Legend has it that the Olympiacos’ motto of “we keep on dreaming” arose after a particularly difficult and cold evening in Manchester, 11 years ago: An evening in March 2014 when Olympiacos was knocked out 3-0 by Manchester United. It was uttered by Evangelos Marinakis himself outside Old Trafford’s locker rooms, and it has been a core element of the Reds’ philosophy ever since. Four words in the right order to remind us of something self-evident: That miracles won’t happen, if you don’t believe in them…
How many people remembered Marinakis’ words (the then Manchester City captain, Yaya Toure, was also there to hear them) at the start of the summer when the “Reds” had to make room in their trophy room for trophies (the UEFA Conference League and the UEFA Youth League)?
When Olympiacos became the first European club in history to win two out of the four UEFA trophies in the same season. Was there anyone left who still hadn’t taken on board the notion that, ultimately, in a business as complex as professional football, you win in your head first and then on the pitch.
A Gordion Knot Untied
All of this is especially interesting in the case of the “Reds”, as the great Olympiacos went through a long period when, even though things were going well in Greece, the team could not achieve anything significant internationally. So much so, in fact, that it started to look like other factors were at play. Take the gust of wind at the Athens Olympic Stadium (OAKA) that confused keeper Dimitris Eleftheropoulos in the quarter-final against Juventus, for instance. Or think back to Steven Gerrard’s iconic career goal at Anfield. Olympiacos kept on getting knocked out, despite the tie breaks or earning 10 points in a four-team Champions League group. With all the injuries, suspensions and unlikely combinations of results, it really felt as though the universe was conspiring against the club.
Evangelos Marinakis endured all that as a fan, and it left scars. So when the time came for him to take the helm, he was laser focused on lifting the curse. And in the only way that works: by ripping it out at the root!
And in no time at all, his Olympiacos were beating some of the best teams in Europe: Dortmund, Marseille and Arsenal in the winter of 2011, accumulating nine points in the Champions League but missing out on a ticket to the last 16.
Evangelos Marinakis endured all of this as a fan, and it left scars. So when the time came for him to take the helm, he was laser focused on lifting the curse. And in the only way that works: by ripping it out at the root!
With wins against Arsenal – at home and away – and Montpelier in the winter of 2012, Olympiacos picked up 9 points, but still missed out on the final 16. Then, finally, Olympiacos earned 10 points against Paris Saint-Germain, Benfica and Anderlecht for a ticket into the “16” in the winter of 2013, before winning a shock victory in March against Manchester United, 2-0 at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Faliro, before Robin van Persie’s memorable performance, and one of the worst nights of refereeing in the history of European competitions, saw then knocked out 0-3 in England.
Don’t give up!
That night at Old Trafford was a major disappointment. And it is hugely significant that it was a night like that Olympiacos’ president chose to utter the line that has since worked its way into the club’s DNA. He walked into the locker room, congratulated everyone for the effort and the beautiful journey, and came out with it: “we keep on dreaming”. The message was clear: Olympiacos isn’t giving up– we won’t let up, because “we’re not done yet”!
The next time he used the same line was five months later, in September 2014, during Olympiacos’ 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid in the opening game of the next Champions League season. Only this time, “We keep on dreaming” meant something else—something along the lines of “We’ll never stop. It’s never enough, there are no limits to our dreams”! That year, the Piraeus team beat both Juventus and Malmo in Champions League play, earning 9 points once again. And the team was eliminated once again, from the 16 this time. And they weren’t ever going to give up.
The Club was a fixture in Europe in the years that followed. The following year, Olympiacos beat Arsenal at the Emirates for the first time, creating a sensation in the Stars of Europe’s top-flight competition. Then, they tried to be even more ready for the knockouts every time February came round–generally in the Europa League, but flirted with something bigger and getting closer every time. Which is how “keep on dreaming” began to fill the Renti training facility and the souls of the fans. Now part of the club vocabulary, it was forever on the lips of the youth team coaches and the younger players.
It was in another February, this time in 2020 and at Emirates again against Arsenal that Olympiacos achieved a qualification which you could say showed the club was ready and waiting for the right conditions to seize its chance, a full four years before the Conference League championship. And when the time came, it wasn’t just the pro team that seized the day. The U-19 squad came along for the ride, too, and won the UEFA Youth League!
In the years since then, the motto “we keep on dreaming” has been heard in the port of Piraeus, when the refugees arrived and Europe’s leading multi-sport club welcomed them with open arms, setting an example. It was heard on difficult evenings during the greatest social and economic crisis to hit the country since the war, when Olympiacos confirmed its desire to “return the love” with its charitable actions, forging a special legacy that is all its own. And Evangelos Marinakis was always there, too, contributing symbolically or with practical initiatives.
The Mendilibar era
What else could the February 2024 decision to hire Jose Luis Medilibar, the third coach in a single season, be if not “we keep on dreaming”?
The Basque had taken over at Sevilla a year earlier in March, as they were heading for relegation from La Liga. And his personality and intervention not only pulled the team back from the brink– against all the odds, he also led them to a Europa League championship in which the Andalusian team got past Manchester United and Juventus before beating Jose Mourinho’s Roma for that coach’s first-ever defeat in a European final.
When his name came up for Olympiacos, the owner didn’t think twice. And even though most people thought the season was over, and the Reds received a 1-4 drubbing just one month later from Maccabi Tel Aviv, a slap in the face which heralded their elimination from the Conference League, what did the president do that night? He renewed Mendilibar’s contract for the next season! Because “we keep on dreaming” translated into actions, and decisions, and not just words. Then Football did the rest.
The final of the UEFA Conference League championship has just concluded at the Nea Philadelphia Stadium in Athens on May 29, 2024, an evening that witnessed the the biggest triumph by a Greek club in a European competition. Photo: Eurokinissi Sports
An exhortation that became a guiding light
Lest we forget, Evangelos Marinakis’ other team, Nottingham Forest, wasn’t doing well in the Premier League, either, in February 2024. He revealed as much in a lengthy interview with Sky Sport, coining the expression “never give up” and noting: “I told my team to write that out one hundred times and distribute it to everyone. To the coaches. To the players. So, it’s the first thing they see when they wake up in the morning, and so they follow the message.” Of course, “never give up” is prominently displayed in his own office as well. Right alongside the “keep on dreaming” which was his own personal beacon, before it showed Olympiacos the way…
