On 10 March 1925, Olympiacos formed from the merger of two other clubs and have since become Greece's most successful team with a record 44 league titles.
The two previous clubs, both based in Piraeus, dissolved in order to create a unified club for the area, which took the name Olympiacos Syndesmos Filathlon Piraios ("Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus") and chose red and white as their colors.
The first Greek national league began competition with the 1927-28 season and Olympiacos quickly became the country's dominant club, winning their first title in 1931 and taking five more in the next seven seasons. They have won multiple titles in each decade, including an impressive run starting in 1997 that has seen them win all but two of the league titles since then (they finished as runners-up in 2004 and 2010). They have also won a record 27 Greek Cups.
They have a strong rivalry with Panathinaikos, known as the Derby of the Eternal Enemies. Olympiacos have had the better of it, winning 80 games to 50 for Panathinaikos, with 67 draws.
On 19 January 2010, Olympiacos sacked Brazilian legend Zico only four months into his two-year contract as manager.
After starring as a playmaker for Flamengo and Brazil in the 1970s and '80s, Zico moved into management with Kashima Antlers in 1999. But he established his credentials as the manager of Japan from 2002 to 2006, winning the 2004 Asian Cup and guiding them through an impressive qualification campaign for the 2006 World Cup. He stepped down after a poor showing at the tournament itself, however.
Then came a brief but successful spell at Fenerbahçe from 2006 to 2008, followed by even shorter stints at Bunyadkor (2008) and CSKA Moscow (2009) before he moved to Olymipacos in September 2009.
At the time, only two games into the season, the team was in fourth place. Under Zico, they rose to the top of the table by the end of September and mostly remained there for the rest of the year on the strength of an undefeated run that saw them win eight of Zico's first ten games. But a loss in his eleventh, away to Aris Salonika, followed by another at home to AEK Athens, proved too much for club president Socrates Kokkalis. Even though Olympiacos got a win and a draw in their next two games, he moved to terminate Zico's contract.
Olympiacos went on to finish the season in second place, while Zico took some time off before managing Iraq from 2011 to 2012.
On 14 January 1971, goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidas was born in the Greek city of Arta. He went on to help the national team to glory in Euro 2004 while becoming their top appearances leader at his position.
He began his professional career in 1987 with his local club, Anagennisi Arta, but spent the majority of his career with Panathinaikos (1989-2004) and Olympiacos (2004-2011), winning a combined 11 league titles and nine Greek Cups. But in the summer before he moved to Olympiacos, he manned the posts for Greece during their memorable run at Euro 2004.
They opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over hosts Portugal, then slumped to a 1-1 draw with Spain and a 2-1 loss to Russia. Still, it was enough to finish second in the group and advance to the knockout round, where Greece captured the trophy with three straight shutouts over France (1-0), the Czech Republic (1-0, aet), and--in the final--Portugal (1-0). For his performance, Nikopolidis was named to the UEFA Team of the Tournament.
Nikopolidis went on to captain the national team and amassed a total of 90 caps before his retirement from international football in 2008, enough to rank him sixth on their all-time appearances list and first among goalkeepers.
On 10 March 1925, Olympiacos formed from the merger of two other clubs and have since become Greece's most successful team with a record 39 league titles.
The two previous clubs, both based in Piraeus, dissolved in order to create a unified club for the area, which took the name Olympiacos Syndesmos Filathlon Piraios ("Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus") and chose red and white as their colors.
The first Greek national league began competition with the 1927-28 season and Olympiacos quickly became the country's dominant club, winning their first title in 1931 and taking five more in the next seven seasons. They have won multiple titles in each decade, including an impressive run starting in 1997 that has seen them win all but two of the league titles since then (they finished as runners-up in 2004 and 2010). They have also won 25 Greek Cups.
They have a strong rivalry with Panathinaikos, known as the Derby of the Eternal Enemies, but Olympiacos have had the better of it, winning 58 games to 35 for Panathinaikos, with 55 draws.
On 19 January 2010, Olympiacos sacked Brazilian legend Zico only eight months into his two-year contract as manager.
After starring as a playmaker for Flamengo and Brazil in the 1970s and '80s, Zico moved into management with Kashima Antlers in 1999. But he established his credentials as the manager of Japan from 2002 to 2006, winning the 2004 Asian Cup and guiding them through an impressive qualification campaign for the 2006 World Cup. He stepped down after a poor showing at the tournament itself, however.
Then came a brief but successful spell at Fenerbahçe from 2006 to 2008, followed by even shorter stints at Bunyadkor (2008) and CSKA Moscow (2009) before he moved to Olymipacos in September 2009.
At the time, only two games into the season, the team was in fourth place. Under Zico, they rose to the top of the table by the end of September and mostly remained there for the rest of the year on the strength of an undefeated run that saw them win eight of Zico's first ten games. But a loss in his eleventh, away to Aris Salonika, followed by another at home to AEK Athens, proved too much for club president Socrates Kokkalis. Even though Olympiacos got a win and a draw in their next two games, he moved to terminate Zico's contract.
Olympiacos went on to finish the season in second place, while Zico took some time off before managing Iraq from 2011 to 2012.
On 14 January 1971, goalkeeper Antonios Nikopolidas was born in the Greek city of Arta. He went on to help the national team to glory in Euro 2004 while becoming their top appearances leader at his position.
He began his professional career in 1987 with his local club, Anagennisi Arta, but spent the majority of his career with Panathinaikos (1989-2004) and Olympiacos (2004-2011), winning a combined 11 league titles and nine Greek Cups. But in the summer before he moved to Olympiacos, he manned the posts for Greece during their memorable run at Euro 2004.
They opened the tournament with a 2-1 win over hosts Portugal, then slumped to a 1-1 draw with Spain and a 2-1 loss to Russia. Still, it was enough to finish second in the group and advance to the knockout round, where Greece captured the trophy with three straight shutouts over France (1-0), the Czech Republic (1-0, aet), and--in the final--Portugal (1-0). For his performance, Nikopolidis was named to the UEFA Team of the Tournament.
Nikopolidis went on to captain the national team and amassed a total of 90 caps before his retirement from international football in 2008, enough to rank him fifth on their all-time appearances list and first among goalkeepers.
On 3 March 1950, Brazilian playmaker and 1983 Player of the Year Arthur Antunes Coimbra, better known as "Zico," was born Rio de Janeiro. A supremely talented dribbler and finisher, the midfielder has also been nicknamed "the White Pelé," with Pelé himself saying "throughout the years, the one player that came closest to me was Zico."
He started his playing career with the youth academy of his hometown club, Flamengo, eventually signing for them professionally in 1971. He spent the majority of his career with the club, making a total of 504 appearances in all competitions, including friendlies, between 1971 and 1983. It was a tremendously successful period for the club, who won multiple trophies, including six Rio State titles and three Brazilian Championships. Their most successful year was 1981, which saw Flamengo win both the Copa Liberatadores and the Intercontinental Cup. For his role, Zico earned numerous individual accolades, including being named man of the match in the Intercontinental Cup Final for creating all three goals in Flamengo's 3-0 win over Liverpool in Tokyo's National Stadium .
In 1983, after leading Flamengo to a third Brazilian championship, Zico moved to Italy to play for Udinese. Although he got off to a promising start, notching 24 goals in his first season and being named World Soccer Magazine's 1983 Player of the Year, his scoring touch dropped off in his second season and he returned to Flamengo having failed to win any silverware with the Italian club. He made another 74 appearances for Flamengo between 1985 and 1989, bringing his career total to 731, the most of any Flamengo player. He also led them to yet another Brazilian title in 1987.
Although Zico had a distinguished international career with Brazil, earning 72 caps, he never appeared in a World Cup Final. Brazil's best finish during that time was third in the 1978 tournament.
Zico retired from playing in 1994 after time in Japan with Sumitomo Metals (1991-92) and Kashima Antlers (1992-94). He turned to management in 1999 with Kashima, but has not enjoyed the same success he had as a player. Most recently, he managed Greek club Olympiacos, signing with them 2009, but was sacked after four months.
