The history of the Academy of Olympiacos is a long and highly successful one. It was founded in November 1974 under the presidency of Nikos Goulandris, headed by Mr. Vytinaros. The percursor of the Academy, and in particular the Youth Team, were the legendary “Babies”, who did great things in the sixties, coached by Dzina Simonovski. A huge role in the creation and development of the Academy was played by the great goalkeeper of the early years of the history of the team, Achilleas Grammatikopoulos, who brought out many players. The Academy had the contribution of many great names of the club’s history, such as Thanasis Bebis, Ilias Rossidis, Ilias Yfantis, Vassilis Karapialis and many others.
The teams of the Academy participate in competitions in Greece, but also in Europe. The U-20, U-17 and U-15 teams have distinctions in their respective Pan-Hellenic Championships, organized by the Super League Greece from 2006 (U-20, U-17) and from 2013 (U-15).
OLYMPIAKOS has swept the titles at the Super League Youth Championships during the presidency of Mr. Marinakis. From 2010 until now, the U-15, U-17 and U-20 teams have won a total of 13 Greek Championships.
The Academy’s headquarters are located in the Rentis Training Center, which was built in 1965, renovated in 2004 and after 2010 has been “transformed” into one of the best in Europe. In the Training Center there are also dormitories, which accommodate 28 children from all over Greece, who compete in the teams from U-14 until U-20. At the academy, in the current 2018-2019 session, there are 200 children training.
Olympiacos’ Academy has brought up remarkable players, who play not only in the club’s first team, but also in teams of the Super League and, of course, in top European championships.
Players from the Academy who played for the Men’s National Team
| Name | Participations | Goals | Competition |
| Kostas Fortounis | 28 | 3 | Euro 2012 |
| Panagiotis Kone | 28 | 2 | Mundial 2014 |
| Kyriakos Papadopoulos | 26 | 4 | Euro 2012 |
| Giannis Fetfatzidis | 25 | 3 | Euro 2012, Mundial 2014 |
| Dimitris Eleftheropoulos | 12 | – | |
| Dimitris Diamantakos | 5 | – | |
| Charalampos Lykogiannis | 1 | – | |
| Panagiotis Retsos | 1 | – |
PLAYERS FROM THE ACADEMY WHO HAVE PLAYED IN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE
- Dimitris Eleftheropoulos (Olympiacos)
- Kostas Fortounis (Olympiacos)
- Giannis Fetfatzidis (Olympiacos) / 1 goal
- Kyriakos Papadopoulos (Schalke 04, Bayer Leverkusen)
- Praxitelis Vouros (Olympiacos, APOEL)
- Nikos Vergos (Olympiacos)
- Charalampos Lykogiannis (Olympiacos)
- Dimitris Diamantakos (Olympiacos)
- Kostas Mendrinos (Olympiacos)
- Thanasis Androutsos (Olympiacos)
- Dimitris Nikolaou (Olympiacos) / 1 goal
THE ACADEMY’S HONOURS
Champions Super League
5 Super League U-20 (2010, 2013, 2015, 2016, 2017)
6 Super League U-17 (2010, 2011, 2015, 2017, 2018)
3 Super League U-15 (2014, 2016, 2020)
UEFA Youth League
5 seasons: (2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, 2016-17, 2019-20)
Best season: 2014-15 (Round of 16)
25 games (7 W, 8 D, 10 L)
Biggest Win: 4/11/2014: Juventus-OLYMPIACOS 0-3
Top scorers in UEFA club competitions: Nikolaos Vergos (6)
Player with most UEFA appearances: Qazim Laci (17)
Next Gen Series
1 season (2012-13)
Best season: 2012-13 (Quarter Final)
8 games (3 W, 3 D, 2 L)
Biggest Win: 12/9/2012: OLYMPIACOS-Arsenal 2-0
Top Scorers in Next Gen Series: Nikolaos Ioannidis (3)
Player with most appearances: Leantro, Siopis, Boutsiotis, Lyras, Ioannidis, Karagounis (8)
Academy’s Players in the European Leagues
Olympiacos’ Academy has brought up remarkable players, who play not only in the club’s first team, but also in teams of the Super League and, of course, in top European championships.
| Dimitris Eleftheropoulos | AC Milan (Italy) | 2005-06 |
| Giannis Fetfatzidis | Genoa (Italy) | 2013-15 |
| Panagiotis Retsos | ΜBayer Leverkusen (Germany) | 2017 |
| Praxitelis Vouros | APOEL (Cyprus) | 2017 |
| Kostas Tsimikas | Willem (Holland) | 2017 |
| Nikos Vergos | Real Madrid B (Spain) | 2016-17 |
| Charalampos Lykogiannis | Sturm Graz (Austria) | 2015-17 |
| Kyriakos Papadopoulos | Hamburg (Germany) | 2017 |
| Argyris Kampetsis | Borussia Dortmund (Germany) | 2017 |
| Dimitris Diamantakos | Bochum (Germany) | 2017 |
| Kostas Fortounis | Kaiserslautern (Germany) | 2011-2014 |
| Panagiotis Kone | Fiorentina (Italy) | 2016 |
| Marko Jankovic | Partizan (Serbia) | 2017 |
| Kostas Rougalas | Westerlo (Belgium) | 2017 |
| Qazim Laci | Ajaccio (France) | 2017 |
| Michalis Iliadis | Salernitana (Italy) | 2016-2017 |
| Nikos Ioannidis | Diosgyori (Hungary) | 2017 |