Most wins Olympiacos (80) | ||
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Other names Mother of all battles
Μητέρα των μαχών Locale Athens / Piraeus, Greece Teams Olympiacos,
Panathinaikos Latest meeting Olympiacos 3-0 Panathinaikos
(6 November 2016) Largest victory Panathinaikos 8–2 Olympiacos (1 June 1930) | ||
The Derby of the eternal adversaries (Greek: Ντέρμπι των αιωνίων αντιπάλων), also called Mother of all battles (Greek: Μητέρα των μαχών), is a football local derby in the Athens urban area between the most successful clubs of Greece, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos. The rivalry between the clubs and their fans is rather intense, thus this derby has always been a classic for the Greek capital, as well as the whole of Greece, the most prestigious in the country.
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Culture rivalry
The rivalry between the two top Greek clubs can be traced back to some social, cultural and regional differences. Panathinaikos, founded in 1908, comes from the centre of Athens and was considered the classic representative of the high class and old Athenean society of the Greek capital. On the other hand, Olympiacos was founded in 1925 and comes from Piraeus, the port city just on the outskirts of Athens, thus attracting supporters from the surrounding working class areas. Both cities have played a major role in Greek history since classical antiquity; Athens was regarded as the cradle of the ancient Greek civilization, taking advantage of Piraeus' strategical potential and forming a unified region with the latter. During the 20th century, Athens experienced a demographic explosion and territorial expansion coming to enclose all its suburbs, including Piraeus, in a large urban area.
These class differences between the people in the homelands of the two clubs offered further reasons for the animosity between their fans. Olympiacos' early success provided a way for the people of Piraeus to express their contempt for the wealthier classes, by which Panathinaikos was heavily supported. Furthermore, Olympiacos attracted fans from all over Greece who believed themselves to be victims of social and political unfairness. However, this kind of clash was much more pronounced in the past, as the class differences between the fanbases have faded out and the social gap that once separated the two sides has closed over the years. Nowadays, both clubs boast fanbases that represent all the social classes.
Fans' rivalry
Olympiacos and Panathinaikos are the most popular Greek clubs, with both sides having large fanbases that follow them in domestic and international matches. Football hooliganism is a very common phenomenon between their fans in recent years, featuring anything from breaking seats, fighting, fireworks and street rioting. The hatred is so intense that many violent incidents have taken place in several regions of Athens, especially before or after a derby. On 29 March 2007, Mihalis Filopoulos, a 22-year-old Panathinaikos fan, was stabbed to death at Paiania, a town close to Athens where a women's volleyball game between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos was scheduled to take place that day, during a pre-arranged clash between hooligans of the two clubs. That incident caused major upset in Greece and sparked a large police investigation into the organized supporters scene, while all team sport events in Greece were suspended for two weeks.
Football rivalry
Both clubs compete each other for the title of the most successful football club in the country, as well as the greatest Greek sports club overall. Their football departments have always been the most attractive among their fans and they have a long-standing antagonism since they first met in the fields, but the rivalry also extends into other team sports such as basketball, volleyball and water polo. Domestically, Olympiacos is the most successful football club in Greece, having won a record 76 major official titles compared to Panathinaikos' 43 titles and also being the most successful in their head-to-head fixtures. On the other hand, Panathinaikos boast of their better performance in European competitions (no Greek team has ever won a European title). Their greatest success is the participation in the 1971 European Cup Final, two semifinal appearances in the UEFA Champions League (1985, 1996) and two quarterfinal appearances in the tournament, as well (1992, 2002), while Olympiacos' best performances are their campaign to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League in 1999 and their campaign to the quarterfinals of the 1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup
Records
(Vasiliou 17', Sideris 20', 35', 62')
(Konstantinidis 29', Warzycha 32' – Alexopoulos 40' o.g., Karapialis 52', 90'+4', Anatolakis 71')
(Marangos 18', Saravakos 30', Warzycha 78')
(K. Papazoglou 15' – Papaemmanouil 23', 71' pen., 83', Lemos 42' o.g.)
, Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 1–4, Athens Olympic Stadium, 8 November 1987
(Zelilidis 22' – Michos 13' o.g., Vlachos 42', 87', Saravakos 46') and Olympiacos - Panathinaikos 0-3, Karaiskakis Stadium, 2 March 2014
(Pranic 45', Berg 68', Abeid 89')
(Kousoulakis 58', Anastopoulos 94', 115', 119' pen.)
and Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 4–0, Karaiskakis Stadium, 16 January 2008
(LuaLua 6', Torosidis 63', Kovačević 65', Núñez 80')
(Sachlikis 28' – V. Andrianopoulos 16', 68', 88', Ragos 24', Vazos 69', 70')
(Vlachos 24', Dimopoulos 52', Saravakos 57', 72')
(Charalambidis 47', 63' pen., 96' pen. – Persias 1', Anastopoulos 6')
(Alexandris 45', Kalitzakis 58' o.g. – Kapouranis 26', Donis 71', Warzycha 89' pen.)
Super League Greece (1959–60 - present)
1 Match suspended at 82nd minute (score: 3–2). Olympiacos were awarded a 2–0 win.
2 Match suspended at 82nd minute (score: 0–1). Olympiacos were awarded a 0–3 win.
3 Match suspended before the kick-off due to an outbreak of violence by Panathinaikos fans. Olympiacos were awarded a 0–3 win.
1st place play-off match - Title match
Greek Cup
1 Panathinaikos didn't show up in the match, due to a punishment because of fielding a suspended player.
• Series won: Olympiacos 19, Panathinaikos 9.
Greek League Cup
• Series won: Olympiacos 1, Panathinaikos 0.
Top scorers
1 Including League Cup games.
Penalties
Including all the Alpha Ethniki, Greek Cup and League Cup games since 1959–60.
Red cards
Including all the Alpha Ethniki, Greek Cup and League Cup games since 1959–60.