Olympiakos Volou FC
Encyclopedia
Olympiakos Volou Football Club , is a Greek
football club based in the city of Volos
. It is currently inactive and does not compete in any professional league, due to the 2011 match fixing scandal that caused the teams complete elimination.
.
In 1947 Olympiakos wins its first Thessalian championship. The year 1954 is very successful for the team. Furthermore Olympiakos make a great win over Doxa Dramas
in an away game and Olympiakos becomes Panprovincional champion of Northern Greece and wins its ticket to the Panhellenic Championship
, where they take the decent 5th place.
The 1955 year then became a notable one in the club history: while the city of Volos was damaged by some earthquakes, Olympiakos Volou had a scheduled Greek Cup
match to play in Athens against AEK
for the Greek Cup in Athens
. Due to the city being heavily damaged and due to lack of media information, it seemed Olympiakos Volou would not have managed to get to Athens in time. However, the team ultimately managed to arrive in the Greek capital city and even eliminated AEK by beating them 0–1 and go further to the quarter-finals.
In 1960 the team reached the round of 16 in Greek Cup. In 1961 it merged with local club Ethnikos Volos, with Ethnikos-Olympiakos Volou being the new denomination, despite this the team is still commonly referred as Olympiakos Volou. In the same year Olympiakos wins the Central Greece championship and had the opportunity to win the promotion in A' Ethniki through a play-off match, whict the team lost.
In 1962–63 Olympiakos completed the B' Ethniki league in a remarkable fifth place. In the following season the team ended first, together with Trikala
, but lost the promotion once again in a play-off match. This was followed by a fourth and a second place in the two next seasons, before Olympiakos finally managed to get promoted to the top flight in 1966, after winning the Panthessalian championship and then defeating Panelefsiniakos and Kavala on play-offs.
The first top flight campaign for the club was however not successful, as Olympiakos was relegated in B Ethniki. Despite this, the club promptly managed to recover from that, and get back to the top flight in the very next season after winning Veria
in a two-legged play-off. The same year Olympiakos reached the Greek Cup round of 16. Another relegation followed in 1968, after the club ended the league in 16th place.
In the year 1970 Olympiakos won again B' Ethniki and returned in the A' Ethniki for the third time. In 1971–72 the club finished in 13th place its top flight campaign, a result confimed also in 1972–73 ends in the 13th place.
In the following season, the club ended in 14th place, which would normally have allowed Olympiakos Volos to stay in the first division; nevertheless the Greek federation decided to reduce the number of top flight teams, thus being relegated to the second tier. In the year 1975–76 Olympiakos ended in third place and even eighth the next season, the latter being the worst placement for the club from the creation of B' Ethniki. In 1977 the club had a much more impressive season, losing the promotion only in the final game to Larissa. Third and sixth place in the two following seasons preceded a 1980 campaign ended in a runner-up placement, only behind Iraklis Thessaloniki; a result that was confirmed the following season, where Olympiakos Volou lost promotion to Makedonikos
, another Thessalonicean club.
After a fifth place in 1983–84, Olympiakos Volou were relegated in Gama Ethniki in 1984–85 after 21 years in the two Greek professional divisions club after another Volos-based team, Niki Volou
, lost a game against Veria which saved the Imathian team from relegation at Olympiakos Volou place and then a big competition created between the two local teams.
The club returned to the second tier only 1986, and even returned to the top flight in 1988. In 1988–1989, the team was strengthened with the addition of Hungarian scorer Imre Boda
, who won the league topscorer title, being instrumental in keeping his side into the top flight, ending season in 11th place. Olympiakos returned to the second tier only the following season, ending the 1989–90 season in 17th place. In the 1990s, the club did not achieve any notable success, being relegated once again to third division and staying there for four seasons before to return to the second tier in 1998–1999.
In 2000 Olympiakos made good appearances but due to some unlucky results at the end of the year, it only ended up in seventh place, which was followed by an eighth place the next year. At the same time the club administration began facing financial problems and started collapsing. As a result of that, the club had to start from fourth division, a first time in such a lower tier for the club in 2003. It promoted to Gamma Ethniki in 2005–2006 and Beta Etniki in 2006–2007 season.
Olympiakos finally became champion of Beta Ethniki two years later, in the 2009–2010 season, and returned to the top league after an absence of 20 years. The club had a good first season and finished 5th, qualifying for the Europa League for the first time in their history.
On July 28, 2011, Olympiacos Volou was relegated to the Football League due to the ongoing match fixing scandal in Greece
. They stayed at the Superleague Greece after an appeal though, with 10 points deducted. They were also excluded from the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League play-off round. On 23 August, however, the Greek Professional Sports Committee (EEA) stripped both Kavala and Olympiakos from their professional licence and demoted them to the amateur Delta Ethniki.
Unlike Kavala, which applied for participation in 2011-12 Delta Ethniki, Olympiakos Volou did not, waiting for a decision on their appeal against the EEA. They claim the EEA's decision has been a violation of the self-administration of football, and on 4 November 2011 they appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
in Lausanne
.
{|
|valign="top" width=33%|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left; font-size:95%"
! Season
! Competition
! Round
! Club
! Home
! Away
|-
|rowspan=3|2011–12
|rowspan=3|Europa League
|style="background-color:#CFC"|Q2
|style="background-color:#CFC"| Rad
|style="background-color:#CFC"|1–1
|style="background-color:#CFC"|1–0
|-
|style="background-color:#CFC"|Q3
|style="background-color:#CFC"|
Differdange 03
|style="background-color:#CFC"|3-0
|style="background-color:#CFC"|3-0
|-
|PO
|
PSG
|colspan="2"|Excluded due to match-fixing
|}
shooting club, near the river of Anavros
. The club tried to buy this area without success.
In 1968 the club moved to EAK Volou
which has a capacity of 9,000 spectators. In 2010–11 season Olympiakos Volou moved to Panthessaliko Stadium
which has a capacity of 22.700 seats.
The club owned a training football ground in Alli Meria Volou which was confiscated by the state due to debts. Today, relieved from the past's debts and thanks to new property, constructed a new training center in Volos' suburb of Aisonia
.
(first scorer in Greek top division with the club, Hungarian international
) Vasilis Botinos (12 games with Greece
) Vasilis Karaiskos Giwrgos Karamihalos Paschalis Seretis
Takis Synetopoulos (17 games with Greece) Vasilis Vasilakos (4 games with Greece)
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
football club based in the city of Volos
Volos
Volos is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about 326 km north of Athens and 215 km south of Thessaloniki...
. It is currently inactive and does not compete in any professional league, due to the 2011 match fixing scandal that caused the teams complete elimination.
History
In 1938 Olympiakos achieves the biggest distinction made from a provincial team at the time, succeeding to enter the final eight in Greek Football CupGreek football Cup
The Greek Football Cup , commonly known as the Greek Cup or for sponsorship reasons the Football Cup OPAP, is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation....
.
In 1947 Olympiakos wins its first Thessalian championship. The year 1954 is very successful for the team. Furthermore Olympiakos make a great win over Doxa Dramas
Doxa Dramas
Doxa Drama F.C. is a football club based in the city of Drama, Greece.The club currently competes in the Superleague Greece.-History:During World War I, near the city of Drama, Macedonia, a team of English soldiers who played football regularly in their camp inspired the local Greek population to...
in an away game and Olympiakos becomes Panprovincional champion of Northern Greece and wins its ticket to the Panhellenic Championship
Super League Greece
The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
, where they take the decent 5th place.
The 1955 year then became a notable one in the club history: while the city of Volos was damaged by some earthquakes, Olympiakos Volou had a scheduled Greek Cup
Greek football Cup
The Greek Football Cup , commonly known as the Greek Cup or for sponsorship reasons the Football Cup OPAP, is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation....
match to play in Athens against AEK
AEK
AEK may refer to:*Apple Extended Keyboard, a computer keyboard*Athletic Union of Constantinople, also known as AEK Athens, a sports club based in Athens, Greece*AEK Athens F.C., an association football club based in Athens, Greece...
for the Greek Cup in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. Due to the city being heavily damaged and due to lack of media information, it seemed Olympiakos Volou would not have managed to get to Athens in time. However, the team ultimately managed to arrive in the Greek capital city and even eliminated AEK by beating them 0–1 and go further to the quarter-finals.
In 1960 the team reached the round of 16 in Greek Cup. In 1961 it merged with local club Ethnikos Volos, with Ethnikos-Olympiakos Volou being the new denomination, despite this the team is still commonly referred as Olympiakos Volou. In the same year Olympiakos wins the Central Greece championship and had the opportunity to win the promotion in A' Ethniki through a play-off match, whict the team lost.
In 1962–63 Olympiakos completed the B' Ethniki league in a remarkable fifth place. In the following season the team ended first, together with Trikala
Trikala F.C.
Trikala F.C., or Athlitikos Omilos Trikalon , are a professional football club based in the city of Trikala, in central Greece.-History:The club was formed in 1963 from the merger of two rival Trikala football clubs, Achilleas of Trikala and Α.Ε.Τ...
, but lost the promotion once again in a play-off match. This was followed by a fourth and a second place in the two next seasons, before Olympiakos finally managed to get promoted to the top flight in 1966, after winning the Panthessalian championship and then defeating Panelefsiniakos and Kavala on play-offs.
The first top flight campaign for the club was however not successful, as Olympiakos was relegated in B Ethniki. Despite this, the club promptly managed to recover from that, and get back to the top flight in the very next season after winning Veria
Veria F.C.
Veria FC is a football club based in Veroia, Imathia, Greece. Veria FC was founded in 1960 when two local teams merged. Their nicknames are "Queen of the North" and "Rossoblu". They played in Alpha Ethniki at last for the 2007-2008 season and relegated twice in two seasons and found in Gamma Ethniki...
in a two-legged play-off. The same year Olympiakos reached the Greek Cup round of 16. Another relegation followed in 1968, after the club ended the league in 16th place.
In the year 1970 Olympiakos won again B' Ethniki and returned in the A' Ethniki for the third time. In 1971–72 the club finished in 13th place its top flight campaign, a result confimed also in 1972–73 ends in the 13th place.
In the following season, the club ended in 14th place, which would normally have allowed Olympiakos Volos to stay in the first division; nevertheless the Greek federation decided to reduce the number of top flight teams, thus being relegated to the second tier. In the year 1975–76 Olympiakos ended in third place and even eighth the next season, the latter being the worst placement for the club from the creation of B' Ethniki. In 1977 the club had a much more impressive season, losing the promotion only in the final game to Larissa. Third and sixth place in the two following seasons preceded a 1980 campaign ended in a runner-up placement, only behind Iraklis Thessaloniki; a result that was confirmed the following season, where Olympiakos Volou lost promotion to Makedonikos
Makedonikos BC
Makedonikos B.C. is a Greek professional basketball club. The club is located in Neapoli, Thessaloniki , Greece. The club was founded in the year 1928.-History:...
, another Thessalonicean club.
After a fifth place in 1983–84, Olympiakos Volou were relegated in Gama Ethniki in 1984–85 after 21 years in the two Greek professional divisions club after another Volos-based team, Niki Volou
Niki Volos F.C.
Niki Volou is a Greek football club based in the city of Nea Ionia, in the region of Magnesia.The club currently competes in the Football League 2, the third tier of Greek football.-Colours and Crest:...
, lost a game against Veria which saved the Imathian team from relegation at Olympiakos Volou place and then a big competition created between the two local teams.
The club returned to the second tier only 1986, and even returned to the top flight in 1988. In 1988–1989, the team was strengthened with the addition of Hungarian scorer Imre Boda
Imre Boda
Imre Boda is a retired Hungarian international footballer, who played as a forward.-Club career:Boda began playing youth football with MTK Budapest FC. He would join the senior team in 1980, and make 190 league appearances for the club...
, who won the league topscorer title, being instrumental in keeping his side into the top flight, ending season in 11th place. Olympiakos returned to the second tier only the following season, ending the 1989–90 season in 17th place. In the 1990s, the club did not achieve any notable success, being relegated once again to third division and staying there for four seasons before to return to the second tier in 1998–1999.
In 2000 Olympiakos made good appearances but due to some unlucky results at the end of the year, it only ended up in seventh place, which was followed by an eighth place the next year. At the same time the club administration began facing financial problems and started collapsing. As a result of that, the club had to start from fourth division, a first time in such a lower tier for the club in 2003. It promoted to Gamma Ethniki in 2005–2006 and Beta Etniki in 2006–2007 season.
Olympiakos finally became champion of Beta Ethniki two years later, in the 2009–2010 season, and returned to the top league after an absence of 20 years. The club had a good first season and finished 5th, qualifying for the Europa League for the first time in their history.
On July 28, 2011, Olympiacos Volou was relegated to the Football League due to the ongoing match fixing scandal in Greece
Koriopolis
The Koriopolis is the name given by the Greek press for a match fixing scandal in Greek football that came to light in June 2011. The investigation centres around offences including illegal gambling, fraud, extortion and money laundering....
. They stayed at the Superleague Greece after an appeal though, with 10 points deducted. They were also excluded from the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League play-off round. On 23 August, however, the Greek Professional Sports Committee (EEA) stripped both Kavala and Olympiakos from their professional licence and demoted them to the amateur Delta Ethniki.
Unlike Kavala, which applied for participation in 2011-12 Delta Ethniki, Olympiakos Volou did not, waiting for a decision on their appeal against the EEA. They claim the EEA's decision has been a violation of the self-administration of football, and on 4 November 2011 they appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport
Court of Arbitration for Sport
The Court of Arbitration for Sport is an international arbitration body set up to settle disputes related to sport. Its headquarters are in Lausanne and its courts are located in New York, Sydney and Lausanne, Switzerland...
in Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
.
Honours
- Beta EthnikiBeta EthnikiFootball League, former Beta Ethniki, is the second highest professional football league in Greece.-History:In its first years, the system of conduct was very intriguing. It began in 1954 as regional championship, separated in two groups, North and South. Then, the participating teams were the...
: 1961–62, 1966–67, 1970–71, 2009–10 - Gamma EthnikiGamma EthnikiFootball League 2, formerly known as Gamma Ethniki, is the third highest professional football league in Greece.-History:It began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 1983 it was changed to professional...
: 1985–86, 1998–99 - Pan-provincial Championship: 1954–55
European Cup History
- Qualified for the first time in history
- Q = Qualifying
- PO = Play-Off
{|
|valign="top" width=33%|
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: left; font-size:95%"
! Season
! Competition
! Round
! Club
! Home
! Away
|-
|rowspan=3|2011–12
|rowspan=3|Europa League
|style="background-color:#CFC"|Q2
|style="background-color:#CFC"| Rad
FK Rad
FK Rad is a football club from Belgrade, Serbia. It plays at Stadion Kralj Petar I, which is located in the southern part of the city's Banjica neighbourhood....
|style="background-color:#CFC"|1–1
|style="background-color:#CFC"|1–0
|-
|style="background-color:#CFC"|Q3
|style="background-color:#CFC"|
Differdange 03FC Differdange 03
Football Club Differdange 03 is a football club, based in Differdange, in south-western Luxembourg.-History:Differdange 03 was formed in 2003 as an amalgam of two clubs from the city of Differdange: FA Red Boys Differdange and AS Differdange...
|style="background-color:#CFC"|3-0
|style="background-color:#CFC"|3-0
|-
|PO
|
PSG|colspan="2"|Excluded due to match-fixing
|}
Facilities
From the early years until 1968 Olympiakos Volou was playing in the field of VolosVolos
Volos is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about 326 km north of Athens and 215 km south of Thessaloniki...
shooting club, near the river of Anavros
Anavros
The River Anavros is a torrent near the ancient city of Iolkos , flowing from Mount Pelion into the Pagasetic Gulf....
. The club tried to buy this area without success.
In 1968 the club moved to EAK Volou
Volos Municipal Stadium
Volos Municipal Stadium is a sports stadium in Volos, Greece. It was the homeground of the local footbal club Olympiacos until the team moved to the new Panthessaliko Stadium in 2006. The stadium was renovated in 2004 since it was one of the Olympic Training Venues of the 2004 Summer Olympic Games....
which has a capacity of 9,000 spectators. In 2010–11 season Olympiakos Volou moved to Panthessaliko Stadium
Panthessaliko Stadium
Panthessaliko Stadium is a stadium located at Volos, Greece. The stadium was the site of football matches during the 2004 Summer Olympics. It was officially opened on July 30, 2004 and has a capacity of 22,700 seats, though only 21,100 seats were made publicly available for the Olympic matches...
which has a capacity of 22.700 seats.
The club owned a training football ground in Alli Meria Volou which was confiscated by the state due to debts. Today, relieved from the past's debts and thanks to new property, constructed a new training center in Volos' suburb of Aisonia
Aisonia
Aisonia is a former municipality in Magnesia, Thessaly, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Volos, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 3,031...
.
Notable former players
Imre BodaImre Boda
Imre Boda is a retired Hungarian international footballer, who played as a forward.-Club career:Boda began playing youth football with MTK Budapest FC. He would join the senior team in 1980, and make 190 league appearances for the club...
(first scorer in Greek top division with the club, Hungarian international
Hungary national football team
The Hungary national football team represents Hungary in international football and is controlled by the Hungarian Football Federation....
) Vasilis Botinos (12 games with Greece
Greece national football team
The Greece national football team represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos...
) Vasilis Karaiskos Giwrgos Karamihalos Paschalis Seretis
Paschalis Seretis
-External links: *...
Takis Synetopoulos (17 games with Greece) Vasilis Vasilakos (4 games with Greece)