Organising body | Hellenic Football Federation |
---|---|
Founded | 1931 |
Region | Greece |
Number of teams | 84 (2019–20) |
Qualifier for | UEFA Europa League |
Current champions | Olympiacos (28th title) |
Most successful club(s) | Olympiacos (28 titles) |
Television broadcasters | Cosmote Sport |
Website | www.epo.gr |
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The Greek Football Cup (Greek: Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation.[1]
Because it involves clubs of all standards playing against each other, there is the possibility for "minnows" from the lower divisions to become "giant-killers" by eliminating top clubs from the tournament and even theoretically win the Cup.
History
editThe Greek Cup under EPO began in 1931. In its early years, entry was optional. Teams were paired against each other by the football associations, without a draw taking place. Later on, for many years, a proper draw took place and also two-legged matches were added.
The participation of Olympiacos and Panathinaikos in the final 1962 is counted for both as the presence of a finalist, since the match was stopped due to darkness in overtime (0-0). Due to the incidents between the players of the two teams, the incidents in the stands, the excessive delays and the suspicion that all this was intentional for the match to be repeated and for the teams to make bigger profits, the GGA council decided to punish the EPO with a reprimand and banned the replay of the match as a penalty for both teams[2][3][4]
Until 1964, if the final score was a draw (including extra time), the two teams played a replay match, while penalties didn't exist. That year, in the semi-final[5] between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos (1–1 at the time),fans of both teams stormed the pitch, damaged the football field and virtually stopped the game, believing that it was fixed to end in a draw, in order to be replayed for financial reasons. Both teams were ejected from the competition and therefore, in 1964 AEK won the title but the final match was not held. AEK also won in similar fashion in 1966 when Olympiacos did not show up in the final.[6]
In 1965, a new rule was applied, to determine that, if the game was undecided even after extra time, the winner would be determined by the toss of a coin. Panathinaikos won this way in the 1969 final against Olympiacos[7] . Afterwards the penalty shootout was applied. Until 1971, teams from all over the country, professional and amateur, had been taking part. Each team first played against clubs from its own association and the winners continued in a nationwide competition. Due to this, strong professional sides met amateur neighbourhood teams, sometimes beating them with high scores; a 23–0 win in an Apollon Athens vs. PAO Neas Melandias match on 23 September 1959 remains a record win for the Greek Cup until today. Since 1971, only teams from professional divisions are allowed to participate, while amateur clubs take part in the Amateur Cup.
In 1991 and 1992 the finals were two-legged matches.
It is widely considered that the most exciting match in the history of the competition was the 2009 final[8] between Olympiacos and AEK (3–3 full time, 4–4 after extra time and 15–14 on penalties).
Cup Winners
edit11 clubs have won the Greek Cup.[9]
Notes:
• In the periods 1933–38 and 1940–46, the competition was not held (in 1940–41 only the 1st round was carried out).
• In 1961–62, final match between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos was abandoned (no cup winner).
• In 1963–64 and 1965–66, final matches were not held.
• Statistical paradox : 78 editions of the competition, 77 concluded with a cup winner, 76 finals (75 concluded - 1 abandoned).
Performance by club
edit19 clubs have reached the Greek Cup final.[10]
- ^ a b c d In addition to this total, the 1962 final between Olympiacos and Panathinaikos was interrupted in overtime. The match was not replayed and no team was declared a cup winner. Both teams are considered finalists.[11]
- ^ Qualified for the final but did not take part, with opponents AEK awarded the trophy.
- ^ a b Awarded trophy with no final played.
Total titles won by city
edit11 clubs have won the Greek Football Cup, from a total of 6 cities.
City | Number of Titles | Clubs |
---|---|---|
Athens | Panathinaikos (18), AEK (15), Panionios (2) | |
Piraeus | Olympiacos (28), Ethnikos (1) | |
Thessaloniki | PAOK (7), Aris (1), Iraklis (1) | |
Larissa | AEL (2) | |
Heraklion | OFI (1) | |
Kastoria | Kastoria (1) |
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "EPO - Hellenic Football Federation". www.epo.gr. Retrieved 2021-01-16.
- ^ http://www.oldfootball.gr/k2/user-page/item/60-apagoreythikan-ta-olympiakos-panathinaikos.html
- ^ "1960-1961 ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΟΣ" (PDF). epo.gr.
- ^ Τελικός 1962 διακοπή. sportdog.gr (in Greek).
- ^ Ημιτελικός 1964 διακοπή. sansimera.gr (in Greek).
- ^ Τελικός 1966 που δεν έγινε ποτέ. oldfootball.gr (in Greek).
- ^ Ιουλ 2017 10:27, Επιμέλεια: Νίκος Συριώδης Δημοσίευση: 09. "Ο τελικός που κρίθηκε στο στρίψιμο της δεκάρας". www.sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2021-01-16.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Τελικός 2009. contra.gr (in Greek).
- ^ Η Χρυσή Βίβλος. sport24.gr (in Greek).
- ^ Ολοι οι Τελικοί. sdna.gr (in Greek).
- ^ https://www.epo.gr/vodafon/kyppello/Kipello1961-1970.pdf