History Olympiacos F.C.

1 history

1.1 years (1925–1931)
1.2 domination in greece , world war ii (1931–1946)
1.3 legend (1946–1959)
1.4 first international success , márton bukovi era (1960–1972)
1.5 goulandris era (1972–1975)
1.6 domination in 1980s, uefa cup quarter-finalists (1975–1996)
1.7 golden era (1996–2010)

1.7.1 7 consecutive championships, near-miss uefa champions league semi-finals (1996–2003)
1.7.2 5 consecutive championships, 2 presences in uefa champions league knockout phase (2004–2010)


1.8 2010–present

history
early years (1925–1931)

the founders of olympiacos (1925)



the legendary andrianopoulos brothers: (from left) yiannis, dinos, giorgos, vassilis , leonidas andrianopoulos



notis kamperos inspired name , emblem of club

olympiacos founded on 10 march 1925, in port-city of piraeus on outskirts of greek capital-city athens. club s initial aim, stated in statutes, systematic cultivation , development of athletes possibilities participation in athletic competitions, spreading of olympic athletic ideal , promotion of sportsmanship , fanship among youth according egalitarian principles, stressing healthy, ethical , social basis foundation. members of piraikos podosfairikos omilos fc (sport , football club of piraeus) , piraeus fans club fc decided, during historical assembly, dissolve 2 clubs in order establish new unified one, bring new vision , dynamic community. notis kamperos, senior officer of hellenic navy, proposed name olympiacos , profile of laurel-crowned olympic winner emblem of new club. michalis manouskos, prominent piraeus industrialist, expanded name complete , current status, olympiacos syndesmos filathlon pireos. besides kamperos , manouskos, among notable founding members stavros maragoudakis, post office director; nikos andronikos, merchant; dimitrios sklias, hellenic army officer; nikolaos zacharias, attorney; athanasios mermigas, notary public; kostas klidouchakis, became first goalkeeper in club s history; ioannis kekkes, stockbroker; , above all, andrianopoulos family. andrianopoulos, family of well-established piraeus merchants, played pivotal role in founding of olympiacos. 5 brothers, yiannis, dinos, giorgos, vassilis , leonidas andrianopoulos raised reputation of club , brought current glory. yiannis, dinos, giorgos , vassilis first play, while leonidas, youngest of five, made debut later on , played club 8 years (1927–1935). club s offensive line, made of 5 brothers, became legendary, rising mythical status , olympiacos gained enormous popularity , became successful , well-supported club in greece. then, fan base consisted of working class, team s home ground @ neo phaliron velodrome, before moving current karaiskakis stadium. became piraeus champions in 1925 , 1926.

olympiacos line-up in 1928

in 1926, hellenic football federation founded , organized panhellenic championship in 1927–1928 season. first national championship, regional champions epsa league (athens), epsp league (piraeus) , epsm league (thessaloniki) competed national title during play-offs, aris becoming first champion. panhellenic championship organized in manner until 1958–59. however, in second season (1928–29) dispute arose between olympiacos , hellenic football federation , result, club did not participate in championship, panathinaikos , aek athens deciding follow olympiacos. during course of season, 3 of them played friendly games each other , formed group called p.o.k..

meanwhile, club continued dominate piraeus championship, winning 1926–27, 1928–29, 1929–30 , 1930–31 titles , started establishing leading force in greek football; managed set record staying undefeated against greek teams 3 straight years (from 14 march 1926 3 march 1929), counting 30 wins , 6 draws in 36 games. results ignited enthusiastic reception greek press, called olympiacos thrylos ( legend ) first time in history. fourth panhellenic championship took place in 1930–31 , found olympiacos winning greek national league title first time ever, milestone marked beginning of successful era in olympiacos history. olympiacos put in great performance during competition , won title convincingly 11 wins, 2 draws , 1 game lost. managed score 7 wins in 7 matches @ home, beating panathinaikos, aek athens, aris, iraklis , paok same score: 3–1. sole exception match against ethnikos, olympiacos netted 4 goals , won 4–1. besides andrianopoulos brothers , kostas klidouchakis, other notable players of first era in club s history (1925–1931) achilleas grammatikopoulos, lakis lekkos, philippos kourantis, nikos panopoulos, charalambos pezonis , kostas terezakis.

domination in greece , world war ii (1931–1946)

olympiacos fearsome trio of attackers during 1930s (from left): christoforos raggos, giannis vazos, theologos symeonidis

the rise of new decade marked substantial rise in panhellenic championship s popularity throughout greece. in october 1931, giorgos , yiannis andrianopoulos, emblematic players , founding members of olympiacos, retired active football. however, new heroes emerged, such giannis vazos, christoforos raggos, theologos symeonidis, michalis anamateros, spyros depountis, aris chrysafopoulos, nikos grigoratos, panagis korsianos iconic brothers giannis , vangelis chelmis , club won 5 championships in 9 seasons (1932–33, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1936–37, 1937–38) , 1940, olympiacos had won 6 championships in eleven first seasons of panhellenic championship. giannis vazos, christoforos raggos , theologos symeonidis composed formidable trio of attacking players, scoring numerous goals , became nothing short of legendary. giannis vazos played 18 years olympiacos (1931–1949), , managed score 450 goals in 364 games (179 goals in 156 official games) club, being club s second all-time scorer, winning greek championship top scorer award 4 times (1933, 1936, 1937 , 1947).

in addition, club managed win 1936–37 , 1937–38 championship titles undefeated. Ιn greek cup, team did not manage win competition in first 4 editions, despite outstanding wins such record-setting 1–6 away victory against panathinaikos in leoforos stadium in 1932 (v. andrianopoulos 16 , 68 , 88 , raggos 24 , vazos 69 , 70 ), biggest away victory in derby s history.

on 28 october 1940, fascist italy invaded greece, , several olympiacos players joined hellenic army fight against axis invaders. chistoforos raggos heavily injured in left leg in january 1941, , wasn t able play football again. leonidas andrianopoulos suffered severe frostbite in albanian front , lost life, while nikos grigoratos injured in leg during battle of klisura. furthermore, after subsequent german occupation of greece, olympiacos players joined greek resistance , fought fiercely against nazis. olympiacos player nikos godas, emblematic figure club, captain of greek people s liberation army (elas) , fought against germans in many fronts. executed wearing olympiacos shirt , shorts, last wish: shoot me , kill me olympiacos shirt on, , not blindfold me, want see colours of team before final shot. michalis anamateros active member of greek resistance , killed in 1944. olympiacos paid heavy price during destructive war, axis occupation , ensuing greek civil war , club s progress put on temporary hold.

the legend (1946–1959)

andreas mouratis captained olympiacos , played in 295 games club (1945–1955)



andreas mouratis, babis kotridis, ilias rossidis, key players of olympiacos team of 1950s

after war, olympiacos saw many of key-players of pre-war era retire, many significant changes being made in team s roster. olympiacos captain , prolific scorer giannis vazos remained in club, along giannis chelmis. new important players joined club, such andreas mouratis, alekos chatzistavridis, stelios kourouklatos , dionysis minardos. regular fixtures recommenced, piraeus club returned dominant position in greek football. 1946 1959, olympiacos won 9 out of 11 greek championships (1947, 1948, 1951, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959), bringing home 15 championship titles in total of 23 completed seasons of greek league. six-straight greek championships won olympiacos 1954 1959 unmatched achievement in greek football history, all-time record stood 44 years, until olympiacos managed win seven-straight greek championships 1997 2003.

furthermore, during same period (1946–1959), club won 8 greek cups out of 13 editions (1947, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1957, 1958, 1959), completing 6 doubles (1947, 1951, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959), 3 of being consecutive (1956–1959). legendary olympiacos team of 1950s, key performers such andreas mouratis, ilias rossidis, thanasis bebis, ilias yfantis, babis kotridis, kostas polychroniou, giorgos darivas, babis drosos, antonis poseidon, savvas theodoridis, kostas karapatis, mimis stefanakos, thanasis kinley, stelios psychos, giannis ioannou, themis moustaklis, vasilis xanthopoulos, dimitris kokkinakis, giorgos kansos, kostas papazoglou , aristeidis papazoglou marked olympiacos period of absolute domination in greek football, skyrocketed club s popularity , spread word of olympiacos superiority throughout greece. hence, after club s record-breaking performance in trophy-laden era of 1950s, club gained unequivocally nickname of thrylos, meaning legend .

on 13 september 1959, olympiacos made debut in europe against milan 1959–60 european cup , became first greek club ever played in european competitions. first leg held @ karaiskakis stadium in piraeus , olympiacos took lead goal kostas papazoglou (1–0), first goal ever scored greek club (and greek player well) in european competitions. milan s prolific goalscorer josé altafini equalised match header in 33rd minute, after cross giancarlo danova. ilias yfantis scored outstanding goal , gave olympiacos lead again in 45th minute of game, when controlled ball between cesare maldini , vincenzo occhetta , unleashed powerful volley, burying ball of net (2–1). altafini scored second goal once again header (72nd minute), after free-kick nils liedholm. match ended 2–2, olympiacos putting in great performance against italian champions, despite fact had no foreign players in roster, while milan had 4 world-class foreign players, such altafini, liedholm, juan alberto schiaffino , ernesto grillo. in second leg milan won 3–1 (giancarlo danova 12 , 26 , 85 ; psychos 68 ) , qualified next round, despite olympiacos performance in second half.

first international success , márton bukovi era (1960–1972)

olympiacos entered 1960s winning 1960 , 1961 greek cups, completing 5 consecutive greek cup wins, all-time record in greek football history. in decade, strong side created players late 1950s , new important players, such giannis gaitatzis, nikos gioutsos, pavlos vasileiou, vasilis botinos, giannis fronimidis, christos zanteroglou, grigoris aganian, stathis tsanaktsis, mimis plessas, giangos simantiris, pavlos grigoriadis, savvas papazoglou, stelios besis, sotiris gavetsos, tasos sourounis, vangelis milisis, orestis pavlidis, panagiotis barbalias , last not least prolific goalscorer giorgos sideris, top-scorer in club s history 493 goals in 519 matches in competitions (224 goals in 284 greek championship matches).

in 1963, olympiacos became first ever greek club win non-domestic competition, winning balkans cup, marked first international success greek football club. balkans cup popular international competition in 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42.000 spectators), being second important international club competition clubs balkans (after european champions cup). olympiacos topped group after notable wins, beating galatasaray 1–0 @ karaiskakis stadium (stelios psychos 49 ), fk sarajevo (3–2) , fc brașov (1–0), bagging 2 away draws against galatasaray (1–1) in mithatpaşa stadium (metin oktay 78 – aristeidis papazoglou 6 ) , fk sarajevo in koševo stadium (3–3). in final, faced levski sofia, winning first match in piraeus (1–0, giorgos sideris 37 ) , losing second match in vasil levski stadium same score. in third decisive final in istanbul (a neutral ground), olympiacos beat levski 1–0 in mithatpaşa stadium goal mimis stefanakos in 87th minute , won balkans cup.

the club went on win 1963 , 1965 greek cups, completing 7 greek cup titles in 9 years. however, years 1959–1965 not fruitful olympiacos in greek championship, team not able win title 6 years. mediocre performance led olympiacos board hire legendary márton bukovi club s head coach, mihály lantos (prominent member of hungary national team of 1950s known mighty magyars or aranycsapat ) assistant coach. innovative hungarian coach, pioneer of 4–2–4 formation (along béla guttmann , gusztáv sebes) solid tactician , favoured attacking football , demanding training sessions. bukovi s innovatory tactics , groundbreaking training methods transformed olympiacos , created powerful, attacking team constant player movement , solid combination game played spectacular football. under bukovi s guidance , great performance of key players such giorgos sideris, nikos gioutsos, kostas polychroniou, vasilis botinos, aristeidis papazoglou, pavlos vasileiou, giannis gaitatzis, christos zanteroglou, grigoris aganian, mimis plessas, giannis fronimidis , orestis pavlidis, olympiacos won 2 straight greek championships (1966, 1967). won 1966 title 23 wins , 4 draws in 30 games , in decisive away match against trikala, estimated 15,000 ecstatic olympiacos fans swarmed city of trikala celebrate win (0–5) , championship title after 7 years.

the next season 1966–67, olympiacos won 12 out of first 14 games in league, all-time record in greek football history, lasted 46 years , until 2013, when olympiacos, under coach míchel s guidance, broke own record winning 13 out of 14 first matches of 2013–14 season. won title in convincing way , notable wins, 4–0 smashing victory against arch-rivals panathinaikos @ karaiskakis stadium (vasileiou 17 , sideris 20 , 35 , 62 ), olympiacos played spectacular football , missed plethora of chances bigger score. bukovi became legend club s fans , creation, olympiacos team of 1965–67, became nothing short of legendary. special anthem written bukovi s olympiacos , became popular throughout greece: Του Μπούκοβι την ομαδάρα, τη λένε Ολυμπιακάρα ( bukovi s mighty team called olympiacos ).

shortly before end of 1966–67 season, military coup d état took place , colonels seized power in greece, establishing dictatorship. regime of colonels had devastating consequences olympiacos. in december 1967, giorgos andrianopoulos, club legend , president of club 13 years (1954–1967) forced out of club s presidency military regime. furthermore, regime canceled transfer of giorgos koudas olympiacos , days later blow delivered club: márton bukovi, legend , architect of great 1965–67 team, forced out of greece military junta, being labeled communist. left greece on 21 december 1967, along mihály lantos.

goulandris era (1972–1975)

another chapter began in 1972, after nikos goulandris became president of club. reinstated prominent members of olympiacos board had been forced out military regime (including giorgos andrianopoulos) , opened-up member election process, establishing new, trustworthy board of directors. appointed lakis petropoulos head coach , signed top-class players, creating great roster key performers such giorgos delikaris, yves triantafyllos, julio losada, milton viera, panagiotis kelesidis, michalis kritikopoulos, takis synetopoulos, romain argyroudis, maik galakos, nikos gioutsos, giannis gaitatzis, vasilis siokos, thanasis angelis, lakis glezos, petros karavitis, kostas davourlis, giannis kyrastas, dimitris persidis, lefteris poupakis , babis stavropoulos. under goulandris presidency, olympiacos won greek championship 3 times in row (1972–73, 1973–74, 1974–75), combining greek cup in 1973 (beating paok 1–0 in final) , 1975 (beating panathinaikos 1–0 in final) celebrate 2 doubles in 3 years. Ιn 1972–73 season, olympiacos won title conceding 13 goals in 34 matches, an-all-time record in greek football history. team s best year though, undoubtedly 1973–74 season, when olympiacos won league 26 wins , 7 draws in 34 games, scoring all-time record of 102 goals , conceding 14.

in european competitions, managed eliminate cagliari in 1972–73 uefa cup, major force in italian football during late 1960s , 1970s, (1970 serie champions, 1972 serie title contenders), world-class italian international players gigi riva, angelo domenghini, enrico albertosi, pierluigi cera, sergio gori , fabrizio poletti. olympiacos managed beat cagliari twice, 2–1 in piraeus , 1–0 in cagliari, becoming first ever greek football club win on italian soil. in next round faced competition s defending champions tottenham hotspur, undefeated 16-straight games in european competitions. olympiacos did not manage qualify against spurs, managed 1–0 win in piraeus, ended tottenham s undefeated streak , marked first ever victory of greek football club against english side. 2 years later, olympiacos entered 1974–75 european cup , drawn face kenny dalglish s celtic, 1 of strongest teams in european football @ time , semi-finalists of previous season. first leg played in celtic park, celtic had never been defeated, running undefeated streak of 36 straight home games in european competitions (27 wins, 9 draws) 1962 1974. olympiacos took lead through milton viera s strike in 36th minute, celtic equalising late in game. away draw gave olympiacos advantage , finished job in piraeus, after spectacular 2–0 win against scottish champions kritikopoulos , stavropoulos finding net. in next round, drawn play against anderlecht place in quarter-finals of competition. anderlecht won first leg 5–1 , olympiacos task seemed impossible. in second leg in greece, however, olympiacos put on dominant display , reached winning score in match marked referee károly palotai s decisions. olympiacos beat anderlecht 3–0, while palotai disallowed 4 olympiacos goals , did not give @ least 3 clear penalties committed anderlecht players, while stavropoulos shown red card no reason. match known in greece palotai massacre olympiacos coming close 1 of biggest comebacks in european cup history.

domination in 1980s, uefa cup quarter-finalists (1975–1996)

following goulandris resignation presidency in 1975, team went through relative dry spell in second half of 1970s. however, in summer of 1979, greek championship turned professional , stavros daifas became owner , president of club. olympiacos emerged again dominant force in greek football, winning title 4 times in row (1980, 1981, 1982, 1983) players relentless goalscorer nikos anastopoulos, martin novoselac, vicente estavillo, thomas ahlström, roger albertsen, maik galakos, tasos mitropoulos, takis nikoloudis, nikos sarganis, nikos vamvakoulas, giorgos kokolakis, vangelis kousoulakis, petros michos, takis lemonis, christos arvanitis, petros xanthopoulos, stavros papadopoulos, meletis persias, giorgos togias , kostas orfanos. kazimierz górski, iconic polish coach, led olympiacos 1980, 1981 , 1983 titles (winning double in 1981, 9th double in olympiacos history) while alketas panagoulias, had been manager of greek national football team , united states national team well, led team 1982 title after memorable 2–1 win (estavillo 6 , anastopoulos 69 ) against arch-rivals panathinaikos in crucial championship final match in volos. panagoulias head coach, olympiacos won 1986–87 title well, having solid roster players 1980s anastopoulos, mitropoulos, michos, xanthopoulos , other strong players miloš Šestić, giorgos vaitsis, jorge barrios, andreas bonovas, alexis alexiou , vasilis papachristou.

olympiacos supporters have been involved in worst tragedy ever hit greek sports, known karaiskakis stadium disaster (8 february 1981). twenty-one supporters lost lives in gate 7, while rushing out of stadium celebrate 6–0 victory of olympiacos against aek athens.

oleh blokhin

olympiacos experienced darkest days late-1980s until mid- 90s. in mid- 80s, olympiacos came hands of greek businessman george koskotas accused of , convicted embezzlement, leaving olympiacos deep in debt. club went through period of administrative turbulence until 1993, when sokratis kokkalis became majority shareholder , president of club. took club s presidency, kokkalis agreed settlement pay off club s debts , started reorganising , restructuring club. on pitch, team, financial , managerial problems, lack of strong administrative leadership until kokkalis arrival, spent 9 seasons without league title, 1988 1996, despite foreign top-class players played club @ period, such lajos détári, oleh protasov, juan gilberto funes, bent christensen, hennadiy lytovchenko, yuri savichev, andrzej juskowiak, daniel batista, fabián estay , backbone of solid greek players vassilis karapialis, kiriakos karataidis, giotis tsalouchidis, nikos tsiantakis, giorgos vaitsis, minas hantzidis, theodoros pahatouridis, savvas kofidis, chris kalantzis, gιorgοs mitsibonas, ilias talikriadis, alekos rantos, panagiotis sofianopoulos, ilias savvidis , michalis vlachos. period called olympiacos stone years. nevertheless, club brought home 1990 (beating ofi crete 4–2 in final) , 1992 greek cups (beating paok 2–0 in second leg of double final in piraeus), 1992 greek super cup, beating aek 3–1 in final. in addition, team, under guidance of legendary ukrainian coach oleh blokhin, managed reach quarter-finals of 1992–93 uefa cup winners cup, eliminating arsène wenger s monaco, after hard-fought 1–0 away win in stade louis ii late goal giorgos vaitsis , goalless draw @ karaiskakis stadium in second leg. did not manage qualify semi-finals, however, eliminated atlético madrid (1–1 draw @ home, 3–1 loss in madrid).

the golden era (1996–2010)
seven consecutive championships, near-miss uefa champions league semi-finals (1996–2003)

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.

2010–present

ernesto valverde



kevin mirallas

in 2010, evangelos marinakis, successful shipping magnate, bought team sokratis kokkalis. during first year of presidency, marinakis appointed fans favourite ernesto valverde coach (who came second tenure in club) , signed players international pedigree, such albert riera, ariel ibagaza, kevin mirallas, marko pantelić , françois modesto. result, olympiacos won greek title 38th time in history, 13 points ahead of second-placed panathinaikos.

in 2011–12 season, team s roster strengthened players jean makoun, pablo orbaiz, iván marcano, rafik djebbour , djamel abdoun , ernesto valverde coach second straight season, olympiacos had successful campaign both domestically , internationally. won both greek league , greek cup complete 15th domestic double in club s history. in european competitions, olympiacos had solid champions league campaign, having been drawn in group f against arsenal, borussia dortmund , marseille. despite delivering 9 points in group, 2 emphatic wins against arsenal , dortmund @ home (both 3–1 scoreline) , away win against marseille (0–1), lost qualification knock-out stage after marseille s controversial 2–3 away win in dortmund in game 6, marseille scoring 2 goals in last 5 minutes of match come 2–0 dortmund lead. olympiacos continued in europa league drawn play against rubin kazan. greek champions eliminated russian side 2 wins (1–0 in both kazan , piraeus) , play against metalist kharkiv in last 16 of competition. won first match in ukraine david fuster scoring winning goal (0–1) in second match, despite lead , plethora of missed chances (they hit woodwork twice in first half), conceded 2 goals in last 9 minutes of game , lost qualification quarter-finals.

olof mellberg

at end of season, ernesto valverde announced decision return spain, ending second successful spell @ olympiacos. club announced portuguese leonardo jardim new head coach. team performed in greek league , had decent champions league campaign, gathering 9 points in group b, after wins against arsenal (2–1 @ home) , montpellier (1–2 in montpellier, 3–1 in piraeus). despite relatively results, leonardo jardim replaced spanish coach , real madrid legend míchel. team went on celebrate 16th double in history winning 40th greek championship, 15 points ahead second paok, 26th greek cup after 3–1 win against asteras tripolis in final. 40th greek championship title gave olympiacos fourth star on top of club s emblem, major goal club , fans.

the expectations 2013–14 season high, after signing of players such striker javier saviola, joel campbell, roberto, alejandro domínguez, vladimír weiss, delvin n dinga , leandro salino. olympiacos had great season both domestically , internationally. in europe, drawn in group c of 2013–14 champions league alongside paris saint-germain, benfica , anderlecht. after strong performance in group, olympiacos finished second ten points , qualified last 16 @ expense of benfica (1–0 win in piraeus, 1–1 draw in lisbon) , anderlecht (0–3 win in brussels, 3–1 win in piraeus). in round of 16, drawn play against manchester united. olympiacos, after solid display, won first leg comfortable 2–0 (alejandro domínguez 38 , campbell 55 ), in match dominated totally , missed chances extend lead. despite two-goal advantage put them within touching distance of quarter-final place first time since 1999, olympiacos lost 3–0 in second leg in old trafford, having missed outstanding double chance equalize score in 40th minute. greek champions pushed on in last ten minutes find crucial away goal, no avail. although ticket quarter-finals slipped out of club s hands, olympiacos overall performance , fact club managed qualify knockout phase (round 0f 16) of champions league third time in 6 years (2007–08, 2009–10, 2013–14), marked successful european campaign. domestically, olympiacos won history s 41st greek championship convincingly, 17 points ahead of second-placed paok.

in 2014–15 season, olympiacos entered 2014–15 champions league group stage hopes repeat previous year s performance; drawn alongside atlético madrid, juventus , malmö ff. had solid performance in group, managing beat last year s runners-up atlético 3–2 , eventual finalists juventus 1–0 @ karaiskakis stadium, lost qualification knockout stage in last game: olympiacos beat malmö ff 4–2 @ home @ same time juventus drawing against atlético in italy, securing crucial 1 point needed qualify. had olympiacos , juventus finished same points, olympiacos have qualified due best aggregate score (away goals) of 2 games (1–0 olympiacos win in piraeus, 3–2 juventus win in turin). third place in group gave olympiacos ticket next round of uefa europa league, eliminated eventual runners-up dnipro dnipropetrovsk. domestically, team had successful season, winning 17th double in history. won 42nd greek championship 12 points difference second panathinaikos , 27th greek cup, beating skoda xanthi 3–1 in final.

the 2015–16 season started new manager replacement, marco silva took on management on fellow countryman vitor pereira, while squad strengthened world-class presence of esteban cambiasso , number of other players european competition experience, including kostas fortounis, felipe pardo, sebá, manuel da costa, brown ideye , alfreð finnbogason. in tough champions league group included bayern münchen, arsenal , dinamo zagreb, olympiacos managed record 9 points through 3–2 away win on gunners @ emirates stadium, considered many 1 of club s important european victories, 2 more wins against dinamo (1–0 away , 2–1 @ home). last matchday saw team face arsenal @ karaiskakis stadium, needing 1–0 or 2–1 defeat gunners, worst-case scenario, advance knockout phase of competition based on away goals rule; reds lost 3–0 , continued european journey in uefa europa league, eliminated anderlecht in first knockout stage. despite above, olympiacos broke record european competition victories recorded greek club, 97 on 96 of second-placed panathinaikos of summer of 2016. domestically, olympiacos had perhaps successful season in years, team managed secure 43rd greek championship, , 6th consecutive, on last day of february 2016, considered national record earliest time, within league campaign, when title clinched. team managed finish league campaign 30-point difference on arch rivals panathinaikos, came in second. team s 85 points on course of 30 matchdays, including 28–1–1 overall result breakdown 13 away wins , perfect 15 victories out of 15 home games, considered national record. however, despite club s expectations of doing double, did not manage win greek cup finished runners-up rivals aek after 2–1 loss in final.

the 2016–17 season proved rather tumultuous club, despite signing of such key players Óscar cardozo, tarik elyounoussi, alaixys romao, aly cissokho , marko marin. main issues arose team s shock elimination israeli outfit hapoel er-sheva, after 1–0 aggregate defeat, in third qualifying round of uefa champions league, , highly frequent change of managers, leading club having been coached 5 individuals on same season: marco silva, victor sánchez (responsible elimination hapoel), paulo bento, vasilis vouzas , takis lemonis. team s uefa europa league journey not successful other european campaigns, starting difficult 3–1 aggregate victory (1–1 before time) on arouca in playoffs, continuing team s qualification group stage second-placed apoel (in group included young boys , astana), , ending heavy 5–2 aggregate defeat besiktas in last 16 of knockout stage (with goalkeeper nicola leali being highly responsible 4 out of 5 goals conceded), despite having advanced last 32 3–0 aggregate win on osmanlispor. frequent manager change negatively affected team s stability , rhythm in domestic competitions well. firstly, olympiacos failed qualify greek cup final after being ousted aek, advanced on away goals rule after 2–2 aggregate draw. secondly, despite fact reds clinched 44th greek championship, , 7th consecutive second time in greek football history, managed six-point difference (67 61) on paok.

after prolonged period of deliberation , search manager @ club s helm @ start of 2017–18 season, board decided bring former anderlecht , legia warsaw manager besnik hasi club, president evangelos marinakis in favour of had necessary experience , skills guide olympiacos uefa champions league group stage after year s absence. upon arrival, hasi strengthened squad such first-team players vadis odjidja-ofoe, guillaume gillet, mehdi carcela, jagoš vuković, björn engels, uroš Đurđević, emmanuel emenike , greek international panagiotis tachtsidis. aggregate victories on partizan (5–3) , rijeka (3–1) in 2 final qualifying rounds ensured reds presence in group d of competition, considered perhaps toughest in olympiacos european competition history due barcelona, 2017 champions league runners-up juventus , sporting cp being opponents. disheartening 2–3 defeat, 3 goals conceded in first half, in hands of sporting @ thrylos european season opener, combined unfavourable league results culminating 3–2 loss aek despite being 0–2 up, led hasi s dismissal club , replacement takis lemonis.