Olympiacos’ magical ‘58’ still intact
They came incredibly close to claiming the longest unbeaten run in Greek football history, but a derby defeat has left PAOK just short. We take a look at the Olympiacos side that continues to hold the record, first set in the early 1970s.
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45 years and counting
PAOK’s defeat to Aris on January 4th ended the reigning champions’ unbeaten run at 51 matches. While it was a sensational streak that included an entire campaign without a defeat, PAOK fell seven matches short of equalling a record that has now stood for 45 years and then some. It was in 1974 when Olympiacos finally lost a league game and had their streak of 58 matches unbeaten come to a halt. Ironically, it was against PAOK in the 18th Round of the 1973-1974 Greek League when Olympiacos finally lost after going 18 months unbeaten, a run that started with a victory over PAOK in 1972.
Over that stretch, Olympiacos recorded an incredible 46 victories and 12 draws. Despite having put together what remains one of European football’s longest unbeaten streaks, Olympiacos was unable to finish any of their individual seasons undefeated. The streak began early on in the 1972/73 season with a 1-0 victory at Toumba Stadium against PAOK and ended the same way at the end of the 1973/74 campaign with a 1-0 defeat against the same opponent and venue.
The Goulandris Era
The amazing side that was able to break all sorts of Greek football records, many of which are still held, began to be assembled in the period of time just before Nikos Goulandris took over the club as President in 1972.
Many members of the Olympiacos board has been forced out by the military regime still ruling the country in the early 1970s. Goulandris was able to bring some of those individuals back and together they put together one of the most impressive club sides Greece has ever seen.
Goulandris appointed Lakis Petropoulos as the head coach and from then on assembled a side full of star power and quality. What resulted was a team that produced some magical performances on the pitch and one that won three consecutive league titles and two Greek Cups from 1972-1975.
Olympiacos’ exploits, namely in the 1973/74 season, are still considered some of the best in Greek football history. The team scored 102 goals and allowed only 14 over the course of 34 matches. No Greek team has since come close to being so prolific over the period of one season.
Individual talent galore
The names in that Olympiacos side are some of the greatest in club history. They featured famous Greek players such as Giorgos Delikaris, Maik Galakos, Panagiotis Kelesidis, Michalis Kritikopoulos, Nikos Gioutsos, Petros Karavitis, Kostas Davourlis, Giannis Kyrastas, Giannis Gaitatzis, Thanasis Angelis, Lakis Glezos, and Takis Synetopoulos amongst many others.
There was a real foreign flavor to the team as well with French-born Greeks such as Yves Triantafyllos and Romain Argyroudis joined by Greek Austrian Dimitris Persidis, Cypriot players Pamboulis Papadopoulos and Kyriakos Koureas, along with South American stars Julio Losada and Milton Viera.
At one point there were 19 full internationals in the squad. Stories from the time period suggest that training session scrimmages were hotly contested and that Goulandris would offer bonuses to the winners of those matches.
All in all, it was a golden era in Olympiacos’ history and one that featured a side still remembered for its unrivalled class, quality, and a record that now remains intact with PAOK’s recent defeat.
