Fiesta Celebrations honour Olympiacos’ finest

By: Peter Katsiris | May 12th, 2009

Pyrotechnics, a commemorative football match, and a championship celebration occupied the Giorgos Karaiskakis Stadium on Saturday night, as Olympiacos celebrated yet another domestic double with their loyal supporters.

In what is somewhat of a tradition in Piraeus nowadays, Olympiacos looked back on another golden season domestically as the club was presented with the coveted Super League trophy – their twelfth in the last thirteen years.

But while most titles are dedicated to the people in the stands, it was apparent that this championship meant a lot for the club’s familiar heroes. The likes of Predrag Djordjevic, Darko Kovacevic, Paraskevas Antas, and Christos Patsatzoglou were all given a luxurious send-off as the club applauded the quartet for their services.

Djordjevic, like his team-mates, played his final match for the ‘Eythrolefki’ against AEK Athens in the Greek Cup Final – capping a successful stint in the port city where he captained the club to all twelve of their titles in the last thirteen seasons. He hoisted the club’s recent symbol of domestic dominance – the sleek Super League trophy – to compliment a similar title he hoisted last weekend at the OAKA Spyros Louis Stadium.

Kovacevic, a compatriot of Djordjevic, was forced to end his career after doctors discovered his life was in jeopardy due to a genetic condition of high blood pressure. Completing a mandatory surgery – a coronary angioplasty – just outside the Spanish metropolis of Barcelona, Kovacevic returned to Greece where he was soon greeted by loal Olympiacos fans at the club’s Red Store just outside the stadium. Nonetheless, Saturday night’s send-pff was an appropriate display of appreciation for the Serbian striker.

Another to retire is Antzas, but unlike Kovacevic, the Greek center-back has called time on his career after collecting a new lease on life in the aftermath of his father’s death. The moe was rather foreseeable after Antzas step down from international duty for the Greek National Team after his nation’s EURO 2008 campaign.

Patsatzoglou, or ‘Patsa’ as his jersey reads. Is not ready to end his career; instead, opting to test the Cypriot market with a transfer to AC Omonia Nicosia. It will be a reunion of sorts for the Greece international, as Omonia’s bench boss is none other than former Olympiacos player and manager Takis Lemonis.

A manager, however, still remains in question back in Piraeus. Ernesto Valverde and the club failed to agree upon an extension that would keep the Spaniard on as Olympiacos coach until at least the conclusion of next season – an apparent interest in a return to Spain’s La Liga being the distinguished variable repelling Valverde.

But again the island of Cyprus appears to be the answer to Olympiacos’ needs as rumors continue to link now-resigned Anorthosis Famagusta boss Temuri Ketsbaia with the Olympiacos post. It was a breakthrough that perplexed the Piraeus fan base ahead of the fiesta, and worried the Olympiacos board ahead of the fiesta.

But their response was minimal in comparison to vocal and visual outbursts seen in recent years. The most notable fan response during the fiesta came during the club’s celebration a few days after Brazilian legend ‘abandoned the club’ as he cited financial issues made it impossible for him to stay.

Back to the future, and Olympiacos has an interesting trip to Asia slated for later this week. Scheduled to leave Athens on Monday, Olympiacos is due in Vietnam for an international friendly with the Vietnamese National Team on Thursday in historic Hanoi.