis
Medical staff
Head doctor	Dr. Christos Theos
Physio	Nikos Lykouresis
Physio	Panagiotis Sofianos
Scientific Consultant	Maria Likomitrou
Masseur	Aristidis Chelioudakis
Masseur	Panagiotis Marinakis

Presidents

Michalis Manouskos (1925–28), (1937–39), (1945–50) Thanasis Mermigas (1929–31), (1953–54) Takis Zakkas (Οctober 1931), (1936) Yiannis Andrianopoulos (1932), (1933–35) Yiannis Barbaressos (29/11/1946 – 22/12/1946) Giorgos Andrianopoulos (1954–67) Kostas Bouzakis (1967–69) Tasos Oikonomou (1969–70) Eutixios Goumas (1970–71) Aristides Skylitsis (1971) Dimitris Vadanis (1971–72)

Nikolaos Goulandris (1972–75) Kostas Thanopoulos (1975), (1976–78) Periklis Lanaras (1975) Iraklis Tsitsalis (1978–79) Stauros Daifas (1979–85), (1986), (1992–94) Nikos Euthimiou (1986) Giorgos Koskotas (1987–88) Argyris Saliarelis (1988–92) Giorgos Banasakis (1992) Sokratis Kokkalis (1993–2011) Vagelis Marinakis (2011–)

Managerial history

Main article: List of Olympiacos F.C. managers

Seasons	Name	Nationality
1925–27	Yiannis Andrianopoulos
1927–77	* Non-Professional League System *
1977–80	Todor Veselinović
1980–81	Kazimierz Górski
1981–82	Helmut Senekowitsch
1981–83	Alketas Panagoulias
1983–84	Heinz Höher
1983–84	Nikos Alefantos
1984–85	Georg Keßler
1986–87	Alketas Panagoulias
1987	Paulos Grigoriadis[25]
1987–88	Thijs Libregts
1988–89	Jacek Gmoch
1989	Ioannis Gounaris[25]
1989–90	Imre Komora
1990–93	Oleg Blokhin
1993	Antonis Georgiadis[25]
1993	Apostolos Filis[25]
1993–94	Ljupko Petrović
1994–95	Thijs Libregts
1994	Nikos Gioutsos[25]
1994–95	Nikos Alefantos
1995–96	Stavros Diamantopoulos
1996	Meletis Persias
1996–99	Dušan Bajević
1999-00	Alberto Bigon
1999-00	Ioannis Matzourakis
2000–02	Takis Lemonis
2002	Giannis Kolias
2002–03	Srečko Katanec
2003–04	Oleg Protasov
2004	Siniša Gogić
2004	Nikos Alefantos
2004–05	Dušan Bajević
2005–06	Trond Sollied
2006–08	Takis Lemonis
2008	José Segura
2008–09	Ernesto Valverde
2009	Temuri Ketsbaia
2009	Bozidar Bandovic
2009–10	Zico
2010	Bozidar Bandovic
2010	Ewald Lienen
2010–	Ernesto Valverde

References

1. ^ http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/StatDoc/competitions/UCL/01/67/63/79/1676379_DOWNLOAD.pdf
2. ^ Super League classification tables, showing in the playoffs classification table, that the results of play-offs change the overall classification of teams Super League Greece 2010–2011 results – http://www.superleaguegreece.net/
3. ^ w:Super_League_Greece#Superleague_Greece_2011.E2.80.9312_members
4. ^ Rules for the 2010–11 play-offs of Super League Greece stating that the playoff results do count to the overall league classification table: "Με την ολοκλήρωση των αγώνων, συντάσσεται νέα κατάταξη βάσει της οποίας η ομάδα με τη μεγαλύτερη συγκομιδή βαθμών καταλαμβάνει τη 2η θέση στο Πρωτάθλημα ΟΠΑΠ της “Super League Ελλάδα” και οι ομάδες που ακολουθούν καταλαμβάνουν αντίστοιχα, την 3η, 4η και 5η θέση στο Πρωτάθλημα ΟΠΑΠ της “Super League Ελλάδα”." – http://superleaguegreece.net/pedocs/Prokiriksi_Agonon_Katataksis_2010-2011.pdf
5. ^ "Peiraias Regional Championship". http://www.rsssf.com/tablesg/grkchamp.html. Retrieved March 2009. 
6. ^ "Lemonis leaves Olympiacos post". UEFA.com. http://www.uefa.com/footballeurope/news/kind=2/newsid=670758.html. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
7. ^ "Velodrome and Karaiskakis Stadium (1895-1964-2003)". www.stadia.gr. http://stadia.gr/karaiskaki/karaiskakiold.html. Retrieved 2009-01-03. 
8. ^ "Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium". www.stadia.gr. http://www.stadia.gr/karaiskaki/karaiskaki.html. Retrieved 2009-01-04. 
9. ^ ^{a b} "Football First 11: Do or die derbies". CNN. 2008-10-22. http://edition.cnn.com/2008/SPORT/football/10/22/first11.derbies/index.html. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
10. ^ ^{a b} "Olympiacos Piraeus vs. Panathinaikos". Footballderbies.com. http://www.footballderbies.com/honours/index.php?id=75. Retrieved 2009-11-19. 
11. ^ ^{a b c} "Γήπεδο είσαι κοινωνία και σου μοιάζω" (in Greek). Eleftherotypia. 2004-05-23. http://www.enet.gr/online/online_text/c=110,dt=23.05.2004,id=24200380,32090684. Retrieved 2009-02-04. 
12. ^ "H πιο πρόσφατη... «απογραφή»!" (in Greek). Goalday. 2006-05-31. http://www.goalday.gr/article.asp?catid=10559&subid=2&pubid=338686. Retrieved 2009-02-04. 
13. ^ "Προτίμηση ποδοσφαιρικής ομάδας" (in Greek). AEK Empire. 2005. http://img141.imageshack.us/img141/4708/neo10000005sv.jpg. Retrieved 2009-02-04. 
14. ^ "Results of popularity research" (PDF). Super League Greece website. 2007-05. http://www.superleaguegreece.net/downloads/Greek_Football_Research.pdf. Retrieved 2009-02-04. ^{[dead link]}
15. ^ "Ellas attendances". EFS Attendances. http://www.european-football-statistics.co.uk/attn.htm. Retrieved 2009-02-04. 
16. ^ "Portugal celebrates as Benfica smashes world record". AIPS website. 2006. http://www.aipsmedia.com/index.php?page=news&cod=534&tp=n. Retrieved 2009-02-05. 
17. ^ ""Σπόντες"... δημοσίου" (in Greek). www.sport24.gr. 2006-04-14. http://www.sport24.gr/html/ent/140/ent.113140.asp. Retrieved 2009-02-05. ^{[dead link]}
18. ^ Tony Cottee. "Channel 5 broadcast of the UEFA Cup match Olympiacos vs Newcastle – Live". March 10, 2005
19. ^ "Away Game Against Olympiacos Will Be A Bit Like Hell – Bordeaux Midfielder Jaroslav Plasil". www.goal.com. 2010-01-28. http://www.goal.com/en/news/90/france/2010/01/28/1764986/away-game-against-olympiacos-will-be-a-bit-like-hell. Retrieved 2010-02-26. 
20. ^ "Fan’s Death Shocks Greece". Goal.com. 2007-03-30. http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=268759. Retrieved 2008-03-12. 
21. ^ "AEK Athens vs. Olympiacos Piraeus". Footballderbies.com. http://www.footballderbies.com/honours/index.php?id=76. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
22. ^ "PAOK Saloniki vs. Olympiacos Piraeus". Footballderbies.com. http://www.footballderbies.com/honours/index.php?id=92. Retrieved 2009-11-19. 
23. ^ "Galatasaray AŞ-Olympiacos CFP, match press kit". www.uefa.com. 2008-10-21. p. 1. http://en.uefa.com/printoutfiles/competitions/uefacup/2009/e/e_304171_pk.pdf. Retrieved 2009-11-19. "They were drawn to play against Beşiktaş JK in the preliminary round of the 1958/59 European Champion Clubs' Cup, but withdrew from the competition." 
24. ^ "Football/Management/President". Olympiacos. http://www.olympiacos.org/index.html?lang=en#/Football/Managment/President/. Retrieved 2010-12-18. 
25. ^ ^{a b c d e} "Olympiakos's 10 Shortest Lived Managers". Sportdog.gr. http://www.sportdog.gr/v3/article.aspx?id=141683. Retrieved 2010-08-06. 

External links

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