Twenty years on from Greece’s last football miracle, the world bears witness to another as Olympiacos completes the impossible dream of winning a European club competition.
The question remains: Is this the greatest ever achievement of a Greek club?
Greece has played a mostly supporting role in Europe’s club competitions ever since UEFA introduced the European Cup (now known as Champions League) in 1955.
Only twice has a Hellenic team ever made it all the way to a final, first in 1971 when Panathinaikos advanced to the European Cup final against a truly extraordinary Ajax side.
The “Trifylli” fell 2-0 at Wembley Stadium to the legendary Dutch outfit in the first of three successive Champions Leagues, thanks to its Total Football system enacted by legends like Johan Cruyff.
The accomplishment remains the greatest highlight in Panathinaikos’ history that is celebrated by the Greens’ faithful to this day, and no Hellenic club has replicated it in the 53 years since.
The best they have done is reach the semi-finals, which AEK did once in the Europa League in 1976/77 (then called the UEFA Cup) and Panathinaikos twice in the Champions League (1984/85, 1995/96).
This history illustrates how remarkable an accomplishment it was for Olympiacos to simply make the final of the Europa Conference League.
Albeit competing in the tertiary UEFA club competition, the “red-whites” battled teams like Maccabi Tel Aviv, Fenerbahce, and tournament favourite Aston Villa.
The Premier League outfit boasts seven first division titles, 7 FA Cups and a Champions League (1981/82).
Villa was in supreme form this season, finishing fourth and beating Chelsea, Tottenham, Arsenal (twice) and eventual champions Manchester City.
This was the team Olympiacos overcame in the semi-finals, beating them in both legs and reaching the first club final for a Greek team since 1971.
In a rare chance for home triumph, their date with Fiorentina would take place in Athens at rivals AEK’s “Agia Sophia” Stadium.
Olympiacos’ victory over the “Viola” is their greatest triumph, a phenomenal accolade for Greece, and also more simply a win for the “little guy” over the “big five”.
No longer just a game of community, football is a business and is led in Europe by England, Spain, Germany, France and Italy.
In fact, the last time a team outside their leagues won a UEFA club tournament was the 2010/11 Europa League when Porto defeated Braga in an all-Portugal final.
Poetically, Olympiacos’ incredible achievement comes 20 years on from the ultimate underdog story, Greece’s miracle win at Euro 2004.
Hellenes will forever recognise this as their single greatest national team accomplishment, though now at the club level there is finally a counter to raise whenever people call Panathinaikos’ final at Wembley the best accolade.
Panathinaikos and Olympiacos supporters will certainly argue their own team’s case in the years to come.
The one thing we know for certain is that for the first time ever in UEFA club competition history, Greece is standing tall.
