National pride on the line, as Olympiacos travels to Turkey

By: Peter Katsiris | October 23rd, 2008

Thursday night marks the opening night of the UEFA Cup Group Stage for thirty-two teams. But one match in particular will be monitored closely, as an international rivalry shifts to the club level when Olympiacos visits neighbouring Turkey for a fierce encounter with Galatasaray. Champions of their respective domestic leagues, both sides will have an extra bit of pressure as the historical rivalry between Greece and Turkey is expected to make the Ali Sami Yen Stadium a hostile environment come Thursday night.

A warm welcome is not expected for the Greek Champions, who have decided against allowing any travelling supporters – apart from nearly 200 executive tickets – for security reasons. Despite Greece and Turkey having a bloody history, the same can’t be said for Olympiacos and Turkish opponents. Thursday’s match marks only the second time Olympiacos have travelled across the Aegean Sea to Turkey; with the last visit seeing Olympiacos narrowly edged by their Thursday night opponents in front of nearly 80 000 fans at the Ataturk Olympic Stadium. The return leg produced a complete different score line as Olympiacos routed Galatasaray 3-0, thanks to a brace from Giovanni and a breakaway strike from Nery Alberto Castillo. But with those results coming in the 2003/2004 edition UEFA Champions League, Thursday’s all-important fixture is bound to be different.

Olympiacos’ recent form hints that a side who rarely wins from home is capable of a victory, but ‘O Thrylos’ were merely rescued by a brace from Luciano Galletti against Panthrakikos on the weekend. Prior results, however, proves Olympiacos have the potential to “show up” for the special occasions such as this. Derby delight came just ahead of the international as AEK Athens were defeated 2-0 at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus. On that night, the attack was fuelled was by a vibrant Olympiacos midfield. The spearhead has been Galletti in recent weeks, but if Olympiacos are to convert domestic success into European glory, more than one player will have to step into the spotlight.

Injuries have always plagued Olympiacos’ European affairs, and the ‘Eruthroleuki’ have it no different this time around. The midfield is the most plagued unit, as three of the four absentees usually hold starting roles in the middle line. Ieroklis Stoltidis is one of the notable absentees, as the former Greece international narrowly missed out on returning to fitness ahead of the fixture. Stoltidis’ usual defensive midfield partner, Dudu, is also out due to an injury he picked up three weeks ago against AEK Athens. Predrag Djordjevic marks the end of the missing midfielders, as a string of bad luck continues to haunt the Serb’s season. Leonardo is the final player not available for duty as he continues to battle a nagging injury.

For Galatasaray, this will be the third time they have encountered Greek competition in Europe – the most recent duel came in Greece as Panionios fell to the Turkish Champions 3-0 at Nea Smyrni. The Turks have had a similar season to the Greek Champions. Like the Greeks, Galatasaray crashed out of the 3rd Qualifying Round of the UEFA Champions League with a narrow 3-2 aggregrate loss to Steaua Bucharest; however, the UEFA Cup has not any more rewarding for Galatasaray. A tricky qualifying round draw pitted Galatasaray with Swiss side Bellinzona, and in the end Galatasaray escaped a tough tie with a 4-3 aggregate victory. Domestic delights have helped supporters of “Cimbom” forget their club’s trouble abroad. This weekend the Turkish Champions cruised to a 3-0 victory over challengers Trabzonspor, leaving Michael Skibbe’s side boasting plenty of confidence.

If the recent domestic results are not enough of a reason to convince the Greeks they have work to do against Galatasaray, a peek at their roster might. A busy offseason in Istanbul has seen the Turkish giants solidify its squad’s depth, thanks to reputable acquisitions such as Milan Baros, Fernando Meira, and Harry Kewell. Returning stars also provide threats, with the likes of Arda Turan and Shabani Nonda posing danger to Antonis Nikopolidis’ goal.

Although the match in Turkey headlines Group B’s ticket for Thursday, Portuguese giants SL Benfica also face a stiff test with a trip to the German capital to take on Hertha Berlin. Ukrainian side Metalist Kharkhiv will begin their group stage quest on matchday 2.

***Olympiacos named its 18-man roster earlier this week: Nikopolidis, Kovac, Pantos, A.Papadopoulos, Zewlakow, Antzas, Domi, Galitsios, Mitroglou, Patsatzoglou, Torosidis, Galletti, Oscar, Belluschi, Leto, Diogo, Mendrinos, Kovacevic.

Galatasaray vs Olympiacos - (TRAILER)
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