They say youth shows the way – the way of hope, dreams, of effort and determination. Without fear of the arduous, the unknown, the unattainable. When you add the elements of charisma and abundant talent; when you nurture them in an environment envied even by top-flight clubs in Europe, and imbue them with a winner’s mentality and a thirst for success, then the moment arrives when the dream becomes reality, causing Europe to praise the powerhouse that emerged from Olympiacos’ youth academies.
Olympiacos’ U19 team provided an early and magnificent gift for the club’s 100-year anniversary. At the same time, the U19 team showed the way for the men’s team – Olympiacos FC – who a few weeks after the miracle in Nyon, which brought to Piraeus its first-ever European football trophy – the UEFA Youth League – delivered the Europa Conference League championship. Therefore, Olympiacos became the first team in UEFA history to win two European titles in one season. What a beautiful story…
This was a football story that no one, from the beginning of the journey to its finale and the European conquest, could have imagined. No one?
Not exactly. There was one individual, when everyone else felt that qualifying for the UEFA Youth League round of “16” against Inter Milan at the Karaiskakis Stadium was a major feat, who for the first time defined what the major goal was, taking everyone by surprise:
“After what we have seen, it won’t be a miracle or something that’s so difficult. You have nothing to envy from anyone. I honestly believe this. You deserve to go further,” Evangelos Marinakis said at the time, among others. That’s how, in a somewhat magically fashion, the journey of Olympiacos’ youngsters took off.
Born winners and made for the top, Olympiacos’ young players conquered, while remaining undefeated, a championship that is the youth equivalent to the Champions League: The UEFA Youth League.
A blessed group
The course of the most successful group of players to emerge from the Reds’ academies didn’t merely start in October 2023, when Olympiacos eliminated Italian champions Lecce in the first round of the UEFA Youth League with two victories (3-1, 3-1). The course began several years earlier, when one of the main goals of the Marinakis management of Olympiacos was to create an outstanding academy system that would produce complete players who could rise to play on the pro team.
And this was achieved, with the investment of millions of euros, by creating a top football club that trusts its ideas and program, and which has absolutely nothing to envy from the best teams on the planet. With solid steps, a specific program and the right people in the right positions, the coterie of Kostoulas, Mouzakitis, Koutsidis, Papakanellos, Bakoulas, Pnevmonidis, Sina, Alafakis, Koutsogoulas and the rest of the “golden babes” who, under the watch of manager Sotiris Sylaidopoulos, made a definitive “step up” – so much so that it left Europe speechless when they saw the youngsters from Piraeus force the continent’s football giants bow before their superiority…and the scouts of top European clubs scrambling to learn a smattering of Greek.
The Italians, the French, Uli Hoeneß and Tuchel
It was in Sylaidopoulos’ hands that the “puzzle” of the Olympiacos U19 team, which won the admiration of all of Europe, was assembled with patience and precision. First to be downed was Lecce, with Gabala easily defeated afterwards with two victories, 3-0, 4-0.
In the round of “32” Olympiacos faced Inter Milan, overcoming the latter in a penalty shootout (6-5) after a 0-0 draw at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium. An incredible come-back came against Lens followed, with Olympiacos fighting back from 0-2 at home to draw 2-2 and achieving qualification through another penalty shootout. History had already been written, as the win marked the first time that a Greek team had made it to the quarterfinals of the specific competition. However, this team was still not satisfied.
In Munich, Olympiacos gave their most convincing performance against a very expensive Bayern side, which featured players on its roster that had cost millions to acquire.
Uli Hoeneß and Thomas Tuchel, who sat down to watch their Bayern youngsters, were left speechless by the performance of the Greek side, which posted an emphatic 3-1 victory to continue the dream by “punching” their ticket for the semi-finals of Nyon. In was in the Swiss city, the “heart” of UEFA, which was destined to “beat” red and white in mid-April, where everyone was talking about Marinakis’ awesome Olympiacos, given that the pro team had just qualified for the Europa Conference League’s semi-finals.
By God, what a show…
Olympiacos’ U19 team downed Nantes in another penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw in regulation time, with the Reds celebrating their qualification to the final.
And, by God, what a show the final was…
The football world in Europe was witnessing the greatness of Olympiacos as Sylaidopoulos’ “wunderkinds” pounced on Italian football giant Milan with a tremendous 3-0 win.
In the stands, UEFA’s VIP guests, in the company of veteran greats and managers from around the world – one image shows Luis Figo looking on in awe – couldn’t believe their eyes with the play of Olympiacos’ youngsters. Evangelos Marinakis was present, of course, as he was in the semi-final, anxiously looking on with excitement and in the end proudly lifting the first European title, with a feeling that there’s more to come…
And just like that, Olympiacos reached the “Olympus” of European football and joined an exclusive list of top teams and youth academies that have won the UEFA Youth League, such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Chelsea, Porto and Benfica. Olympiacos’ stellar youngsters thus joined stars, such as Mount, Abraham, Vitinha, Christensen, Solanke and Haidara who shined in the same competition.
For the record, Olympiacos’ starting “11” in the final that stunned the football world were: Sina, K. Kostoulas, Koutsidis, Prekates, Koutsogoulas, Bakoulas, Mouzakitis, Alafakis, Papakanellos, Pnevmonidis, B. Kostoulas. Team captain Mouzakitis opened the scoring with a penalty in the 60th minute, soon after Papakanellos doubled the score to 2-0 and Bakoulas, with an amazing scissor kick, made it 3-0 in the 66th minute.
Pride in the Maracanã
Olympiacos’ “awesome babes” glorified the club, Greece and Europe, which they represented in the final of the U-20 Intercontinental Cup at the legendary Maracanã stadium on August 24. They may have fell in the final, losing 2-1 to mighty Flamengo, but the performance they gave in Brazil was memorable.
Olympiacos, who even took the lead with Liatsikouras in the 54th minute, conceded two goals, one in the 73rd minute and the other in the third minute of stoppage time, which deprived the team of the world champions title, something the players deserved with their performance. Even if that title didn’t come in the end, what remained was the pride for this “golden generation” from Olympiacos’ Rentis Training Center, which marked the greatest achievement in the history of the Piraeus club’s youth academies, while at the same time producing young players for the first team during its ongoing centenary season.
Christos Mouzakitis and Babis Kostoulas are today key players in the hands of Jose Luis Mendilibar – living proof that something very positive is happening at the Rentis Center with the emergence of players capable of playing at the top level. Antonis Papakanellos is close behind.
The history of the best youth team ever in Greek football will be remembered for years to come, along with the incredible 99th year of Olympiacos, a year that preceded the centennial and made fans’ dreams come true.
