From South America to Piraeus

From South America to Piraeus 

By Stephen Kountourou Whether as a sprightly youngster, a player at the peak of their powers or a veteran with a last chance to roll back the years, we are going to take a look at some of Olympiakos greatest players from the continent of South America and highlight their careers during their time in Piraeus.

Giovanni

The versatile midfielder was born in Belem, Brazil. He arrived in Greece to play for Olympiakos, in a record £10,800,000 million deal in 1999, after falling out with Barcelona manager Louis Van Gaal. This is still Thrylos second highest fee for a player in their history. At aged 27 and at the peak of his powers he was an instant hit in Piraeus and established himself as one of the best players in the league. Nicknamed Magos (wizard) by Olympiakos fans, he helped the Erythrolefki, during one of their most successful periods, lift 5 league titles, and the Greek Cup. After 6 successful years in Greece he would spend the rest of his career, with two returns to Santos, and brief stints in Saudi Arabia, back to Greece with Piraeus second biggest club Ethnikos, before returning to Brazil. He ended his career during his third stint with Santos in 2010. Throughout his whole career Olympiakos can arguably lay claim to experiencing the very best of Giovanni at his peak.

Luciano Galletti

Born in La Plata and after spells in Italy with Napoli and Parma and Spain, where he won the Spanish Cup with Real Zaragoza, and Atletico Madrid, Galletti left Spain and joined Olympiakos for a 2.5 million Euros. In Piraeus, the winger really came into his own with the champions as he would help Thrylos win two consecutive domestic doubles, his first league titles of his career. He also had the best tally of goals in his career, scoring 14 in 2008/09, including in the famous Greek Cup final of 2009, in a 4-4 draw with AEK which ended with a monumental 14-15 to Oympiakos on penalties. Tragedy would strike the talented winger however, as the Argentinean was diagnosed with kidney failure in February 2010 which caused him to miss the rest of the season. The following summer he announced his retirement from football aged only 30. Thankfully for Galletti, after a successful kidney transplant with his father being an organ donor, he briefly played with OFI Crete in 2013 before retiring from football all together. He joined Olympiakos again as a scout from 2014 to 2017 for Latin America. Despite his career being shortened, Galetti and Olympiakos can look back on his time in Piraeus as a successful, and memorable one.

Jorge Barrios

A more obscure name when it comes to the South American imports of Olympiakos, Uruguayan midfielder Jorge Barrios was born in Las Piedras, and began his career at Montevideo Wanderers F.C. Thrylos came calling and he continued his footballing exploits in Europe and Piraeus. Despite finishing a disappointing 5th in his maiden season in Greece, he and Olympiakos bounced back the next season, winning the 86/87 Alpha Ethniki. In this time he also represented Uruguay at the 1986 FIFA World Cup. After his time in Piraeus, Barrios would continue his adventure in Greece with Levadiakos, helping them remain a first division club between 1987 and 1991, when they were finally relegated. Barrios would end his career back in his home country playing for his boyhood club, Montevideo Wanderers F.C. Despite not being as hugely significant compared to his other fellow South Americans, he can consider his time in Greece as the height of his career.

Esteban Cambiasso

Esteban Cambiasso is the perfect example of a player rolling back the years for Olympiakos. Having had an illustrious career, with league titles and the Champions League with Inter Milan and a helping save Leicester City from Relegation in 2015, The Argentine midfielder arrived in Greece at the twilight of his career, but with the ambition for a couple more titles and European football. In his debut season he was part of an Olympiakos side that dominated the league, winning 28 out of 30 matches and going on a record run of 17 wins, only losing to AEK and drawing to Platanias. In Europe he was part of the side that defeated Arsenal 3-2 at the Emirates, their first away win in the UK. The following season, veteran Cambiasso, helped Thrylos to a second league title and a run in the Europa League, scoring a memorable free kick against Besiktas in the round of 16. After his contract expired, he retired from playing two months later and finished his career on a high. Although his stay in Piraeus wasn't a long one, he still left a big impression on the fans of Olympiakos.

Guilherme

The only current Olympiakos player in this list, Brazillian defensive midfielder Guilherme dos Santos Torres, was born in Santo André a municipality of São Paulo. He started his career playing for native sides Portuguesa and Corinthians before moving to Europe and Italy where he played for Udinese. On loan to Deportivo La Coruna, he impressed the Spanish side and they made the move permanent the following season. After Deportivos relegation to the Segunda Division, Gulherme moved to Greece where he joined up with current club Olympiakos for a 3 million Euro fee. In his first two years at the club the Brazilian has proven to be an incredibly consistent presence in midfield with his defensive solidarity proving vital for Thrylos in the league and in Europe, earning praise and being part of the 2018/19 team of the season. With the club on the verge of their first title in 3 years, Guilherme, will surely go down as one of the Olympiakos best South American players in recent times after he helps the Piraeus club to what will be the first trophy of his footballing career. 

Ariel Ibagaza

Born in the Argentine capital of Buenos Aires, the diminutive attacking midfielder began his career by playing for Lanus before stints in Spain, twice with Mallorca and once with Atletico Madrid and Villarreal respectively. After over ten years in Spain he made the move to Olympiakos in 2010 for £3.6 million and, while not much of a goal scorer for Thrylos, he was an important part of a team that started a new run of 4 title wins in a row as well as two Greek Cups making it two domestic doubles for the Erythrolefki between 2011 and 2013. He left the club in the summer of 2014 where he finished his footballing career in Nea Smyrni with Panionos. After his playing career ended, Ibagaza returned to Piraeus as an academy manager for Olympiakos, working alongside the senior and youth teams since 2016. 

Julio Losada

Probably the greatest Uruguayan to play for Olympiakos, forward Losanda, arrived in Piraeus, early in his career. During the 1970s he formed a deadly strike partnership with French- Greek striker Yves Trianafyllos, becoming one of the strongest forward lines in the history of the club. He helped Thrylos dominate in the league during the decade, winning 4 domestic titles and 2 Greek Cups. After representing the club for 10 years and 8 seasons, he retired from the game, having racked up 151 appearances, currently the second most of any foreign player in Olympiakos history. Truly one of the greatest to arrive at the port.

Rivaldo

What more can be said about the Brazilian Forwards time with the Thrylos? after spending his supposed peak years, winning the World Cup with Brazil, titles and the champions league with Barcelona and Milan respectively, Rivaldo joined up with Olympiakos, as a massive signing at the time, to take the Erythrolefki back to the pinnacle of Greek football, and boy did he deliver. In his 3 seasons in Greece, he showed that he still had plenty of class as a footballer, scoring incredible and important goals, with his first being a freekick against Panathinaikos while also helping his side defeat Real Madrid in the Champions League. Domestically he won 3 consecutive league titles and 2 league cups and averaged a goal every other game in Piraeus. He would later bounce around different football clubs including AEK Athens, until he famously played his last game of football in 2015 as he was subbed off for his son Rivaldiniho. One thing is for certain, Rivaldo for Olympiakos fans is a certified Legend.

Alejandro ‘Chori’ Dominguez

The Argentine number 10 arrived in the summer of 2013, after stints in his home country with Quilmes and River Plate, Russia with Rubin Kazan twice and Zenit, before playing in Spain with Valencia and Rayo Vallecano. Despite arriving at Olympiakos, already fairly trophy laden, he would only continue this trend in Piraeus, winning four league titles and the Greek cup, becoming a fan favourite with Thrylos supporters and his nickname Chori being bellowed out at every home game he played. In his time with the Erythrolefki, his feats include, helping Olympiakos to the Champions league round of 16 and defeating Manchester United at home and recording amazing results against other giants of the game including Juventus, Atletico Madrid, Benfica and Arsenal while also becoming the top scoring midfielder and top of assists in 2014/15. After his time in playing in Piraeus ended he finished his footballing career back at Rayo Vallecano before returning to Olympiakos in 2019 and joined the scouting network to look for talented youngsters in South America. Hellas Football Follow @greekfan2004