Panathinaikos vs. Olympiakos Soccer Match

As befits football in Greece, the rivalry between cross-town neighbor clubs Panathinaikos and Olympiakos has taken epic proportions.

The nicknames alone are harbingers of destruction – The Derby of Eternal Enemies and the Mother of All Battles. As with all great rivalries, the competitiveness exists in more places than the field of battle. Panathinaikos fans are upper class, fancy lads while the Olympiakos team is a modern-day band of working class heroes, fanning the flames of the football fire.

This dynamic is complicated by the fact that both teams are serious dominant amongst Greek football clubs – the best by far – so when they meet on the field in their home town, sparks fly.

Panathinaikos has won the league 20 times, the Greek Cup 16 times and finished runners-up in the European Cup once. Olympiakos has won the league an astonishing 37 times and the Greek Cup 24 times.

Accordingly, the teams are referred to as the Kings of Greek football.

Maybe it should be the Gods.