Marked for Anastasios Donis
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match22 Dec 2035
Olympiacos B make home a hard place to visit
16 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Market24 Dec 2035
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Olympiacos B they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Player ratings24 Dec 2035
Successful dribbles: 21. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout24 Dec 2035
“If you cannot run for the shirt, somebody else will wear it.” No name was used and none was needed; every player in that room knew who it was for.
Match22 Dec 2035
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Marko defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
The dugout24 Dec 2035
The manager wanted a different profile for this opponent, which is a real football reason and no consolation. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
The dugout24 Dec 2035
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Olympiacos B, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad24 Dec 2035
“Nobody outside is coming to save us.” It was short, it was not comfortable, and by all accounts the Olympiacos B squad were quieter afterwards than they had been all season.
Back issues
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Match8 Dec 2035
The run at home goes on for Olympiacos B
15 matches unbeaten here. Every visiting manager is asked about it in the week before, which is precisely why it keeps going.
Market10 Dec 2035
“I have given everything here and I need a new challenge.” The request is formal, and the relationship will never be quite the same again.
The terraces10 Dec 2035
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Match8 Dec 2035
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Grigorios Lampropoulos. 1‑0 against Ilioupoli, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Player ratings10 Dec 2035
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.15, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
Player ratings10 Dec 2035
Successful dribbles: 17. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
Player ratings10 Dec 2035
Chances created: 10. Somebody has to open a door before anybody can walk through it, and he spent the afternoon opening doors.
Squad10 Dec 2035
Somebody watched every match in the division at the weekend and decided he was the best thing in any of them. A small honour, and most careers end without one.
The dugout10 Dec 2035
“I would rather say it to his face than read about it.” The meeting was requested by the player, which tells you most of what you need to know.
From our football correspondent
Triumph
Match24 Nov 2035
Olympiacos B make home a hard place to visit
14 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Market26 Nov 2035
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Olympiacos B is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Match24 Nov 2035
3 wins on the spin now, and the question has changed from whether the run ends to who ends it. Confidence like this cannot be bought; it has to be earned exactly this way.
The terraces26 Nov 2035
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Looking ahead26 Nov 2035
The big one: Chania come into view
Two sides from the top of the table, one afternoon, and a month of talk decided in ninety minutes. Olympiacos B will not use the word title this week and will not stop thinking it.
Player ratings26 Nov 2035
There is a version of this player everybody suspected was in there, and on this evidence it is. 8.08, and no argument anywhere in the ground.
The dugout26 Nov 2035
“Nobody here is above being told.” It was not said with a name attached, but the dressing room can count, and so can everybody who was listening.
The dugout26 Nov 2035
The one version of being left out a player cannot argue with, and the one he takes worst. Somebody else has been better and the team sheet says so, in public, every week until it changes.
From our football correspondent
Upbeat
Market19 Nov 2035
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Alexandros Papadopoulos will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Olympiacos B the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Market19 Nov 2035
7 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Olympiacos B money.
The dugout19 Nov 2035
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Olympiacos B, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Squad19 Nov 2035
Two hours a week with a tutor, which is the least glamorous thing at Olympiacos B and the one that decides whether a foreign signing is still here in two years.
Looking ahead19 Nov 2035
Looking ahead: Kifisia at home
A side in position 7 visits next. The result will not make anybody’s season and it could quietly break the shape of one, which is why the manager has been watching the video since Sunday.
From our football correspondent
Steady
Market7 May 2035
Yacine Adli runs his contract down
6 months remain and no agreement is close. Every week without a signature costs Olympiacos B money.
Squad7 May 2035
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Olympiacos B will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
The dugout7 May 2035
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Olympiacos B, and both men came out saying it was fine.