Hellas Football

 Olympique Lyonnais vs Olympiakos:  UEFA Europa League Matchday One Preview  By Stephen Kountourou UEFA Europa League League Phase MD-1: 26/09/24 Kick-off Time: 22:00 Greek Time Venue: Parc Olympique Lyonnais Where to Watch: Cosmote Sport 2 HD European competition returns for another season and with it some big changes. A new format, more teams, more matches, more football and from a personal perspective, more previews from yours truly.  It is still strange to think that, only a few months ago, the footballing world witnessed Olympiakos lift the UEFA Conference League trophy in Agia Sophia. While it felt like an end of an era, the story of the beautiful game, never truly ends.  Everything is ripped up and starts fresh for the new season, and while as supporters we will never forget the greatest triumph in our club's history, we too must look to the future and what lies ahead. That being the UEFA Europa League. Gone are the group stages, much like the Champions League and Conference

 Greek clubs in Europe 2024/25 By Stephen Kountourou European football is back and with a brand new format, the League Phase. The move away from the group stages, after over three decades from 1991 to 2024, has excited some fans as a welcome change. More games, more teams and more action-packed fixtures between the big boys of the European stage. What's not to love?  Others may roll their eyes at the new format, as it can be seen as a prelude to the much-maligned European Super League, with more fixtures meaning less rest for players. This less competitive format almost guarantees the bigger clubs qualify for the Round of 16 over smaller teams and UEFA perhaps fixing a system that wasn’t broken, to begin with.  Whatever your opinion, it is time for continental football on the European stage again for Greek clubs, with three competing in the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League, respectively. But how did Olympiakos, PAOK, and Panathinaikos qualify, and who will they face? O

 One transfer for every  Greek Super League club 2024/25 By Stephen Kountourou The Greek transfer window has slammed shut and it has certainly been an eventful summer for the top flight. According to FIFA, Super League clubs spent a record-breaking €46.39 million in the summer of 2024.  In some ways, this big money expenditure shows that the years of careful spending and lack of funds due to a seemingly ever-looming national financial crisis is well and truly over. With all that being said here is one player from each club that, in my opinion, will make the most impact for each Greek side this season.  AEK - Erik Lamela Right Winger 32 years old  Argentinian Signed from Sevilla on a free transfer What better way to start than with one of the biggest summer transfers (which also helps that AEK comes first alphabetically) The former Europa League winner, who signed on a free transfer after his contract with Sevilla expired, had an injury-prone campaign last season, managing 19 appearance

  Ioannidis secured the victory in  Jovanovic's debut on the coaching bench By Andreas Mitsis Attacking ace Ioannidis is hugged after his second goal of the evening. Ivan Jovanovic's debut on the coaching bench ended in a comfortable 3-0 victory against Finland in the Nations League. Two of the goals were scored by Fotis Ioannidis who was the best on the pitch. Next, Ireland await away from home next week. The premiere in the Nations League B league for the national team at home in Karaiskakis against Finland was also new national team captain Ivan Jovanovic's first game in charge of the national team. 3-0 ended the match after Fotis Ioannidis made the difference.  Jovanovic chose an eleven based on experience, chemistry and went a bit "safe", which is logical when he only had time for a few training sessions with the team.  The first 45 minutes were in fact no further effort from the national team. It was tentative, a bit nervous and contained some simple mistake

The Best European Results From Every Greek Club By Konstantinos Massaras, I think it is fair to say last season was the most successful season in the history of Greek clubs competing in European tournaments.  The addition of the Conference League has certainly added an unprecedented element for Greek, and all other clubs who play in European leagues outside of the top 10, who do not regularly qualify for the quarter-final rounds of major tournaments.  It only took three editions of the competition for Greece to crown their first ever European Champion. On top of that, that was the only way Greece could reach the 15th spot in the UEFA Coefficient Ranking, meaning we will be competing for five European spots in the SLGR 2024-25, which include two Champions League Qualifying spots. To prepare for the upcoming European competitions, I will be looking at the best results in Europe from every Greek club that has played a match in a UEFA competition. To select the best result for each club, I