Wherever you go in Greece, you are weighted down by history. Towering ancient monuments slowly erode under the invisible smog blanket of modernity.

Most Greeks will happily spend several hours explaining to the polite non-Greek tourist, why their nation has gifted the world everything from democracy to philosophy and, of course, the blueprint for insurmountable debt. It’s a common pastime that obsesses but simultaneously obfuscates the realities of the here and now. This is Greece’s eternal downfall. For a country that has undoubtedly influenced how many of our lives are played out, it nevertheless seems to be locked within its own insular paradigm of history and extremism with little regard for how external perceptions may shape it.

This is made manifest within the rivalry that exists between Panathinaikos and their local rivals, Olympiakos. Their meetings are commonly known as The Derby of Eternal Enemies and their supporters place these matches above all other footballing interests, so much so that they would rather suffer Champions League elimination over a loss of face to their hated adversaries. This attitude consequently only serves to Greek football’s detriment.

The clubs may have won 61 Greek championships between them but other than Panathinaikos’ appearance in the 1971 European Cup Final (that saw them defeated by the much mythologised Ajax team of Cruyff and Neeskens), Greek club football barely registers on the European football scene beyond the occasional foray and toothless defeat in a quarter final. Of course, there are many factors that contribute to this being the case. One of these being that Greece is not generally thought of as one of Europe’s glamour destinations and clubs tend to be populated by players who are either making their names under the gaze of canny scouting networks before moving elsewhere or by those moving in the inevitable other direction towards journeyman status. Furthermore, Greece cannot hope to compete with the riches of England, Spain and Germany, and as a consequence finds itself trapped within the cycle of local footballing hostilities rather than worrying the game’s pantheon of mega-clubs.

Their meetings are commonly known as The Derby of Eternal Enemies and their supporters place these matches above all other footballing interests. Meet Panathinaikos and their local rivals, Olympiakos

In many respects, the animosity that exists between Panathinaikos and Olympiakos mirrors that of Glasgow’s Old Firm, but instead of religion being the divisive element, in Greece it boils down to a good old-fashioned case of class conflict. Panathinaikos’ traditional support stems from the environs of Athens’ affluent centre, whilst Olympiakos have always attracted a far more working class fan base originating as they do from the less-moneyed Piraeus port area.

Added to this, both locales have played major roles in Greece’s development in antiquity with Athens generally regarded as the cradle of civilisation with Piraeus acting as a strategic point of commerce for the capital’s wealth and power. Animosity and resentment have thus been duly nurtured for thousands of years and it is no surprise that this spills over into football whenever the two clubs meet, with hooliganism being an ongoing problem that the authorities have found difficult to smother.

To understand this with a little more clarity, it is perhaps relevant to know a little about how the Greek character has been constructed by its turbulent history.

Greece is traditionally a country that lurches from one dangerous extreme to another. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the nation viciously ripped itself apart in a civil war that acted as a precursor for the ideological battles of left and right that asphyxiated much of the continent of Europe in the second half of the 20th century. Aided by the arms and machinations of the West, the pro-nationalist, anti-communist fighters emerged victorious and it was almost inevitable that Greece found itself under the yoke of military dictatorship that ruled with absolute fear and force between 1967 and 1974.

Cupcakes to make both fans happy

The clubs may have won 61 Greek championships between them but other than Panathinaikos’ appearance in the 1971 European Cup Final (that saw them defeated by the much mythologised Ajax team of Cruyff and Neeskens), Greek club football barely registers on the European football scene beyond the occasional foray and toothless defeat in a quarter final. Of course, there are many factors that contribute to this being the case.

In recent years, as the country has suffered the consequences of financial debt and austerity, its people have increasingly found themselves looking to the proclamations and promises of parties outside the political mainstream. There has been a resurgence of neo-Nazism under the guise of fervent patriotism as enacted by the thugs of the malevolent Golden Dawn Party. This has been counteracted by the conception and subsequent electoral success of the extreme left Syriza, which campaigns against Greece’s continued membership of the European Union and aims to protect the interests of ordinary working Greeks who have been most affected by the effects of near-bankruptcy. Greece, therefore, is very much a country in a perpetual state of conflict with itself.

Olympiakos vs Panathinaikos

As the burdens of the financial crisis have taken their toll, it is perhaps ironic that a club such as Panathinaikos, that has always been associated with wealth, has suffered most under the current gloomy economic climate. The club has found it progressively harder to manage its accounts and has had to abandon plans for moving into a new purpose-built stadium. Having to rely on players coming through the youth system, Panthinaikos suffered the indignity of not qualifying for European football in 2012/13, an unwanted feat not achieved for 16 years prior to this. This has therefore allowed Olimpiakos to consolidate their control of the Greek Super League in much the same way that Celtic have swept all before them after Rangers’ demotion in Scotland.

This naturally adds a further obstacle in Greek football’s path if it wants to move away from the perception of it being one of football’s backwaters. It cannot continue to labour under the illusion that refuses to acknowledge the benefits of a league that is based on varied competition rather than one that veers from duopoly to monopoly and back to duopoly.

A very old rivalry

Wherever you go in Greece, it’s not unusual to see graffiti flagrantly and liberally sprayed onto buildings citing support for one of the Athens’ giants. The clubs’ ongoing dispute easily spreads and incorporates the wider tensions that dominate the country. It has always been a case of those who have been at odds with those who have not. The problem with that is that if a common consensus for enduring growth and development cannot be found within Greece’s footballing sphere, then what hope is there for the very real problems that the country now faces? Perhaps then it’s time to let the achievements of the past rest in order for the future to be tackled beyond the easy solutions of extreme politics.

Connect with Greg Theoharis on Twitter @sofalife. You can also read his blog, Dispatches From A Football Sofa, at http://DispatchesFromAFootballSofa.com

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, August 24th, 2014