Piraeus derby


The Piraeus derby, is a traditional association football and water polo rivalry between Ethnikos Piraeus and Olympiacos, the 2 teams representing the city of Piraeus, Greece. Ethnikos was founded on November 21, 1923, while Olympiacos was founded on March 10, 1925. The two teams are one of the most successful multi sports clubs in Greece in terms of honours, with Olympiacos being the team with the most titles in the five biggest team sports, while Ethnikos being fifth.
Olympiacos has never been relegated in football and water polo while Ethnikos has four relegations from the first division of Greek football and 2 relegations in water polo.
Once a major derby for the power of the Piraeus city, especially pre WWII, but since Olympiacos' dominance in the 90's and afterwards along with the steady decline of Ethnikos, has led to the derby losing importance over the last 25 years in football, however the rivalry still exists in water polo.
Olympiacos traditionally represented the mass and lower classes of the city of Piraeus and its suburbs while Ethnikos, in contrary, represented the upper class of the city of Piraeus and not much of its suburbs.

History

Football

Since the two clubs were established in the mid-1920s, Ethnikos' traditional local rival has been Olympiacos CFP, one of the two most popular and successful multi-sport clubs in Greece along with Panathinaikos.
While a legitimate rivalry between Ethnikos and Olympiacos still exists in water polo, that is no longer the case in football.
Ethnikos and Olympiacos F.C. were more or less evenly matched and had great battles for Piraeus supremacy in the 1920s and 1930s, but thereafter Olympiacos became increasingly more powerful and successful and began to pass Ethnikos by.
In 1956, Olympiacos won the championship with Ethnikos finishing second meaning the first and only time in which the top two positions in the league were occupied by Piraeus's teams.
One of Ethnikos's most important wins is the semifinal win in the 1932-33 Greek Cup when he beat Olympiacos 2–1 in a knockout match.
Ethnikos was relegated in 1990 to the second division, a sad moment for the club who was never relegated since its foundation in 1923. Nevertheless, Olympiacos fans celebrated it.
Along the way, Olympiacos developed a habit for luring Ethnikos' best players, like Greece men's national football team players Philippos Kourantis in the late 1920s, Giannis Chelmis in the late 1930s and Giannis Ioannou in the early 1950s. This habit continued in the later decades with Christos Arvanitis, Tasos Mitropoulos, Stavros Papadopoulos, Thomas Rohrbach.
In 1956–57 Olympiacos was seemingly behind a scandal that robbed Ethnikos of the national championship. Ethnikos was favorite for the title with 4 matches left in the season, and had the derby with Olympiacos next on the schedule; but before the derby arrived Ethnikos was dubiously disqualified from the competition. With Ethnikos out of the way Olympiacos ultimately took the Championship.
In 1973, Ethnikos lost the great Michalis Kritikopoulos to Olympiacos, just a year before Ethnikos mounted its greatest challenge for the national championship in the modern era; many Ethnikos fans feel that if they still had Kritikopoulos, the team would have managed to hold on to 1st place rather than run out of gas in the second half of the 1974–75 season.
Olympiacos ultimately became the dominant football club in Greece, having won the League Greece|League] and Cup more than any other club, and Ethnikos has not been able to seriously compete with them for decades. Ethnikos has not defeated Olympiacos in a league match since the 1985–86 season and has not finished above Olympiacos in the league standings since the 1987–88 season.
In the 1990s, when Olympiacos was experiencing probably the greatest era of its history while Ethnikos was suffering through what was surely its worst, Ethnikos lost some of its fanbase to Olympiacos.
A recent point of contention for Ethnikos fans has to do with Karaiskakis Stadium. Karaiskakis is the traditional home of both Olympiacos and Ethnikos, but only Olympiacos has played there since the stadium was rebuilt for use in the 2004 Summer Olympics.

Water polo

Olympiacos and Ethnikos are the greatest clubs in the history of men's Greece water polo. Since their foundation, the two clubs were among the strongest in Greek water polo. Before the start of WW2, Olympiacos had won four championship in contrast to Ethnikos's two. After WW2, both clubs remained a dominant force along with NO Patras, fighting for the title almost every year. From 1945 to 1952, NOP won three titles, Olympiacos four and Ethnikos one.
In 1953, Ethnikos started a dynasty of almost 40 years claiming 33 championships in 38 years. The Greek cup that started in 1953 was abolished in 1958 due to unprecedented dominance of Ethnikos who had achieved six straight doubles in 1958. Olympiacos had great difficulty in beating rival Ethnikos, let alone winning the championship. Olympiacos managed to beat Ethnikos from 1952 to 1989 only 8 times in 91 matches. From 1952 to 1964 and from 1979 to 1990, Ethnikos was unbeaten against Olympiacos. However, Olympiacos managed to get two titles. One was shared with Ethnikos in 1969 because of a suspended final match and the other one came in 1971 when the “reds” managed to take the crown of Ethnikos off after 18 consecutive championships for the “blues”. Hall of famer Ivo Trumbić was the coach of Olympiacos.
Since 1992, Olympiacos has won all championships except for five seasons and has won also the LEN Champions League twice in 2002 and 2018. Ethnikos has managed only two championships and two cups. Ethnikos' s last win against Olympiacos came in 2008.

Head to Head

Football

Olympiacos's biggest win is 5–0 twice while Ethnikos's is 4–2 twice
Since 1960 and the introduction of A' Ethniki, Olympiakos won 53 times, Ethnikos 4 times and 15 matches ended as a draw.
Last win for Ethnikos is in 1986 in Olympic Stadium while Olympiacos's is the last match they played each other in 1999.

Head to Head in the Greek cup

1 Ethnikos advanced through the away goals rule

Water polo

Higher finish in the championship (since 1949 when first division was introduced with points table)

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  • In 2010 and 2013 Ethnikos was playing in the second division
  • In 1969 both teams were declared champions.
  • Ethnikos 38 finished higher, Olympiacos 37 times

List of official matches

  • Red: Olympiacos win
  • Blue: Ethnikos win
DateCompetitionScoreScore by halftime
14/09/1929Greek Championship1–3
18/08/1930Greek Championship1–01–0, 0–0
15/08/1932Southern Greece Championship2–1
10/09/1932Greek Championship3–12–0, 1–1
20/08/1933Southern Greece Championship2–10–1, 2–1
24/09/1933Greek Championship4–2
20/08/1934Southern Greece Championship0–10–1, 0–0
16/09/1934Greek Championship4–23–1, 1–1
24/08/1935Southern Greece Championship2–11–0, 1–1
25/08/1935Southern Greece Championship1–21–2, 0–0
13/09/1936Greek Championship4–22–2, 2–0
18/09/1945Greek Championship1–0
17/09/1945Greek Championship4–1
07/10/1945Nautical Games1–2
06/09/1946Piraeus Rowing Club Cup1–0Suspended in favour of Olympiakos
14/09/1946Greek Championship4–2
24/09/1948Greek Championship1–5
09/08/1949Central Greece Championship2–0Olympiakos won w/o
04/09/1949Greek Championship3–1
23/09/1950Greek Championship4–3
21/09/1951Central Greece Championship2–1
06/08/1952Central Greece Championship1–50–3, 1–2
22/09/1952Greek Championship3–30–2, 3–1
20/08/1953Central Greece Championship1–40–3, 1–1
27/08/1953Greek Cup4–51–2, 2–1
18/09/1953Greek Championship1–50–2, 1–3
20/08/1954Central Greece Championship2–4
09/09/1954Greek Cup0–120–5, 0–7
15/09/1954Greek Championship2–50–4, 2–1
24/08/1955Central Greece Championship2–70–3, 2–4
31/08/1955Greek Cup2–61–3, 1–3
16/09/1955Greek Championship1–60–4, 1–2
17/08/1956Central Greece Championship3–52–4, 1–1
15/09/1956Greek Championship3–40–2, 3–2
17/08/1957Central Greece Championship2–42–2, 0–2
08/09/1957Greek Cup4–61–2, 3–2
20/09/1957Greek Championship1–61–2, 0–4
14/09/1958Greek Championship5–62–3, 3–3
21/08/1959Central Greece Championship4–62–2, 2–4
13/09/1959Greek Championship3–41–2, 2–2
19/08/1960Central Greece Championship4–4
26/08/1960Central Greece Championship2–30–2, 1–1
18/09/1960Greek Championship3–4
15/09/1961Greek Championship2–50–3, 2–2
10/08/1962Greek Championship3–4
22/08/1962Central Greece Championship3–41–2, 2–1
08/09/1962Greek Championship3–40–2, 3–2
18/07/1963Central Greece Championship2–40–2, 2–2
09/08/1963Greek Championship3–102–4, 1–6
11/09/1963Greek Championship4–70–4, 4–3
07/08/1964Greek Championship5–42–2, 3–2
13/09/1964Greek Championship3–41–2, 2–2
14/09/1964Greek Championship1–20–2, 1–0
08/08/1965Greek Championship2–41–3, 1–1
05/09/1965Greek Championship0–00–0, 0–0
05/08/1966Greek Championship1–40–1, 1–3
10/09/1966Greek Championship2–3
23/08/1967Greek Championship2–32–1, 0–2
20/09/1967Greek Championship3–31–0, 2–3
07/08/1968Greek Championship7–64–2, 3–4
06/09/1968Greek Championship5–71–4, 4–3
20/09/1969Greek Championship2–20–0, 2–2
23/07/1970Greek Championship3–32–1, 1–2
27/09/1970Greek Championship4–52–2, 2–3
26/04/1971Greek Championship4–52–2, 2–3
04/07/1971Greek Championship3–21–1, 2–1
05/07/1971Greek Championship3–31–1, 2–2
07/07/1971Greek Championship2–12–0, 0–1
23/04/1972Greek Championship4–33–2, 1–1
09/07/1972Greek Championship4–53–3, 1–2
10/07/1972Greek Championship5–61–2, 4–4
22/04/1973Greek Championship2–31–2, 1–1
15/07/1973Greek Championship6–53–3, 3–2
16/07/1973Greek Championship1–20–2, 1–0
14/07/1974Greek Championship1–31–1, 0–2
29/09/1974Greek Championship3–41–2, 2–2
09/07/1975Greek Championship4–61–2, 3–4
19/09/1975Greek Championship3–32–2, 1–1
16/08/1976Greek Championship1–41–2, 0–2
22/09/1976Greek Championship4–61–2, 3–4
05/06/1977Greek Championship6–13–0, 3–1
25/09/1977Greek Championship2–31–2, 1–1
26/09/1977Greek Championship0–5Suspended in favour of Ethnikos
28/07/1978Greek Championship5–43–2, 2–2
01/10/1978Greek Championship5–62–3, 3–3
02/10/1978Greek Championship2–51–2, 1–3
26/05/1979Greek Championship4–42–1, 2–3
02/09/1979Greek Championship2–70–3, 2–4
26/08/1980Greek Championship3–41–2, 2–2
21/09/1980Greek Championship6–104–4, 2–6
27/05/1981Greek Championship5–113–5, 2–6
01/07/1981Greek Championship3–111–5, 2–6
12/05/1982Greek Championship2–91–2, 1–7
01/09/1982Greek Championship0–130–5, 0–8
11/06/1983Greek Championship6–112–5, 4–6
03/09/1983Greek Championship8–145–7, 3–7
27/05/1984Greek Cup6–104–3, 2–7
08/09/1984Greek Championship6–141–6, 5–8
29/09/1984Greek Championship4–80–3, 4–5
22/05/1985Greek Championship6–172–7, 4–10
11/09/1985Greek Championship10–135–6, 5–7
17/05/1986Greek Championship7–145–5, 2–9
28/08/1986Greek Cup5–83–4, 2–4
17/09/1986Greek Championship6–164–7, 2–9
07/02/1987Greek Championship3–50–2, 3–3
04/04/1987Greek Championship8–104–5, 4–5
19/03/1988Greek Championship3–53–2, 0–3
11/06/1988Greek Championship6–132–6, 4–7
21/01/1989Greek Cup7–10
18/02/1989Greek Championship5–83–5, 2–3
27/03/1989Greek Cup8–115–5, 6–3
08/04/1989Greek Championship6–115–4, 1–7
04/04/1990Greek Championship8–94–6, 4–3
05/06/1990Greek Championship10–95–4, 5–5
12/06/1990Greek Cup10–7
02/03/1991Greek Championship7–114–6, 3–5
11/05/1991Greek Championship19–88–5, 11–3
01/06/1991Greek Championship13–135–7, 8–6
15/06/1991Greek Championship14–106–6, 8–4
18/12/1991Greek Championship9–77–3, 2–4
01/06/1992Greek Championship12–149–8, 3–6
12/02/1992Greek Cup13–86–2, 7–6
26/02/1992Greek Cup10–104–7, 6–3
11/06/1992Greek Championship10–57–3, 3–2
18/06/1992Greek Championship9–12
21/11/1992Greek Championship12–77–3, 5–4
03/02/1993Greek Championship11–117–5, 4–6
04/04/1993Greek Championship14–95–3, 9–6
10/04/1993Greek Championship8–62–4, 6–2
16/02/1994Greek Championship8–103–6, 5–4
30/03/1994Greek Championship4–42–1, 2–3
14/06/1994Greek Championship10–114–3, 6–8
16/06/1994Greek Championship10–94–3, 6–6
19/06/1994Greek Championship11–124–5, 4–3,
18/03/1995Greek Championship11–107–7, 4–3
20/05/1995Greek Championship8–125–7, 3–5
07/06/1995Greek Championship9–85–4, 4–4
09/06/1995Greek Championship10–96–3, 4–6
10/06/1995Greek Championship7–52–0, 5–5
02/12/1995Greek Championship10–105–8, 5–2
10/04/1996Greek Championship8–93–2, 5–7
18/12/1996Greek Championship11–106–4, 5–6
24/03/1997Greek Championship13–7
21/03/1998Greek Championship14–58–4, 6–1
27/05/1998Greek Championship13–7
15/11/1998Greek Championship9–85–6, 4–2
21/01/1999Greek Championship8–54–2, 4–3
05/01/2000Greek Championship6–41–2, 5–2
03/03/2000Greek Cup11–126–5, 5–6
27/05/2000Greek Championship13–76–3, 7–4
30/12/2000Greek Championship10–8
14/03/2001Greek Championship13–116–4, 7–7
30/03/2001Greek Cup10–8
18/04/2001Greek Championship7–5
21/04/2001Greek Championship19–56–3, 13–2
02/12/2001Greek Championship14–88–6, 6–2
13/02/2002Greek Championship6–45–1, 1–3
30/03/2002Greek Cup11–86–5, 5–3
30/10/2002Greek Championship6–73–4, 3–3
08/01/2003Greek Championship9–14–0, 5–1
18/04/2003Greek Championship7–65–3, 2–3
20/04/2003Greek Championship9–46–1, 3–3
13/12/2003Greek Championship9–84–3, 5–5
10/03/2004Greek Championship7–85–4, 2–4
05/12/2004Greek Championship7–55–4, 2–1
26/02/2005Greek Championship5–62–3, 3–3
09/04/2005Greek Cup9–113–6, 6–5
04/05/2005Greek Championship17–161–1, 5–5,
06/05/2005Greek Championship8–113–7, 5–4
08/05/2005Greek Championship8–77–2, 1–5
10/05/2005Greek Championship8–103–6, 5–4
11/05/2005Greek Championship11–65–2, 6–4
04/01/2006Greek Championship11–107–5, 4–5
11/03/2006Greek Championship9–93–5, 6–4
12/05/2006Greek Championship10–125–5, 5–5
14/05/2006Greek Championship8–63–3, 5–3
16/05/2006Greek Championship6–113–5, 3–6
18/05/2006Greek Championship8–65–3, 3–3
20/05/2006Greek Championship6–73–4, 3–2
13/12/2006Greek Championship9–73–2, 6–5
04/05/2007Greek Championship8–64–1, 4–5
20/05/2007Greek Cup11–57–2, 4–3
09/06/2007Greek Championship7–64–5, 3–1
12/06/2007Greek Championship11–135–5, 5–5,
14/06/2007Greek Championship11–97–3, 4–6
16/06/2007Greek Championship8–74–2, 4–5
14/11/2007Greek Championship13–108–4, 5–6
02/02/2008Greek Championship12–57–2, 5–3
04/04/2008Greek Cup12–88–2, 5–6
21/04/2008Greek Championship10–54–4, 6–1
23/04/2008Greek Championship12–95–6, 7–3
30/04/2008Greek Championship5–73–4, 2–3
02/05/2008Greek Championship8–54–2, 5–3
10/01/2009Greek Championship9–84–4, 5–4
28/03/2009Greek Championship10–46–3, 4–1
12/01/2011Greek Championship16–37–1, 9–2
06/04/2011Greek Championship20–37–1, 13–2
12/11/2011Greek Championship20–39–1, 11–2
03/03/2012Greek Championship12–28–1, 4–1
15/12/2013Greek Championship15–46–2, 9–2
05/03/2014Greek Championship21–610–4, 11–2
19/03/2014Greek Cup18–511–2, 7–3
22/11/2014Greek Championship15–48–2, 7–2
13/02/2015Greek Championship15–44–3, 11–1
12/12/2015Greek Championship15–58–2, 7–3
27/03/2016Greek Championship16–49–2, 7–2
20/04/2016Greek Championship13–76–3, 7–4
22/04/2016Greek Championship13–55–1, 8–4
05/11/2016Greek Championship11–55–3, 6–2
01/02/2017Greek Championship21–211–1, 10–1
21/10/2017Greek Championship16–78–2, 8–5
27/01/2018Greek Championship16–78–3, 8–4
21/02/2018Greek Cup9–26–1, 3–1
05/01/2019Greek Championship15–75–2, 10–5
10/04/2019Greek Championship19–79–2, 10–5
08/05/2019Greek Championship10–36–1, 4–2
10/05/2019Greek Championship19–610–3, 9–3
23/11/2019Greek Championship24–612-2, 12-4
29/02/2020Greek Cup18–67–4, 11–2
01/07/2020Greek Championship20–68–3, 12–3
03/10/2020Greek Super Cup21–612–5, 9–1
27/03/2021Greek Championship18–47–1, 11–3
23/11/2021Greek Championship16–37–1, 9–2
05/02/2022Greek Championship14–43–4, 11–0
12/11/2022Greek Championship17–610–1, 7–5
14/01/2023Greek Championship16–47–2, 9–2

Head to Head matches with title on the line (Final matches)

* Match was suspended in favor of Olympiacos
** Olympiacos abandoned the game after 1 min 25 sec since the start of it due to protest for the exclusion of its players after serious incidentsbetween Olympiacos and Ethnikos players.

The Piraeus derby in European competition

In 2021, Olympiacos and Ethnikos hosted the Group F of LEN Euroleague, Europe's most prestigious club competition for women's waterpolo. All matches were held at the Piraeus National Swimming Pool. Both clubs from Piraeus advanced to the quarterfinals of the competition. The first ever “European” Piraeus derby ended 9–5 in favour of Olympiacos. At the end of the season Olympiacos won the LEN Euroleague and Ethnikos the LEN Trophy. The two city clubs will contest the European Super Cup for the 2022 season. It was the first time two clubs from the same city will compete in any team sport for the European Super Cup trophy in Greek sports history. Olympiacos won the match 11–4.