Walking through Athens on a warm summer day gallons of fluids are a necessity. This is a warm place at the best of times never mind in August.
The city is a contrast of the ancient and the new – almost a contradiction as it were.
Beauty and the beast sit side by side. During my visit a binmen strike had been causing complete chaos which is probably fitting given that the Greeks invented the word.
Chaos has its roots in the Greek word khaos – an abyss that which gapes wide open, that which is ‘vast and empty’.
Except Athens isn’t empty. Its huge population sprawls for miles creating a bustling city of cars, people and pollution.
If Tokyo equates to order then the Greek capital equates to disorder.
If Athens is not lacking in people its also certainly not lacking in football stadia given there are about 20 teams playing at various levels of the Greek football system spread throughout the capital.
Despite some of the biggest names in European football even that system is not immune to chaos – match fixing, hooliganism, violence and allegations of referee corruption are all common.
Very often decisions are made by the national association and overturned within days under pressure from clubs. Politics is rife in Greek football with the intersection between politics and football blurred.
Its true that the period post 2008 saw football stadiums become theaters of protest against austerity policies.
Wider ideological conflicts between fascist and anti-fascist fans often sees protest against club owners and the police as toxic politics came to the fore.
In the context of the Greek economic crisis, stadiums in Athens (and Greece) have suffered greatly.
While progress has occurred and newer entrepreneurial spirit clearly exists the same is not the case for football. It is almost impossible for progress when there is so much disillusionment in society with respect to a discredited political system and a football association who are both mistrusted and disunited.
People can exaggerate the ferocity of football rivalries, but the derby matches between the large Athens football teams are hugely passionate affairs so much so that away supporters simply cannot be allowed in the stadium.
The biggest derby of them all – Panathinaikos against Olympiakos has been abandoned on several occasions and not simply because of trivial incident. We are talking about full blown riots that last for up to an hour.
Some popular football figures have came into Greek football to solve things and failed – change is almost impossible to enforce such is the powerful grasp the Presidents of the big clubs have on the system.
Such is the influence of the bigger club presidents have many are untouchable.
Ownership of the club is seen as a way of consolidating business and political power and leveraging this to achieve more success.
Olympiakos and Nottingham Forest president Evangelos Marinakis has been accused on several occasions of imposing pressure on the referee system. But the Greek legal system and the league disciplinary system has eventually acquitted him of all charges or failed to make any change to the wider behavior of executives.
Unsurprisingly Athens football stadiums are not immune to chaos.
Scratch just below the surface and you can see and feel the emotions of the chaos that is Greek football.
It is around both the big and small football stadia of Athens. Some of the best artwork exists with the murals paying homage to heroes of the past and the political enemies of the current.
Travelling off the beaten path is not for everyone on a foreign holiday itinerary. The same road well traveled for some is more than enough. But for others alternative insights and something that little bit different is what makes a destination come to life.
With its large municipal feel and suburban town outreach, Athens is a gift of prizes for any football stadium hunter.
With neighborhoods as diverse as anywhere – including one named after a national hero by the name of Lord Byron this is a sprawling city with good and bad.
If you like coffee it is a paradise.
Athens and its suburbs contains the football homes of more than 30 clubs many of which have played at one point or another in the top division of Greek football.
Some of them are likely never to reach the top again such is the depths to which they have fallen.
From picturesque modern quarters to the paved streets and neoclassical houses of the Monastiraki and Akropolis areas, Athens is a football city that extends for so much further than the traditional homes of Olympiakos and Panathinaikos.
Walking around them is a journey in itself. Lets have a look:
Olympiakos – The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium. Used during the Olympic Games of 1896 and demolished and reconstructed on several occasions this is one of Greek football’s most modern Stadiums.
Home to a club that has been a regular performer in UEFA competition the stadium hosted the 1971 European Cup Winners Cup Final but it has not been without tragedy as the monument outside the stadium indicates.
Panathinaikos – Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium. Inaugurated in 1922 it is the oldest football stadium in Greece known for the passionate segregated area – Gate 13.
AEK Athens – Agia Sophia Stadium. Build on the area of Athens that was once home to the imposing “Nikos Goumas” the Agia Sophia Stadium or AEK Arena is the most modern stadium in Greece.
The original stadium was demolished because of earthquake damage.
Atromitos – Peristeri Stadium. It is currently used mostly for football matches and was built in 1947. Compact, clean and appealing visually it is one of the better stadiums although shows some sign of wear.
Panionios – Nea Smyrni Stadium. Built in 1939 it is the home of the 4th biggest club in Athens after the big three.
Egaleo – Stavros Mavrothalassitis Stadium is a football stadium in Aigaleo, a town and a suburb within Athens. It was built in 1968 and named after Stavros Mavrothalassitis, then Mayor of the local area.
Apollon Smyrni – Georgios Kamaras Stadium. The stadium was built in 1948 and named after the clubs most historic player. This stadium sits not that far from the new home of AEK and can be seen if travelling to the Agia Sophia Stadium on the train.
Glory of Vyronas – National Stadium of Vyronas. Is located in the suburb of Vyronas, located east of Athens and only 3 km away from Athens city proper. It is a suburban town and a municipality in the southeastern part of the Athens agglomeration of Greece. The town is named after George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, the famous English poet and writer, who is a national hero of Greece.
Vyronas National Stadium seats up to 4,340 fans. It is home to Athinaikos F.C. and rivals Doxa Vyronas F.C.
A.O. Peristeri – E.A.K. Hephaestus. Northern Athens the home club was founded in 1967 after a merger of three teams of Athenian suburb: Thyella Peristeri, A.O Taxiarches and Ethnikos Peristeri.
Eleftheroupoli F.C – Municipal Stadium of Nea Ionia. Another historic stadium the home ground is located in Nea Ionia, Athens. It was built in 1962.
In 2004, the whole stadium was extensively renovated, and the pitch was replaced with a turf system of the very last generation. The dressing rooms were renovated in 2007. The stadium is also the home ground for A.O. Nea Ionia F.C. and P.A.O. Alsoupolis.
Ionikos – Neapoli Stadium. Famous for Gate 3 – The stadium was completed in 1965.
Athens Kallithea FC – Grigoris Lamprakis Stadium. Known as ‘El Paso’
Athens Kallithea FC play at Grigoris Lamprakis Stadium in the Athenian district of Kallithea, located 2 km south of the Acropolis and 1 km west of Andrea Syngrou Avenue, the main road linking the Athens city center to Poseidonos Avenue and the Athens Riviera.
Built in 1970, and named after the Greek liberal politician and peace activist Grigoris Lambrakis, it is a multi-use public stadium with a seating capacity of 6,300.
The stadium is commonly referred to by its nickname “El Paso,” a reference to Spaghetti Western films the stadium was built on the site of a quarry and features a tall rock along the north side of the pitch.
Proodeftiki FC – The Nikaia Municipal Stadium. Proodeftiki plays its home matches at Nikaia Municipal Gymnasium, located in Nikaia, a suburb of Piraeus. The stadium was complete in 1937.
GS Ilioupolis – IIooupoli Municipal. Club colors are red and blue and its logo features a setting sun on the nearby mountains.
Agia Paraskevi – Municipal Stadium of Agia Paraskevi. Their home ground facilities are based in “Notou Street” at Agia Paraskevi of Athens
Fostiras – Tavros Stadium. A football stadium in Tavros, Athens it was upgraded in 2002.
Ilisiakos – Zografou Municipal Stadium. Ilisiakos is one of the oldest known sports clubs in Greece. It was founded in 1927. The original emblem for the club was the footballer but it is now famous for the laurel-crowned Ita with colors of yellow and black.
Agios Dimitrios Football Club – Agios Dimitrios Municipal Stadium. Also known as Brahami, is a Greek association football club based in Agios Dimitrios
P.A.O. Rouf – Rouf Municipal Stadium. Located in the area of Rouf. The current stadium is the Rouf Municipal Stadium Rouf – Dimitris Giannakopoulos, seating 1,600 spectators.
Agios Ierotheos Football Club – Choraphas Stadium. Another Greek football club based in Chorafas, Peristeri.
Charavgiakos Football Club – Ilioupoli Municipal. A Greek football club based in Ilioupoli, Central Athens, Greece.
A.O.T. Alimos F.C – Trachones Field ‘Galaxias‘. The club was founded in 1957 as A.O Trachones F.C. The name of the team was changed to the current name in the summer of 2014 and it is largely a track and field facility.
A.P.O. Akratitos Ano Liosia – Yiannis Pathiakakis Stadium. This ia a multi-purpose stadium in Ano Liosia, Greece. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Akratitos. The stadium holds 5,000 and was built in 1965.
Olympiakos Neon Liosion – Municipal Stadium of Ilion. The team was founded in 1952, when the city was named Nea Liosia. The home stadium of the team is the National Sports Center Of Ilion.
Agioi Anargyroi Football Club – Agioi Anargyroi Municipal. The club was founded in 1926 as a football club called “Union of Saints Anargyros”.
A.E. Kifisia F.C. – Michalis Kritikopoulos Stadium. The club have some loyal supporters and the ground of Kifisia is the Municipal Stadium of Kifissia “Zirineio”.
Keravnos Keratea F.C – Keratea Municipal. Keravnos Keratea plays its home matches at Keratea Municipal Stadium in Keratea. The stadium currently has a seating capacity of 3,500.
Marko 1927 Football Club – Municipal Markopoulo. The colors are green and white. Its logo is a vine leaf in honour of the vineyards of Mesogeia area.
