Greek football/soccer : Greek Super League 2011/2012 season preview
Olympiakos crowned Greek championsOlympiakos clinched their 38th Greek League title with three matches left in the 2010/11 season. They have now won more championships in the 75-year history of the Greek league than all of their rivals combined. Olympiakos also set a club record by going unbeaten through a whole campaign on home soil. Olympiakos clinched a berth in the UEFA Champions League group stage, while runners-up Panathinaikos secured a UEFA Champions League third qualifying round berth.
The table shows the overall number of titles since 1928 for each club in the Greek football league, and their league standings in the last five seasons. Match-fixing scandal strikes Greek footballAsteras will play in the Greek Super League this season after Iraklis lost their appeal against demotion for forging a document. Iraklis had secured enough points to stay up but were relegated after submitting a forged document in their application for a licence to play in the top flight. So, Asteras, who were relegated at the end of the regular season, will remain in the Super League in place of Iraklis. Two places in the 16-team Super League have yet to be filled because of legal disputes. It involved in particular two clubs, Olimpiakos Volou and Kavala, whose presidents are currently in jail. They are accused of betting on and fixing their own clubs' matches. More than 60 club officials, players, businessmen and others have been named in Greece in connection with an alleged football match-fixing scandal. They are charged with a variety of offences including illegal gambling, fraud, extortion and money laundering. The investigation began after UEFA published a list of 41 match results from 2009/10 which they believe to be suspicious. Olympiakos Volou finished in fifth place last season, while Kavala came seventh, but the Greek Professional Sports Commission has demoted the pair to division four. They appealed to the courts and until their appeal is heard, the make-up of the Super League for 2011/12 will remain incomplete. The Greek Football Federation also handed Olympiakos Volou a 10-point deduction for last season, meaning an automatic exclusion from the Europa League play-offs. Greek federation rules state clubs deducted points from their league season are not allowed to take part in Europe. UEFA confirmed Volou had been expelled and handed a three-year suspended ban from all European competitions. This page is introduction to the 2011/2012 Greek Super League season. Latest news, statistics, results and predictions you can find on our main Euro Football > Greece page. Laszlo Boloni to manage PAOKPAOK have appointed former Laszlo Boloni as coach on a two-year deal following the departure of caretaker trainer Ioakim Havos. The 58-year-old Romanian joins the Greek club after an unsuccessful attempt to save Lens from relegation in the French top flight last term. Boloni also guided Sporting to the Portuguese title in 2002 and Standard Liege to the Belgian crown in 2009. He becomes PAOK's fourth coach since the departure of Fernando Santos last summer.
The 2010/2011 regular season standings. Battle of arch rivalsBookmakers have installed Olympiakos as favourites to win the 2011/12 Greek league crown. Arch-rivals Panathinaikos, AEK Athens and PAOK Thessaloniki are also expected to be title contenders this season.
The preseason odds for the outright winner of the 2011/12 Greek football league. Greek Cup finals in last five years2007 Larisa - Panathinaikos 2:1 |
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