Our fans provided exceptional support for Olympiakos tonight. The Giorgos Karaiskakis stadium was well filled and the fans provided encouragement and support for the team to take the victory.
We did not stop shouting our support, even for a minute which made all the difference for the game. This is still remarkable since the championship is already over and we are already champions. This wasn't a problem to our supporters though who proved that they are always side-by-side with Olympiakos and the teams.

As for the game itself, Olympiakos overcame the potential obstacle of Kavala and beat the Thracian team 3-1. The manner in which we won showed that we are deserved champions and we played both some beautiful football and presented a good spectacle. Only Larisa stand in our way from winning all of our home matches in this season.

The game opened with our team quickly imposing themselves on Kavala and the disparity between the two teams was evident from the first kick of the ball. From the first minute, we controlled the game and presented a very aggressive play. For the first 20 minutes, Kavala weren't in the game at all with ourselves doing all the attacking. Mirallas was acting as the main playmaker during this period and we tried to split the Kavala defence even without our main playmaker Ibagasa.

For our chances, we started off in the 9th minute with Mirallas attempting to break through the defence but his shot being turned behind for a corner. Our next attempt in the 19th minute was made through the joint efforts of Dudu, Djebbour and Fuster but the final shot from Fuster was wide of goal. Two minutes later, Holebas found Mirallas in the area but the shot was wide.

Our aggressive stand was continued with Dudu who took a cracker of a shot on goal and later still with Mirallas and Djebbour playing the 1-2 but failing to find the final shot on goal. Despite the fact that we hadn't scored as yet, we didn't lose heart and kept the play at a high rate. Halftime came with the scores tied at 0-0 but there was only ever going to be one winner in this match.

In the second half, the game was continued in the same high rate that the first half saw. Olympiakos tried to get forward but continually saw it's chances being spoiled at the final effort. However, Maniatis, Holebas and Mirallas were working hard to overcome this and it seemed just a question of time before the floodgates opened. In the event, it was the 58th minute when Mirallas was found in the Kavala box that we opened the scoring. Holebas worked his way up the left and broke into the area, running at the keeper. When the keeper was able to intercept, Holebas passed to the right and into the path of Fuster who shot home for 1-0.

We continued with our astonishing energy but we lapsed on concentration and allowed Kavala to equalise temporarily. Kavala player Rios took a corner in the 63rd minute and Niculae managed to beat Modesto to the ball, heading into the net for 1-1. This moment however did not dispirit our players and instead we went on to show why we are the best team in Greece. One minute afterwards, Maniatis had made a cross into the Kavala box where Djebbour beat Galinovic to the ball and headed directly into the net for 2-1.

However we did not finish here, as we wanted to put our seal on the match and we did so two minutes later. In the 67th minute Fuster passes the ball forward to Mirallas. Mirallas manages to run forward, round the keeper and then push the ball into the net making the game 3-1 in total. Olympiakos also had other chances to score notably through Raul Bravo but the score remained at 3-1. Therefore Olympiakos has now won 14 matches at home this season and will attempt to make this 15 and a new record when we play Larisa on the final match day.

Olympiakos 3-1 Kavala
58' Fuster
63' Niculae
64' Djebbour
66' Mirallas

Olympiakos (Ernesto Valverde): Megyeri, Maniatis, Modesto, Mellberg, Holebas, Hurtado, Dudu, Mirallas, Riera (82' Bravo), Fuster (76' Fetfatzidis), Djebbour (68' Zairi)

Kavala (Yiannis Mantzourakis): Galinovic, Tomasic, Pfertzel (76' Peririnha), Rios (68' Voucicevic), Digrok, Niculae (81' Ogbetse), Chrgovic, Die, Onouachi, Theodorellis, Abdoun

With the help of Yiannis Bourousis (who scored 19 points), Olympiakos beat Kavala by an 81-60 scoreline in our (empty) SEF stadium making 11 wins from 11 matches. Henceforth we go to OAKA on Wednesday in order to conquer our rivals!

As for the game itself, we started off well and never seemed to look beack. Kavala didn't seem to have any response to our superiority and seemed content to merely keep the score looking respectable. With Halperin playing well, we reached a ten point advantage by six minutes into the game (16-6) increasing this to 14 points (22-8) by the 9th minute. The finishing scoreline of 24-10 by the end of the first period was a taster of more to come.
Olympiakos continued playing with the same high tempto in the second quarter and increased the advantage to 20 points by the 17th minute (36-16) thanks to Bourousis. Kavala then had a mini-break of 6 points before we again took over in the match and finished the first half with a 43-24 scoreline.

The third quarter began well for us and we soon reached a +25 scoreline (56-31) however we then seemed to relax and allowed Kavala to get somewhat back into the game. The ending quarter score of 60-44 reflected this somewhat although we were still set advantageously for the last quarter.
Within the last period of the game we player well if not brilliantly. Perhaps methodical would be a better description of the play although Vasilopoulos did manage to distinguish himself. The game finished with a 21 point advantage with scoreline held at 81-60, a good win even if not especially outstanding.

Olympiakos 81-60 Kavala
1st Quarter : Olympiakos 24-10 Kavala
2nd Quarter : Olympiakos 43-24 Kavala
3rd Quarter : Olympiakos 60-44 Kavala
4th Quarter : Olympiakos 81-60 Kavala

Olympiakos : Papaloukas 9, Nesterovic 6, Gordon 7, Spanoulis 3, Vasilopoulos 4, Bourousis 19, Keselj 3, Mavrokefalidis 7, Halperin 8, Papanikolaou 5, Erceg 7, Teodosic 3

Todays game comes from the Eastern Macedonian port of Kavala and sees us pitted against a dangerous team who had given us problems in both of last seasons games. However despite an early loss of the ball, we were the first team to have an attempt on goal with a mow cross from the right from Rommedahl and we followed this up just moments later with a snapshot on goal from Mirallas. Kavala did have some early chances of their own, notably from a free kick on the area but there was no real threat from them. Their teqam was still getting forward but our defence was holding firm and they were not making many chances on our goal. For ourselves, we were called back during one attack for being offside whilst for the remainder of the time, we were simply probing forward with Mirallas and the three midfielders behind him.

After the opening fifteen minutes, the game had still not settled down and we were looking a little too rushed on the ball and certainly not playing as well as we could. Kavala for their part were making matters very difficult for us across the middle of the pitch and we were having trouble in controlling the game as yet. We did however still manage to make some good work down the wings and having our own (albeit weak) chances on goal but found that on occasion that we needed to time our attacks a little better to avoid being caught offside. On other occasions, we had managed to set up attacks perfectly then too much weight had been placed onto the ball coming from the midfield so that it was easily taken by the Kavala defence.

By the half hour mark, we had started to take control of the game whilst Kavala were playing more defensively. We were still having to clean up the odd attack from our opponents but we were most doing the attacking in the game ourselves. Kavala did have a couple of long range chances at Pardo on the 32' mark but there was nothing too serious and the shots went over the net. At the other end we won a corner only to lose the ball almost immediately and gift Kavala a counter attack and a chance on our goal which Pardo had difficulty in saving. A great chance on goal was created in the 40th minute when Fetfatzidis was plainly kicked in the leg and forced over in the box providing us with a penalty. Fuster converted the shot on goal and so we finally got the lead which we largely deserved.

The remaining four minutes or so saw Kavala come at us for a while longer until we took over in the field and had another few chances on the Kavala goal. The half finished after a single minute of addiotnal time and as we left the pitch we could be happy with the single goal advantage.

The second half initially saw more of the same for us. More attacks on the Kavala goalmouth and more chances beiong created for us, a good chance perhaps being Holebas breaking into the box from the left but finding his pass to the right being crowded out. We placed more pressure on the Kavala goalmouth as we got further and further into the half with us making attacks down both wings and Mirallas having a half chance on goal which he failed to take (unfortunately). We made our first substitution early on in the second half with Hurtado replacing Fetfatzidis and Fuster moving left into the left wing position. The change would initially appear to be defensive, replacing an attacking midfielder with a defensive one but there may be more into it than this.

With the player change, we started to fall back further down the field which unfortunately allowed Kavala to come forward a bit more. Kavala took advantage by having a couple of chances on our goal including a free kick which only just (thankfully) went over the net. A second substitution (Of Marko Pantelic for Dennis Rommedahl) was also made at the 69' mark as we sought to keep the running of the team fresh and free from problems. We wer still continuing to attack on occasion and we were still also capable of pushing the ball around midfield even though Kavala were starting to come forward at us more now.

Now as the game is in the final 15 minutes of its duration, we see ourselves push forward in search of a second goal finally. Pantelic had a good chance with the keeper beaten but had his shot on the open net bounce harmlessly off a defender allowing the goalkeeper to recover and get back into position. A further chance is knocked behind for a corner and yet another chance is simply blocked by the sheer mass of bodies protecting the Kavala box.
One of the better chances in the game comes from Kevin Mirallas who has a low shot taken on goal from the edge of the box but finds the keeper justabout able of reaching over with his outstretched fingers and pushing the ball clear. As it was though, we were unable to increase our lead and despite a late flourish from Kavala, we managed to keep the score intact and the game finished 0-1 after three minutes of extra time. ps. Third and final substitution made in the 93rd minute with Giannis Papadopoulos replacing Ariel Ibagaza (who has been quite frankly great in midfield today).

Gavros newspaper have printed the expected lineup for the Kavala match today :-

At the back, we have Urko Pardo in goals followed by a back four of (running right to left) Torosidis, A.Papadopoulos, Mellberg and Holebas. In the middle of the pitch we can expect to find Rommedahl and Fetfatzidis on the right and left wings respectively. The centre of midfield will be probably taken up by Ibagaza and Dudu.
Finally we have the usual duo in attack of Fuster as the centre forward and Mirallas as the lone striker.
Obviously we will await to see what actually transpires on the pitch but the above is not a bad lineup at all.

We completed our weeks training with a session held today at 10.30am. From this training we have the following :-

• Raul Bravo continued with the personal training program and obviously didn't make the squad.
• Giorgos Galitsios and Albert Riera followed their individual treatments and performed some exercises in the pool and the gym.

After the remainder of the team had finished with the training, Ernesto Valverde announced the squad of 18 players who will be making the trip to Macedonia. The players are :-

Goalkeepers (2) : Nikopolidis, Pardo
Defenders (5) : Torosidis, Mellberg, A.Papadopoulos, Modesto, Holebas
Midfielders (8) : G.Papadopoulos, Hurtado, Dudu, Rommedahl, Fetfatzidis, Zairi, Fuster, Ibagaza
Attackers (3) : Pantelic, Mirallas, Nemeth

The players who did not make the squad (Mitroglou, N.Papadopoulos, Potouridis, Galitsios, Riera and Bravo) will either train or continue their programmes of rehabilitation tomorrow at 10.30

Our team trained together again today continuing the preparation of this Sundays game against AO Kavala (19:30 - Anthi Karagianni stadium - Matchday 13). In the session, we saw Giannis Fetfatzidis playing on the left and teaming up with Jose Holebas, maybe as an expectation of the positions going to be used in the game.
For the players and the injury problems that we are facing, we have the following news :-

• Olof Mellberg and Vasillis Torosidis trained fully with the regular team. They should now be ready for the game on Sunday.

• Raul Bravo continued with the programme of re-establishment into the team and followed a personal training programme.

• Albert Riera and Giorgos Galitsios underwent a personal program including treatment for the injuries that they have suffered along with some personal training and exercises in the swimming pool.

Our training will continue tomorrow at 10:30 and we have a final session on the day after (Saturday).

Following on from todays training session, this is the latest information coming out from Rentis :-

• Albert Riera was submitted to the hospital for a magnetic scan on his right leg. Unfortunately the scan revealed that he has suffered a tear in the leg and will now be absent from playing duties for the next 3 to 4 weeks. Long enough to see his injury carry him out until the new year.

• Torosidis will be scanned tomorrow to view his recovery from injury and I hope to have more information available then. He is currently following a course of personal training including some running.

• Olof Mellberg followed his own personal program of training including some gym and athletic work. His re-establishment into the team will be monitored daily.

• Raul Bravo likewise followed his own personal training and will be checked on a daily basis as to his progress.

• Giorgos Galitsios is on the injury list still for a further four weeks or so and only received treatment for his injury today.

The remainder of the team will begin training for matchday 13 (AO Kavala) starting at 10:30 tomorrow.