Hellas Football

Euro 2016 Disaster By Greg Gavalas It’s July 2014 and Greece is eliminated from the World Cup in Brazil after losing out to Costa Rica in the Round of 16, there is a bittersweet feeling amongst Ethniki fans, on the one hand we should have beat Costa Rica and made a historic trip to the Quarter Finals, on the other hand, it’s another major tournament we have done a decent job at and we move on to the next one – Euro 2016. Still in July and a notable change amongst a few for the team, coach Fernando Santos is not retained by EPO and as such, they hire veteran boss, Claudio Ranieri to lead the team through the Euro 2016 Qualification process in what is the Italians first ever role with a National Team. Outside of the coaching change, the other big change was the retirement of Giorgios Karagounis and Kostas Katsouranis, the two midfielders had featured heavily for Greece for years, including the European triumph of 2004 and every tournament since. Karagounis was a player not easil...

Greek Football Legends: Antonis Antoniadis By Antonios Theodosis  Many names have come and gone throughout the history of Greek football. Players that have achieved national glory with the Greek national team, once in a generation talents such as the “Greek Maradona,” and players like Antonis Antoniadis who in his day became one of the most lethal strikers in Europe and played a key role in putting Greek football on the map by helping Panathinaikos reach domestic and European success.   Nicknamed “the tall one” Antoniadis stood at 1.87 meters tall, or 6’2 and was an aerial threat to opposing defenses. He favored his right foot while shooting and controlling the ball, but was more than capable of scoring from difficult angles with his left foot. On one occasion scoring an impressive volley while playing for Panathinaikos against Everton in the European cup in 1971. His ability to read the game was profound and he possessed the traits of a natural striker by pos...

MASSIVE MISSED OPPORTUNITY: 2006 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING By Nick Tsambouniaris Greece had been crowned Champions of Europe against all the odds in the ultimate underdog story, only two months before qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup held in Germany had begun. The famous Euro 2004 triumph was meant to genuinely kick-start the growth of the game in Greece as the EPO had to deal with several off-field issues that had previously plagued the game. This did not happen and many of these issues are still holding the game back today. However, qualifying for the upcoming World Cup should have been a minimum expectation, especially since Otto Rehhagel remained on the bench and a large chunk of the all-conquering Euro 2004 squad was kept in tact. The Ethniki were in Pot 3 for the draw and were drawn to face Ukraine, Denmark, Turkey, Albania, Georgia and Kazakhstan in what was a tricky group, but ultimately one where the Ethniki had enough to at least clinch a top...

Panathinaikos. The downfall of a Greek Giant By Antonis Theodosis The name Panathinaikos used to be associated with prestige, success, and glory. A club full of rich history both domestically and in Europe having pulled off spectacular results against some of Europe’s elite clubs. In the glory days of Panathinaikos, the club became the only Greek team to reach a European Cup final, coming up against an Ajax team that was spearheaded by the legendary Johan Cruyff in 1971. The Greens have managed to reach the semi-finals of the European big stage twice, in 1985 and 1996, they also managed to reach the quarter-finals three times in 1988, 2002, and 2003 respectively.  Domestically Panathinaikos are also associated with success, having won the domestic league title twenty times, the Greek cup eighteen times, and the Greek Super Cup four times.  In recent years however the prestige and success of the Panathinaikos brand in the world of football has declined...

HELLAS FOOTBALL REWIND: 1998 WORLD CUP QUALIFYING By Maik, Given the predicament the World finds itself in. We thought we’d look back at one of the most exciting yet infuriating qualifying campaigns of the Ethniki, as we retrace Greece’s road to the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The euphoria of Greece qualifying for its 1 st ever World Cup at USA 94, was followed by the embarrassment of losing all 3 group matches quite convincingly, without scoring a goal in the process. All be it, it must be said, to some very good teams at the time in Argentina, Bulgaria and Nigeria. USA 94 was a major letdown for all Greek fans. To those who bought tickets and travelled from Greece, to the Greeks in the USA and Canada who did the same, to those waking up at ungodly hours down in Australia eager to watch Greece at its first World Cup. Immediately following the tournament, the recriminations had begun and questions of why so many older players were chosen ahead of some of the younger talent wer...