Olympiacos set an impressive record with seven consecutive championships; a few years later, it would repeat the feat with another seven in a row. Olympiacos, Greece’s greatest club, has every reason to be proud of its 48 championship trophies.
Championships that made history and, over the course of decades, turned Olympiacos into the Legend it is today. No other Greek club is even close to the fabulous achievements of the Piraeus team.
Olympiacos has a host of records to its credit, and the Reds of the 1950s wrote a golden chapter in the history of the Club and of Greek football, with a suitably legendary achievement: winning six consecutive championships, it becomes a legend: Piraeus’ invincible “armada”.
Every championship from 1954 to 1959 came with a red-and-white pendant attached, and Olympiacos was undoubtedly an unstoppable force in Greek football. In an era whose triumphs read like fairy tales. These successes earned the Olympiacos players mythic status in the eyes of their millions of fans.
In fact, their record was so impressive, it could only ever have been broken by one team. And that team was none other than… Olympiacos.
In fact, incredible as it may sound, the Reds managed to do it not once but twice, winning seven consecutive championships in two different eras.
What better proof could there be of the Club’s vast ability and potential, as Olympiacos remained dominant, forging great teams and attracting some of the world’s top players of the world to Piraeus to play in the legendary red-and-white jersey.
But Olympiacos remained without a championship from 1988 to 1996–a nine-year stretch without a title.
These were the “barren years”, but then Olympiacos would do what no other Greek team had ever done.
It would win seven consecutive championships, straight through from the 1996-1997 season to the 2002-2003 season, and the history of Greek football would turn red and white again.
The beginning of the 1996-1997 season found Olympiacos determined to end its nine-year title drought
The start: the 1996-1997 season
The beginning of the 1996-1997 season found Olympiacos determined to end its nine-year title drought. And they look ready: its people have great faith in the Piraeus team’s chances.
It helps that they have Dušan Bajević on their bench, who quit AEK Athens for the port city. He will go on to play a decisive role in the successes ahead.
This will be a crucial season for the Piraeus team; everyone is desperate for the Club to embark on a new title-winning streak.
You could see it in the superhuman effort the players poured into every game. And you could see the hungry for new triumphs in the eyes of the Olympiacos fans.
The arrival of Predrag Djordjevic and Stelios Giannakopoulos from Paneliakos in 1996 was no doubt decisive in the Legend’s return to the pinnacle of Greek football, but so was the presence of players who were in the team all along–like the great Vasilis Karapialis, the prolific goal scorer Alekos Alexandris, Grigoris Georgatos, Ilija Ivić, Kyriakos Karataidis, Giorgis Anatolakis, and Dimitris Eleftheropoulos.
Olympiacos won the championship easily that season (1996-1997), ending the nine-year drought, and the Piraeus Club’s fans celebrated their new title with all their hearts.
Six more would follow, earning Olympiacos a new record of seven consecutive League wins. On their way to achieving this impressive winning streak, the Reds will enjoy a host of new golden moments that will live rent free in the fans’ memories for ever.
A lot of great players donned the Olympiacos colors, helping the Port team along to seven consecutive victories.
We talked above about the players who played a decisive role in Olympiacos’ title win in the 1996-1997 season, but of course some huge names wore the red-and-white jersey in the years that followed, contributing a lot in their turn to the Club’s incredible record- great players such as Giovanni, Karembeu, Zé Elias, and many others.
Indeed, Christian Karembeu continues to contribute to Olympiacos in another post, demonstrating how deep a bond the Club has forged with one of the biggest names in world football.
Because to wear the Olympiacos jersey means bonding with the team: it’s inescapable.
On the bench
Much has been written about the players who made history and helped Olympiacos win seven consecutive championships, but special mention should be made of the coaches, too, who made a huge contribution to the Club’s triumph.
It all started with Dušan Bajević, the coach who began to build up the team in the summer of 1996.
Takis Lemonis also played a crucial role in the record when, his playing career with the Reds to an end, he joined the Legend’s bench.
Lemonis was one of the lucky few who has celebrated championship victories with Olympiacos as both a player and a coach.
Giannis Matzourakis and Oleg Protasov also celebrated championship wins from the Olympiacos bench. And the latter, as informed readers will know, had worn the Olympiacos jersey in his time, carving out a distinguished career as a player from 1990 to 1994.
So, while he didn’t win a championship as an Olympiacos player, he did as a coach.
Against AEK (4-3)
In this legendary string of seven consecutive championships, there are two games that have earned themselves a special place in the history of Olympiacos.
Two big games that decided titles.
One was a match against AEK Athens played in Athens’ Olympic stadium in the 2001-2002 season. The stadium was packed with fans from both teams, and the Reds wanted a win from the derby, which was the second to last game of their season.
In the end, Olympiacos got what it came for, winning a major 4-3 victory before going on to secure the championship in the season finale against Aris in Thessaloniki.
Bajevic (center) giving Vasilis Karapialis (left) instructions. In an era when there was no shortage of big-time personalities at Olympiacos, the Serbian coach knew how to keep things on an even keel and get 100% out of everyone. On his right, assistant coach Meletis Persias.
For the record
Another game in which history was made was the derby against Panathinaikos at the Rizoupolis field in 2003. The Reds were at ‘home’ against the Greens (they were using Apollon Athens stadium while the new Karaiskakis Stadium was being built).
Olympiacos needed a victory and a goal difference of two or more to win the championship. To their credit, the Reds pulled it off! They ended up winning 3-0, with Giovanni opening the score card and Stelios Giannakopoulos putting two more in the back of the net to achieve the result they needed.
It was a triumph for the Piraeus team, as this victory won them the 2002-2003 championship. The record was now a reality.
Olympiacos got to celebrate an impressive streak of seven consecutive championships. Of course, just a few years later, starting in the 2010-2011 season, the Reds would go on to repeat this legendary feat, winning seven consecutive championships for a second time.
Needless to say, if any team has what it takes to break this record, it’s Olympiacos–and only Olympiacos!
