The international press has heralded Olympiacos’ win of the Europa Conference League Cup on Wednesday night.
This was the first time that a Greek football club won a European League Cup, an event that had hundreds of thousands of Greeks taking to the streets to celebrate wildly until the early morning hours on Thursday.
Streets and squares in Athens, Piraeus, and cities across Greece were flooded with people waving red and white flags, shooting fireworks, and chanting slogans for the red and white football club that won the precious trophy after beating Italy’s Fiorentina 1-0 in overtime.
International press
The international press reported the outcome of the final game of the UEFA 2023-2024 Europa Conference League Cup, stressing that it was the first time a Greek football club managed to win a European trophy.
The Spanish press was among the first to herald Olympiacos‘ win since the club’s coach, Jose Luis Mendilibar, is a Spaniard. Marca, Spain’s top sports newspaper, had the most impressive front page, depicting the Spanish coach as Zeus sitting on his throne on Mount Olympus, making a little wordplay between Olympiacos and Olympus.
CNN Sports wrote: “Olympiacos makes Greek history with victory over Fiorentina in Conference League final”. After describing how Olympiacos beat Fiorentina in overtime and the Italian team’s record of reaching the final undefeated, the report mentions that this year’s defeat of Fiorentina was a repetition of last year’s Conference League final when they lost to England’s West Ham 1-2.
the CNN report closes with the mention that after winning the cup, Olympiacos qualifies for next season’s group stage in the Europa League tournament.
Germany’s Kicker has the headline, “Historic triumph: Piraeus team won the Conference League against Fiorentina”.
France’s L’Equipe wrote: “Olympiacos won its first European title against Fiorentina”.
Reuters X account had a post with an aerial view of celebrations with a picture of a red cloud created by lit flares over the heads of thousands of people gathered to cheer the winners.
Officials congratulate Olympiacos
President of the Hellenic Republic Katerina Sakellaropoulou congratulated Olympiacos for winning the Conference League title with the following post on X:
“Olympiacos at the top of Europe! Historic night for the Piraeus team and Greek football. Warm congratulations on winning the Conference League!”.
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis posted on X as well:
“A true Legend! Olympiacos wins the Conference League and makes history! An incredible night for the club itself, but also for Greek football as a whole.”
President of main opposition SYRIZA-PA Stefanos Kasselakis was among the fans at OPAP Arena and wrote on X:
“Congratulations to Olympiacos. Congratulations to these guys who chased the dream and achieved it. I was lucky enough to be among the fans. To live this incomparable experience.”
PASOK-KINAL president Nikos Androulakis, who was in the stands with his son, posted on X:
“Congratulations to Olympiacos for their great success. After a sensational game they managed to win the Conference League, the first European title at collective level in football.”