Anthony Evgenidis

Repeat the following out loud, “Greek football manager”. Now start counting from zero up until I say stop. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven…… STOP!

Welcome to the Greek Super League, a league which has already had seven managerial changes as of this young season. Did I mention that five of those changes have taken place this month alone? Let me put on my maths hat on for a second and lay out the statistics. Nearly half the Super League teams (44%) have changed managers as of today, and 31% of those happened during a two week span in November.

Are you still with me? Or did I lose you at four? I can see why it is difficult to accept that 44% of Super League teams have changed coaches already. We are after all talking about people, and more specifically football managers. You might be asking yourselves “what’s with all the firings”? You might even dare ask “why only seven”? The truth lies somewhere between masochism and madness. You can judge for yourselves which of the two is closest to sanity.

Bajevic (Aris Salonkia 01/07), Mantzourakis (Xanthi 24/08), Pedraza (Iraklis 03/11), Straka (OFI 06/11), Linen (Panionios 11/11), Carvalhal (Asteras Tripolis 11/11) and Donis (AEK Athens 17/11) round out the list of managers arranging their winter getaways as we speak. You can even call them the “Magnificent Seven” if it helps you remember their common bond. Even for the Super League’s standards this is considered remarkable.

After reading the above you are probably starting to realise that teams in the Greek Super League are not very, very patient. In truth the Super League is not known for its quality of football, but rather for its unsurpassed pressure and entertainment. Every other week conspiracy theories surface about managerial changes and players alike. Here are some things you need to know about Greece as a nation that will help ease the shock.

Number one, the press in Greece is unique because of its vast distribution of newspapers and team coverage. There are approximately 10 daily Sports Newspapers in circulation across the country, and more than half of them are team affiliated. For example the top three teams Olympiacos, AEK, and Panathinaikos each have at least three of their own “propaganda papers” circulating on a daily basis. If you lose a few games in a row the pressure will quickly build and all of a sudden the next fixture cannot come fast enough.
 
Number two, Athenian dominance and it’s separation from the rest of the nation cannot be understated. As you can probably find in most, if not all countries, the teams located in or around the capital are the “top dogs”. It’s been over five years since a team outside of Athens finished in the top three and 20 since the Championship left Athens (Larissa 1988).

Number three, there is no such thing as a “casual fan” in Greece because they are either hardcore fanatics, or not involved at all. The fanatics are the ones who organise the rest of the team followers, as well as lead the way in terms of club mentality. Team owners are scared of very few things in life except death, their wives and their team’s fanatics. Team fanatics are what keep owners in check, and make manager’s lives miserable because of their unrealistic expectations which never waiver.

Managers are in over their heads before they even know it, and they are at the mercy of the team fanatics. Potential bosses see a beautiful country with rowdy fans and a decent paycheck, not much of a deterrent until the fanatics and press get involved. Managerial changes in Greece are akin to someone going for a checkup, you may be hesitant at first but you know you will feel a lot better once it’s over. The Managerial “musical chairs” of the Super League are unbreakable habits that never cease to amaze. There have been successful coaches in Greece with positive win-loss records; however even that at times was not enough to salvage their jobs.

One example comes to mind that perfectly represents the superiority complex that teams crave in Greece. Srecko Katanec took over Olympiacos halfway through the 2002/03 season and did well in the league. He was considered a high profile appointment and even drew with AEK away 1-1 in his first match in charge. He however made one fatal mistake that would inevitably cost him his job during the same season. At the pre-game press conference for the derby game with Panathinaikos, Katanec stated that if Olympiacos did not win the game it would not be the end of the world, and that he could live with it. The team owner was understandably livid as well as the fanatics, and Katanec did not last long after that statement despite his overall record.

In closing, managers in Greece are always on the “hot seat”, and there is no such thing as a safe job or an untouchable manager. In 2002, AEK lost the title to Olympiacos due to their head to head record. Manager Fernando Santos made a statement claiming his team would have won the league had it not been for press coverage. That acknowledgement alone proves what kind of beast bosses in the Greek Super League are constantly up against. Therefore, there should be no real surprise at the numerous changes, and the real question now is, who’s next?