Panathinaikos 3 PAS Lamia 1

14th April 2024 – Super League – Stadio Apóstolos Nikolaidis, Athens, Greece

In December, the Greek authorities ruled that all Super League games would be played behind closed doors, for the foreseeable future after escalating violence between clubs which culminated in a police officer being killed in a volleyball match between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos.  Trouble was never too far away at football games, especially when any of the big four met.  Back in October, the game between Olympiakos and Panathinaikos was abandoned after a flare hit Juankar, one of the away side’s substitutes warming up on the touchline.

After two months of discussions between the authorities and the clubs, the ban was lifted in February, but strict criteria and heavy sanctions introduced in a bid to combat any further problems.  Fans were welcome back into the stadiums, although the new rules saw away fans banned at most of the topflight grounds, whilst any objects thrown onto the pitch during a game would result in matches being abandoned and stadium closed.

I’d cautiously monitored the situation in Greece, hovering over the cancel button for my flights.  The post regular season play-off fixtures hadn’t been drawn but with the three Athens clubs and the two from Thessaloniki involved in a six team round robin tournament to determine who would be champions and who would qualify for European competition, the risk of trouble could raise its head at any point.

The draw of games had been kind, with Panathinaikos and AEK at home on my day of arrival with kick off times staggered so I could easy get between the two games via public transport.  A third game, AEK B’s second division match against Levadeiakos at their Serafeideion Stadium, near the airport was a possible lunch time starter if my flight was on time (alas it didn’t).

But for me the main event was an opportunity to visit the vintage beauty of the Apóstolos Nikolaidis, home of one of the best match day experiences in European, nay dare I say, World football. Gate 13.  A steep, wide wall of noise.  Intimidating, raw, dedicated.

It did seem strange that tickets didn’t go on sale until four days before the game, my relentless checking the ticketing website finally rewarding me with a smattering of seats in one block of the ground.  I could finally relax that I wouldn’t be turning up empty handed.

I’d booked a hotel close to the ground, which was also a few minutes’ walk from the metro stop from the airport.  Three hours before kick-off, with the temperature already hitting 30 degrees, the merchandise sellers were already out in force.  The side streets around the ground were covered in Panathinaikos graffiti, marking the territory in green and black.  The bars and restaurants were starting to fill up, but I had a couple of hours on the roof of my hotel to top up my tan before I wandered back to soak up the match day atmosphere.

Alas, despite the wall-to-wall sunshine and the temperature nudging the 30s the swimming pool at my hotel was shut.  “Unfortunately, it is not yet May sir.  It is too cold to sit on the roof”.  It was also too cold for the air conditioning to be switched.  Next best option, a good book and a large souvlaki and chips at one of the bars near the ground.

I got chatting to the waiter and he mentioned how lucky I was to have got a ticket, what with Gate 13 being closed.  Closed? What, when and how?  He wasn’t sure of all the detail, but he knew that many of the hardcore fans would be boycotting the game in protest of whatever sanctions had been imposed on the club.

The stadium from the outside is all barbed wire, broken glass, graffiti and rawness, and it’s beautiful.  The club had installed modern bar code readers, shoehorned into the narrow gates.  Clubs were supposed to be checking the IDs on tickets based on the new rules, something the Italians had successfully put in place.  Here, a cursory look at the ticket on my phone was good enough to pass.  A brief pat down and I was in.

With Gate 13, closed, the capacity of the Apóstolos Nikolaidis had been reduced to around 8,000 for the visit of Championship Playoff group make weights Lamia (fun fact, in Greek mythology Lamia was a child-eating monster who had an affair with Zeus), who came into the game against Panathinaikos on 34 points, half of what leaders PAOK had, and 14 points behind 5th place Aris.

The ground looked so strange with one end completely empty.  The rest of the stadium was basking in sunshine and rammed.  The section I was in had a nice touch of allowing kids to sit on the edge of the pitch, their legs dangling down and signs asking for various player’s shirts.

It was a strange atmosphere without Gate 13.  It had the feel of a pre-season game, polite applause, lots of families, nothing like what I’d expected. Pockets of fans tried to raise the atmosphere and a brief altercation between some home supporters behind the goal got us all excited although a terrible back pass from Panathinakos defender Giannis gave Slivka Vykintas an opportunity for Lamia to take a shock lead.  That did the trick as all of a sudden everyone was on their feet, cheering and clapping the team as they sheepishly returned to the centre circle. 

Fans new each other, adults looked out for children, a guy carried €5 beers on a tray above his head, passing them back up into fans who passed their money the other way, it was like being back at football with my dad when I was a small boy.

Panathinaikos boss Fatih Terim shed his jacket, untucked his shirt and started to rant.  He looked like an angry Grandad, berating his grandchildren for playing football on his freshly mowed lawn.

The lead lasted just three minutes. Gnezda Cerin Adam superbly volleyed in from close range after a clever cross to the far post from Willian.  From that moment onwards, there was only going to be one winner, although the home side were made to work hard to break down a stubborn Lamia defence who were more than happy with a point.

They got their chance in the 60^th minute when Bernard superbly executed a free kick from twenty-five yards out.  With three minutes to go the Brazilian midfielder grabbed his second and made the game safe. Panathinaikos had 22 shots on goal to the visitors 5 – a dominant display.

I took the opportunity to beat the crowds onto the metro and head off towards Nea Filadelfeia for AEK’s game with Aris.  The absence of the ultras had made it a very different match day experience to the one I was hoping for but instead I saw the community side of the club, the one that’s the living heartbeat of this small area in one of the craziest cities in the world.