Olympiacos chases perfection in Crete

By: Peter Katsiris | September 26th, 2008

A trip to the island of Crete is on schedule for ‘O Thrylos’ this weekend, as Olympiakos meets OFI in a matchday four encounter. The visitors begin a string of difficult matches that have the magnitude of shaping the Super League season in Piraeus. With OFI occupying the club this weekend, a midweek visit from FC Nordsjaelland must not be a distraction for a club looking to continue its perfect start to the Super League calendar.

Olympiakos are somewhat on a roll, after triumphing in all three of their opening fixtures to put the Piraeus club at the Greek Super League summit. After a slow start to the new season, Olympiakos looks to be picking up its pace of play and progressing towards winning another title. Last week’s clinical performance at home against Panserraikos led to a comfortable 4-1. However, the ‘Eruthroleuki’ always have trouble on the road and last year’s visit to Pangkritio was too much of a close encounter — at least from a Gavroi perspective. With morale at somewhat of a high, the club will have to dent OFI’s hopes early in the game to guarantee there won’t be any slip-ups on Saturday.

Diogo Santo has begun to show his capabilities and has commenced to convert ability into action by scoring in two consecutive league games. His counterpart in attack has varied from time-to-time, but both Darko Kovacevic and Konstantinos Mitroglou have been able to once again find the proper first-team form. After being criticised for their unattractive displays in the early days of the season, both attackers have improved and look to be finding their stride once again.

Injuries continue to plague the Piraeus club after Ieroklis Stoltidis became the latest casualty of the injury bug. Captain Predrag Djordjevic remains out of action, while Didier Domi and Leonardo join him on the sidelines. The injury crisis forces manager Ernesto Valverde to shuffle his line-up that could finally include Raul Bravo, who was out of favour from the start of the pre-season.

As for the home side, the visit of the Greek Champions will be a stiff evaluation of OFI’s progress since their opening day defeat. Two thousand supporters protested at “Freedom Square” during the week after the frustration with ownership was just too much to handle. A passionate protest will look to be succeeded by a successful Saturday evening as the home side are still in search of their first win this season. Results have improved since PAOK’s visit to Crete on matchday one. Losing to their Thessaloniki visitors on that night, OFI then travelled to Nea Smyrni and Kautanzogleio to face Iraklis and Panionios respectively. A resilient effort from the Cretan club allowed the ‘Omilos’ to earn a well deserved 1-1 draw in both matches.

The same effort is expected of the club this weekend, as OFI’s supporters demand the club to return to form after years of poor finishes. Like their opponents, OFI also face injuries as Minas Pitsos is ruled out for the Olympiakos visit. A key contributor in OFI’s backline, Pitsos’ absence could leave a weakness in OFI’s roster exposed against a lethal — if active — Olympiakos attack.