Hellas Football

Greek Cup Final 2020 Build Up Date Unknown: In a repeat of the Greek Cup Final way back when in 2016, Olympiakos and AEK Athens will contest for Greece's second biggest competition, both of whom have very different aspirations after the end of the Greek Super League season. For Thrylos it's a chance for their first league and cup double in five years, something only Olympiakos fans wish to see happen. For Enosis, it's a chance at their first silverware since their league title win in 2017 and a way to show their passionate fans that they can still very much compete at the top level with their Piraeus rivals and get one over the old enemy by stopping them from winning another trophy this season. So even though the date of the final is yet to be officially confirmed after it was postponed from its original date on the 26th of July, I am still going to be doing a build up of this clash of the titans Greek Cup final. I will also be taking a look at just how both teams sealed th...

The Class of 1971 By: Antonios Theodosis  The class of 1971 is one that is well known amongst Greek football fans around the world. After all, this was the side that played an advanced type of football adopted from some of Europe’s best clubs, and as a result reached the European Cup final. To this day no other Greek club has matched this feat, it is an achievement that Greek football fans, regardless of club affiliation recognize as something monumental.  There were several variables that ultimately led to this team making the European final. One of the first and most important being the appointment of Hungarian manager and Real Madrid legend Ferenc Puskas, who took over as manager in 1970. Puskas revolutionized the mentality within the locker room at Panathinaikos, with club legend Antonis Antoniadis noting that Puskas gave the players a winning mentality and a sense of belief while playing on the European stage. Although he was not the first to introduce the 4-3-3 to Panath...

Should Panathinaikos move to Votanikos? By Antonios Theodosis In recent days news has been revealed that Panathinaikos have underscored a “plan b” option in place of the Votanikos project that has been in the works for some time now. The proposed plan is to renovate Leoforos and expand the seating from 16,000 to 22,000. This comes as a bit of a surprise as owner Giannis Alafouzos has not been too keen on injecting cash into the club the last couple of years. Perhaps this change of heart from Alafouzos is a sign of good things to come, but that is neither here nor there.   My opinion is that this is something very positive for Panathinaikos both from a club and fan’s perspective. While having a brand new state of the art stadium would be nice, it would be in the Votanikos district which is highly industrialized and has no connection to the club whatsoever. Leoforos for being as old as it is, has proven itself to be a fortress in both European matches and in derbies, the atmosphere i...

Super League Greece 2019/20 Review The Never Ending Drama By Stephen Kountourou The curtain falls on another Greek Super League season and it has been monumental and memorable to say the least, well for me anyway. 2019/20 saw a first title in three years for Olympiakos, PAOK falling short for top spot and losing their undefeated run to rivals Aris, but clinch Champions League football over AEK Athens, the rise of OFI and the fall of Panionios, Greece's oldest football club who were relegated. The change in format to the domestic league table saw the top six duke it out in the playoffs for European place and the best of the rest in the playouts, fighting to stay in the first tier while also kind of being too good to go down in Atromitos and Asteras Tripolis. Not to mention the long break in between due to the pandemic and the restart with no fans, something fans of Greek football are far more used to then most. The ongoing war of words between the owners of the big four, PAOK deduct...

Panionios Relegated… For Now, Holding The Asterisk As Restructuring Looms By Michael The Super League Play-Outs have concluded, with Xanthi and Panionios finishing 13th and 14th respectively, thus confirms Panionios relegated from the top-flight. Well, for now at least, given the predicament of how the 19/20 championship progressed with the sudden coronavirus pandemic, Panionios will carry the asterisk for the time being This is because of the restructuring of Greece’s Football Pyramid that is set to be raised by the Executive Committee of EPO, with a local report stating the meeting will be on the 27th July and formulate the 2020/2021 season. From there we will learn the new format of the leagues, whether the 2020/2021 Super League will compete with 16 or 18 teams (the most likely), with PAS Giannina, Apollon Smyrni, Chania and Levadiakos awaiting the developments and rise up the division. With Apollon Smyrni runner-up in the Super League 2 after the championship was permanently suspe...

Final Play Offs & Play Outs Preview By Greg Gavalas The Greek Super League of 2019/20 comes to a close after this weekend in a season that has seen many ups and downs as usual. Olympiakos returned to winning ways and takes out the Championship, they were challenged by PAOK for a little while but their run of wins was too much and after PAOK was deducted 7 points it was all but over, of course PAOK would get those points back only a few weeks ago on appeal at CAS, something we haven’t seen before. The return of points mean AEK will finish 3rd and miss out on the UEFA Champions League spot they looked like they may get at times after a run of great results in the Play Offs. In the Playouts, all eyes are on Panionios and Xanthi as to who will be relegated. To put it in simple terms, Panionios must beat Atromitos and Xanthi must lose to Larisa for Panionios to survive the fall. Play Offs Olympiakos vs AEK AEK goes into this match with small hope for gaining the runner up spot, if they ...

Olympiakos’ Future Stars By Stephen Kountourou,  If there is one thing that football supporters love to see from their club, it is bringing through young talent. Whether they graduate from the academy or found from good scouting and recruitment, there is something wholesome about seeing players breaking into senior football and kick starting a potential star studded career. Is this another good excuse for me to write another Olympiakos blog? You bet it is.  The newly crowned champions, with all the talents of the senior squad and youth academy, tend to have a lot of players out on loan, mainly to see how they fare at a decent level before either, proving themselves to be a valuable player for the future, or just not quite fitting the bill.  With all that being said, this week I'll be taking a look at a plethora of players that have spent the season out on loan and, depending on whether Pedro Martins deems them 'in his plans', could potentially break into the senior squad ...