Dealing with the (Red) Devil(s)
According to reports from Italy, the notoriously trustworthy AS Roma magazine, FORZA Roma, Manchester United are tabling a 12 million euro bid for Panathinaikos’ Sotiris Ninis. Now, normally I’m all for a Greek moving abroad and gaining experience, as long as their native club is well compensated. This is case is a little different…
As an Olympiacos fan, I usually mind my own business when it comes to these sort of cultural affairs, sticking to the war of words that lives on between Olympiacos and its fiercest rivals. At the same time I could be seen as the biggest perpetrator of the whole ABE (Anyone But England) conspiracy. I guess in this case it’s ABMU (Anyone But Manchester United).
“Why?” you ask. Well, I’ll tell ya. Living in a country that doesn’t find much interest in football (Canada, here we they call it soccer), it’s very rare to find somebody who has the same passion for the sport as you do. Sure there are a few gems hidden in the Great White North, but for the most part, there is a large sense of ignorance for the ‘haters’ of the sport.
Seeing as hockey takes prominence in this country, sports such as soccer are seen as a grassroots game due to the lack of rough-stuff in the game — barbaric? Yep. So, when a World Cup rolls around, or even just a regular time of the European club season, the arrogance and ignorance spills over like the oil spill causing environmental havoc at the time of writing in the States.
This ignorance leads to making uneducated comments seen as a cardinal seen by the true fans of the beautiful game, not to mention the whole bandwagon effect that can quickly torch any friendship. The once-British influence on Canada has in turn seen a wide-variety of Brits make the leap across the Atlantic Ocean and into Canada. Thus, for starters, the popularity of Manchester United is relatively strong regardless of the non-soccer folk.
It doesn’t help the less-informed folk will then choose one of the more well-known teams, so if it’s not Barcelona or Real Madrid, it’s most likely a team from the most-watched league, the English Premier League. This is where Manchester United takes the cake, and it’s rather ridiculous supporting a team when you know just one player. It used to be Cristiano Ronaldo, and now it’s generally Wayne Rooney who gets the support.
So, if these reports about Ninis are true, and should the most-hyped name in the Greek game move to Old Trafford, I will still have to cheer against Greece’s biggest hopes on the international stage at every chance I get.
Sorry Sotiri, but local pride is on the line…
FREE PAPA PAOK!
By: Chris Paraskevas |
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Throughout the course of human history there have been countless rallies and revolutions that have shifted the direction of the human race but none can surely compare with the latest to spring from the cradle of democracy and home of some of the world’s most important intellectual movements: the Free Papa PAOK movement.
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Is The Real World Finally Catching Up On Greek Football?
By: Chris Paraskevas | Add Comments
The Greek super League and its accompanying Greek Cup have well and truly finished, with the focus of football fans now turning toward the country’s second ever appearance at a World Cup in South Africa in June.
Indeed, fans of Olympiakos and AEK Athens will quickly want to [...]
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Greek Super League Play-Offs Set To Get Under Way
By: Chris Paraskevas | 1 Comment
The official draw has been released for the Greek Super League Play-Offs, a system not uncommon around the continent for deciding European spots but one which this writer finds particularly lethargic and pointless.
Olympiakos will begin the play-offs in first place with four points, PAOK with three, AEK [...]
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Panathinaikos Clinch Greek Super League Title For First Time In Six Years
By: Chris Paraskevas | Add Comments
Unsurprising as it is that my fellow Offside blogger Peter Katsiris (an unashamed Trifylli hater/Olympiacos fan) has been unable to whip up a piece on Panathinaikos winning their first league title and piece of any sort of silverware in six years, I’ve been a little hesitant to pay my due respects to a club that [...]
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The A(me)RI(ca)S Files: The Introduction
By: Peter Katsiris | 1 Comment
While Barack Obama’s administration leads the way in the fight against terrorism after a bomb plot scare left the country’s security unreliability exposed this past Christmas, another American Team aims at defending the honour of Thessaloniki.
As you may have heard [...]
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Reality Check
By: Chris Paraskevas | 1 Comment
When an out-of-sorts Olympiakos for the first time ever opened their UEFA Champions League campaign proper with a home win against Dutch champions AZ Alkmaar, one might have been excused for 
momentarily thinking Greek fortunes might be on the up on the continent this season.
Cue two rather [...]
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Who needs Manchester United and Arsenal? Greece has it all!
By: Chris Paraskevas | 2 Comments
When you have a security system that allows a fan to simply waltz onto a pitch during a local derby before launching abuse at the opposition goalkeeper, centimetres away from his face and barely a metre away from one of the most timid ground officials in the history of football, who needs a high standard [...]
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Who next, Ronaldo?
By: Chris Paraskevas | 1 Comment
If anyone was doubting the gap in resources and power between the top club in Greece and…well…anyone else, the issue has been put to rest in the last week with news that Olympiakos appear set to tie up a deal to bring over Juventus centre-back Olof Mellberg for around 3 million euro, after confirming that [...]
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Play-Off Race Hots Up
By: Chris Paraskevas | Add Comments
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The race for UEFA Champions League football in Greece is extremely tight after Round 2 of the Greek Super League playoffs, with one point separating Panathinaikos, PAOK and AEK Athens.
On Wednesday evening, Panathinaikos played out a dramatic 1-1 draw with Athenian rivals AEK, whilst PAOK managed a [...]
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Team News
AEK Athens 2-1 Blackburn Rovers: The only trophy we'll win all season?
Well, it's taken eight years but AEK Athens' trophy drought is over: they're about to win the Sydney International Festival of Football. That is, assuming the tournament actually has some sort of trophy lifting ceremony attached to it...
Despite another hugely slick, sharp, fluid and "a la Barcelona" as members of ...
Jul 30, 2010 | Read this article...
Aussie press raving about AEK Athens
It's been a while but I won't bother to begin to justify my lengthy absence with my usual excuses. AEK Athens are in Australia and in a couple of hours take on Blackburn Rovers in the second of three friendly matches, the first of which they won 5-3 against resident ...
Jul 28, 2010 | Read this article...
Olympiacos 6-1 Besa: Six Goal Assault Sweeps Besa Aside
Olympiacos ran out emphatic winners on Thursday night, mirroring their performance from a week ago with another five-goal margin of victory. The Erythrolefki struck for six goals in the second frame to defeat KS Besa Kavaje 6-1 at the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium for a combined aggregate score of 11-1 over their Albanian opponents.
Jul 22, 2010 | Read this article...
Albert Riera gets Hero’s Welcome in Athens (vid)
Albert Riera’s arrival in Athens on Thursday overshadowed Olympiacos’ UEFA Europa League third qualifying round second leg tie with KS Besa Kavaje as nearly 5000 Olympiacos supporters greeted the Spaniard at the Eleftheros Venizelos Airport in the Greek capital.
Jul 22, 2010 | Read this article...
Spoiled Goods: Nery Castillo
News that Nery Castillo is hitting up the Windy City is old by now, but for the Olympiacos community it’s a transfer that boggles many. The Mexican, a former Olympiacos superstar, nicknamed Nintendo during his stay in Piraeus, is now just a DP in one of the world’s glitzy leagues. Needless to say, I don’t rate the MLS too highly, but on the other hand I do (or more suitably, did) rate Castillo very highly.
Jul 22, 2010 | Read this article...
Knock Knock Knocking on ... the 3rd Qualifying Round
Olympiacos’ early season Europa League campaign continues on Thursday when Albanian side KS Besa Kavaje visit the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium with the aggregate score poised heavily in favour of Olympiacos following last week’s 5-0 shellacking in Tirana. The cultural war that realistically hyped this tie resumes in Greece, but Olympiacos supporters won’t be able to respond with their own cultural attacks as the Piraeus giants are serving a UEFA suspension and must play the match behind close doors.
Jul 21, 2010 | Read this article...
Besa 0-5 Olympiacos: Five-Star Reds Run Riot in Tirana
Olympiacos all but confirmed a spot in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League last night as the Piraeus giants cruised to a 5-0 victory over Albanian side KS Besa Kavaje. Oscar Gonzalez and Diogo scored a pair of goals each while Dudu added a tally of his own.
Relatively untested, Olympiacos never looked back as a lion’s share of possession translated into goals, goals, and more goals. Dudu and Kevin Mirallas played an active part in creating chances, the former marking his return to the first team after a nagging injury sidelined the Brazilian for close to six months last season.
No Time to Breathe: Season Starts Early for Olympiacos
The World Cup just ended, but there is no time for the chronic World Cup withdrawal most football fans experience after an international tournament, especially if you’re an Olympiacos fan.
The new season is upon us as Olympiacos tackle Albanian side KS Besa Kavaje in the UEFA Europa League this evening. ...
Jul 15, 2010 | Read this article...
Ringing in the Changes: New Owner, New Manager, New Players
Well, the World Cup is over and even though the dream ended fairly early for Greece fans like me, World Cup withdrawal is rather evident. Fortunately, there is plenty to talk about from the club level, and among the ones making the headlines is Olympiacos. The club has experience numerous changes since the miserable end to last season, which saw the club finish dead last in the Greek Super League play-offs.
Assuring this never happens again, the club has rung in the changes from the boardroom down as a new owner, new manager, and new players have been brought in to return the club to its winning ways next season.
Sleep Patterns Improving
Apologies for the inactivity on this blog for quite some time but it's understandable given my sleep patterns have been turned upside down by the World Cup. Of course my interest in the competition has naturally dipped ever so slightly given Australia and Greece went out at the group stages, ...
Jun 28, 2010 | Read this article...
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