Greek Football Season 2024/25

[Firnen]

Lamia is the fourth club to fire their coach (Marinos Satsias) and the favourite to replace him is... Leonidas Vokolos who didn't renew after their 6th place last season. But there will still be a former Cypriot international in the league, naturalized though, since Volos signed Savvas Poursaitidis.

And Poursaïtidis already gone as he was fired today after just 7 matches (6 lor the league and 1 in the cup) at the helm.

This is the 8th coach change after 11 matchdays, and Volos is the 2nd club after Asteras to have a 3rd different coach before the end of the first round. I would bet Volos will have at least one more change.

[seso]

Six clubs within 4 points at the top!

The highest position Panaitolikos has ever finished in is 8th in 2013-14 and 2017-18. They could crush this record in the current season.

Panaitolikos finished 7th in 2014-15 season.

True, they could still crush this record this season!

[Firnen]

MD 12

Kallithea - Panserraikos 1-2
Aris - Volos 0-1
Lamia - OFI 1-1
Panaitolikos - Panathinaikos 1-2
Asteras Tripolis - PAOK 1-2
Olympiacos - AEK 4-1
Atromitos - Levadiakos 2-1

Standings:

Olympiacos.........7-3-2.....24
PAOK................7-2-3......23
Panathinaikos.....6-4-2......22
AEK..................6-3-3.....21
-----------------------------------------
Aris..................6-3-3.....21
Panaitolikos........5-3-4......18
Atromitos..........5-2-5......17
Asteras Tripolis....4-4-4......16
-----------------------------------------
OFI..................4-4-4......16
Panserraikos.......4-1-7.....13
Volos................4-1-7.....13
Levadiakos........1-6-5......9
Lamia...............1-5-6.....8
Kallithea...........0-7-5......7

- Olympiacos stays alone on top for the first time this season, after ripping AEK apart in the last big 4 derby of the 1st round. Olympiacos had a very good match overall and took advantage of how error-prone AEK's defenders are under pressure, gifting 3 out of the 4 goals with individual errors. El Kaabi scored a hat trick while AEK had equalized with a Martial tap in before HT, only to concede 2 quick goals in the 2nd half.
- PAOK and Panathinaikos escaped for the 3rd time each with a late goal, which propelled them above AEK. They had trouble away to Asteras and Panaitolikos, two competitive minnows, with PAOK returning from 1-0 down.
- Aris managed to lose again to a minnow, at home to Volos this time, effectively threw away all their good derby results already. Typical Aris. Atromitos keeps doing the bare minimum and returns to the 5-8 positions.
- Levadiakos and Kallithea remain really unlucky (or inefficient) since almost every week they lose or draw matches where they are equal or better to their opponent.

[Firnen]

MD 13 (End of 1st round)

Volos - Lamia 0-0
Levadiakos - Panaitolikos 1-1
AEK - Aris 4-0
Panserraikos - Asteras Tripolis 2-1
OFI - Olympiacos 0-2
PAOK - Kallithea 2-2
Panathinaikos - Atromitos 1-1

Standings:

Olympiacos.........8-3-2.....27
AEK..................7-3-3.....24
PAOK................7-3-3......24
Panathinaikos.....6-5-2......23
-----------------------------------------
Aris..................6-3-4.....21
Panaitolikos........5-4-4......19
Atromitos..........5-3-5......18
Panserraikos.......5-1-7.....16
-----------------------------------------
Asteras Tripolis....4-4-5......16
OFI..................4-4-5......16
Volos................4-2-7.....14
Levadiakos........1-7-5......10
Lamia...............1-6-6.....9
Kallithea...........0-8-5......8

- Olympiacos ends the 1st round with their biggest gap so far in the season, +3. They had quite some trouble against OFI's parked bus, which fell to a corner kick rebound, the red and whites 1st (!) goal from a set piece this season. Mendilibar's team said thank you to the gifts of the competitors and has a theoretically easy December ahead to build on this gap.
- AEK destroyed Aris in the last derby of the 1st round and climbed back to 2nd. Almeyda's team dominated an out of form Aris and didn't stop until the final 4-0 scoreline. This was Aris' first defeat from a top 5 team this season.
- Another blunder at home for champions PAOK, who got equalized twice by Kallithea, with the 2-2 coming in the 92nd minute. PAOK was sloppy again in defense and have a historically bad 2-2-3 record at home, where they are usually really strong. Kallithea as I've written before, is much better than their 0 wins record implies, but naive and careless in the relegation scraps. Nonetheless they got points from AEK, PAOK and Panathinaikos!
- Panathinaikos drops 4 points from the top as they see a trend of previous matches reverse: they earned points with late goals 3 times, and today they saw Atromitos score in their only chance in the 2nd half in the 90th minute and grab a point, after the greens had failed to score a 2nd goal several times earlier in the match.
- Panaitolikos ends the 1st round 6th, deservedly, while Panserraikos beats Asteras and catches them and OFI at 8th. The bottom 4 situation remains unchanged since all 4 teams drew: my view is that Lamia and Volos are worse teams than the 2 newly promoted, but they are more cunning and have the survival know-how.

[Firnen]

Greek Cup R16, 2nd leg (1st leg):

Asteras Tripolis - Zakynthos(3) 5-1 (2-1)
Volos - OFI 1-0 (1-3)
Atromitos vs Panathinaikos 1-2 (1st leg, 2nd leg TBC)
PAOK - Egaleo(2) 7-1 (3-0)
Panachaiki(2) - Kifisia(2) 1-0 (1-1)
Olympiacos - Kallithea 1-1 (1-0)
Aris - AEK 1-1 (0-1)
Panionios(2) - Panserraikos 3-0 (0-2)

Greek Cup QF

Panionios(2) vs Asteras Tripolis
Atromitos/Panathinaikos vs Olympiacos
AEK vs PAOK
OFI vs Panachaiki(2)

Greek Cup SF

Panionios(2)/Asteras Tripolis vs OFI/Panachaiki(2)
AEK/PAOK vs Atromitos/Panathinaikos/Olympiacos

A late goal by Martial sent AEK to the QF in the flashy tie of the round, setting them up with a clash against PAOK, who smashed 2nd division team Egaleo at home.

Olympiacos hit the post 4 times in the 1st half and settled for a draw against the queen of draws, Kallithea (10/16 matches!) to wait for their eternal enemy in the QF. Panathinaikos turned the 1st leg around against Atromitos and have almost done the job

In the minnow side of the bracket, Panionios shocked Panserraikos and with a Denis Cherysev hat-trick (!) eliminated them at home. Panachaiki caused a minor upset against 2nd division South group leader Kifisia. The two 2nd division teams will try to upset Asteras and OFI who are favourites to clash in the SF for a spot in the Final against the big 4 survivor.

[TommyChat]

Akis Mantzios is fired from Aris for the 9th coach change of the season. Currently half of the clubs have changed the coach they started the season with. It is reported that former Greece NT coach John van 't Schip will be his replacement.

[Firnen]

MD 14

Olympiacos - Volos 3-0
Aris - Atromitos 2-1
Panserraikos - PAOK - 1-4
OFI - AEK 1-2
Asteras Tripolis - Panathinaikos 0-1
Lamia - Panaitolikos 0-1
Kallithea - Levadiakos 2-4

Standings:

Olympiacos.........9-3-2.....30
AEK..................8-3-3.....27
PAOK................8-3-3......27
Panathinaikos.....7-5-2......26
-----------------------------------------
Aris..................7-3-4.....24
Panaitolikos........6-4-4......22
Atromitos..........5-3-6......18
Panserraikos.......5-1-8.....16
-----------------------------------------
Asteras Tripolis....4-4-6......16
OFI..................4-4-6......16
Volos................4-2-8.....14
Levadiakos........2-7-5......13
Lamia...............1-6-7.....9
Kallithea...........0-8-6......8

- Olympiacos and PAOK easily beat Volos and Panserraikos, while AEK (against 10-men OFI) and Panathinaikos (against Asteras) were saved by late goals. For Panathinaikos, it' the 4th time this season (!) - their position could have been so much worse.
- Aris and Panaitolikos also continue with wins, while Levadiakos with 4 goals and 3 posts triumphs from 2-0 down against Kallithea, who remain winless.

Akis Mantzios was fired from Aris and replaced by John Van't Schipp. 7/14 clubs have changed coach now (Kallithea will probably follow soon), while Asteras and Volos have changed twice - 9 coach changes so far after 14 matches.

[Firnen]

Akis Mantzios was fired from Aris and replaced by John Van't Schipp. 7/14 clubs have changed coach now (Kallithea will probably follow soon), while Asteras and Volos have changed twice - 9 coach changes so far after 14 matches.

Donati is fired from Kallithea, 8/14 clubs have now changed coach and there have been 10 changes after 14 MDs.

Olympiacos, PAOK, AEK, Panaitolikos, Atromitos and Levadiakos continue with the coach they started the season.

[Firnen]

MD 15

Volos - Asteras Tripolis 2-1
Aris - Panserraikos 1-0
Atromitos - OFI 0-0
Lamia - AEK 0-1
Levadiakos - Panathinaikos 0-1
Panaitolikos - PAOK 0-1
Kallithea - Olympiacos 1-1

Standings:

Olympiacos.........9-4-2.....31
AEK..................9-3-3.....30
PAOK................9-3-3......30
Panathinaikos.....8-5-2......29
-----------------------------------------
Aris..................8-3-4.....27
Panaitolikos........6-4-5......22
Atromitos..........5-4-6......19
OFI..................4-5-6......17
-----------------------------------------
Volos................5-2-8.....17
Panserraikos.......5-1-9.....16
Asteras Tripolis....4-4-7......16
Levadiakos........2-7-6......13
Kallithea...........0-9-6......9
Lamia...............1-6-8.....9

- This week, both in Europe and in Greece, Olympiacos reminded everyone they still have cancer, a deep rot refusing to get removed from the squad. Another draw with a minnow, another horrible match against a low block. Kallithea equalized in the 92nd minute and got points from all of big 4.
- The rest of the big 5 all won 1-0, with PAOK scoring a late goal by Camara for the 3rd time this season. Their ability (as well as Panathinaikos) to win matches after the 80th minute keeps them alive.

[emortal]

Kalithea does it again!

They haven't had a single W in 15 games, are last in the standings but have drawn vs. the first 4 teams.
Two of the draws coming with buzzer-beater comebacks in overtime.

And especially the game vs. Panathinaikos (2:2) they should've won based on chances created/missed.

Despite creating this "refuse to lose" team, coach Donati was unceremoniously fired

[Firnen]

Greek Cup QF, 1st leg:

Panionios(2) vs Asteras Tripolis 0-2
Atromitos/Panathinaikos vs Olympiacos tbd
AEK vs PAOK 1-0
OFI vs Panachaiki(2) 5-0

Greek Cup SF

Panionios(2)/Asteras Tripolis vs OFI/Panachaiki(2)
AEK/PAOK vs Atromitos/Panathinaikos/Olympiacos

OFI and Asteras will duel for a spot in the final after finishing the job against their 2nd division opponents from the 1st leg.
AEK took a narrow lead over PAOK in the derby side of the bracket.
The 2nd leg of Atromitos-Panathinaikos from R16 will be played in January thus the derby of the eternal enemies quarter-final matches will take place after the 2nd leg of the other 3 QFs.

[NederPAOKtzis]

Kalithea does it again!

They haven't had a single W in 15 games, are last in the standings but have drawn vs. the first 4 teams.
Two of the draws coming with buzzer-beater comebacks in overtime.

And especially the game vs. Panathinaikos (2:2) they should've won based on chances created/missed.

Despite creating this "refuse to lose" team, coach Donati was unceremoniously fired

Stelios Malezas (3 caps for Greece, 11 seasons at PAOK as a player and 3 as coach of PAOK U19) is the new manager of Kalliithea.

[seso]

Panathinaikos doesn't score often, but they also don't concede many goals; they have 9 GA, better than any other club in the league.

[Firnen]

MD 16

Olympiacos - Lamia 1-0
Panserraikos - Panaitolikos 0-0
Panathinaikos - Kallithea 1-0
PAOK - Atromitos 3-0
AEK - Levadiakos 1-1
Asteras Tripolis - Aris 2-1
OFI - Volos 4-0

Standings:

Olympiacos........10-4-2.....34
PAOK...............10-3-3......33
Panathinaikos.....9-5-2......32
AEK..................9-4-3.....31
-----------------------------------------
Aris..................8-3-5.....27
Panaitolikos........6-5-5......23
OFI..................5-5-6......20
Atromitos..........5-4-7......19
-----------------------------------------
Asteras Tripolis....5-4-7......19
Panserraikos.......5-2-9.....17
Volos................5-2-9.....17
Levadiakos........2-8-6......14
Kallithea...........0-9-7......9
Lamia...............1-6-9.....9

- Another terrible match against a low block for Olympiacos, who needed GK Tzolakis to save them twice against bottom Lamia early in the match and suffered with endless crosses and pointless possession until getting the win with a tap in from Gelson Martins.
- Another late 1-0 win for the statistical anomaly of Panathinaikos whose 5/9 wins are 1-0 with a late goal and have 9 wins with 16 goals in 16 matches. Kallithea fought against a big 4 team again but an early red card doomed them.
- PAOK got the easiest win against Atromitos who also got an early red card. PAOK scored late in the 1st half and early in the 2nd half and in the only chance Atromitos had to return in the match, Kotarski beat Warda from the penalty spot.
- AEK dropped points against Levadiakos at home and even their point is scandalous: 94th minute equalizer with a clear offensive foul by the goalscorer. Levadiakos are starting to approach the positions the deserve based on how they play, which isn't the bottom 3.
- Aris lost in Tripoli and fell behind 4th, OFI beat Volos again after their Cup win while Panserraikos and Panaitolikos drew 0-0.

* Panathinaikos got a 2-match closed door penalty for a fan throwing a flare last week, so they will not have fans in the derby against PAOK. AEK and PAOK will get penalties (either the teams or officials, including AEK's owner and PAOK's coach Lucescu) for the altercations following their Cup match and at HT.

[emortal]

In a country where:
* Dinamo hools clash with AEK hools in Athens, resulting in one of them dying, with no-one getting punished (8/2023)
* fans of Olympiakos use naval flares against the police, killing a policeman, yet no-one from the team gets punished (12/2023)
* AEK coach Almeida grabs a policeman by the throat (policeman was working on behalf of the "commitee against violence" ), then gets a 20k fine
* AEK owner storms the PAOK locker-room and is "cautioned"

the FA has decided that PAOK coach Lucescu is responsible for violence in Greek football, banning him for 4 months from sitting on the bench