Red Wine and the Night a Legend was Born

Piraeus, 1925. Greece is picking up the pieces after the Asia Minor Catastrophe. Ethnic Greek refugees have washed up in the country’s ports like waves from a land now lost, bringing with them their dreams, but also their music, their cuisine, and their stubbornness. Their new home is a seething cauldron of hope and disappointment.

In Piraeus, the eastern Mediterranean’s port of ports, workers’ yells meld with the ships’ horns, while the refugees’ ways and accents mesh with those of the locals. Here, every day is a battle for survival, every moment a reminder that life goes on whether you want it to or not. An idea like Olympiacos couldn’t have been born in a more suitable place.

Working class…

Moiras’s taverna is more than a place to eat; it’s a working-class salon, a type of port “parliament”; a place where decisions are taken with fists banged on tables and promises sealed with a chink of glasses.

The taverna stood at the intersection of today’s Karaiskou and Karoli & Demetriou streets in the very heart of the port city. It was filled with heavy wooden tables, barrels of wine that never ran dry and an ambience redolent of brine, garlic and tobacco. This was where the people hung out who made their living in the port: merchants, seamen and shipping agents who viewed Piraeus not as just another port, but as a powerhouse that should have its own footballing legend one day.

It was at this establishment, on a nondescript evening that may have seemed like all others, but wasn’t–specifically on March 10, 1925—that 33 men rose from their seats round tables heavy with roast meat and tsipouro. The patrons were not part of the typical elite of the era, but seamen, merchants, retired military officers and young men with eyes aflame with a desire to create something of their own. Men who had lived through wars and seen friends perish in the blaze of history, who had tasted poverty but never lost sight of their vision. They hadn’t come together to simply form a team; they were here to bring into being a symbol–a legend that would embody the passion of Piraeus.

“These were men who had lived through wars, seen friends perish in the blaze of history, tasted poverty but never lost sight of their vision.”

These 33 men were the founders of a movement that would leave an indelible mark on the sports history of Greece and the world. Michalis Manouskos, an industrialist who would later serve as mayor of Piraeus, was responsible for keeping the debate going. The acting chair of the meeting, he was a man who didn’t talk much but when he did, others stopped to listen. Next to him was Notis Kaberos, a pilot who had seen the earth from above and knew what freedom looked like from on high. Seated around them were 31 other men – Andrianopoulos and his brothers, Papantoniou, Kanellopoulos, Andronikos, Mermigas, Maragoudakis, Zacharias and many more. They didn’t want just another team; they wanted to create a club that would speak for them, become their voice.

Thanasis Mermigas

The name of the new club was quickly and unanimously approved. One man had worked discreetly but decisively to make this happen: Thanasis Mermigas. A political science major who had studied in Vienna, he was one of those founders who knew how to turn a dream into action. It was Mermigas who contacted the Austrian Olympic Committee about the use of the name. When their reply came back positive, the vision could begin to take shape. He was a man who believed deeply in the power of sport and the need for Piraeus to have its own colors on Greece’s football map. His interventions in the club’s early statutes helped create strong foundations and ensured that the club would not only have a strong presence on the pitch, but also the right organizational structure at a time when there were no sponsors and no corporate names on the pitch. Just mud, sweat and men who played like their lives depended on it.

The first major decision taken by Olympiacos’ founders was to create the “100 immortals” group–lifetime members of the club who would be responsible for preserving its spirit and values. It was a closed circle of members, with strict rules, and no new member could join unless another left.

Michalis Manouskos knew that football was more than just a game. Because on the soccer pitch, men did battle for respect and for the values of a nation.

The new club’s colors were carefully chosen: Red, the color of fire, bravery and passion. White, the color of purity, justice and fair play. The emblem would be a laurel-crowned youth: inspired by the ancient Olympic Games, the figure symbolized victory. It was a perfect reflection of the name that had been chosen. All these symbols were designed to reflect the values of the club and to imprint themselves forever on the minds of Piraeus’ fans.

“Only weeks after its creation, Olympiacos played its first match, trouncing a team of sailors from the French warship Jeanne d’Arc 6-0”

The first statutes of the team’s charter, drawn up by people like Mermigas, laid the foundations for an organization that would last for decades. The club’s structure was rigorously organized, prioritizing not only competitive success but also the unity and dedication of its members. Piraeus fans began to feel this team truly represented them, creating an unbreakable bond that would last for generations.

The beginning of a dynasty

Only weeks after its creation, Olympiacos played its first match, trouncing a team of sailors from the French warship Jeanne d’Arc 6-0. The score wasn’t merely indicative of a victory, it sent out a message: Olympiacos was not a team that would go unnoticed.

It was the beginning of a dynasty that would dominate Greek football for decades to come. A local velodrome became its first home field and a place to which Piraeus fans flocked to watch their very own Olympiacos grow, carrying the history of a team that was born in a taverna but grew to become a global legend. And as long as football is still played, as long as Piraeus still stands, Olympiacos will be there, the symbol of a city that bows to no one; which resists; which celebrates and suffers with its team.