Olympiacos SFP (men's volleyball)

Olympiacos Men's Volleyball (Greek: Ολυμπιακός, [olimbiaˈkos]), commonly referred to as Olympiacos, Olympiacos Piraeus or with its full name as Olympiacos CFP, is the men's volleyball department of the major Greek multi-sport club, Olympiacos CFP, based in Piraeus, Attica. The department was founded in 1926 and their home ground is the Melina Merkouri Indoor Hall in Agios Ioannis Rentis, Piraeus.

Olympiacos

Nickname

Thrylos (The Legend)
Erythrolefkoi (The Red-Whites)

Founded

1926

Ground

Melina Merkouri Indoor Hall
(Capacity: 1,800)

Chairman

Michalis Kountouris

Manager

Alberto Giuliani

League

A1 Greek Volleyleague
CEV Cup

2020–21

1st (Champion)

Website

Club home page

Uniforms

Home

Away

Championships

2 CEV Cups
30 Greek Volleyleague Championships
16 Greek Cups
6 Greek League Cups
2 Greek Super Cups

Olympiacos is the most successful club in Greek volleyball history, having won 30 Greek Volley League titles, 16 Cups, 6 League Cups, all national records, and 2 Super Cups.^[1] They are the only volleyball club in Greece to have won a European competition, with 2 CEV Cup Winners' Cup/CEV Top Teams Cups (1996, 2005), and a traditional powerhouse in European volleyball, having been runners-up in all three main CEV competitions, two times in the CEV Champions League (with seven final four participations), two in the CEV Cup and one in the CEV Challenge Cup, totalling seven European finals.

Domestically, Olympiacos holds the record for the most consecutive championships won, with eight in a row (1987–1994), and for winning seven championships undefeated (1968, 1974, 1979, 1981, 1988, 1991, 2018). Internationally, their most successful period was between 1992 and 2005, when they came to be included amongst the top volleyball powers in Europe. During this period, apart from their two European trophies, they progressed to eleven final fours in total, seven of them consecutive between 1992 and 1998 (the first four in the CEV Champions League and the next three in the CEV Cup Winners' Cup); they also won a fourth place in the CEV Super Cup and a third in the FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship. Olympiacos came to European prominence again by playing in the 2017–18 CEV Challenge Cup final; at the same time, the women's department won their respective 2017–18 CEV Women's Challenge Cup. In this way, Olympiacos became the first volleyball club that had men and women playing simultaneously in European finals, and one of the very few to have won European trophies in both departments.

Given the fact that Olympiacos is one of the most popular sports clubs in Greece, the men's volleyball department also receives great home support. Apart from some top Greek players such as Marios Giourdas, Giorgos Ntrakovits, Sakis Moustakidis, Vasilis Kournetas, Antonis Tsakiropoulos, Kostas Christofidelis, Mitar Tzourits, Olympiacos has also attracted over the years some foreign world-class players including Ivan Miljković, Lorenzo Bernardi, Jeff Stork, Marcos Milinkovic, Bengt Gustafsson, Raimonds Vilde, Vasa Mijić, Tom Hoff, Goran Vujević, Henk-Jan Held, Osvaldo Hernández and Fabian Drzyzga.

Honours

Domestic competitions

Greek Volley League
- Winners (30) (record): 1968, 1968−69, 1973−74, 1975−76, 1977−78, 1978−79, 1979−80, 1980−81, 1982−83, 1986−87, 1987−88, 1988−89, 1989−90, 1990−91, 1991−92, 1992−93, 1993−94, 1997−98, 1998−99, 1999−00, 2000−01, 2002−03, 2008−09, 2009−10, 2010−11, 2012−13, 2013−14, 2017−18, 2018−19, 2020−21
Greek Cup
- Winners (16) (record): 1980−81, 1982−83, 1988−89, 1989−90, 1991−92, 1992−93, 1993−94,^[2] 1996−97, 1997−98, 1998−99, 2000−01, 2008−09, 2010−11, 2012−13, 2013−14, 2015−16, 2016−17
Greek League Cup
- Winners (6) (record): 2012−13, 2014−15, 2015−16, 2016−17,^[3] 2017−18, 2018−19
Greek Super Cup
- Winners (2): 2000, 2010
Double
- Winners (14) (record): 1980−81, 1982−83, 1988−89, 1989−90, 1991−92, 1992−93, 1993−94, 1997−98, 1998−99, 2000−01, 2008−09, 2010−11, 2012−13, 2013−14

European competitions

CEV Champions League
- Runners-up (2): 1991−92, 2001−02^[4]^[5]
CEV Cup Winners' Cup / CEV Top Teams Cup / CEV Cup
- Winners (2): 1995−96, 2004−05
- Runners-up (2): 1996−97, 1997−98
CEV Challenge Cup
- Runners-up (1): 2017–18

Worldwide competitions

FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship:
- Third (1): 1992

International record

Olympiacos first volleyball team in 1926

Season	Achievement	Notes
CEV Champions League
1981–82	Final Four	4th place in a group with Robe di Kappa Torino, CSKA Moscow and Dinamo București
1991–92	Final	won 3–0 against CSKA Moscow in the semi-final, lost 0–3 to il Messaggero Ravenna in the final
1992–93	Final Four	3rd place. Lost 1–3 to Maxicono Parma in the semi-final, won 3–0 against Maes Pils Zellik in the 3rd place game
1993–94	Final Four	4th place. Lost 0–3 to Maxicono Parma in the semi-final, lost 0–3 to Maes Pils Zellik in the 3rd place game
1994–95	Final Four	3rd place. Lost 1–3 to Edilcuoghi Ravenna in the semi-final, won 3–2 against Maes Pils Zellik in the 3rd place game
2000–01	Final Four	4th place. Lost 0–3 to Sisley Treviso in the semi-final, lost 2–3 to Ford B.Gesu Roma in the 3rd place game
2001–02	Final	won 3–1 against Mostostal in the semi-final, lost 1–3 to Lube Banca Macerata in the final
2009–10	Playoff 6	5th place. Eliminated by Dynamo Moscow, 1–3 loss in Moscow, 1–3 loss in Piraeus
CEV Cup Winners Cup / CEV Top Teams Cup / CEV Cup
1995–96	Winners	won 3–1 against Alcom Capelle in the semi-final, won 3–2 against Bayer Wuppertal in the final
1996–97	Final	won 3–1 against Berlin in the semi-final, lost 0–3 to Alpitour Traco Cuneo in the final
1997–98	Final	won 3–0 against Castêlo da Maia in the semi-final, lost 0–3 to Alpitour Traco Cuneo in the final
2004–05	Winners	won 3–0 against Dukla Liberec in the semi-final, won 3–0 against Ortec Nesselande Rotterdam in the final
2018–19	Semi-finals	Eliminated by Diatec Trentino, 0–3 loss in Piraeus, 1–3 loss in Trento
FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship
1992	Final Four	3rd place. Lost 0–3 to Misura Milano in the semi-final, won 3–0 against il Messaggero Ravenna in the 3rd place game
CEV European Super Cup
1996	Final Four	4th place. Lost 1–3 to Dachau in the semi-final, lost 0–3 against Daytona Modena in the 3rd place game
CEV Challenge Cup
2017–18	Final	defeated by Bunge Ravenna, 1–3 loss in Ravenna, 1–3 loss in Piraeus

The road to CEV Cup Winners Cup / CEV Cup victories

The road to the 1996 CEV Cup Winners' Cup victory

Round	Team	Home	Away
Group Stage (Group B)	VK Dukla Liberec		1–3
	Desimpel Torhout	3–0
	Lokomotyv Kharkiv		0–3
	Legia Warsaw	3–0
	Belogorie Belgorod		3–0
	Bayer Wuppertal	3–0
	Eczacıbaşı Istanbul		0–3
Semifinal	Alcom Capelle	3–1
Final	Bayer Wuppertal	3–2

The road to the 2005 CEV Top Teams Cup victory

Round	Team	Home	Away
Qualification Round (Group 7)	Rabotnicki Skopje	3–0
	Pafiakos Pafos	3–0
	Brčko Brčko	3–0
Group Stage (Group A)	Šoštanj Topolšica	3–0	0–3
	Concordia Näfels	3–0	0–3
	Fenerbahçe Istanbul	3–0	1–3
Quarterfinal	Ziraat Bankası Ankara	3–0	0–3
Semifinal	VK Dukla Liberec	3–0
Final	Ortec Nesselande Rotterdam	3–0

Supporters

Olympiacos volleyball logo

Olympiacos fans are renowned for their passionate and fervent support to the team, with the atmosphere at home matches regarded as extremely intense and intimidating to such an extent that is rarely seen in volleyball matches. In the decade of the 1900s and the early 2000s, Olympiacos was among the top powers in European volleyball (7 consecutive European Final Four participations, four in the CEV Champions League –1992, 1993, 1994, 1995– and three in the CEV Cup Winners' Cup –1996, 1997, 1998–, winners of the 1996 CEV Cup Winners' Cup, twice Runners-up of the CEV Champions League in 1992 and 2002, twice Runners-up of the CEV Cup Winners' Cup in 1997 and 1998, third place in the world in the FIVB Volleyball Men's Club World Championship in 1992 and fourth place in the 1996 CEV European Super Cup) and one of the best supported volleyball teams in Europe.^[6]

In the 1992 CEV Champions League Final Four in Piraeus, an estimated 20,000 Olympiacos fans crowded the Peace and Friendship Stadium for the semi-final against CSKA Moscow and 20,000 more for the final against il Messaggero Ravenna.^[7]^[8]^[9] Volleyball legend Karch Kiraly, Hall of Famer and three times Olympic gold medalist, a key member of il Messaggero Ravenna at the time, talked about the 1992 CEV Champions League Final in a 2018 interview: "That particular CEV Champions League Final Four in Piraeus was really a very special experience. Even now as we speak, the first thing that comes to my mind was the unbelievable atmposhere that we all lived in that volleyball game in Athens 26 years ago. In that day I cherished the Greek supporters and the passion of Olympiacos fans for volleyball. It was something unique."^[10]

In the 1996 CEV Cup Winners' Cup Final Four which was held again in Piraeus and the Peace and Friendship Stadium, an estimated 18,000 to 20,000 Olympiacos fans filed into SEF and created the most intense atmosphere, pushing the team to their first ever European title against the German side Bayer Wuppertal, after a hard-fought 3–2 win.^[11]^[12] After the victory, hundreds of ecstatic Olympiacos fans stormed the court and celebrated the title with the players.^[13]

Olympiacos hosted the Final Four of the CEV Top Teams Cup in 2005 and Olympiacos supporters relived some of the 1990s moments. 15,000 fans packed the Peace and Friendship Stadium and provided once again an electric atmosphere, helping Olympiacos to win their second European title, after a 3–0 win against the Dutch side Ortec Nesselande Rotterdam in the final.^[14]^[15]

In 2018 Peace and Friendship Stadium lived once again some of its timeless glory, as an estimated 12,000 Olympiacos fans created an extraordinary atmosphere in the final of the 2017–18 CEV Challenge Cup against Bunge Ravenna.^[16] Ravenna's Austrian star Paul Buchegger talked about the atmosphere in the post-game interview: "The atmosphere, the fans were really great. It was a "red hell", when I entered the court I had goose bumps. I have never played in front of such a big crowd."^[17]

Notable players

Criteria
To appear in this section a player must have either: Played at least one season for the club. Set a club record or won an individual award while at the club. Played at least one official international match for their national team at any time. To perform very successfully during period in the club or at later/previous stages of his career.

Notable coaches

Ljubomir Travica

Zoran Gajić

Players

2022–2023 Roster

Shirt No	Nationality	Player	Birth Date	Height	Position
2	Slovenia	Alen Pajenk	(1986-04-23) April 23, 1986 (age 36)	2.02	Middle blocker
3	Greece	Dimitrios Gkaras	(1985-11-12) November 12, 1985 (age 37)	1.85	Libero
5	Slovenia	Tonček Štern	(1995-11-14) November 14, 1995 (age 27)	2.00	Opposite
6	Greece	Mateo Hasbala	(2004-05-22) May 22, 2004 (age 18)	1.85	Setter
8	Brazil	Gustavo Bonatto	(1986-01-02) January 2, 1986 (age 37)	2.15	Middle blocker
9	Greece	Nikolas Papangelopoulos	(1988-11-17) November 17, 1988 (age 34)	2.04	Middle blocker
10	Greece	Rafail Koumentakis	(1993-05-05) May 5, 1993 (age 29)	2.03	Οutside Hitter
11	Greece	Spyros Chandrinos	(2001-02-24) February 24, 2001 (age 21)	2.00	Οutside Hitter
12	Greece	Nikos Zoupanis	(1989-03-18) March 18, 1989 (age 33)	2.02	Opposite
14	Italy	Dragan Travica	(1986-08-28) August 28, 1986 (age 36)	2.00	Setter
15	Greece	Dimitris Tziavras	(1999-02-16) February 16, 1999 (age 23)	1.77	Libero
16	Greece	Crysostomos Koltsiakis	(1990-07-23) July 23, 1990 (age 32)	1.95	Libero
17	Greece	Anestis Dalakouras	(1993-06-18) June 18, 1993 (age 29)	1.99	Outside hitter
18	Greece	Apostolos Petsias	(2003-07-29) July 29, 2003 (age 19)	1.93	Setter
22	Greece	Dimosthenis Linardos	(1997-02-14) February 14, 1997 (age 25)	2.04	Middle blocker
23	Cuba	Salvador Hidalgo Oliva	(1985-12-27) December 27, 1985 (age 37)	1.98	Οutside Hitter

Technical and managerial staff

Name	Job
Alberto Giuliani	Head Coach
Antonis Vourderis	Assistant Coach

Captains

Michalis Triantafyllidis (1989–1994)
Sakis Moustakidis (1994–1996)
Giorgos Dragovits (1996–2001)
Marios Giourdas (2001–2003)
Antonis Tsakiropoulos (2003–2007)
Vasilis Kournetas (2007–2009)
Dimitris Soultanopoulos (2009–2010)
Andreas Andreadis (2010–2012)
Kostas Christofidelis (2012–2015)
Menelaos Kokkinakis (2015–2017)
Kostas Christofidelis (2017–2019)
Giorgos Petreas (2019–2020)
Kostas Stivachtis (2020–2022)
Dragan Travica (2022–present)

Historical performance in Volleyleague

Stats

Season	Position	W–L	Sets
1967–68	1st	6–0	18–0
1968–69	1st	13–1	40–12
1969–70	2nd	20–2
1970–71	4th	16–6
1971–72	2nd	22–2
1972–73	2nd
1973–74	1st	24–0
1974–75	3rd
1975–76	1st	14–1
1976–77	2nd	13–2
1977–78	1st	21–1
1978–79	1st	22–0
1979–80	1st	17–1	52–13
1980–81	1st	22–0	66–13
1981–82	2nd	20–2	63–11

Season	Position	W–L	Sets
1982–83	1st	21–1	65–16
1983–84	2nd	26–2	79–18
1984–85	2nd	25–3	80–14
1985–86	2nd	20–2	63–14
1986–87	1st	21–1	64–11
1987–88	1st	22–0	66–9
1988–89	1st	19–1	59–6
1989–90	1st	21–1	63–6
1990–91	1st	20–0	60–9
1991–92	1st	21–1
1992–93	1st	20–1	62–12
1993–94	1st	21–1	65–11
1994–95	2nd
1995–96	4th	18–8	61–36
1996–97	3rd	19–6	65–27

Season	Position	W–L	Sets
1997–98	1st	26–5	84–25
1998–99	1st	27–3	82–19
1999–00	1st	27–3	82–21
2000–01	1st	27–2	84–14
2001–02	2nd	25–6	83–30
2002–03	1st	25–2	78–24
2003–04	2nd	23–5	76–27
2004–05	2nd	20–11	72–37
2005–06	3rd	20–9	64–37
2006–07	3rd	22–6	72–31
2007–08	3rd	22–9	72–39
2008–09	1st	26–5	82–28
2009–10	1st	25–6	82–34
2010–11	1st	21–6	71–33
2011–12	5th	14–11	56–38

Season	Position	W–L	Sets
2012–13	1st	26–3	78–23
2013–14	1st	23–7	80–38
2014–15	2nd	22–7	75–40
2015–16	3rd	21–5	70–24
2016–17	2nd	28–4	89–24
2017–18	1st	30−0	90−12
2018–19	1st	27−3	79−24
2019–20	2nd	16−5	54−21
2020–21	1st	16−4	54−19
2021–22	2nd	18−6	50–26

Positions

Position	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th
Times	30	16	6	2	1

Kit manufacturer

The table below shows the history of kit providers for the Olympiacos team.

Period	Kit provider
2002–	Puma Mikasa Adidas

Sponsorship

Primary sponsors include: main sponsors like Porto Petrol other sponsors: Athens Medical Group, Nova Sports and Astari Plastikoy.

References

^ "Βόλεϊ Ανδρών – Σύντομο Ιστορικό Τμήματος" (in Greek). Olympiacos CFP. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
^ Ιστορία του Κυπέλλου Ανδρών (in Greek)
^ 2017 League Cup final www.sport24.gr
^ "2001/02 European Champions League". cev.eu.
^ "1991/92 European Champions League". cev.eu.
^ Σαν σήμερα το 1996 γιόρτασε τα γενέθλιά του με το Κύπελλο Κυπελλούχων (in Greek). Olympiacos official website. Retrieved 12 July 2017.
^ O Oλυμπιακός στον τελικό του Πρωταθλητριών – Το ΣΕΦ είναι τίγκα από 20,000 φίλους των Πειραιωτών. Οι Μοσχοβίτες είναι σούπερ φαβορί, αλλά θα λιώσουν με 15-8, 15-7 και 15-4. (in Greek). sportdog.gr. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
^ O Oλυμπιακός του ΣΕΦ (in Greek). volleyplanet.gr. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
^ Olympiacos–CSKA Moscow 3–0 1992 CEV Champions League semi-final full game (sec. 58). ERT1
^ Καρτς Κίραλι: Λάτρεψα το πάθος των Ελλήνων (in Greek). sportsfeed.gr. 3 April 2018.
^ Το πρώτο Ευρωπαϊκό του εορτάζοντος Ολυμπιακού. Ο Γιάννης Λάιος στο Sport-Retro.gr – Η ανδρική ομάδα του Ολυμπιακού, ανήμερα των 71ων γενεθλίων από την ίδρυση του συλλόγου, κατέκτησε το Κύπελλο Κυπελλούχων στο κατάμεστο από περίπου 20.000 κόσμο Στάδιο Ειρήνης και Φιλίας. (in Greek). sport-retro.gr. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
^ Master στο ΣΕΦ (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
^ Η νίκη που έγραψε ιστορία (in Greek). volleyplanet.gr. Retrieved 15 July 2017.
^ «Κοκκίνισε» η Ευρώπη – Μπροστά σε 15.000 φιλάθλους οι "ερυθρόλευκοι" σήκωσαν το τρόπαιο και το στάδιο πήρε φωτιά. (in Greek). sport-fm.gr. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
^ Όταν ο Ολυμπιακός κατέκτησε το δεύτερο ευρωπαϊκό (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
^ "Ultras World lost for words with Olympiacos fans" (in Greek). fosonline.gr. 15 April 2018.
^ "Ravenna upset 11,800-strong crowd to seize men's Challenge Cup title". cev.eu. 11 April 2018.

External links

Olympiacos CFP Official Website – Men's Volleyball (in English)

[1] "Βόλεϊ Ανδρών – Σύντομο Ιστορικό Τμήματος" (in Greek). Olympiacos CFP. Retrieved 7 December 2018.

[2] Ιστορία του Κυπέλλου Ανδρών (in Greek)

[3] 2017 League Cup final www.sport24.gr

[4] "2001/02 European Champions League". cev.eu.

[5] "1991/92 European Champions League". cev.eu.

[6] Σαν σήμερα το 1996 γιόρτασε τα γενέθλιά του με το Κύπελλο Κυπελλούχων (in Greek). Olympiacos official website. Retrieved 12 July 2017.

[7] O Oλυμπιακός στον τελικό του Πρωταθλητριών – Το ΣΕΦ είναι τίγκα από 20,000 φίλους των Πειραιωτών. Οι Μοσχοβίτες είναι σούπερ φαβορί, αλλά θα λιώσουν με 15-8, 15-7 και 15-4. (in Greek). sportdog.gr. Retrieved 18 July 2017.

[8] O Oλυμπιακός του ΣΕΦ (in Greek). volleyplanet.gr. Retrieved 18 July 2017.

[9] Olympiacos–CSKA Moscow 3–0 1992 CEV Champions League semi-final full game (sec. 58). ERT1

[10] Καρτς Κίραλι: Λάτρεψα το πάθος των Ελλήνων (in Greek). sportsfeed.gr. 3 April 2018.

[11] Το πρώτο Ευρωπαϊκό του εορτάζοντος Ολυμπιακού. Ο Γιάννης Λάιος στο Sport-Retro.gr – Η ανδρική ομάδα του Ολυμπιακού, ανήμερα των 71ων γενεθλίων από την ίδρυση του συλλόγου, κατέκτησε το Κύπελλο Κυπελλούχων στο κατάμεστο από περίπου 20.000 κόσμο Στάδιο Ειρήνης και Φιλίας. (in Greek). sport-retro.gr. Retrieved 18 July 2017.

[12] Master στο ΣΕΦ (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 18 July 2017.

[13] Η νίκη που έγραψε ιστορία (in Greek). volleyplanet.gr. Retrieved 15 July 2017.

[14] «Κοκκίνισε» η Ευρώπη – Μπροστά σε 15.000 φιλάθλους οι "ερυθρόλευκοι" σήκωσαν το τρόπαιο και το στάδιο πήρε φωτιά. (in Greek). sport-fm.gr. Retrieved 14 July 2017.

[15] Όταν ο Ολυμπιακός κατέκτησε το δεύτερο ευρωπαϊκό (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 16 July 2017.

[16] "Ultras World lost for words with Olympiacos fans" (in Greek). fosonline.gr. 15 April 2018.

[17] "Ravenna upset 11,800-strong crowd to seize men's Challenge Cup title". cev.eu. 11 April 2018.

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