Hellas on Earth - Olympiacos
Athens is a city of strong contrasts, the magnificent ancient history that shaped much of what we know today, then the underbelly, not shown in the glossy tourist videos. Crime, poverty, vice, desperation. It's not hugely surprising, when you consider the Greek economy has crashed more times than a test dummy.
Football represents this in a wonderful microcosm. Glorious old stadia, relics dripping in history, crumbling ruinous temples, where the terraces are controlled by that very underworld. Violence, extremist views, passion, Ultra. As ever, society is mirrored in the stands.
It's a big game for Olympiacos, the most successful club in Greece, who find themselves in the rare position of needing a win to even stay in the title race. Pre match souvlaki and saganaki devoured, Piraeus is buzzing. Thrylos are having a disaster of a season, heading into the business end of the season without a manger, after Michel resigned from his second spell, replacing compatriot Carlos Corberan, who lasted just six weeks. Chaos has often been the companion of football here, as Ari Bouloubassis, co-host of the Gate 7 International podcast explains
"There is entertainment on and off the field. There’s so much drama in Greek football I can’t believe someone like Andy Cohen hasn’t decided to do a show on Bravo about Greek football. That’s how id sum up the current state of it. But if we’re including the past, there’s so much history intertwined in war and politics!"
The entertainment certainly started off the field, with helicopters overhead, cars abandoned and the constant cacophony of stun grenades, it's a warzone, even with no away fans allowed. Gate 7 is where the most fervent supporters are, and wanting to get out alive, I took my place in gate 8.
Ari explains "They are responsible for atmosphere created in the stadium. Even in games where stadium is at 30% capacity you always hear them singing from outside of the stadium. In many ways, they are the heartbeat of the club as the organized representation of the fans". I can't help but think he is underselling it a bit. Megaphones, a sea of blood red flares, thick grey smoke, hands in the air, a trumpet playing the opening salvo to the club anthem, "Olympi- Olympi- Olympiacos"...even the steward is going mental. This is hell in Hellas, the cradle of civilisation I think not. Kick off delayed due to the swirling, choking smoke.
Once the game is underway, AEK decide to score, a brave move. The laser pens are out and blinding anyone not wearing red and white, the flags and flares continue in a show of faith. Just who would manage here, in this cauldron of pressure? Ari would love it to be Valverde returning, but realistically "at this point we have to take a punt on a coach with famous failures or a young coach with success in a smaller league. I wouldn’t mind seeing Bruno Lage or Barak Bakhar(Maccabi Haifa)".
The second half kicks off, and 38 year old Valbuena is off, the laser pens are still on, and the visceral hate is showing no sign of abating. Gate 7 have something to cheer, Cedric Bakambu equalises and they are Bak-in-it. Hell resumes and it's another smoke stoppage. There is a scuffle and bottles rain down on the pitch. Penalty for AEK. Stunned silence.
Levi Garcia is shooting towards Gate 7, guttural boos and whistles ring out. There is a disco on his face from all the laser pens, but he is the coolest man in the room, goal. As soon as the ball ripples the net, there is the loudest silence, the air has been sucked out of the Georgios Karaiskakis stadium. In stoppage time, they make it 3-1, AEK go top, Piraeus plunder. The natives are restless, a violent, brutal pitch invasion follows, and a battle with the police. Olympiacos will finish the season behind closed doors, and 72,500 euros worse off.
Gate 7 put out a statement following the carnage "“Our players job is to win all remaining games. They don’t have a choice otherwise there will be more. Yesterday’s pitch invasion was just the beginning. Injustice makes our rage overflow”. Society mirrored in the stands once more.
Greek football is chaos, skilful, committed, passionate, a beautiful mess. Why doesn't it get more coverage? How can it become more popular? Ari offers:
“This requires a mentality adjustment by those in charge of Greek football. Unfortunately, most Greeks done believe anyone outside of Greece cares about Greek football. This is the primary reason we started Gate 7 International, our YouTube/Podcast Channel. This is how we channel the voice of the diaspora and show everyone in Greece how popular Greek football can be. There’s still so much work to be done, most importantly increasing access to legal streams/tv for individuals that want to watch outside of Greece".
If you want to learn more about football in Greece, and in particular, Olympiacos, listen to the Gate 7 International podcast here: https://www.gate7intl.com/