The original idea of the match is lost in the haze of past decades. In fact, the longest-running friendly in Greek football was first played way back in 1961. Today, six decades later, it is recognized as part of the huge contribution that the Olympiacos veterans’ association has made to the Club’s present and future. The mastermind behind that first game was a Proodeftiki veteran and coach, Georgios “Giourkas” Seitaridis – the grandfather and namesake of the former international – and his idea for a friendly between old-timers was embraced his peers in the Nikaia, Korydallos and Piraeus districts, which is where most the active and retired Olympiacos and Proodeftiki players lived back then. The game was destined to go down in history. It’s like the old Greek films of the era… no one at the time would have believed the specific game would become an institution. That’s exactly what happened, and the match has been a football-infused footnote to Good Fridays ever since.
So, the “Limping Legends” versus the “Geriatrics”—stars of the past met and made history at the Proodeftiki ground. Despite their self-depreciating names, the spectacle and emotions they conveyed to the lucky spectators in the stands were very real.
The idea of holding the game every Good Friday was simple: it fit into everyone’s schedule.
The aces of yesteryear gave their all, transporting fans back to the eras in which they’d made football history at their prime. Though their hair may have grown thinner and grey, their bellies rounder, and they might lack once explosiveness and speed, the memories they reawakened had lost none of their elan. Anyone who had seen them play in their prime was swept away on a tidal wave of nostalgia and reminded—if any reminder were needed—of how time flies. Because their moments of glory were special for the fans, too.
Players who left their mark on Greek football. The Olympiacos veterans pose in an image packed with glorious memories. The photograph is from the 1975 game.
The idea of the match being played every Good Friday was practical: it suited everyone, because it wasn’t a work day, and it would lighten the mood on that religiously grim and introspective of days. This is also why the first participants opted to give the teams humorous names especially for the occasion: to convey the philosophy underlying the friendly, which was simply to celebrate the joy of football. Still, there is historical evidence that a team named ‘Vradyporiakos’ existed before that first friendly and played in local leagues in the wider Piraeus area.
The first match and the Colonels’ dictatorship
The first showdown was played on April 7, 1961 and was won 8-5 by the Limping Legends of Olympiacos. Both the idea and the implementation were a hit with everyone involved, as well as with the fans who were at the stadium to watch the game, which is why it would go on to become an annual event. People would look forward to Good Friday every year, and the match between the veterans. Footballing greats of the era, including Mouratis, Rossidis, Soulis, Bebis, Polychroniou, Kotridis, Drosos, Yfantis, Seitaridis, Mesologgitis, Terkesidis and Christofidis, all signed up for the old-timer teams after they’d quit the game, contributing to the success of the annual match. In fact, they couldn’t imagine not taking part in this celebration of the joy of football. They passed this mentality down to future generations.
Almost every Olympiacos great would go on to wear the veteran Legends’ jersey once their careers ended. On May Day 1964, the Geriatrics earned their first draw (2-2) in a game in which the players’ average age was 40 and their weight 95 kilos. In 1967, Holy Week coincided with the first days of the newly imposed military dictatorship. The order banning gatherings of more than three people was clear, but the veterans had no intention of cancelling their annual Good Friday clash. Officially, the newspapers reported that the game would be postponed. But, as legend goes, that isn’t what actually happened. Instead, on the initiative of Thanasis Bebis, who’d retired just a year earlier at the age of 38, it was agreed the veterans would gather in secret at the stadium not at 11 a.m., as usual, but at 6 p.m. instead. They played the game without much light and without a crowd, but the institution was honored.
Two eternal warriors, Ilias Rossidis (L) and Andreas Mouratis, together in 1987 on Good Friday during the annual old-timers’ game, both wearing their beloved Olympiacos jersey.
Rossidis and the Proodeftiki ‘transfers’
One player who truly outdid himself in these annual matches was Ilias Rossidis. The legendary Olympiacos captain played in his first clash of veterans in 1961 and his last in 2011, at the age of 84! For half a century, he didn’t miss a single Good Friday match. He never lost his appetite for football, and he wasn’t going to let a little thing like age get between him and the annual game. Another deeply moving moment came along in 2008, when the great Achilleas Grammatikopoulos kicked off the match aged 100, just eight months before his death. The following year, Leonidas Andrianopoulos would do the honors at the tender age of 98.
Interestingly, over the years, veterans have worn the “Geriatrics” jersey who never actually played for Proodeftiki! This is because, when numerous Olympiacos veterans started to prove a little much for their Proodeftiki opponents, it was decided to “recruit” some outstanding veteran players from other teams into their ranks. This is how Mimis Domazos, Mimis Papaioannou, Kostas Nestoridis, Dusan Bajević and Thomas Mavros all got to wear Proodeftiki’s crimson jersey from time to time, adding an even greater interest in the annual game.
The games were interrupted in 2013, but the tradition resumed in 2019, when the traditional match was played, instead, on Holy Wednesday (April 24, 2019). However, the coronavirus meant another break the following year. After the pandemic, the veterans took to the field again for what would be the 56th match in the series.
The great stars of the past again meet up on the playing field, bringing back memories to fans and players alike.
The Veterans’ Union
Over the years, the Olympiacos veterans managed to organize themselves into a model union, thanks to the tireless efforts of their general secretary, Antonis Glykas. The union has allowed Legend’s biggest stars to continue promoting the values and everything Olympiacos stands for via a host of friendly games. They’ve actually played no fewer than 699 games to date! The veterans’ reach now extends worldwide, and they have played football in every corner of Greece.
Stars of the past continue to don their red-and-white strips again to offer up spectacle and excitement to the fans who fill the stands to admire them afresh. The Club’s administration, too, has always been there to help the Olympiacos veterans give their all, from the late Stavros Daifas to Evangelos Marinakis, who has always honored the past of the laurel-wreathed youth. Ever loyal to the red-and-white ideal and to their lifetime service to the team that became their life, the union of veterans is preparing for its historic 700th game to mark Olympiacos’ centenary!
