Hellas Football

OFI The Golden Years in Crete By Stephen Kountourou  In Greek football, domestic competitions have almost always been dominated by teams from the mainland. This is hardly a surprise as Greece's plethora of islands in the Aegean has vastly smaller populations, so any success would be fleeting at best for any side. The exception to this is most certainly Crete, the biggest Island in Greece, with the most successful side being OFI.  O Omilos despite not being a mainland side has stood the test of time and as of the end of the 20120/21 season side have the 6th most appearances in the first tier, an achievement that cannot be understated. So for this week, I will be highlighting the very best of OFI, their early beginnings, the golden age of the mid to late 80s and a quick look at where they are now as a football club.     Brief History The club was founded in the autumn of 1925 under the name Omilos Filathlon Irakleiou by athletes who would exercise at the Heraklion...

Ethnikos Piraeus The Ports Second Club By Steve Kountourou  When you mention the port of Piraeus to any Greek football supporter, the first club most tends to think of understandably is Olympiakos. The port side team from an urban area of Athens has dominated Greek football for them as long as the sport has been played in the country. But many nowadays forget that there was once another club portside that predates Thrylos and one that maybe, if still in the first tier, could be seen as the   Erythrolefki's most local rivals. I am of course referring to Ethnikos Piraeus.  Seen even to this day as the second Piraeus club, Ethnikos were once a mainstay in the Greek topflight. Helping to found the league system way back when, coming close to matching their Piraeus rivals on occasion in the league and would go on to be one of the only clubs in Greece never to be relegated before the 1990s, before their demise towards the end of the century and fall into obscurity. But for this...

My Thoughts On Asteras’ Failed European Push By Alexander Koutakos Things are just not meant to be. I had hoped that Asteras would make Europe this season. But, Asteras have now been mathematically eliminated from a European ticket. At first, it was tough to swallow.  However, this failed campaign gave me a lot of hope for next season. Even without Luis Fernandez, Asteras drew twice against Panathinaikos, once against Aris and once more against PAOK.  I have many thoughts about how Asteras played during the play-offs so far. Both good and bad. Anyways, this blog itself will be less formal and instead it will be a more of a free flowing blog. Now, where to begin? Well, Asteras started off the play-offs with a massive draw against Panathinaikos. Papadopoulos the goalie, even scored a goal in extra time. It was a phenomenal scene!  The next 6 games consisted of 3 draws and 3 loses. Things turned for the worse when Luis Fernandez got injured. Ever since he got injured, Astera...

Nea Salamis FC the Wandering Club By Stephen Kountourou  Nea Salamina Famagusta at 1989-90 Cypriot Cup Final. I have talked about several notable upsets in which some sides have had to fight through extenuating circumstances, like being displaced from their original stadium and becoming a refugee club without a permanent home ground. This was certainly the case for Famagusta side Nea Salamis, who along with some other teams were unable to compete in their native town or city due to the Invasion in 1974. Even with these troubles, the Ethyrolefki defied the odds in 1989/90 by winning their most major piece of silverware to date, the Cypriot Cup in one of the few big upsets in Cyprus football and proving that any team can overcome the most difficult of situations to and achieve something great for their fans. So for this week, I will be highlighting the Ammochostos sides historic cup victory, looking briefly at their history prior and also seeing how the club performed since. ...

Bruma Deal or no Deal? By Stephen Kountourou  As the season draws to a close for Olympiakos, preparations are beginning for the 2021/22 campaign for Thrylos to do it all over again in the league, the cup and Europe where they hope to be just as successful as they were this time around. As per usual the big talk every summer transfer, which new faces will arrive at the port of Piraeus? who will be bowing out to continue their careers elsewhere? Who needs time to develop and be sent out on loan, and the theme of this week's blog, who will be signing permanently after a season with the Greek champions? The answer to this last question at the time of writing could be Portuguese winger Bruma.  After arriving on loan from Dutch giants PSV, the wide player with bags of pace has split the Thrylos faithful down the middle as to whether he should be signed permanently after having a decent if not mixed season under compatriot Pedro Martins and the Ethyrolefki. So for this week I will be...

Interview With Gianna Douka - Coach Of Ergotelis WFC By Alexander Koutakos For many of us in the diaspora, Greek women’s football is quite unknown. Overall, Greek women’s football receives barely any coverage in the mainstream media and in society.  This has to change. And thus, I decided to do something about it. Recently, I went on Instagram and I requested to do an interview with the coaches of multiple teams in the women’s first division. Gladly, some of them said yes. As the title states, this blog will solely focus on my interview with Gianna Douka-the coach of Ergotelis WFC. Ergotelis WFC has so far started their season well with a total of 4 points from 2 games. They recently won 6-2 against AEK Missolonghi.  It was a phenomenal result that depicted the strength and the class of Ergotelis WFC.  A lot of that strength comes from Ergotelis WFC’s coach (Gianna Douka). I had the pleasure to ask Gianna Douka some questions and the answers that I got were quite interest...