The Golden Era (1996–2010) Olympiacos F.C.

predrag Đorđević won record 12 greek league titles olympiacos , club s record foreign goalscorer 158 goals in 493 official matches



club legend giovanni won 5 greek league titles , scored 98 goals in 208 official games olympiacos

in 1996, socratis kokkalis appointed dušan bajević team s head coach. time, olympiacos had strong roster, players kyriakos karataidis, vassilis karapialis, grigoris georgatos, alexis alexandris, giorgos amanatidis, nikos dabizas , ilija ivić. upon bajević s arrival, kokkalis opted strengthen team in order create strong roster dominate greek football years come. purchased highly rated prospects predrag Đorđević , stelios giannakopoulos paniliakos, outbidding both aek athens , panathinaikos; signed refik Šabanadžović, andreas niniadis, giorgos anatolakis , alekos kaklamanos; , brought olympiacos academy product dimitris eleftheropoulos loan spell @ proodeftiki. these players front, olympiacos strode 1996–97 title 12 clear points on aek , 20 points on third panathinaikos in bajević s first season in charge; club s first greek championship in 9 seasons, putting end stone years , officially beginning olympiacos era of domination. in next season, 1997–98, dimitris mavrogenidis, siniša gogić, ilias poursanidis , ghanaian striker peter ofori-quaye transferred club , olympiacos won 1997–98 championship. bajević s team, along aek , panathinaikos, closely separated in table, olympiacos made important away win against panathinaikos (0–2) , celebrated second consecutive championship, 3 points difference panathinaikos. olympiacos participated first time in uefa champions league group stage , took third place in tough group, leaving porto in fourth place, while real madrid, eventual champions, topped group , qualified quarter-finals.

the 1998–99 season undoubtedly 1 of best seasons in olympiacos history. won 1998–99 greek championship quite convincingly, ten points difference aek , 11 third-placed panathinaikos, , celebrated domestic double, bringing home 1998–99 greek cup after convincing 2–0 win against arch-rivals panathinaikos in final (mavrogenidis 54 , ofori-quaye 90 ), despite fact played more 60 minutes in game ten players. in european competitions, entered 1998–99 uefa champions league group stage, being drawn in group ajax, porto , croatia zagreb. won group , qualified quarter-finals, gathering 11 points 3 home wins against ajax (1–0), porto (2–1) , croatia zagreb (2–0) , 2 away draws in porto (2–2) , zagreb (1–1). in quarter-finals of competition, faced juventus, first leg in turin. juventus took 2–0 lead, olympiacos scored crucial away goal in 90th minute of game penalty andreas niniadis, goal caused 10.000 olympiacos fans travelled italy erupt joyous ecstasy. in second leg in athens, olympiacos totally donimated match, , scored goal put them in driving seat in 12th minute of game, when siniša gogić s powerful header found of net after grigoris georgatos s superb cross. missed outstanding chance double lead, when giorgos amanatidis powerful header short distance saved michelangelo rampulla. olympiacos kept ticket semi-finals in hands until 85th minute, when juventus, hadn t produced chances in game, equalised score after crucial mistake dimitris eleftheropoulos, had been team s hero in previous games. despite big disappointment way qualification semi-finals lost, presence of team in champions league quarter-finals, best-ever european campaign, combined domestic double, marked successful season club, arguably best in long history.

the next 4 seasons (1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03) olympiacos signed world-class players of great magnitude such giovanni, zlatko zahovič , world champion christian karembeu, other top-class players including pär zetterberg, zé elias, nery castillo, christos patsatzoglou, lampros choutos , stelios venetidis. these transfers strengthened more strong roster previous successful years , under guidance of coaches giannis matzourakis, takis lemonis , oleg protasov (bajević had left club in 1999). olympiacos managed win 7 consecutive greek championships (1997–2003), breaking own past record of 6 (1954–1959). olympiacos won seventh consecutive title after breathtaking closing of 2002–03 greek league: olympiacos hosting arch-rivals panathinaikos in matchday 29, led table three-point difference. olympiacos needed win derby 2 clear goals in order overthrow rivals in championship race. olympiacos beat panathinaikos 3–0 (giovanni 3 , giannakopoulos 15 48 ) in dominant display in rizoupoli , celebrated all-time record of 7 straight championships, dream , historic objective club , fans.

five consecutive championships, 2 presences in uefa champions league knockout phase (2004–2010)

rivaldo



antonis nikopolidis

in 2004, olympiacos rehired dušan bajević , signed 1999 world footballer of year , 2002 world champion brazilian superstar rivaldo , 2004 european champion antonis nikopolidis. end of season found olympiacos winning domestic double , having decent champions league display, gathering ten points in tough group alongside liverpool, monaco , deportivo de la coruña , losing qualification knockout phase in last 4 minutes of last game against eventual european champions liverpool @ anfield. bajević left club , norwegian coach trond sollied hired in place. club signed cypriot striker michalis konstantinou panathinaikos, 2004 european champion defender michalis kapsis bordeaux , versatile box-to-box ivorian midfielder yaya touré. during 2005–06 season, olympiacos won 4 derbies against major rivals, panathinaikos , aek athens, achieved once more, during season 1972–73. combined goal total in these 4 matches 11–3 in favour of olympiacos. beat aek athens 3–0 in greek cup final clinch second-straight double , managed win all-time record of 16 consecutive matches in championship, breaking own past record.

after record-breaking season, in 2006 summer transfers, trond sollied signed michał Żewłakow, júlio césar , tomislav butina among others. however, did not live expectations in 2006–07 champions league , replaced takis lemonis @ end of 2006. lemonis transferred young star vasilis torosidis, , led olympiacos in third consecutive championship, failed win greek cup after surprise elimination pas giannina.

in summer of 2007, olympiacos made expensive transfers luciano galletti, darko kovačević, raúl bravo, lomana lualua, cristian ledesma , leonel núñez. brought solid greek defender paraskevas antzas , signed talented young striker konstantinos mitroglou borussia mönchengladbach. furthermore, accomplished lucrative sale in greek football history after selling striker-midfielder nery castillo ukrainian club shakhtar donetsk record sum of €20 million ($27.5m). because of clause in castillo s contract, olympiacos received €15 million, remaining €5 million given directly player. furthermore, controversy started between team , rivaldo, olympiacos did not wish renew player s contract despite fact rivaldo had featured heavily in club s successful campaigns, both in greece , abroad. former player ilija ivić selected role of team s football director. team did not start in greek championship, achieved stunning performance in champions league, qualifying last 16 finished second in group, level on 11 points group winners real madrid, eliminating werder bremen , lazio. however, team s less satisfactory performance in league, coupled defeat chelsea in stamford bridge knockout phase, prompted club owner sokratis kokkalis sack coach takis lemonis. team s assistant manager, josé segura, coached team remainder of season. olympiacos managed win both greek championship , cup, segura left club @ end of season.

in summer of 2008, olympiacos made prominent transfers, signing dudu cearense, avraam papadopoulos, diogo luis santo , matt derbyshire , appointed ernesto valverde new coach three-year contract worth approximately €6 million. 2008–09 season started badly olympiacos, team losing first few official matches, against anorthosis famagusta champions league third qualifying round, , eliminated tournament, resulted seat in uefa cup first round, olympiacos beat nordsjælland qualify group stage. team started in 2008–09 superleague greece, winning every match @ home, facing difficulties away. ended winning greek championship , greek cup, celebrating 14th double in olympiacos history. after impressive uefa cup run @ home, spectacular wins against benfica (5–1) , hertha bsc (4–0), team managed through round of 32, facing french side saint-Étienne.

in summer of 2009, olympiacos signed major players, such olof mellberg juventus €2.5 million, midfielder jaouad zairi asteras tripolis , enzo maresca sevilla. many other players returned loan spells, such former real madrid defender raúl bravo, georgios katsikogiannis , midfielder cristian ledesma. olympiacos appointed former brazil legend zico coach , started 2009–10 season great success, qualified champions league final 16, finishing second in group h 3 points behind arsenal, despite absence of numerous first-team players due injuries. faced bordeaux in final 16 , lost first match @ home (0–1). in second match, despite bordeaux s lead, olympiacos leveled match , missed great chances score second goal, before losing in dying moments of match (1–2). domestically, olympiacos secured 2–0 derby win on arch-rivals panathinaikos, striker konstantinos mitroglou scoring twice. however, highlight in otherwise below-par season club, not lost championship panathinaikos, defeated in 4 out of 6 playoff games, finishing last, in 5th position of league table; result marked team s worst ranking since being placed 8th in 1988, , meant club start europa league campaign second qualifying round following season.