If, according to 19th century German philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, one general lesson of history is that the same things occur in a different manner, or, to put it another way, “If you’ve read Herodotus, you’ve read practically all of history”, then this could (possibly) offer up a lesson on the history of Greek football. As long as anyone interested reads about the consecutive title victories achieved by Olympiacos – the string of championships that emerge in every era. It would be as if you’ve read it all.
If one follows this line of thinking, you’ll will find yourself in front of three-peats (1936-1938, 1973-1975, 2020-2022); four-peats (1980-1983); five straight (2005-2009), and even six in a row (1954-1959), when the first national division was created and when Olympiacos acquired its eternal nickname of “Legend”.
Subsequent Olympiacos dynasties achieved seven in a row, such as the one at the turn of the century, (1996-2003).
Fast forward several years and we see that Marinakis has picked up a distinction that no other football Club president has, namely, winning the championship in the very first year of assuming the team’s reins. The same president built up an Olympiacos side that from 2011 to 2017 never once missed out on holding a championship celebration at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium come May.
A necessary footnote here: as the years pass and a necessary historical distance is created, one understands the difficulty in achieving this most recent football “Dynasty”, which commenced against all odds and reached the point of repeating the greatest record in the history of Greek football. When this started, in the summer of 2010, a new president was taking over from the previous one, allowing people to expect a “total reset”, betting on his weighty name and his love for the Club. However, none of those who could appreciate the facts anticipated what would follow, because Olympiacos 2010 was, quite simply, starting all over again. And in the port city, the winds were ominous.
When it all began, in the summer of 2010, as the new president took over from the previous one, no one could expect what followed in a short period of time
What was achieved
A brief recollection: The team back then had finished 5th through the playoffs and the roster is almost empty. The new coach that was chosen was Ewald Lienen, a move aimed to silence criticism by the fans, as the initial decision was to give the job to former Olympiacos striker Alekos Alexandris, who was the youth team trainer. The move aimed to allay criticism that the team “was throwing in the towel”. At the same time, Olympiacos’ great rival, Panathinaikos, was coming off a Double (2010), was jointly owned by well-heeled shareholders and powerful, with money flowing into its coffers coming from its upcoming participation in the Champions League. The rival team was apparently poised to commence its own “era”.
While Olympiacos was in the process of a transfer of a majority stake, Panathinaikos was already planning for the future.
The plan
Of course, all this today seems like an unfilled scenario. As it turned out, Evangelos Marinakis had it all worked out. Until a comprehensive plan would be implemented come September required Olympiacos to be “ready for anything”. One of the biggest components of the plan was Ernesto Valverde’s return as coach, not just for a second term, but to lay the groundwork for a new team. A series of major player signings also had the Reds’ fans going wild. Just to name a few: Albert Riera coming from Liverpool; Ariel Ibagaza and David Fuster arriving from Villareal; Marko Pantelić and Dennis Rommedahl from Ajax; François Modesto from AS Monaco and an unknown defensive back with Greek roots, Jose Cholebas, who then played at Munich 1860.
Valverde makes good use of Kevin Mirallas, who had arrived as a “loan”, while the team also enjoys a tremendous Greek core with the likes of Torosidis, Avraam Papadopoulos, Mitroglou, Fetfatzidis and Nikopolidis under the goal posts. Rafik Djebbour would transfer from AEK Athens in January, along with Yannis Maniatis from Panionios.
A basis to grow
And just like that Olympiacos created a strong core like the one Dusan Bagević built over the seven-season period of 1996-2003.
Some of those players who arrived in Piraeus in the summer of 2010 or January 2011 are still remembered today, for their contribution, the love they gave and received, the memories on the field. Under Valverde, Olympiacos won the 2011 championship and the 2012 Double, while also defeating great rivals at the Champions League level in European play – a team built along his principles, one that its fans were proud of.
Had Txingurri, Valverde’s nickname, Basque for “ant”, wanted to remain, he possibly would have been on Olympiacos’ bench today. However, even his departure had a meaning, as he later reached the highest level of the game by coaching a Barcelona with Lionel Messi on the field.
Olympiacos’ winning “formula” since that time has been an alternation between Spanish and Portuguese coaches.
Míchel
After Valverde came Leonardo Jardim from Braga to sit on the Reds’ bench for 26 games after the heralded Michel Gonzalez took over and won the 2013 Double and the 2014 Double.
The Míchel era witnessed the arrival of the great Chori Dominguez and goal keeper. Andreas Samaris transformed into a defensive midfielder, and when he left for Benfica Luka Milivojević was acquired, who would go on to serve as team captain. Costas Manolas dramatically improved, taking Jose Cholebas with him to Roma when he transferred. Then, practically out of nowhere, Omar Elabdellaoui and Arthur Masuaku appeared, creating another amazing central defensive duo. There was also Kostas Fortounis, who’s great comeback earned him a pivotal role in an entire era.
Marco Silva was at the helm of the 2015-2016 team, which won the championship with a 30-point difference over second-place Panathinaikos.
+30
Olympiacos also posted great victories in Europe as well, reaching the Champions League knockout stage and losing the ticket for the quarterfinals to Manchester United in the details. The 2011 championship was won with 13 points ahead of the second-place finisher, the 2013 championship with +15, the 2014 championship with +17. With Vitor Pereira as its coach, Olympiacos won the championship in 2015 with a 12-point difference and the Cup, a Double.
During the 2015-16 season, and with Marco Silva on the bench, Olympiacos won the 30-match first division championship with a whopping 30-point difference from second-place Panathinaikos. They sole loss of the season was against AEK Athens at the Olympic Stadium on the back of an atrocious night by the ref officiating that game, as well as a draw in Chania, Crete against Platanias. The final tally was 28 victories out of 30 games, and with 81 goals scored to only 16 conceded!
With the start of the season Olympiacos won 11 in a row and tied the historic record of Marton Bukovi’s team, in place since the 1966-67 season. Later, a record of 16 consecutive wins (standing since the 2005-2006 season) under Norwegian Trond Sollied was also broken.
Records galore
That year, the Reds equaled the record for away victories (13), creating a sensation with 40 points won in away games and setting a record for points difference, while posting 21 consecutive home wins. Following a 2-2 draw with PAS Giannena at home on December 6, 2014, the next “hiccup” in a first division game came on November 27, 2016, with a 0-0 to Corfu. Another 29 victories followed. During Marco Silva’s tenure on the bench the Reds conceded a mere goal in every first half of games at the Karaiskakis Stadium. The fans will never know how far Silva could have taken Olympiacos, as the Portuguese trainer also wanted to coach in a topflight European championship. He remains at Premier League Fulham at this writing.
The youngsters of Rentis
And after a brief stint by Victor Sanchez, Michel’s former assistant, Paulo Bento arrived, and although he didn’t remain long enough to lift the 2017 trophy – Takis Lemonis eventually lifted it – he contributed to something else noteworthy. He was the coach who gave the opportunity to Panagiotis Retsos, Thanasis Androutsos, Dimitris Nikolaou and Giorgos Manthatis, all products of Olympiacos’ youth academies.
The same successful “formula” remains, with Portuguese (Pedro Martins) and Spanish (José Luis Mendilibar) coaches leaving their mark, along with talent from the academies taking their place with the senior team and as starters, no less; homegrown players who help the Club grow on the European state, with Olympiacos the first team beyond the “Big Four” – England, Spain, Italy and German – to win a European Cup since 2011.
