HISTORY
Welcome to the living history of Hellenic Sports. Olympiacos F.C. is far from being an ordinary club. It is a family; and all together, the administration, the technical staff, the athletes and the fans constitute the building blocks of history in the making of the most successful and powerful sports organisation in the country throughout the years.
Talk about football in
These accomplishments are no coincidence. The members of the red and white family work hard, in perfect harmony. The team has the best Greek athletes, while top international players and many talented athletes have played for OLYMPIACOS, contributing to its glorious history. The administration has satisfied all the requirements of the technical staff, while many promising talented players, who contractually belong to OLYMPIACOS, are currently on loan to other clubs.
The club’s facilities comply fully with UEFA standards. The G. Karaiskakis stadium, with a total capacity of 32,115 seats, is the "hot" home ground of OLYMPIACOS, always packed, and also hosts both national and international football events. The Greek National team also plays in the G. Karaiskakis stadium. In addition, in the 2004 Olympic Games in
It is worth mentioning that our facilities are also available to the young players of the
The fans, the administration, the players and the technical staff would also like to welcome this year’s new team members. All together, aware of what it means to be a member of the red and white family, we will work hard again over the next year in order to add more golden pages to the history of OLYMPIACOS.
Titles
OLYMPIACOS is the biggest title-winning club in
GREEK CHAMPIONSHIP (44): 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, 2016, 2017
HELLENIC CUP (27): 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, 2015
DOUBLE (17): 1947, 1951, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1973, 1975, 1981, 1999, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2015
SUPER CUP (4): 1980, 1987, 1992, 2007
BALKAN CUP (1): 1963
1925-1930
The truly original title was unanimously approved by the members of the Club, resolving the problem that had arisen of finding a mutually acceptable name. It had been the inspiration of Notis Kamperos, who wanted the title of the new club to suggest power, athletic strength, ethos, noble rivalry, dominance and ultimately the Olympic ideal.
1925-1930
The people who undertook the initiatives undoubtedly belonged to the category of self-made businessmen in the port. The Andrianopoulos family owned a medium-sized commercial business run by the father Andreas Andrianopoulos. His children participated in all sports. They contacted other distinguished leaders of Piraeus society with a view to creating an athletic association, which would bring a new breath to the community. Until then, there was only the Piraikos Syndesmos, which had a variety of activities (literary, educational, cultural and athletic). Among the most notable members were Michalis Manouskos, one of the city’s industrialists, Notis Kamperos, a senior naval officer, Stavros Maragoudakis, the director of the Post Office, Nikos Andronikos, the merchant, Dimitrios Sklias, the Army officer, the attorney, Nikolaos Zacharias, the notary public, Athanasios Mermigas, the notary public, Ioannis Kekkes, the stock broker, and of course the Andrianopoulos family of merchants.
Olympiacos was identified from the beginning with the Adrianopoulos brothers. The Adrianopoulos brothers raised the reputation of the club and added glory to it. Never before had five brothers played side by side in the same team; moreover, they composed the team’s forward line. Certainly, we should not forget other excellent players like Kostas Klidouchakis, the goalkeeper of the team, Nikos Panopoulos, Charalambos Pezonis, Panos Koronaios and Kostas Terezakis.
The 1930s would be very successful for the Piraeus club. The club won a hatful of titles and dominated the Greek championship. The real strength of the club lay in its fans, who constantly demonstrated their support even at friendly matches. Against Panathinaikos, Apollona or AEK, the fans followed the team, manifesting their loyalty to the club. The Olympiacos fans invented various ways to celebrate the club’s victory and to mock the opponents of their beloved team. Victories against Panathinaikos were specially celebrated.
In 1931, Olympiacos won the Greek national league title for the first time in the history of the club. Prior to the Second World War the “Legends” of Olympiacos guided the team to 6 league championships, whereas the 1934-35 championship was never concluded.
Records show that Olympiacos was by far the most successful and most popular club in Greek football history.
ANTHEM
“Fleet from front..” a needless warning, since Olympiacos’ opponents knew exactly what to expect. In 1930-31, during the first National Championship, Olympiacos lined up a great team comprised of Grammatikopulos, Adrianopoulos brothers – Yiannis, Dinos, Giorgos, Vassilis and Leonidas, Lekkos, Kourantis, Terezakis, Pezonis, Panopoulos, Sofras, Chrisafopoulos and many others. Olympiacos triumphed not only at the Velodrome – the Karaiskakis – but also at other stadiums of Athens and Thessaloniki. In addition, Olympiacos put in a great performance and beat most of the teams participated in the championship (Panathinaikos, AEK, Aris, Iraklis and PAOK) 3-1; sole exception, the match against Ethnikos, where Olympiacos netted 4 goals and won with 4-1.
Olympiacos’ dominant performance was the inspiration for Vasiliadis, who wrote the lyrics of the anthem and Laoutaris, who composed its music: “one, two, three goals, panic everywhere! Triumph victory - Olympiakos! "An anthem, which was sung by players and fans with clenched fists and tears in their eyes, inside and outside of the stadium. The anthem soon became a fashion; heard almost everywhere, in parties, excursions, etc; echoed and resounded around the city of Piraeus.
1931-1944
In 1933-34, Olympiacos sustained its dominance. The team won the championship by beating Iraklis, home and away, while the club continued its supreme path by winning all its international matches. In 1934-35, the championship started, but it was never completed, partly because of the organisation of the 4th Balkan Cup and partly due to political and military turmoil, which forced EPO to interrupt the championship.
1931-1944
The next year was a landmark for the team. In an overwhelming match, Olympiacos defeated Panathinaikos 6-1, and the fans marched across
The next season, 1938-39, Olympiacos lost the championship; a setback that had a negative influence on the performance of the team in the Cup. Still, by 1940, Olympiacos had already won 6 championships in 11 seasons.
Then came the War. On 27th October 1940, several players travelled to Patras for the match between “mixed
“Shoot me and kill me with my Olympiacos shirt on, and do not bind my eyes so that I may see the colours of my team before the final shot”. “On the wall with the red shirt”, Alexandros Asonitis, Eleftherotypia, 19/5/2002.
The sun rises from the mountains, you cannot tell which is more red, the shirt that Nikos wears next to his skin, whose white stripes have turned red too from blood - or the sun?” “Until dawn”, Stamatis Skourtis.
Olympiacos paid the price with the death of its players (including Godas, who asked to be killed wearing the Olympiacos’ shirt – and Anamateros).
Under such extreme conditions of military conflict, football was a luxury. Both players and fans were made liable for military service and were required to register; hence there was no room for football. After the end of the War came the Civil War, which was equally destructive. After the wars were over, Olympiacos was ready to march to victory once more.
1945-1958
In 1946-47, Olympiacos returned triumphantly, winning the league and the Cup and celebrating the first double in the history of the team. Throughout the 1950s, Olympiacos claimed 7 championships and 7 cups, including 5 doubles.
1945-1958
At that time Olympiacos became known as the “LEGEND”, with thousands of followers. Olympiacos’ opponents acknowledged the club’s superiority, while all Greece became interested in the team from the City of Piraeus. Most probably, that was also the reason why most football clubs tried to earn the right to play against Olympiacos in friendly matches.
By 1960, Olympiacos had won 15 championships in 23 seasons, as well as 9 Greek Cups, making for 6 doubles. From 1947 to 1959, Olympiacos won 9 out of the 12 championships (1947,1948,1951,1954, 1955,1956,1957,1958,1959), 8 Cups out of 13 (1947,1951,1952,1953,1954,1957,1958,1959) and celebrated 6 doubles (1947, 1951, 1954, and 3 in a row 1956-1959); a record performance achieved by no other club so far.
Other distinctions during this period were the winning of the Easter Cup (1945, 1953, 1957, 1959), the Christmas Cup (1953, 1956, 1958, 1959), and the Solidarity Cup (1955).
It is worth noting that, in 1958-59, Olympiacos was chosen by lot to face Besiktas, but for political reasons, the team was not allowed to travel to Turkey. In the same year, Olympiacos’ mixed team played against AEK, Panathinaikos and America Rio.
1959-1967
Between 1959 and 1963, Olympiacos won the Greek Cup 3 consecutive times, whereas the next year, the Cup was cancelled due to incidents caused by the fans of Olympiacos and Panathinaikos at the historical game held on 17th June 1964. In 1965-66 and 1966-67, Olympiacos were again crowned Greek Champions.
1959-1967
In addition, Olympiacos participated in the Cup Winners Cup, the Balkan Cup and European Champions Cup. The team also played many friendly games against international teams such as
In 1960-61, it is worth noting Olympiacos’ victory 2-1 over Pele’s team, Santos Sao Paolo.
Then followed the years of the great Márton Bukovi, the top-rank Hungarian coach of the years 1965-67. In 1966-67, Olympiacos brought the Cup trophy into the
The regime of the Colonels had devastating consequences for Olympiacos. Bukovi was removed and the great team was dissolved.
1968-1978
These were very difficult years for Greece, since the regime of the Colonels affected all aspects of life.
1968-1978
In the 1972-73 season, Olympiacos won the league and the Cup, its 7th double, with 94 points and only one defeat in the entire championship, while the team performed rather well in the UEFA Cup competition.
In a record performance in the 1973-74 season, a highlight season of the 1970s, Olympiacos won the league and the Cup from AEK and Panathinaikos, respectively, with 102 goals. On an international level, Olympiacos performed well, facing opponents such as Celtic and
During that period, some great names passed from Olympiacos, such as Nikos Goulandris (President), Triantafyllos, Vieras, Delikaris, Synetopoulos, Losantas, Kelesidis and many others.
The team went through a relatively dry period in the second half of the 1970s; but in the early 1980s Olympiacos emerged again as the dominant power in Greek football.
1979-1993
In the summer of 1979, the championship became professional, while Olympiacos came into the hands of Stavros Ntaifas.
1979-1993
In 1980, Olympiacos, with Kazimierz Górski on the bench and key players like Novoselac, Galakos, Mitropoulos, Kousoulakis and Nikoloudis, won the first professional championship and the Cup of Friendship and Solidarity, otherwise known as the Super Cup.
In 1981, Olympiacos won the championship again as well as the Cup and achieved the 9th double in the team’s history. Yet, on 8th February 1981, the darkest page of Olympiacos and Greek football in general was written, following the tragedy of Gate 7.
8/2/1981: The tragedy of Gate 7
Sunday 8th February 1981 was a bright, sunny day, just like any other day for the football supporters of OLYMPIACOS F.C. Match Day 20, and the Reds were hosting a game against AEK, who were two points behind in the championship table.
The stadium was packed and all tickets had been sold out. Everyone was in a good mood, chanting, and nothing could suggest the tragic events that were to follow. Kick off was at 15.15 and OLYMPIACOS F.C. started off with the following players: Sarganis, Kirastas, Vamvakoulas, Papadopoulos, Novoselac, Kousoulakis,
The game turned out to be a win for OLYMPIACOS F.C., who beat AEK 6-0: three goals by Galakos (30’, 53’, 84’), one by Koussoulakis (68’), one by Orfanos (75’) and one by Vamvakoulas (80’). The crowd was more than excited. Filled with enthusiasm, the fans located at the stadium’s Gate 7 tried to rush out in order to reach Gate 1 and cheer for the triumphant team. And then disaster struck.
The exit door was locked, or according to other testimonies, slightly open and there were too many fans. One of the fans, who were running cheerfully towards the exit door, tripped and fell on the steps. Dozens of people fell onto each other and were then trampled by the waves of fans who kept coming, completely unaware that anything was wrong. As a result, twenty one people who attended the game -just to enjoy their beloved team- died that day and many more were injured.
Twenty seven years later, today, it feels like not a day has gone by. Everyone still remembers both this tragedy and the 21 victims, and every 8th February we mourn their loss. In the name of those people there is a monument outside the new “George Karaiskakis” stadium and amongst the seats in gate 7, there are 21 black chairs which belong to those who are no longer with us:
The 21 victims of the tragedy that occurred on 8th February 1981
Panagiotis Toumanidis, 14 years old
Kostas Sklavounis, 16 years old
Ilias Panagoulis, 17 years old
Gerasimos Amitsis, 18 years old (AEK supporter)
Yiannis Kanellopoulos, 18 years old
Spiros Leonidakis, 18 years old
Yiannis Spiliopoulos, 19 years old
Nikos Filos, 19 years old
Yiannis Dialinas, 20 years old
Vassilis Mahas, 20 years old
Efstratios Loupos, 20 years old
Michalis Kostopoulos, 21 years old
Zografoula Hairatidou, 23 years old
Spiros Andriotis, 24 years old
Kostas Karanikolas, 26 years old
Michalis Markou, 27 years old
Kostas Bilas, 28 years old
Anastassios Pitsolis, 30 years old
Antonis Kouroupakls, 34 years old
Christos Hatzigeorgiou, 34 years old
Dimitris Adamopoulos, 40 years old
In 1987, Olympiacos again won the championship title by a 10 point margin over Panathinaikos.
Olympiacos experienced its darkest days from the late 1980s until the mid-90s. This period is known as “Olympiacos’ stone years”.
In 1988, the coming of Lajos Détári was greeted with great enthusiasm, yet things did not go as expected. The 1990 and 1992 Cup, as well as the 1992 Super Cup, were the only titles celebrated by the team until 1996.
However, in 1992-93, after struggling to make much of an impact on the European stage, Olympiacos did manage to reach the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners Cup, losing to Club Atletico de Madrid.
1994-2009
In 1993, Olympiacos came into the hands of Sokratis Kokkalis. In 1996, Kokkalis bought Dušan Bajević from arch-rivals AEK. Olympiacos’ era of domination began with the addition of players like Predrag Đorđević and Stelios Giannakopoulos to the already rich team squad, which included names like Karapialis, Alexandris, Georgatos, Refik Šabanadžović and others.
1994-2009
The championship drought came to an end in 1996-97, when Olympiacos won the first of seven consecutive league titles up to 2002-03, with the best season being 1998-99, when the team celebrated the double and their qualification for the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League – before losing to Juventus FC -, their best-ever European performance.
Since 1997, Olympiacos had played its home games at the Athens Olympic Stadium, but a few years later the. Karaiskakis stadium was demolished, and in 2004 the new, ultramodern football stadium opened its doors to the team.
In 2005-2009, Olympiacos won 5 consecutive championships, 4 Cups (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009) and 4 doubles, while the team performed well in UEFA competitions.
2010 +
In 2010, Olympiacos came into the hands of Vaggelis Marinakis, a strong supporter of team; a man nurtured on the ideals of Olympiacos.
2010 +
During his first year of presidency, Olympiacos were crowned Greek champions, the result of a successful transfer season.
In addition, the President, being socially sensitive, has incorporated into the club’s strategy a social responsibility programme, with actions and initiatives that aim to provide help to people in need.
In an effort to extend these activities at an international level, Vaggelis Marinakis undertook the “Match Against Poverty” initiative, organised in conjunction with the United Nations, to help the victims of Haiti and Pakistan, as well as assisting “Argo”, the Navy Union for children with special needs and the homeless and disadvantaged communities in Piraeus.
Olympiacos’s superiority, compared to his opponents, was clear throughout the whole of the 2010-11 season. As a result, our team celebrated the championship, for the 38th time in its long history. That season closed with a magnificent festivity, worthy of our club’s name and history.
With Ernesto Valverde on the bench for yet another season, Olympiacos seemed ready to walk once again down the path of success and titles. Our team was reinforced with the addition of new players, alongside those who were already part of it. Olympiacos came back to the UEFA Champions League and this season would deliver some great nights; UEFA Europa League games included, as our team performed superbly there too.
During the last season (2011-12), Olympiacos proved once again that the distance between the Champions and the rest of the clubs participating in the Greek Championship, is far too great. Our team played good football, managed to have the expected results and was therefore, once again, Champion. But all the success was not enough to hold back Erenesto Valverde, who, despite it all, decided to say “goodbye” at the end of the season. Olympiacos managed to overcome every “obstacle” in its way and made it to the Greek Cup Final as well. They defeated Atromitos, at the Olympic Stadium of Athens (OAKA), won the title and celebrated their 15th Double in total!
Our team’s European campaign was exceptional, including an away victory against Marseille, a victory against BVB Dortmund at home and the “submission” of Arsenal F.C. by a 3-1 score at the “G. Karasikakis” stadium, were some of the great results Olympiacos had this season in the Champions League. Our team played equally as well in the UEFA Europa League and it was because of minor details that it didn’t make it to the round of “8”.
At the end of the last season, the chapter “Ernesto Valverde”, for our team, came to an end. Leaving our team’s bench, the Spanish coach also left behind… titles and friends! He was replaced by Leonardo Jardhim. The Portuguese head coach joined the side in summer 2012, but didn’t finish the campaign with Olympiacos, leading the club management to search looking for this “particular” quality required of the person sitting on the bench.
The Portuguese head coach was replaced by the Spaniard MÍchel Gonzales. A top figure of the Spanish as well as European football, the former Real Madrid star and heavily honored captain took on the assignment of guiding our club on the path envisioned by Vaggelis Marinakis.
He led Olympiacos to the club’s 40th championship title and also helped conquer the 26th Cup, by beating Asteras Tripolis in the final by 3-1. So, our Olympiacos managed to bring home its 16th Double, in the current campaign, prolonging thus the glorious saga of titles and honors.
The 4 stars, gracing henceforth the revered red-and-white stripped jersey right on top of the “laurel-crowned adolescent”, stand for the shining proof of greatness of the team, the club and the idea behind them. This has also been our own major goal; and it was achieved! However, no one stands still in the Legend. We are already moving forward, towards new and great successes. During the 2013/14 season Olympiacos won the 41st championship title in its glorious history, in a year full of records and historic moments.
In Europe, our side, following its qualification in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League after eliminating Benfica and Anderlecht, was triumphant in the "Georgios Karaiskakis" Stadium after winning the great Manchester United 2-0 and was just one step away from its qualification for the quarter-finals in Old Trafford; as our President pointed out, our overall display allows us "to keep on dreaming"!
Our Olympiacos and Greece's most glorious club added, in October 2013, a new meaningful page in its long history. In particular, it was when the club's cooperation with UNICEF was launched, proving that this club stands out both on the pitch and out of that. UNICEF's logo was added on the the red-and-white jersey's front and the country’s largest sports organisation joined forces with UNICEF to build a better world for children in Greece and abroad. Thanks also to the contribution by Olympiacos and its President, Mr. Evangelos Marinakis, 50,000 children will receive vaccination across the world, including Greece, and will be able to foresee a better future. Since then, our Olympiacos pioneered a range of actions.
In the 2014-2015 season, our Olympiacos kept adding moments of history by its participation in that edition of the Champions League. Its wins made Europe to kneel before the grandeur of Greece's most glorious club. In this top club tournament's opening matchday for Group A', the Legend's majestic performance forced last year's finalist and Spanish champion Atletico Madrid to yield 3-2 in "Giorgos Karaiskakis" Stadium. Its next victim was Italian outfit and champion, Juventus, which beat 1-0 at home in Faliron. The Legend, at group stage closing match, beat 4-2 Swedish champion Malmo also at home in Piraeus, and thus tallied 9 points that qualified our club for the Europa League campaign, in which it was knocked out by Dnipro.
In early January, it was Portuguese head coach Vitor Pereira who replaced Michel at Olympiacos' bench. The former boasts of an impressive resume, featuring league titles with Porto, and took on to lead our Olympiacos on new paths of success. And so it was done! Our side won the double once again!
The 2015/16 campaign kicks off with Olympiacos featuring several changes since there is a new coach (Marco Silva replacing his fellow-countryman Vitor Pereira) and a group of important new players, including Argentinian star, Esteban Cambiasso. The campaign sets out and the Legend registers a line of consecutive wins breaking thus the long-standing record of Bukovi’s squad (note: best start of a season). Also, our side mathematically secured the title so early (28/2/2016) like no other club before. They also went fine in their UEFA Champions League campaign beating Arsenal 3-2 in London and Dinamo Zagreb twice; the side continued then in the UEFA Europa League, despite being knocked out by Anderlecht.
The 2016/17 season brought about Olympiacos’ 7th consecutive championship title, which meant its 44th in total. A significant achievement for our side since it meant tying our own 1997-2003 and 2011-2017 record. The Piraeus outfit had also an impressive spell in its UEFA Europa League campaign, in particular, since they went as far as the tournament’s last 16.
