Olympiakos - The UCL dream that in reality is a recurring nightmare

Olympiakos - The UCL dream that in reality is a recurring nightmare

By George

Another UCL campaign - another UCL failure. This is a common theme that most fans are used to.

When the team was announced, the UCL squad on paper actually looked good. some key signings where made, experienced players came in or back to the club, some young guys with a lot to prove came in and everyone was on a high from last seasons domestic success. 

How wrong was that assumption regarding the UCL squad 6 months later. 

A 1-0 win to start things off against Marseille was the perfect start we could have asked for. Nice football, flowing well drilled and a well deserved win.  

Next rounds loss to Porto was hard to take as Olympiakos was all over them but an early goal to the Portuguese meant we were chasing all game and subsequently lost that match too.

The rest... a 3-0 loss to City which again we looked good with the ball but did very little where it mattered.

A harsh 1-0 loss again to City where whilst the team didn't play well at all, their solitary goal should of been scratched due to a stray elbow to Drager in the lead up was initially waved on by the ref, and not even looked at by the VAR (funny that)

Another shocker with a 2-1 loss to Marseille where once again the team looked great in the first half but out of sorts in the second and a dodgy VAR call decided that match.

Which lead us to the last match. a very uninspiring and awful 2-0 loss to Porto where the team looked bad and had packed it all in, knowing that regardless of this result a City win over Marseille meant UEL football for us. 

Subsequent reports after the match stated Marinakis alongside coach Martins tore shreds of the playing group and reminded them of their obligations to the team. Good to hear.  

Another thing to note here I think Pedro Martins got the squad wrong this season. We lost key players and the replacements whilst good on paper, were not good enough for a variety of reasons which meant the expectations on the three ageing players in Rafinha, Holebas and Valbuena went into over drive and they have either burnt out, have been over played and have been injured. 

We also have had a heap of issues with coronavirus and interrupted training sessions throughout the year that cant be discounted, but also cant be used as the main excuse because all teams are in the same position. 

The club craves UCL success and would give anything for a deep run in the competition but I think in this current climate, it will never happen.

The Greek Super League gives players a false sense of thinking they can compete with the big boys in Europe. Playing the likes of Lamia after a UCL disaster class and pumping them 6-0 with a heavily rotated squad only highlights that.

So where to from here?

The multi million dollar question no one can answer. 

This runs deeper than just Olympiakos. The other Greek clubs in Europe have also failed

In the years to come with the new third tier European competition being created we will see if that is our level. 

But with that level will come a huge drop in prizemoney too. 

Lets hope that all teams realise this and they all get together along with the rest of the SLGR clubs and build for the future. Only this type of forward thinking will save Greek football from its demise in Europe. 

If not... It looks like this nightmare has only just begun. 

Hellas Football

Follow @olygeorge_

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