Aris savouring maiden European journey since 2010/2011 season

Following a long break, Aris are back in Europe, with the Thessaloniki club aiming to reach the group stages of the UEFA Europa League after a tough period battling financial difficulties.

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It seems a long time ago when Aris were last involved in continental competition. Before this season, Aris’ most recent European journey was in the 2010/2011 Europa League, as they impressively advanced to the Round of 32. In the group phase, Aris famously defeated Atletico Madrid both home and away, and they even held Manchester City to a 0:0 draw in Thessaloniki in the knockout stage. However, after subsequently suffering a painful financial collapse, Aris suffered relegation to the Gamma Ethniki in 2014 and only returned to the Super League last year.

In their maiden season back in the Super League, Aris played some of the best football witnessed in the championship, storming to fifth place and earning a Europa League berth as a result of PAOK winning the Greek Cup.

To put it lightly, Aris fans had long been waiting for the grand European return. Just look at the stunning atmosphere which was felt against AE Limassol in the second qualifying round. With all due respect to AEL, the Cypriots can’t be considered as particularly big-name opponents, but the Aris fans packed out the Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium and created a true sense of celebration. Taking into account their hardships over the past few years, you can understand why.

Despite dominating the first leg at home, Aris failed to break down the sturdy AEL defence, but they triumphed in Cyprus as Nicolas Diguiny converted an early penalty. Due to the Fan ID problem, the hardcore AEL supporters abstained from attending the second game, but the Aris faithful were in fine voice as they celebrated their first European victory since 2010.

In the third qualifying round, you can bet that Norwegian league leaders Molde FK will give Aris a run for their money, but the Greeks have the advantage of hosting the decisive second match in Thessaloniki. Something even more important when you consider Aris’ fantastic home record in UEFA competitions.

Remember Aris’ last home defeat in a European match? We have to go all the way back to a 1:2 loss against Ujpest FC in the 1968/1969 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup. Incredibly, since that match, Aris have gone unbeaten in 27 consecutive continental games in Thessaloniki. A powerful reminder of how crucial the supporters are to Aris’ results and why it is so difficult to earn a victory at the intimidating Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium.

13 of those 27 matches saw Aris claim victory and the remaining 14 ended in a draw.

Incidentally, the 1:0 win against AEL in Larnaca was the first occasion since November 7, 1979 when Aris managed to not concede any European goals away from home. They have a chance to make that two successive clean sheets on the road this Thursday in Norway.

by Shaun Nicolaides

Image Source: to10.gr

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