Hello Olympiacos fans around the world! Welcome back to another season of Olympiacos and the return of our “behind the scenes”of Greek football!
For the new readers and those that may have forgotten, this column is called “Δεν Υιοθετώ”, after the notorious expression from the legendary “Δίκη της Δευτέρας” TV show, which roughly translates to “don’t shoot the messenger”. We’re going to leave formations, tactics, XGoals, subjectivity, and match analysis to the experts; it’s all about the “dark side of the pitch” – referees, managers, team owners, the Greek Football Federation, and so on.
Our goal is to recreate some of the atmosphere of Red Café before an Olympiacos game, where you hang out with your buddies with your frappe in hand and unabashedly talk all sorts of football gossip, rumors, and παρασκήνιο In general.
With the new season underway, there’s lots of things to talk about – none of the Big 5 teams are dazzling us (to put it mildly), Zagorakis out, referees always a “bright” spot, etc:
Wouldn’t it be better if Olympiacos clearly communicated how bad the Covid situation was during pre-season instead of “leaking” it through reporters close to the team?
Wouldn’t a 10-day pause and quarantining pretty much half the team partially explain the team’s poor performance at the start of the season?
How likely is it that all Big 5 managers will be here for the October 28th parade?
In the aftermath of AEK’s shocking draw with OFI (3-3 from 0-3) and the “crucifixion” of ref Fotias by AEK’s “friendly” media, why did they suddenly point their “spears” towards the VAR, Skoulas?
Did AEK by any chance remember last season’s promotion match between Ionikos and Ergotelis (2-1 with truly shocking decisions by ref Fotias) and decided to give him a pass?
Does Ethniki really stand a chance when it’s clear that players are getting called as favors to fellow agents?
Is there a fee for each call-up and for the amount of playing time a player gets? Does this end with JVS or does it go all the way to high ranking EPO officials?
Would Kyriakos Papadopoulos have ended up in Atromitos if it weren’t for his Ethniki push, while Siovas, Manolas, and Sokratis are watching from the sidelines? Should players like Mavrias have ever been called in a well-functioning Ethniki?
How come Siovas didn’t end up in Panathinaikos after being rejected by Olympiacos? Wouldn’t he be a perfect fit for their defensive line? Didn’t he help them with the transfer of his former Leganés teammate Rubén Pérez after all?
Does it have to do with his public praise of Marinakis or with him taking selfies with Karapapas in front of Gate 13 during the cancelled 2015 derby in Leoforos? How would Gate 13 have reacted to such a move?
Which Superleague referee is known as “spaceman” because of his graduate studies in Space Technology and Exploration in London?