That Friday afternoon, at half past seven, the “word on the street” around Alexandra Square in the heart of Piraeus confirmed the change. It was the end of an era for the Reds under owner Sokratis Kokkalis after 17 remarkable years. The day also marked the beginning for “Miltiadis son”, a decision of the heart, as it’s been said, one that did not align with financial considerations or come with any safety net.

The wind was blowing against the tide in Greece’s largest port; against the backdrop of a country standing before the worst social, economic and political crisis of the postwar era. Yet Evangelos Marinakis did not need time to think it over. And since June 18, 2010, what was never said has never been forgotten.

Every year on this date, the same thoughts return, of the improbable things that followed. The way Olympiacos secured its place as the largest multi-sport club in Europe. The empathy and social awareness that evolved into a defining identity. Fast forward to that blessed night of May 29, 2024, when millions stayed awake to witness what felt like a shared dream — the conquest of the UEFA Europa Conference League by Olympiacos.

Then there are the packed stands of Karaiskakis Stadium, where consecutive sellouts no longer seem sufficient to satisfy demand. Sixteen years of stability and prosperity. The certainty that everything would be fine, a feeling that has already shaped an entire generation.

Above all, for those who witnessed that transfer of ownership, there remains the simple answer to the timeless million-dollar question: what did not happen. The way Olympiacos became the exception to the rule during Greece’s bailout years, when “mountains were moved” even in the sporting sphere.

A brief rewind tells the story.

AEK Athens’ relegation to the third division in order to escape its debts. Panathinaikos Athens’ financial crash after the brief illusion of abundance during the era of a multi-shareholder ownership, narrowly avoiding relegation through a slim majority of votes by the other teams. The turmoil that engulfed Aris, Iraklis, OFI, AEL and Panionios. The dissolution of Xanthi. PAOK’s brush with disaster before the arrival of Ivan Savvidis. These were the headlines of Greek football during the crisis years.

164 titles

By contrast, Olympiacos kept reaching new levels. “From recognition to takeoff” was the title of a prophetic video produced years ago by Gate 7 supporters to describe the club’s transformation. Few could have imagined that Olympiacos would later become the first — and so far only — football club in Europe to win two UEFA titles in the same year, during that remarkable 2024 that began with the U19 team’s triumph in the UEFA Youth League.

Marinakis never allowed his beloved club to feel uncertainty. From the first moment. Through an investment estimated at more than €200 million, through infrastructure projects that strengthened the club’s assets, but above all through constant involvement.

“My father passed on to me his devotion to our club, and I want to commit that the younger generation will experience moments similar to those we enjoyed,” he said at his first news conference on July 6, 2010.

“Our goal is to build Olympiacos as supporters everywhere dream it should be. Be confident about tomorrow. The future of the club will be as bright as its past,” he added.

Sixteen years later, those words are reflected in the record. Nineteen football titles have made him the most successful president in Greek football history. Another 143 titles across Olympiacos’ amateur sports departments have helped build a sports empire. Add two European football trophies and 11 European titles in amateur sports, and the total reaches a glittering 13 continental crowns.

During these years Olympiacos athletes have won Olympic and world championship medals, strengthened Greece’s national teams and contributed more than 120 titles in individual sports. In the summer of 2010, the amateur club had teams without registered athletes, and the football side had finished fifth in the playoffs with an almost empty roster. Today it stands as a benchmark few sporting organizations can match.

“Mr. Marinakis, Vangelis, is the patriarch of Olympiacos,” the late Savvas Theodoridis said in 2018, having lived through numerous eras and presidencies.

Few can forget that the day after Olympiacos won the Conference League, the club’s leader took the trophy first to the memorial for the innocent victims of the Gate 7 tragedy, and then to the graves of Savvas Theodoridis and his father, Miltiadis. A moment that still sends shivers down one’s spine.