Five consecutive Championships, Two presences in UEFA Champions League knockout phase (2004–2010) Olympiacos F.C.

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.