Greek Classic recounts tale of 'Mother of all Battles'

DERBY DAYS/Greek Super League/Olympiacos v Panathinaikos: These derbies in Greece are often looked back on at the end of each season as the games which decided the championship

YOU JUST know a rivalry is big when it has its own, unique name. And when it’s known worldwide as the “Derby of the Eternal Enemies”? Well, you know it wasn’t called that because the clubs wished each other well in their endeavours.

This weekend, the two biggest clubs in Greece lock horns. Currently first and second in the league table, these derby clashes – also known as the “Mother of all Battles” – are often looked back on at the end of each season as the games which decided the championship. Hardly a surprise then, that, between them, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos have taken the past 15 domestic league titles, making the biggest debate between fans merely which club is the greatest.

And, in that regard, while Olympiacos have the advantage when it comes to counting Greek League and Greek Cup titles, Panathinaikos have an ace up their sleeves. In 1971, the club reached the European Cup final, losing in front of 90,000 supporters at Wembley Stadium to a Johan Cruyff-inspired Ajax side that was collecting the first of three European crowns in a row.

Despite the 2-0 defeat, however, the team made up entirely of home-grown players were celebrated for becoming the first, and as yet only, club side from Greece to reach the biggest day in European club soccer.

The semi-final witnessed one of the most stunning comebacks in the competition’s history, with Red Star Belgrade putting Panathinaikos to the sword, 4-1, at home in front of 100,000 fanatical spectators. If anything, the scoreline flattered the Athens-based club, but, back on more familiar ground, Panathinaikos romped to a 3-0 victory to progress on away goals.

Perhaps, there was even a grudging admiration from the other half of Greece – though it would have soon passed. The Greek giants’ respective success has not simply split Athens, but the country too, with both clubs claiming support from all parts of the nation. And the rivalry also extends beyond soccer, especially as the sides boast two of the strongest basketball clubs in Europe and the only Greek clubs to have won the Euroleague – with Panathinaikos BC the reigning continental champions having been crowned the best in Europe five times since 1996.

The club’s green shirt, along with a crest depicting a shamrock, has often been mistakenly adjudged to indicate an Irish link.

There is an Irish connection with the basketball section of the club, however, with Dubliner Pat Burke on the team that claimed European success in 2000, as well being around for a hat-trick of Greek League titles. On the way to their most recent success, they defeated Olympiacos Piraeus – who were kings of Europe in 1997 – in a thrilling 84-82 Final Four game in Berlin, before accounting for CSKA Moscow by the same margin in the decider.

The semi-final in Berlin was one of the most exciting basketball clashes between the clubs, with Josh Childress – the highest-paid basketball player in the world outside of the NBA having signed a €14 million net three-year contract with Olympiacos last year – missing a chance to tie the game in the final seconds. It was double joy for Panathinaikos BC – qualifying for the final and beating their greatest rivals.

Considering the intensity of the clashes between the clubs, it is ironic, perhaps, Olympiacos BC play their home matches at the 16,000-capacity Peace and Friendship Stadium.

All of the various sporting arms of the clubs enjoy a spike in their support when the Greek Classic is on the line, though not all of it is welcomed. On March 29th, 2007, supporters of Panathinaikos and Olympiacos clashed after a women’s volleyball cup tie between the clubs. It is reasonable to suggest not one of the hundreds that fought each other were fans of women’s volleyball.

The fight was prearranged, with the derby clash merely an excuse, as a women’s volleyball derby between the clubs would not automatically bring with it a heavy police presence.

When the fighting ended, a 22-year-old Panathinaikos fan, Mihalis Filopoulos, lay dead. He had been beaten with clubs, and stabbed by at least two people.

The incident caused a furore in Greece. The intensity of the rivalry had resulted in many incidents, but the unprecedented nationwide outrage sparked a large police investigation into the organised supporters scene, while all team sport events in Greece were suspended for two weeks.

When it resumed, the rivalry, if anything, had increased in intensity. And this weekend, everything is on the line again.

Panathinaikos will be looking to the international talents of Djibril Cissé, Simão, Gilberto Silva, as well as local heroes Giorgos Karagounis and Kostas Katsouranis, who have been in scintillating form in midfield and are a major reason why their country will be at next year’s World Cup finals.

Back in Greece today after last night’s Champions League clash with AZ Alkmaar, Olympiacos can also boost several Greek internationals, including defensive pairing Avraam Papadopoulos and Georgios Galitsios, alongside Sweden’s Olof Mellberg. And, like their neighbours, for raw talent, the team has looked abroad and brought in South Americans Luciano Galletti, Dudu and Diogo.

The loyalty split runs along more than different sections of the same city. Panathinaikos is centrally located in Athens and was traditionally known to be favoured among the elite classes. Roughly seven miles away, at Piraeus, the port of Athens, Olympiacos has its roots among the working class. Whether the class divide remains true – and it doesn’t – doesn’t matter. Perception is everything.

There have been recent hopes the hatred and bitterness that accompanies each derby can soon become a thing of the past. Though, given the name of the rivalry, don’t hold your breath.