The Cup final opposed Olympiakos to OFI Crete. A chance for Olympiakos to save face, but they played against one of the steadiest clubs outside Athens-Piraeus-Thesaloniki during the 1980s, a team perfectly capable to disturb a big club. But not this time – OFI tried, but lost 2-4.
OFI Crete lost the final and with that the chance to play in Europe again – too bad, but the chances were against them anyway: ambition was one thing, reality another.
Olympiakos saved the season by winning the Cup for 18th time. It was also winning it after considerable gap – their 17th Cup was won in 1980-81, so it was fine to get it again. But the season as whole was weak… Olympiakos made the news by buying the Hungarian star Lajos Detari from Eintracht (Frankfurt), yet, the massive transfer fee paid did not bring the desired returns. The erratic Detari perhaps was more of a problem and certainly no solution: there was no other foreigner in the squad at this time – perhaps Detari’s transfer left no money for other imports. What was envisioned as a great and dominant project with Detari in the heart of it became a great failure – a cup was fine, but still a consolation prize and actually Olympiakos had rapidly to start significant and expensive changes: it would not do to stay in the dust behind Panathinaikos.
Greece I Division
First Division. The usual suspects way above the rest, but no big clash between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos this season.
Ethnikos (Piraeus) – last with 20 points and relegated.
Ethnikos Olympiakos (Volos) – 17th with 22 points and relegated.
Apollon Kalamarias (Thesaloniki) – 16th with 27 points and relegated.
Apollon Smyrnis (Athens) – 15th with 28 points.
Ionikos – 14th with 28 points.
Levadiakos – 13th with 28 points. Penalized with 4 points deduction, though.
Panserraikos – 12th with 29 points.
Xanthi – 11th with 29 points.
Doxa (Drama) – 10th with 29 points. Doxa depended on Bulgarian imports during the 1980s and the tradition remained: aging Mikhail Valchev and Plamen Tzvetkov, formerly of Levski (Sofia), played this season.
Panionios – 9th with 30 points.
Larissa – 8th with 34 points.
Aris (Thesaloniki) – 7th with 35 points.
OFI Crete – 6th with 36 points.
Iraklis (Thesaloniki) – 5th with 39 points.
Olympiakos (Piraeus) – 4th with 45 points. Of course, Olympiakos was much stronger than most teams and there was no way to drop down the table, but it was a weak season by their standards: not a title contender.
PAOK (Thesaloniki) – 3rd with 46 points. Like Olympiakos, not a title contender.
AEK (Athens) – tried hard, but ended 3 points behind the champions: 2nd with 50 points. Coached by their former Yugoslavian star striker Dusan Bajevic, who proved to be as able a coach as he was a player, but it was a bit strange to see a team coached by prolific goal-scorer to excel in defense – AEK permitted only 18 goals in the 34 championship games in their net.
Well, hardly a news… Panathinaikos won the championship with 53 points from 21 wins, 11 ties, only 2 lost games, and 75-35 scoring record. Like the other leading clubs, Panathinaikos depended on Eastern Europeans – Olympiakos was coached by Imre Komora (Hungary), AEK by Dusan Bajevic (Yugoslavia), Panathinaikos had the greatest Bulgarian midfielder in the 1970s Christo Bonev at the helm. Young, well educated in West Germany, up and coming ambitious coach, well known in Greece, for he played there in the early 1980s. However, not for Panathinaikos, but, ironically, for their current rival AEK. Bonev depended on another Bulgarian – Christo Kolev, very well known to the coach, for Kolev was a product of the same club which made Bonev once upon a time – Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) – and it was more than co-incidence both coach and player had the same first name: Kolev was an attacking midfielder like Bonev, he was more or less discovered by Bonev and even played a bit like Bonev. Unlike Bonev, who arrived to play a bit in Greece at the end of his career, Kolev was at his prime. The other important foreigner in the team was the Polish striker Krzystztof Warzycha, a great scorer, who will be a key star of Panathinaikos for years – whether by chance of by design, Bonev had in his hands better players than the other leading Greek clubs at the moment. There were 3 more foreigners in the squad – 3 young Australians, who were somewhat an investment for the future: Lou Hristodoulou (22 years old midfielder), Chris Kalantzis (21 years, midfield), Jason Polak (21 years, midfield). The Greek descent of at least two of the trio permitted them to play as domestic players, which benefited Bonev. Of course, there were Greek stars as well and as ever – notably, Dimitris Saravakos. Between the goalposts was very young goalkeeper, Antonis Nikopolidis, barely 19 years old, who after many, many years will be European champion – who would believe it in 1989-90? For the moment, Panathinaikos had the strongest and best balanced squad and won its 15th title. Ironically or not, the battle of former AEK star players now couching the rivals ended with AEK’s loss.
Greece II Division
Greece. Ranked 17th. The usual leaders and no surprises.
Second Division. 18 teams – the top 3 promoted up, the bottom 4 relegated down.
Sparta – last with 24 points and relegated.
Niki Volos – 17th with 24 points and relegated.
Kallithea (Athens) – 16th with 25 points and relegated.
Naoussa – 15th with 30 points and relegated.
Pierikos – 14th with 33 points.
Atromitos (Athens) – 13th with 33 points. Penalized with 1 point deduction.
Diagoras (Rodos) – 12th with 33 points.
Rethymniakos – 11th with 33 points.
Veria – 10th with 33 points.
Eordaikos – 9th with 34 points.
Korinthos – 8th with 34 points.
Makedonikos (Thessaloniki) – 7th with 35 points.
Charavgiakos – 6th with 36 points.
Edessaikos – 5th with 36 points.
Kastoria – 4th with 39 points. Lost promotion by a point.
PAS Giannina – 3rd with 40 points and promoted back to top flight.
Panachaiki – 2nd with 43 points and promoted. What a roller-coaster the last few years were: first, relegation from the top league, where the club was a solid member for a long time, then barely escaped relegation from Second Division in the previous season, but now going up again.
Athinaikos (Athens) – champion with 46 points: 18 wins, 10 ties, 6 losses, 50-26. Recently, the club was performing well and finally won the Second Division championship. A great success of one of the least known clubs of Athens, which never played top league football before. But ambition paid of.
Brand new champions in their finest moment – a dream came true and perhaps Athinaikos was going to grow some grass on the their field for the debut in the First Division. Lovely and memorable season for the guys sporting yellow and red.