Hellas Football

Asteras Season Review   By Alexander Koutakos  Now that was what you call a campaign! The 2020-21 season for Asteras was nothing short of a rollercoaster. It started off well, became poor and then ended off with a high flying victory against PAOK.  Despite crucial injuries and no fans in the stadium, Asteras Tripolis showed the rest of Greece that Asteras are no one to mess with. Wins and draws against PAOK, Panathinaikos and Aris really made Asteras the pleasantful surprise of the season. Many had predicted that Asteras would finish in the bottom half of the table.  However, Asteras proved the haters wrong by making it to the playoffs and finishing 6th. For this wonderful campaign, I will give my thoughts on Asteras’s season in the regular season, the playoffs and the Greek cup. I will also give out season awards and I will write about what I think Asteras should look to do in the summer transfer window. Regular season For me, the regular season for Asteras consiste...

A Season to Forget By Greg Gavalas Season 2020-21 started with a fair bit of optimism, under Italian coach Massimo Carrera who came in halfway through the 2019/20 season and proved to show himself as a worthy coach, better things were expected for the new season as a whole off season would be managed under Carreras eyes. Added to that there were impressive transfers to the team, one of the first was Levi Garcia brought in on a 5-year contract and some great reviews and highlights of the speedy winger, something AEK had missed since winning the championship in 2018. Former PAOK midfielder Yevgen Shakhov and Romanian international defender Ionut Nedelcearu came in to help a very weak defence. On top of that AEK landed two signings that really impressed, Muamer Tankovic, who the Enosi was chasing last seasons end and the icing on the cake was former Olympiakos (OSFP) striker, Karim Ansarifard who proved an instant impact when his solo goal at the Olympic Stadium (OAKA) saw AEK eliminate G...

What Goes Up Must Come Down   By Antonios Theodosis    After last year’s dismissal of club legend and fan favorite Giorgios Donis from the head coaching job of Panathinaikos, many fans were up in arms about how to feel about the situation. However things quickly progressed and it seemed as if the club was going in a new direction (for the sixth or seventh time in the last nine or so years), but it did seem promising at the very least with the appointment of Dani Poyatos, a coach from Real Madrid’s youth ranks.    Poyatos alongside technical director Xavi Roca looked to bring in an entirely new model based around Spanish footballers and Spanish footballing philosophy. From the outside looking in it seemed like a solid plan. Needless to say, it set the expectations for the season to qualify for European football.    The expectations were stunted early on though, as the first five or six games in charge saw Poyatos’ team struggling to find an identity. Pl...

Olympiakos End of Season Review By Stephen Kountourou  The Greek Football season is officially over. Despite the difficulties that the pandemic has brought upon us all, the beautiful game in Greece has been a constant and much needed distraction for what has been a tough 18 months. For Olympiakos supporters, in particular, myself included, it has been a most memorable one. The highs of retaining the title, competing on Europe's biggest stage, and watching some of our best and brightest talents shine throughout a long season where the squad has barely had a break.  Now that Thrylos season has officially concluded and the Greek champions have a well deserved rest before the Champions League second qualifying round in July, I will be taking a look back at another successful campaign from Pedro Martins' men. From the regular season and retaining the title during playoffs, to the Greek Cup and falling just short of a domestic double. I will not be reviewing Olympiakos European camp...

A comprehensive look at the History of the Greek Cup  By  Hellas Football The  The 77th Greek Cup Final between Olympiakos and PAOK is upon us. It will be the 8th meeting between the clubs in a Greek Cup Final, with Olympiakos leading the Head to Head in Finals, 5 to 2. It is also 20 years since the last time these 2 clubs have met in the Greek Cup Final. In the 2000/01 edition, PAOK defeated Olympiakos 4-2 in Athens. PAOK’s road to this year’s Greek Cup Final began with a 7-1 aggregate victory over Larissa, next was a 6-3 aggregate triumph over Lamia. This set up a Semi-Final with AEK, which saw PAOK prevail 3-1 over the 2 legs. Olympiakos started with a 6-0 aggregate win over Panaitolikos, before despatching Aris 3-2 on aggregate in the next round, setting up a Semi-Final tie with PAS Giannina. Olympiakos got the job done with a 4-2 aggregate victory to reach the Final. PAOK last claimed the Greek Cup in 2018/19, which was their 3rd successive Cup, following the triumph...