Hellas Football

 Olympiakos vs FK Bodø/Glimt:  UEFA Europa League Round of 16 Preview By Stephen Kountourou UEFA Europa League Round of 16 Second Leg: 13/03/25 Kick-off Time: 19:45 Greek Time Venue: Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus Where to Watch: Cosmote Sport 4 HD It was almost a year ago since Olympiakos lost the first leg of the Conference League round of 16 tie against Maccabi Tel Aviv 4-1, only to stage one of the most miraculous comebacks on the continental stage, winning 6-1, and qualifying for the quarter-finals at the expense of the Israeli side.  Now, Jose Luis Mendilibar and his players face a similar but much more daunting task, this time against FK Bodø/Glimt. Thrylos were well beaten 3-0 in Norway and, barring perhaps a conciliation goal in the second half, did not deserve anything from that game and now have the task of replicating what happened last season, at the Georgos Karaiskakis Stadium on Thursday.  Despite a hopeful optimism from the fan base that Thrylo...

FK Bodø/Glimt vs Olympiakos:  Europa League Round of 16 preview By Stephen Kountourou UEFA Europa League Round of 16: 06/03/25 Kick-off Time: 22:00 Greek Time Venue: Aspmyra Stadion, Norway Where to Watch: Cosmote Sport 3 HD The end is nigh, for the 2024/25 season at least. Teams are starting to get to the business end of their campaigns, whether that be domestically or on the European stage, but with still so much left to play for. Truer words have never been spoken of Olympiakos and where they find themselves currently.  Thrylos, under Jose Luis Mendilibar, are on a roll. In all competitions, they are currently 26 games unbeaten, five points clear at the top of the Greek Super League table with one game of the regular season left to play.  In the Greek Cup, the Piraeus side has one foot into the final, after defeating AEK 6-0 in the first leg of the last four and in the UEFA Europa League this season, where they have qualified for the round of 16 automatically, they wil...

The new generation of talented Greek footballers By Stephen Kountourou Opportunity, experience and faith. These are just some ingredients in progressing youth players to the senior level. Some leagues are great at producing, promoting and developing academy prospects for their future football careers.  Of the big five leagues, La Liga, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga have been lorded as the best for producing young domestic talent. La Masia is the biggest example for Spain, PSG, who in more recent times has finally attempted to take advantage of their melting pot of young talent in Pairs and Germany with Borussia Dortmund, who not only produce youth from their academy but are excellent at identifying players from abroad.  Other Leagues like the Dutch Eredivisie and the Belgian Pro League have also been great gateway leagues for their youth and players from elsewhere, to hone their skills in exciting attacking competitions before attempting to take the next big step to the big leagu...

 Olympiakos vs Qarabag FK: UEFA Europa League League Phase Matchday Eight Preview By Stephen Kountourou UEFA Europa League League Phase Matchday Eight: 30/01/25 Kick-off Time: 22:00 Greek Time Venue: Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium Where to Watch: Cosmote Sport 3 HD Sometimes, you have to give credit where credit is due for an idea you initially thought was awful but, after seeing it in action, makes you have a change of heart. That was the new league phase format for the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.  Upon hearing of the change from the long-established group stages to one league spanning eight games, and in the Conference League’s case six, I immediately disliked the idea as it felt as though it would only be implemented to benefit the elite and wealthy clubs of European football and help them qualify for the knockout stages easier. If it aint broke don’t fix it.  For the last six months, however, I was pleasantly surprised, for the new format...

 FC Porto vs Olympiakos: UEFA Europa League League Phase Matchday Seven Preview By Stephen Kountourou UEFA Europa League League Phase Matchday Three: 23/01/25 Kick-off Time: 19:45 Greek Time Venue: Estádio do Dragão Where to Watch: Cosmote Sport 3 HD A new year has rolled around and with it even more, football for us to enjoy. Even we as Greek football fans, whose teams enjoyed a brief break over Christmas, barely got time to breathe before delving back into the beautiful game once more. That hasn’t changed. Of course, UEFA’s top two competitions, the Champions League and the Europa League, have yet to complete their respective league phases. Two matchdays left before we find out who has qualified for either the round of 16 or the playoffs, and who is eliminated.  Regarding the context of the new format, Olympiakos are still in the mix, having almost certainly guaranteed themselves a playoff place while also looking to secure a seeded spot, which would give them a less difficu...

 Everybody Loves Ange By Stephen Kountourou It has been 18 months since Tottenham Hotspur appointed Ange Postecoglou and it certainly has been a wild ride for Spurs supporters. The best start in the club's history was followed by a poor second half of the 23/24 season which saw the North London club finish in 5th-place finish and qualify to the Europa League. During this current campaign, and at the time of writing, the Greek Australian’s team finds themselves in midtable, having both claimed some huge victories and suffered embarrassing defeats. This is all while playing an exciting, yet unsustainable brand of football.  Some supporters wish to stick with Ange until at least the end of the season, while others have already begun to sharpen their pitchforks and cry for him to be sacked.  But why does the manager and the players find themselves in this position and what could be done to fix this inconsistent cycle before the wheels fully come off? The highs  People fo...

Greece - Where the Depth Issues Lie By Christian Leggas We, as fans, can have few complaints thus far regarding how Ivan Jovanović has coached this team  and his choices. He has them believing in themselves, which leads to high team spirit, goals and,  most importantly, wins. However, by the time the March fixtures against Scotland come around and indefinitely beyond that,  he's got to have more depth in both the right wing and the defensive midfield positions. Let's start with the defensive midfield position, specifically, our lack of types who are Dimitrios  Kourbelis clones, so to speak. As soon as he became suspended for the match in Athens against  England, I knew we'd be in struggle street, and it came to pass. Christos Zafeiris, who replaced  Kourbelis that night whilst battling hard to emulate him, couldn't. I don't put much blame on Zafeiris,  as it's not like you can wave a wand to change his physique to match Kourbelis', but if he had his ti...

  Coaches have come and gone but the success has remained By Andreas Mitsis Marinakis grazes coaches but also lifts trophies. Olympiakos comes from a dreamlike year 2024 and the big club celebrates its 100th anniversary this season. Owner Vangelis Marinakis is also entering his fifteenth year as owner. Coaches have come and gone but the success has lasted with double digit league titles and European cup titles to the account. When in a couple of days we change the calendar year from 2024 to 2025, it also means that we enter the calendar year when Olympiakos will celebrate its 100th anniversary. A celebration which, however, takes place in varying degrees throughout the season. The big club from Piraeus is the most successful of all time in Greek football and has been owned and managed by businessman Vangelis Marinakis for the past 15 years or so. A man in the headlines for one reason or another, positive or negative.  57-year-old Marinakis comes from a dream-like 2024 whe...