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.
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