Olympiacos Piraeus

[Festivus]

Who is your favourite Olympiacos coach ever since you've joined our forum?

That is an easy one for me Festivus. Michel. 100%. I was stunned when he was sacked. He was stunned. He actually cried. To this day I am disgusted at what happened concerning him. I loved the way played under him.

And least favourite? Paulo bento?

Bento played around 3 teenagers per game. How can anyone hate that?

Worst was Jardim for me. Playing defensive at home against teams like Levadiakos is not acceptable - even if we got the result we needed.

Had a feeling you weren't a huge fan of Bento tbh, but I do remember you not liking Jardim much. He's a defensive coach but it seem Monaco has scored lots of goals this season.

What did you think of marco Silva?

Marco Silva - highly professional. Polite. No obvious criticism. He is a solid manager and he seems intelligent.

I forgot Vitor Pereira coached you as well lol. What about him?

Btw, now that the Euro 2016 euphoria is gone... no I don't think Santos became a good coach overnight. I wont' forget his poor job at Porto, Sporting and Benfica.

Vitor Pereira was an alfa male to the point that if he, Marco Silva, Jardim and Bento all shared the same cell - I get the feeling he would easily make Bento and Silva his bitch. Jardim would probably fight him however.

I actually liked Vitor Pereira - I felt he was a superb motivator - he was also quite arrogant and brave - which adds to the entertainment.

I spose we all see football in different ways. For example - if I only cared about results and stability - Marco Silva would be my favourite. However for me football is escapism. I like lots of goals - fights, skill etc. Emotion. So I suppose I tend to gravitate towards a Vitor Pereira type character over the other Portuguese at our club. I didn't follow what happened to Pereira after he left - but I remember his essence.

As for Santos - I never liked him as a coach. I know to many that may sound ridiculous. I watched him coach all over Greece and then the Greek national team. Never really liked the way he set out teams.

Fernando Santos at Benfica after we'd lose away games by 3-0/3-1(quite often):

"Jeez, I told the players not to concede goals. But they didn't listen to me!"

...

He actually say that?

Yes...

Plus he always waited to get fired. He'd never be humble or self-aware enough to resign from any of his clubs.

And some people in the last few years said "I wouldn't mind having Santos back at Benfica". Well I say HELL NO

Yea. A weird character. Quite religious too.

had no idea about his religion.

But seriously, coaching the big 3 Portuguese clubs and getting fired from all of them is quite a feat.

Yea Santos is a devout Catholic. Mentioned how important his faith is to him quite a few times in Greek interviews - especially how this interacts with football etc.

Come to think of it - there is a definite theme with the 4 Portuguese coaches we had - it is even noticeable with Sa Pinto who is now in his second spell at Atromitos. There is a definite Portuguese school. Quite defensive - stringent formation shapes. Everyone has their place etc and defined role. Not too much invention or risk taking.

Vitor Pereira is also insanely religious.

I don't care about anyone's faith obviously but I always found it very odd to see a manager praying or doing weird rituals in the bench instead of showing trust in his work and his players and I saw Pereira doing that in Fenerbahçe quite often.

He even did a 200 km pilgrimage to celebrate his portuguese title and not to the referees association, to the actual Fátima sanctuary. http://www.maisfutebol.iol.pt/fotos-vitor-pereira-em-peregrinacao-a-fatima

It is quite interesting - I had no idea Vitor Pereira was like that. He came across as quite a hard ass. 

I think if Greek coaches were allowed to bring icons to games they would. Something this size.



Olympiacos gets blessed or sanctified before each season. Can see Ibagaza and Michel smiling a little here. Fuster is serious as usual - he really loved the culture in Greece. Mitroglou also in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s1mT46sDBI

Pretty sure Mourinho said a couple of times before that the only thing he feared was God. I wonder if Leonardo Jardim and Marco Silva are religious as well.

Come to think of it, lots of players and referees bless themselves during games. Players tend to do it when they enter the pitch. it's mostly noticeable during substitutions. Referees seem to do it more often after they blow the final whistle.

I'm not sure if it's more related to wanting a win or hoping they don't get seriously injured on pitch. And notice how players of certain nationalities do it more often than others. I don't really see German, English or Dutch players blessing themselves often like I see Southern European players and especially Latin American ones do.

I've heard American sports teams sometimes hold prayers in the locker rooms.

How religious would you say the average Greek is, Faliro?

It is an interesting topic. I noticed every single Greek referee and linesman crosses themselves - not just at at the full time whistle but also at the half time whistle. Most Greek players cross themselves even if they receive a yellow card or miss a easy chance to score. The most hardcore religious coach was the former PAOK coach Angelos Anastasiadis but from what I can see many of them are religious. I remember being quite interested how much Dellas talked about a God after winning Euro 2004.

I agree also that the northern Europeans dont do all this most the time. I also noticed most the muslim players do that weird pretending to wash their face thing before kick-off.

I always felt Greeks were more superstitious than religious and that Greek orthodoxy was more of a national marker of Greekness and a Greek identifier than an actual belief system. However - I am not fully Greek and was not raised in a purely Greek household. I mean it was as Greek as fuck because of my mother and I was christened Greek Orthodox, but my father is an Englishman of  English/Spanish/Irish decent and quite an atheist... so all my observations on Greeks are from living with them in the summer holidays... and watching every move.. every expression - every nuance.

But thinking it about...considering nearly every Greek household has around a dozen Panagias on the walls (icons of the virgin and child) - some in the lounge - some in the bedrooms etc.. I would say they are very religious compared to say northern Europeans - with many superstitions - aware of unlucky days like Tuesday - on which day they will never get married - sign anything etc...(due to the fact Constantinople fell on a Tuesday), feeling exceptionally guilty to throw away bread - a big sin, telling crows to go away, Spitting to remove bad spirits, never falling asleep under a cypress tree.. and 100s more..
Greeks are very aware of spirits and omens. Good and bad luck - and they have 100s of traditions to protect themselves at all times. If you watch Greeks very closely (not obviously - they will get highly offended) - but out the corner of you eye - you can usually catch them doing something quite weird. Well weird to a non-Greek..

I remember watching Euro 2012 and Karagounis crossing himself when the ref didn't award a penalty after he fell in the area. It's as if he was offended by the suggestion that he had dived instead of having been legitimately fouled.

Btw, a few days ago I found this very interestingg website full of maps: http://www.atlasofeuropeanvalues.eu/new/europa-regio2.php?c2=religion&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=6&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&button=

The latest ones are from 2008 though, but still interesting nonetheless

Yea that map seems about right. Although as the muslim populations increase (they double every 10 years in the UK) - Northern Europe will become increasingly red..

yea I remember Karagounis doing that. He would also cross himself every time he got booked for diving (happened a lot - you even touch the guy and he is already flying through the air). Samaras also crossed himself if ever he was booked or a foul wasn't given. Gekas did the same a lot.

I remember sitting in the stands at the Karaiskaki and noticing a lot of fans in the cheap seats I was sitting in - were all doing various rituals to help Olympiacos win. Cancelling jinxes, prayers - various stuff - wearing lucky shirts etc.

I remember around 6 years ago I was sitting in a Greek church with my girlfriend - was showing her the architecture etc and an old woman in black came up to me - with filthy looks and verbally attacking me. Turns out I had crossed my legs while sitting down - like this:



Apparently this was insulting to the lord. Your legs have to apart. I thought that was kinda weird.

Yeah that is pretty overkill of Greek players and fans to do lol. Same for that woman to give you shit for crossing your legs.

I  remember being a kid and asking an old woman after she told me a short story "is that a real story or a biblical one?" and her answer being "everything that's written in the bible is true" lol

I remember as a kid in a village in Viotias in Greece - some days I would get bored because everyone - including all living things - cats - dogs - sheep etc would all sleep from 1pm to 5pm in the summer due to the heat. Literally the town was dead quiet and if you went out in the sun - it was around 35 degrees and upwards on the plains.. it was dangerous for your health. You immediately felt the sun smash you down. Anyways a few times I would sneak out the house and explore the town. I remember one day I ran into an old lady all in black. For some reason - probably because my Greek was non existent - or for whatever the reason - she chased me round with her bastouni (walking stick), swearing like mad and I had a feeling she thought I was a demon or something? As I grew older I was amazed at how many guys I met who grew up across Greece, who had the exact same experience with various old crazy women all dressed in black.

I'm sorry but that is one hilarious story 

All black wearing? My grandmother wore all black for a full year or perhaps even more after her husband died.

[OmarLittle]

Quique Setien would be an incredible fit for you guys. I reckon he could make Oly a contender for an Europa League!

He chose Betis over us:

http://www.espnfc.com/real-betis/story/3134238/real-betis-appoint-quique-setien-as-new-head-coach

Tough luck. Is Toral still available?

[Faliro]

Who is your favourite Olympiacos coach ever since you've joined our forum?

That is an easy one for me Festivus. Michel. 100%. I was stunned when he was sacked. He was stunned. He actually cried. To this day I am disgusted at what happened concerning him. I loved the way played under him.

And least favourite? Paulo bento?

Bento played around 3 teenagers per game. How can anyone hate that?

Worst was Jardim for me. Playing defensive at home against teams like Levadiakos is not acceptable - even if we got the result we needed.

Had a feeling you weren't a huge fan of Bento tbh, but I do remember you not liking Jardim much. He's a defensive coach but it seem Monaco has scored lots of goals this season.

What did you think of marco Silva?

Marco Silva - highly professional. Polite. No obvious criticism. He is a solid manager and he seems intelligent.

I forgot Vitor Pereira coached you as well lol. What about him?

Btw, now that the Euro 2016 euphoria is gone... no I don't think Santos became a good coach overnight. I wont' forget his poor job at Porto, Sporting and Benfica.

Vitor Pereira was an alfa male to the point that if he, Marco Silva, Jardim and Bento all shared the same cell - I get the feeling he would easily make Bento and Silva his bitch. Jardim would probably fight him however.

I actually liked Vitor Pereira - I felt he was a superb motivator - he was also quite arrogant and brave - which adds to the entertainment.

I spose we all see football in different ways. For example - if I only cared about results and stability - Marco Silva would be my favourite. However for me football is escapism. I like lots of goals - fights, skill etc. Emotion. So I suppose I tend to gravitate towards a Vitor Pereira type character over the other Portuguese at our club. I didn't follow what happened to Pereira after he left - but I remember his essence.

As for Santos - I never liked him as a coach. I know to many that may sound ridiculous. I watched him coach all over Greece and then the Greek national team. Never really liked the way he set out teams.

Fernando Santos at Benfica after we'd lose away games by 3-0/3-1(quite often):

"Jeez, I told the players not to concede goals. But they didn't listen to me!"

...

He actually say that?

Yes...

Plus he always waited to get fired. He'd never be humble or self-aware enough to resign from any of his clubs.

And some people in the last few years said "I wouldn't mind having Santos back at Benfica". Well I say HELL NO

Yea. A weird character. Quite religious too.

had no idea about his religion.

But seriously, coaching the big 3 Portuguese clubs and getting fired from all of them is quite a feat.

Yea Santos is a devout Catholic. Mentioned how important his faith is to him quite a few times in Greek interviews - especially how this interacts with football etc.

Come to think of it - there is a definite theme with the 4 Portuguese coaches we had - it is even noticeable with Sa Pinto who is now in his second spell at Atromitos. There is a definite Portuguese school. Quite defensive - stringent formation shapes. Everyone has their place etc and defined role. Not too much invention or risk taking.

Vitor Pereira is also insanely religious.

I don't care about anyone's faith obviously but I always found it very odd to see a manager praying or doing weird rituals in the bench instead of showing trust in his work and his players and I saw Pereira doing that in Fenerbahçe quite often.

He even did a 200 km pilgrimage to celebrate his portuguese title and not to the referees association, to the actual Fátima sanctuary. http://www.maisfutebol.iol.pt/fotos-vitor-pereira-em-peregrinacao-a-fatima

It is quite interesting - I had no idea Vitor Pereira was like that. He came across as quite a hard ass. 

I think if Greek coaches were allowed to bring icons to games they would. Something this size.



Olympiacos gets blessed or sanctified before each season. Can see Ibagaza and Michel smiling a little here. Fuster is serious as usual - he really loved the culture in Greece. Mitroglou also in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s1mT46sDBI

Pretty sure Mourinho said a couple of times before that the only thing he feared was God. I wonder if Leonardo Jardim and Marco Silva are religious as well.

Come to think of it, lots of players and referees bless themselves during games. Players tend to do it when they enter the pitch. it's mostly noticeable during substitutions. Referees seem to do it more often after they blow the final whistle.

I'm not sure if it's more related to wanting a win or hoping they don't get seriously injured on pitch. And notice how players of certain nationalities do it more often than others. I don't really see German, English or Dutch players blessing themselves often like I see Southern European players and especially Latin American ones do.

I've heard American sports teams sometimes hold prayers in the locker rooms.

How religious would you say the average Greek is, Faliro?

It is an interesting topic. I noticed every single Greek referee and linesman crosses themselves - not just at at the full time whistle but also at the half time whistle. Most Greek players cross themselves even if they receive a yellow card or miss a easy chance to score. The most hardcore religious coach was the former PAOK coach Angelos Anastasiadis but from what I can see many of them are religious. I remember being quite interested how much Dellas talked about a God after winning Euro 2004.

I agree also that the northern Europeans dont do all this most the time. I also noticed most the muslim players do that weird pretending to wash their face thing before kick-off.

I always felt Greeks were more superstitious than religious and that Greek orthodoxy was more of a national marker of Greekness and a Greek identifier than an actual belief system. However - I am not fully Greek and was not raised in a purely Greek household. I mean it was as Greek as fuck because of my mother and I was christened Greek Orthodox, but my father is an Englishman of  English/Spanish/Irish decent and quite an atheist... so all my observations on Greeks are from living with them in the summer holidays... and watching every move.. every expression - every nuance.

But thinking it about...considering nearly every Greek household has around a dozen Panagias on the walls (icons of the virgin and child) - some in the lounge - some in the bedrooms etc.. I would say they are very religious compared to say northern Europeans - with many superstitions - aware of unlucky days like Tuesday - on which day they will never get married - sign anything etc...(due to the fact Constantinople fell on a Tuesday), feeling exceptionally guilty to throw away bread - a big sin, telling crows to go away, Spitting to remove bad spirits, never falling asleep under a cypress tree.. and 100s more..
Greeks are very aware of spirits and omens. Good and bad luck - and they have 100s of traditions to protect themselves at all times. If you watch Greeks very closely (not obviously - they will get highly offended) - but out the corner of you eye - you can usually catch them doing something quite weird. Well weird to a non-Greek..

I remember watching Euro 2012 and Karagounis crossing himself when the ref didn't award a penalty after he fell in the area. It's as if he was offended by the suggestion that he had dived instead of having been legitimately fouled.

Btw, a few days ago I found this very interestingg website full of maps: http://www.atlasofeuropeanvalues.eu/new/europa-regio2.php?c2=religion&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=6&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&button=

The latest ones are from 2008 though, but still interesting nonetheless

Yea that map seems about right. Although as the muslim populations increase (they double every 10 years in the UK) - Northern Europe will become increasingly red..

yea I remember Karagounis doing that. He would also cross himself every time he got booked for diving (happened a lot - you even touch the guy and he is already flying through the air). Samaras also crossed himself if ever he was booked or a foul wasn't given. Gekas did the same a lot.

I remember sitting in the stands at the Karaiskaki and noticing a lot of fans in the cheap seats I was sitting in - were all doing various rituals to help Olympiacos win. Cancelling jinxes, prayers - various stuff - wearing lucky shirts etc.

I remember around 6 years ago I was sitting in a Greek church with my girlfriend - was showing her the architecture etc and an old woman in black came up to me - with filthy looks and verbally attacking me. Turns out I had crossed my legs while sitting down - like this:



Apparently this was insulting to the lord. Your legs have to apart. I thought that was kinda weird.

Yeah that is pretty overkill of Greek players and fans to do lol. Same for that woman to give you shit for crossing your legs.

I  remember being a kid and asking an old woman after she told me a short story "is that a real story or a biblical one?" and her answer being "everything that's written in the bible is true" lol

I remember as a kid in a village in Viotias in Greece - some days I would get bored because everyone - including all living things - cats - dogs - sheep etc would all sleep from 1pm to 5pm in the summer due to the heat. Literally the town was dead quiet and if you went out in the sun - it was around 35 degrees and upwards on the plains.. it was dangerous for your health. You immediately felt the sun smash you down. Anyways a few times I would sneak out the house and explore the town. I remember one day I ran into an old lady all in black. For some reason - probably because my Greek was non existent - or for whatever the reason - she chased me round with her bastouni (walking stick), swearing like mad and I had a feeling she thought I was a demon or something? As I grew older I was amazed at how many guys I met who grew up across Greece, who had the exact same experience with various old crazy women all dressed in black.

I'm sorry but that is one hilarious story 

All black wearing? My grandmother wore all black for a full year or perhaps even more after her husband died.

yea, in Greece these old women never stop wearing it if they are a widow. It is a symbol that they are sexually neutral and in mourning. Most just never stop wearing it and they become deeply religious..

And yea, this woman was mad - she was literally trying to kill me. However I could outrun her easily - but it was still really disturbing and it gave a real feeling of the old Greece. There are many old women like that - or at least I remember there used to be.

You know why Greeks are mad? One common superstition is that if you meet a priest - you should greet him by kissing the ring on his hand or just his hand. However seeing a Greek priest - just walking in the street - is bad luck. To undo this bad luck you whisper skorda (garlic in english) under your breath. But still - totally mind-blowing Greeks consider seeing a  Greek priest walking down the street is unlucky - considering it is hard to go 5 meters in most towns without seeing a Greek priest walking down the street..

[Faliro]

Quique Setien would be an incredible fit for you guys. I reckon he could make Oly a contender for an Europa League!

He chose Betis over us:

http://www.espnfc.com/real-betis/story/3134238/real-betis-appoint-quique-setien-as-new-head-coach

Tough luck. Is Toral still available?

He - like Setien - was in contact with us, but sadly he went to Valencia.

[Festivus]

Who is your favourite Olympiacos coach ever since you've joined our forum?

That is an easy one for me Festivus. Michel. 100%. I was stunned when he was sacked. He was stunned. He actually cried. To this day I am disgusted at what happened concerning him. I loved the way played under him.

And least favourite? Paulo bento?

Bento played around 3 teenagers per game. How can anyone hate that?

Worst was Jardim for me. Playing defensive at home against teams like Levadiakos is not acceptable - even if we got the result we needed.

Had a feeling you weren't a huge fan of Bento tbh, but I do remember you not liking Jardim much. He's a defensive coach but it seem Monaco has scored lots of goals this season.

What did you think of marco Silva?

Marco Silva - highly professional. Polite. No obvious criticism. He is a solid manager and he seems intelligent.

I forgot Vitor Pereira coached you as well lol. What about him?

Btw, now that the Euro 2016 euphoria is gone... no I don't think Santos became a good coach overnight. I wont' forget his poor job at Porto, Sporting and Benfica.

Vitor Pereira was an alfa male to the point that if he, Marco Silva, Jardim and Bento all shared the same cell - I get the feeling he would easily make Bento and Silva his bitch. Jardim would probably fight him however.

I actually liked Vitor Pereira - I felt he was a superb motivator - he was also quite arrogant and brave - which adds to the entertainment.

I spose we all see football in different ways. For example - if I only cared about results and stability - Marco Silva would be my favourite. However for me football is escapism. I like lots of goals - fights, skill etc. Emotion. So I suppose I tend to gravitate towards a Vitor Pereira type character over the other Portuguese at our club. I didn't follow what happened to Pereira after he left - but I remember his essence.

As for Santos - I never liked him as a coach. I know to many that may sound ridiculous. I watched him coach all over Greece and then the Greek national team. Never really liked the way he set out teams.

Fernando Santos at Benfica after we'd lose away games by 3-0/3-1(quite often):

"Jeez, I told the players not to concede goals. But they didn't listen to me!"

...

He actually say that?

Yes...

Plus he always waited to get fired. He'd never be humble or self-aware enough to resign from any of his clubs.

And some people in the last few years said "I wouldn't mind having Santos back at Benfica". Well I say HELL NO

Yea. A weird character. Quite religious too.

had no idea about his religion.

But seriously, coaching the big 3 Portuguese clubs and getting fired from all of them is quite a feat.

Yea Santos is a devout Catholic. Mentioned how important his faith is to him quite a few times in Greek interviews - especially how this interacts with football etc.

Come to think of it - there is a definite theme with the 4 Portuguese coaches we had - it is even noticeable with Sa Pinto who is now in his second spell at Atromitos. There is a definite Portuguese school. Quite defensive - stringent formation shapes. Everyone has their place etc and defined role. Not too much invention or risk taking.

Vitor Pereira is also insanely religious.

I don't care about anyone's faith obviously but I always found it very odd to see a manager praying or doing weird rituals in the bench instead of showing trust in his work and his players and I saw Pereira doing that in Fenerbahçe quite often.

He even did a 200 km pilgrimage to celebrate his portuguese title and not to the referees association, to the actual Fátima sanctuary. http://www.maisfutebol.iol.pt/fotos-vitor-pereira-em-peregrinacao-a-fatima

It is quite interesting - I had no idea Vitor Pereira was like that. He came across as quite a hard ass. 

I think if Greek coaches were allowed to bring icons to games they would. Something this size.



Olympiacos gets blessed or sanctified before each season. Can see Ibagaza and Michel smiling a little here. Fuster is serious as usual - he really loved the culture in Greece. Mitroglou also in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s1mT46sDBI

Pretty sure Mourinho said a couple of times before that the only thing he feared was God. I wonder if Leonardo Jardim and Marco Silva are religious as well.

Come to think of it, lots of players and referees bless themselves during games. Players tend to do it when they enter the pitch. it's mostly noticeable during substitutions. Referees seem to do it more often after they blow the final whistle.

I'm not sure if it's more related to wanting a win or hoping they don't get seriously injured on pitch. And notice how players of certain nationalities do it more often than others. I don't really see German, English or Dutch players blessing themselves often like I see Southern European players and especially Latin American ones do.

I've heard American sports teams sometimes hold prayers in the locker rooms.

How religious would you say the average Greek is, Faliro?

It is an interesting topic. I noticed every single Greek referee and linesman crosses themselves - not just at at the full time whistle but also at the half time whistle. Most Greek players cross themselves even if they receive a yellow card or miss a easy chance to score. The most hardcore religious coach was the former PAOK coach Angelos Anastasiadis but from what I can see many of them are religious. I remember being quite interested how much Dellas talked about a God after winning Euro 2004.

I agree also that the northern Europeans dont do all this most the time. I also noticed most the muslim players do that weird pretending to wash their face thing before kick-off.

I always felt Greeks were more superstitious than religious and that Greek orthodoxy was more of a national marker of Greekness and a Greek identifier than an actual belief system. However - I am not fully Greek and was not raised in a purely Greek household. I mean it was as Greek as fuck because of my mother and I was christened Greek Orthodox, but my father is an Englishman of  English/Spanish/Irish decent and quite an atheist... so all my observations on Greeks are from living with them in the summer holidays... and watching every move.. every expression - every nuance.

But thinking it about...considering nearly every Greek household has around a dozen Panagias on the walls (icons of the virgin and child) - some in the lounge - some in the bedrooms etc.. I would say they are very religious compared to say northern Europeans - with many superstitions - aware of unlucky days like Tuesday - on which day they will never get married - sign anything etc...(due to the fact Constantinople fell on a Tuesday), feeling exceptionally guilty to throw away bread - a big sin, telling crows to go away, Spitting to remove bad spirits, never falling asleep under a cypress tree.. and 100s more..
Greeks are very aware of spirits and omens. Good and bad luck - and they have 100s of traditions to protect themselves at all times. If you watch Greeks very closely (not obviously - they will get highly offended) - but out the corner of you eye - you can usually catch them doing something quite weird. Well weird to a non-Greek..

I remember watching Euro 2012 and Karagounis crossing himself when the ref didn't award a penalty after he fell in the area. It's as if he was offended by the suggestion that he had dived instead of having been legitimately fouled.

Btw, a few days ago I found this very interestingg website full of maps: http://www.atlasofeuropeanvalues.eu/new/europa-regio2.php?c2=religion&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=6&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&button=

The latest ones are from 2008 though, but still interesting nonetheless

Yea that map seems about right. Although as the muslim populations increase (they double every 10 years in the UK) - Northern Europe will become increasingly red..

yea I remember Karagounis doing that. He would also cross himself every time he got booked for diving (happened a lot - you even touch the guy and he is already flying through the air). Samaras also crossed himself if ever he was booked or a foul wasn't given. Gekas did the same a lot.

I remember sitting in the stands at the Karaiskaki and noticing a lot of fans in the cheap seats I was sitting in - were all doing various rituals to help Olympiacos win. Cancelling jinxes, prayers - various stuff - wearing lucky shirts etc.

I remember around 6 years ago I was sitting in a Greek church with my girlfriend - was showing her the architecture etc and an old woman in black came up to me - with filthy looks and verbally attacking me. Turns out I had crossed my legs while sitting down - like this:



Apparently this was insulting to the lord. Your legs have to apart. I thought that was kinda weird.

Yeah that is pretty overkill of Greek players and fans to do lol. Same for that woman to give you shit for crossing your legs.

I  remember being a kid and asking an old woman after she told me a short story "is that a real story or a biblical one?" and her answer being "everything that's written in the bible is true" lol

I remember as a kid in a village in Viotias in Greece - some days I would get bored because everyone - including all living things - cats - dogs - sheep etc would all sleep from 1pm to 5pm in the summer due to the heat. Literally the town was dead quiet and if you went out in the sun - it was around 35 degrees and upwards on the plains.. it was dangerous for your health. You immediately felt the sun smash you down. Anyways a few times I would sneak out the house and explore the town. I remember one day I ran into an old lady all in black. For some reason - probably because my Greek was non existent - or for whatever the reason - she chased me round with her bastouni (walking stick), swearing like mad and I had a feeling she thought I was a demon or something? As I grew older I was amazed at how many guys I met who grew up across Greece, who had the exact same experience with various old crazy women all dressed in black.

I'm sorry but that is one hilarious story 

All black wearing? My grandmother wore all black for a full year or perhaps even more after her husband died.

yea, in Greece these old women never stop wearing it if they are a widow. It is a symbol that they are sexually neutral and in mourning. Most just never stop wearing it and they become deeply religious..

And yea, this woman was mad - she was literally trying to kill me. However I could outrun her easily - but it was still really disturbing and it gave a real feeling of the old Greece. There are many old women like that - or at least I remember their used to be.

You know why Greeks are mad? One common superstition is that if you meet a priest - you should greet him by kissing the ring on his hand or just his hand. However seeing a Greek priest - just walking in the street - is bad luck. To undo this bad luck you whisper skorda (garlic in english) under your breath. But still - totally mind-blowing Greeks consider seeing a  Greek priest walking down the street is unlucky - considering it is hard to go 5 meters in most towns without seeing a Greek priest walking down the street..

In many villages you'll see old women wearing black here as well, I think. Gypsies also seem to love wearing black all the time. It's really easy to tell if someone is a gypsy by the way they dress. Btw, gypsies are hated here like in most of Europe.

Damn Greeks really are crazy

Being a priest in Greece sounds fun haha

[Faliro]

Who is your favourite Olympiacos coach ever since you've joined our forum?

That is an easy one for me Festivus. Michel. 100%. I was stunned when he was sacked. He was stunned. He actually cried. To this day I am disgusted at what happened concerning him. I loved the way played under him.

And least favourite? Paulo bento?

Bento played around 3 teenagers per game. How can anyone hate that?

Worst was Jardim for me. Playing defensive at home against teams like Levadiakos is not acceptable - even if we got the result we needed.

Had a feeling you weren't a huge fan of Bento tbh, but I do remember you not liking Jardim much. He's a defensive coach but it seem Monaco has scored lots of goals this season.

What did you think of marco Silva?

Marco Silva - highly professional. Polite. No obvious criticism. He is a solid manager and he seems intelligent.

I forgot Vitor Pereira coached you as well lol. What about him?

Btw, now that the Euro 2016 euphoria is gone... no I don't think Santos became a good coach overnight. I wont' forget his poor job at Porto, Sporting and Benfica.

Vitor Pereira was an alfa male to the point that if he, Marco Silva, Jardim and Bento all shared the same cell - I get the feeling he would easily make Bento and Silva his bitch. Jardim would probably fight him however.

I actually liked Vitor Pereira - I felt he was a superb motivator - he was also quite arrogant and brave - which adds to the entertainment.

I spose we all see football in different ways. For example - if I only cared about results and stability - Marco Silva would be my favourite. However for me football is escapism. I like lots of goals - fights, skill etc. Emotion. So I suppose I tend to gravitate towards a Vitor Pereira type character over the other Portuguese at our club. I didn't follow what happened to Pereira after he left - but I remember his essence.

As for Santos - I never liked him as a coach. I know to many that may sound ridiculous. I watched him coach all over Greece and then the Greek national team. Never really liked the way he set out teams.

Fernando Santos at Benfica after we'd lose away games by 3-0/3-1(quite often):

"Jeez, I told the players not to concede goals. But they didn't listen to me!"

...

He actually say that?

Yes...

Plus he always waited to get fired. He'd never be humble or self-aware enough to resign from any of his clubs.

And some people in the last few years said "I wouldn't mind having Santos back at Benfica". Well I say HELL NO

Yea. A weird character. Quite religious too.

had no idea about his religion.

But seriously, coaching the big 3 Portuguese clubs and getting fired from all of them is quite a feat.

Yea Santos is a devout Catholic. Mentioned how important his faith is to him quite a few times in Greek interviews - especially how this interacts with football etc.

Come to think of it - there is a definite theme with the 4 Portuguese coaches we had - it is even noticeable with Sa Pinto who is now in his second spell at Atromitos. There is a definite Portuguese school. Quite defensive - stringent formation shapes. Everyone has their place etc and defined role. Not too much invention or risk taking.

Vitor Pereira is also insanely religious.

I don't care about anyone's faith obviously but I always found it very odd to see a manager praying or doing weird rituals in the bench instead of showing trust in his work and his players and I saw Pereira doing that in Fenerbahçe quite often.

He even did a 200 km pilgrimage to celebrate his portuguese title and not to the referees association, to the actual Fátima sanctuary. http://www.maisfutebol.iol.pt/fotos-vitor-pereira-em-peregrinacao-a-fatima

It is quite interesting - I had no idea Vitor Pereira was like that. He came across as quite a hard ass. 

I think if Greek coaches were allowed to bring icons to games they would. Something this size.



Olympiacos gets blessed or sanctified before each season. Can see Ibagaza and Michel smiling a little here. Fuster is serious as usual - he really loved the culture in Greece. Mitroglou also in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0s1mT46sDBI

Pretty sure Mourinho said a couple of times before that the only thing he feared was God. I wonder if Leonardo Jardim and Marco Silva are religious as well.

Come to think of it, lots of players and referees bless themselves during games. Players tend to do it when they enter the pitch. it's mostly noticeable during substitutions. Referees seem to do it more often after they blow the final whistle.

I'm not sure if it's more related to wanting a win or hoping they don't get seriously injured on pitch. And notice how players of certain nationalities do it more often than others. I don't really see German, English or Dutch players blessing themselves often like I see Southern European players and especially Latin American ones do.

I've heard American sports teams sometimes hold prayers in the locker rooms.

How religious would you say the average Greek is, Faliro?

It is an interesting topic. I noticed every single Greek referee and linesman crosses themselves - not just at at the full time whistle but also at the half time whistle. Most Greek players cross themselves even if they receive a yellow card or miss a easy chance to score. The most hardcore religious coach was the former PAOK coach Angelos Anastasiadis but from what I can see many of them are religious. I remember being quite interested how much Dellas talked about a God after winning Euro 2004.

I agree also that the northern Europeans dont do all this most the time. I also noticed most the muslim players do that weird pretending to wash their face thing before kick-off.

I always felt Greeks were more superstitious than religious and that Greek orthodoxy was more of a national marker of Greekness and a Greek identifier than an actual belief system. However - I am not fully Greek and was not raised in a purely Greek household. I mean it was as Greek as fuck because of my mother and I was christened Greek Orthodox, but my father is an Englishman of  English/Spanish/Irish decent and quite an atheist... so all my observations on Greeks are from living with them in the summer holidays... and watching every move.. every expression - every nuance.

But thinking it about...considering nearly every Greek household has around a dozen Panagias on the walls (icons of the virgin and child) - some in the lounge - some in the bedrooms etc.. I would say they are very religious compared to say northern Europeans - with many superstitions - aware of unlucky days like Tuesday - on which day they will never get married - sign anything etc...(due to the fact Constantinople fell on a Tuesday), feeling exceptionally guilty to throw away bread - a big sin, telling crows to go away, Spitting to remove bad spirits, never falling asleep under a cypress tree.. and 100s more..
Greeks are very aware of spirits and omens. Good and bad luck - and they have 100s of traditions to protect themselves at all times. If you watch Greeks very closely (not obviously - they will get highly offended) - but out the corner of you eye - you can usually catch them doing something quite weird. Well weird to a non-Greek..

I remember watching Euro 2012 and Karagounis crossing himself when the ref didn't award a penalty after he fell in the area. It's as if he was offended by the suggestion that he had dived instead of having been legitimately fouled.

Btw, a few days ago I found this very interestingg website full of maps: http://www.atlasofeuropeanvalues.eu/new/europa-regio2.php?c2=religion&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=6&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&map%5B%5D=&button=

The latest ones are from 2008 though, but still interesting nonetheless

Yea that map seems about right. Although as the muslim populations increase (they double every 10 years in the UK) - Northern Europe will become increasingly red..

yea I remember Karagounis doing that. He would also cross himself every time he got booked for diving (happened a lot - you even touch the guy and he is already flying through the air). Samaras also crossed himself if ever he was booked or a foul wasn't given. Gekas did the same a lot.

I remember sitting in the stands at the Karaiskaki and noticing a lot of fans in the cheap seats I was sitting in - were all doing various rituals to help Olympiacos win. Cancelling jinxes, prayers - various stuff - wearing lucky shirts etc.

I remember around 6 years ago I was sitting in a Greek church with my girlfriend - was showing her the architecture etc and an old woman in black came up to me - with filthy looks and verbally attacking me. Turns out I had crossed my legs while sitting down - like this:



Apparently this was insulting to the lord. Your legs have to apart. I thought that was kinda weird.

Yeah that is pretty overkill of Greek players and fans to do lol. Same for that woman to give you shit for crossing your legs.

I  remember being a kid and asking an old woman after she told me a short story "is that a real story or a biblical one?" and her answer being "everything that's written in the bible is true" lol

I remember as a kid in a village in Viotias in Greece - some days I would get bored because everyone - including all living things - cats - dogs - sheep etc would all sleep from 1pm to 5pm in the summer due to the heat. Literally the town was dead quiet and if you went out in the sun - it was around 35 degrees and upwards on the plains.. it was dangerous for your health. You immediately felt the sun smash you down. Anyways a few times I would sneak out the house and explore the town. I remember one day I ran into an old lady all in black. For some reason - probably because my Greek was non existent - or for whatever the reason - she chased me round with her bastouni (walking stick), swearing like mad and I had a feeling she thought I was a demon or something? As I grew older I was amazed at how many guys I met who grew up across Greece, who had the exact same experience with various old crazy women all dressed in black.

I'm sorry but that is one hilarious story 

All black wearing? My grandmother wore all black for a full year or perhaps even more after her husband died.

yea, in Greece these old women never stop wearing it if they are a widow. It is a symbol that they are sexually neutral and in mourning. Most just never stop wearing it and they become deeply religious..

And yea, this woman was mad - she was literally trying to kill me. However I could outrun her easily - but it was still really disturbing and it gave a real feeling of the old Greece. There are many old women like that - or at least I remember their used to be.

You know why Greeks are mad? One common superstition is that if you meet a priest - you should greet him by kissing the ring on his hand or just his hand. However seeing a Greek priest - just walking in the street - is bad luck. To undo this bad luck you whisper skorda (garlic in english) under your breath. But still - totally mind-blowing Greeks consider seeing a  Greek priest walking down the street is unlucky - considering it is hard to go 5 meters in most towns without seeing a Greek priest walking down the street..

In many villages you'll see old women wearing black here as well, I think. Gypsies also seem to love wearing black all the time. It's really easy to tell if someone is a gypsy by the way they dress. Btw, gypsies are hated here like in most of Europe.

Damn Greeks really are crazy

Being a priest in Greece sounds fun haha

Yea being a Greek priest is really weird. It is a profession - like a policeman, a civil servant or any other job. They can get married - have kids etc and most the time do. Probably explains why the most common name in Greece is Papadopoulos (lit: son of the priest). You see priests in Greece attending football games - sometimes gambling - playing cards with people in cafes or just chatting in coffee bars etc.. You also can see them down the gun range in Crete firing weapons. In the past they would actually fight Turks in battles. They are very versatile. They even dance when the mood strikes..



Concerning Gypsies - they are not popular although one or two have made it into the mainstream - like that great player we had - Patsatzoglou and one or two singers. I remember as a kid - no one would even go near gypsies and Greeks considered them like non-humans. The feeling seemed mutual. In fact this Greek saying sums it up: κάτι τρέχει στα γύφτικα lit: There is trouble in the gypsy village. This saying is used in Greece to express you not giving a shit about something. So for example.

A: Hey did you hear Taylor Swift has a knew boyfriend?
B: pfff.. There is trouble in the gypsy village.. (lit therefore: who gives a shit?).



Gypsies would dress poor. The ones who dressed fucking weird were the Albanians. They always look like they are from another planet. Fake Armani T shirt, fake Ray-Ban Aviators - with weird tracksuit trousers with a red stripe down the side - the kind you would expect a 5 year old to wear. They are ready to kill anyone and highly aggressive but you always suspect their bed sheets are these..



Of course not an official care-bear bedsheet - but a fake one.. with weirdly drawn bears.. with of course a broken Beretta handgun under the bed with the wrong amo and some badly manufactured drugs hidden in their pillow - and perhaps a weird muslim prayer on their wall.. what a charming race..

Poor and bad taste..

[Festivus]

Lol @ the image of the priest and the other kid breakdancing or wtv the hell type of dance that is

Priest cannot get legally married here. The catholic church doesn't allow it.

Most people have very negative experiences with gypsies. Everyone who had gypsy classmates in school says they all stole, had terrible grades(being 17 years old in 6th grade) and would summon their whole family/clan if you beat one in a fight or if a teacher yelled at one.

Gypsies usually live in poor ghettos and tend to hate black people and vice-versa.

I believe, deep down, lots of people would sign a petition asking for a final solution of the Romani people.

[Faliro]

Lol @ the image of the priest and the other kid breakdancing or wtv the hell type of dance that is

Priest cannot get legally married here. The catholic church doesn't allow it.

Most people have very negative experiences with gypsies. Everyone who had gypsy classmates in school says they all stole, had terrible grades(being 17 years old in 6th grade) and would summon their whole family/clan if you beat one in a fight or if a teacher yelled at one.

Gypsies usually live in poor ghettos and tend to hate black people and vice-versa.

I believe, deep down, lots of people would sign a petition asking for a final solution of the Romani people.

The Portuguese gypsies seem quite hardcore when compared to the Greeks ones. They seem almost like a mafia clan.

The Greek ones have been in Greece for centuries but still - when they want to build a house - the first components they look for are bits of plastic they find on the side of the road.

[Festivus]

Lol @ the image of the priest and the other kid breakdancing or wtv the hell type of dance that is

Priest cannot get legally married here. The catholic church doesn't allow it.

Most people have very negative experiences with gypsies. Everyone who had gypsy classmates in school says they all stole, had terrible grades(being 17 years old in 6th grade) and would summon their whole family/clan if you beat one in a fight or if a teacher yelled at one.

Gypsies usually live in poor ghettos and tend to hate black people and vice-versa.

I believe, deep down, lots of people would sign a petition asking for a final solution of the Romani people.

The Portuguese gypsies seem quite hardcore when compared to the Greeks ones. They seem almost like a mafia clan.

The Greek ones have been in Greece for centuries but still - when they want to build a house - the first components they look for are bits of plastic they find on the side of the road.

Yeah kinda. Not saying there aren't good ones, but everyone I know seems to have had negative experiences with them. And their stories/experiences seem to be pretty coherent.

[Faliro]

Lol @ the image of the priest and the other kid breakdancing or wtv the hell type of dance that is

Priest cannot get legally married here. The catholic church doesn't allow it.

Most people have very negative experiences with gypsies. Everyone who had gypsy classmates in school says they all stole, had terrible grades(being 17 years old in 6th grade) and would summon their whole family/clan if you beat one in a fight or if a teacher yelled at one.

Gypsies usually live in poor ghettos and tend to hate black people and vice-versa.

I believe, deep down, lots of people would sign a petition asking for a final solution of the Romani people.

The Portuguese gypsies seem quite hardcore when compared to the Greeks ones. They seem almost like a mafia clan.

The Greek ones have been in Greece for centuries but still - when they want to build a house - the first components they look for are bits of plastic they find on the side of the road.

Yeah kinda. Not saying there aren't good ones, but everyone I know seems to have had negative experiences with them. And their stories/experiences seem to be pretty coherent.

Yea to use an English phrase - gypsies don't exactly shower themselves in glory.

What do these names mean to you in terms of quality?

Mauricio Pellegrino
Javi Gracia

[Festivus]

Lol @ the image of the priest and the other kid breakdancing or wtv the hell type of dance that is

Priest cannot get legally married here. The catholic church doesn't allow it.

Most people have very negative experiences with gypsies. Everyone who had gypsy classmates in school says they all stole, had terrible grades(being 17 years old in 6th grade) and would summon their whole family/clan if you beat one in a fight or if a teacher yelled at one.

Gypsies usually live in poor ghettos and tend to hate black people and vice-versa.

I believe, deep down, lots of people would sign a petition asking for a final solution of the Romani people.

The Portuguese gypsies seem quite hardcore when compared to the Greeks ones. They seem almost like a mafia clan.

The Greek ones have been in Greece for centuries but still - when they want to build a house - the first components they look for are bits of plastic they find on the side of the road.

Yeah kinda. Not saying there aren't good ones, but everyone I know seems to have had negative experiences with them. And their stories/experiences seem to be pretty coherent.

Yea to use an English phrase - gypsies don't exactly shower themselves in glory.

What do these names mean to you in terms of quality?

Mauricio Pellegrino
Javi Gracia

Javi was an alright player for Benfica but we could see he had his limitations. Plus he'd tackle a bit too hard at times. I'd rank Matic and Fejsa above him.

Pellegrino? Huh I haven't been following his career as a manager. That''s kind of a random question.

[Faliro]

Lol @ the image of the priest and the other kid breakdancing or wtv the hell type of dance that is

Priest cannot get legally married here. The catholic church doesn't allow it.

Most people have very negative experiences with gypsies. Everyone who had gypsy classmates in school says they all stole, had terrible grades(being 17 years old in 6th grade) and would summon their whole family/clan if you beat one in a fight or if a teacher yelled at one.

Gypsies usually live in poor ghettos and tend to hate black people and vice-versa.

I believe, deep down, lots of people would sign a petition asking for a final solution of the Romani people.

The Portuguese gypsies seem quite hardcore when compared to the Greeks ones. They seem almost like a mafia clan.

The Greek ones have been in Greece for centuries but still - when they want to build a house - the first components they look for are bits of plastic they find on the side of the road.

Yeah kinda. Not saying there aren't good ones, but everyone I know seems to have had negative experiences with them. And their stories/experiences seem to be pretty coherent.

Yea to use an English phrase - gypsies don't exactly shower themselves in glory.

What do these names mean to you in terms of quality?

Mauricio Pellegrino
Javi Gracia

Javi was an alright player for Benfica but we could see he had his limitations. Plus he'd tackle a bit too hard at times. I'd rank Matic and Fejsa above him.

Pellegrino? Huh I haven't been following his career as a manager. That''s kind of a random question.

I said Javi Gracia, not Javi Garcia. 

[Covenant]

Lol @ the image of the priest and the other kid breakdancing or wtv the hell type of dance that is

Priest cannot get legally married here. The catholic church doesn't allow it.

Most people have very negative experiences with gypsies. Everyone who had gypsy classmates in school says they all stole, had terrible grades(being 17 years old in 6th grade) and would summon their whole family/clan if you beat one in a fight or if a teacher yelled at one.

Gypsies usually live in poor ghettos and tend to hate black people and vice-versa.

I believe, deep down, lots of people would sign a petition asking for a final solution of the Romani people.

The Portuguese gypsies seem quite hardcore when compared to the Greeks ones. They seem almost like a mafia clan.

The Greek ones have been in Greece for centuries but still - when they want to build a house - the first components they look for are bits of plastic they find on the side of the road.

Yeah kinda. Not saying there aren't good ones, but everyone I know seems to have had negative experiences with them. And their stories/experiences seem to be pretty coherent.

Yea to use an English phrase - gypsies don't exactly shower themselves in glory.

What do these names mean to you in terms of quality?

Mauricio Pellegrino
Javi Gracia

Javi was an alright player for Benfica but we could see he had his limitations. Plus he'd tackle a bit too hard at times. I'd rank Matic and Fejsa above him.

Pellegrino? Huh I haven't been following his career as a manager. That''s kind of a random question.

Javi Garcia, the coach I guess.

[Bryan.]

Vitor Pereira just relegated 1860 Munchen to the 3.Liga.

[Faliro]

Vitor Pereira just relegated 1860 Munchen to the 3.Liga.

Pedro Martins being mentioned for us..
Waiting on Pellegrino.
Happy with Lemonis.

EDIT: Pellegrino just said no. It is now between Pedro Martins and Razvan Lucescu - neither of which are better than Lemonis imo.