The first official game of the season for Olympiacos left fans with a bittersweet taste in their mouths.
The 0-0 draw with Victoria Plzen for the first leg of the second qualifying round of the Champions League was not the result that many had come to expect after the team’s recent performances in the friendly matches and the image they displayed at times (mainly during the first half) created more questions than answers.
Coach Pedro Martins chose the expected 4-2-3-1 formation, with Guerrero alone up front and Valbuena on a more free role in midfield as a substitute for the injured captain Kostas Fortounis.
The team showed good composure in the opening minutes of the game, holding onto possession and even creating some dangerous situations up front, most notable among them being Valbuena’s missed opportunity from Podence’s clever through ball.
But after 20 minutes of play, the bad news started to come in. Former Brisbane Roar central defender Avraam Papadopoulos, 34, was unable to continue the game as he injured his thigh and was forced to come off, giving his place to the young Senegalese Ousseinou Ba.
From there on, the team from Piraeus appeared unable to keep up with the pace of the Czechs, allowing them to hold onto the ball and move into their own area.
It was only a matter of time until they began to create chances to score an opening goal.
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The first true threat to the Olympiacos goal came on the 38th minute after Kopic’s great effort saw Cermak take a shot, but Jose Sa was there to put a stop to it.
On the 44th minute it was by pure luck that the red-and-whites were able to keep their goal intact, after a corner kick by Cermak landed at the feet of a stunned Guillherme who almost put it passed his own keeper, with the ball bouncing off the right post.
With the half-time whistle blowing, Pedro Martins realised things needed to change if his team was to find room to breathe in midfield.
His decision to remove the secluded Mathieu Valbuena with a more physically-able Mady Camara gave Olympiacos more space and removed the constant threat from Sa’s goal.
The Piraeus team was able to gain more ground and, with Bouchalakis having more creative freedom, had control of the game from that point on.
In fact, they missed a few good opportunities to escape from the Czech Republic with the away win, with the most important of them coming from Bouchalakis’ feet on the 76th minute, but his shot went inches wide off of goalkeeper Hruska’s right bar.
After all was said and done, the goalless draw left the Greek team feeling satisfied with the way the game went, but also with a sense of worry as their opponents showed they won’t be making things easy.
The return game will be played next week on Tuesday 30 July in Piraeus and should they advance, Olympiacos will face Turkish club Istanbul Basaksehir in the third qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.
THE OLYMPIACOS LINE UP (Pedro Martins): Sa, Elabdellaoui, Tsimikas, Semedo, Papadopoulos (22′ Ba), Guillherme, Bouchalakis, Masouras (81′ Radjelovic), Podence, Valbuena (57′ Camara), Guerrero.
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