Melbourne Victory have announced the club is set to host a one-off game against Greek champions Olympiacos at Etihad Stadium in May.
Melbourne Victory have announced the club is set to host a one-off game against Greek champions Olympiacos at Etihad Stadium in May.
With the Greek Super League to wrap up in April, Victory will be looking for a bumper crowd for the visit of the European giants on Saturday May 19.
This will be Olympiacos- first visit to Australia since 1978, and it sure to raise excitement levels among Melbourne-s enormous Greek community.
Olympiacos has committed to bringing a full strength squad that will include five current Greek internationals, that will feature in the national team during the upcoming Euro 2012 Championships in June.
Among the Greek internationals to feature in the Olympiacos line-up will be exciting right back Vasilios Torosidis, left back Jose Holebas, central defender Avram Papadopulos, defensive midfielder Yiannis Maniatis and Greek attacking prodigy, Yiannis Fetfatzidis.
In addition, the Olympiacos squad will feature international players like leading goalscorer and excitement machine Kevin Miralas (Belgium), fellow striker Rafik Djebbour (Algeria), Sweden captain Olaf Mellberg, forward Kazim Richards (Turkey), midfielder David Fuster (Spain), Serbian star striker Marko Pantelic, midfield playmaker Ariel Ibayasa (Argentina), Former Manchester Utd. Goalkeeper Roy Carroll (Ireland), Ivan Marcano (Spain), and Cameroon midfielder Makoun.
Olympiacos president Mr Evangelos Marinakis said, “It is an honour for our club to finally make the visit to Australia.
“We hope to further promote our club to the thousands of Greek expats in Australia and entertain them with our special brand of attacking football – we are rejoicing and cannot wait to bring joy to the throng of our supporters”
Olympiacos captain, Avram Papaadopoulos, said, “It-s with much joy and anticipation that we make the trip to Melbourne. We have heard that there are thousands of Olympiacos fans in Australia waiting to see our team in action and we will not disappoint them.”
Given the expected interest in the event, organisers have encouraged fans to purchase tickets early in order to avoid disappointment.
Tickets will go on sale via Ticketmaster on Wed 28 March at 9am. Tickets start from $20 and also feature a variety of VIP fan packages, including the opportunity to meet the players at a specially organised training session at Etihad Stadium.
Visit www.olympiacosaustralia.com for more information.
