From the LFC Tour web site.
http://www.lfctour.com/news/latest-news/why-olympiacos-fans-will-never-walk-alone
Why Olympiacos fans will never walk alone
25th February 2014
When Liverpool meet Olympiacos in this summer’s Guinness International Champions Cup in Chicago, don’t be surprised if the biggest round of applause of the night from the LFC fans is directed at the Greek club’s supporters.
The two clubs have enjoyed a special relationship ever since they met in the Champions League in 2004 – a competition the Reds would famously go on to win that season - and if any further proof was needed about the bond that has grown between both sets of supporters, it was evident on Tuesday night when Olympiacos hosted Manchester United.
Football fans watching the match at home may have been surprised when a picture of a banner paying tribute to the 96 Liverpool supporters who lost their lives at Hillsborough started trending on social media but the banner is not new and can actually be seen in the ground whenever Greek football’s most successful club – winners of 40 league titles – play at home.
Olympiacos, like Liverpool, know all about football tragedies.
In 1981, eight years before Hillsborough, there was the Karaiskakis Stadium disaster. Having enjoyed a famous 6-nil win over AEK Athens, thousands of fans rushed to the exit at Gate 7 to make their way to the stadium’s main entrance to celebrate with their heroes. The doors were closed, however, and the turnstiles were still in place. There was no way out of the stadium and as more fans came rushing down the stairs – unable to see the tragedy beginning to unfold at Gate 7 – those at the front were crushed.
21 fans – many of them young – died. The cause of death for many was suffocation.
What April 15th 1989 is for Liverpool FC, February 8th 1981 is for Olympiacos.
Liverpool supporters, more knowledgeable than most about European football history, made sure that the Olympiacos fans knew that they understood their pain when the Greek side visited Anfield in 2004.
A mosaic was created on the Kop that remembered fans lost by both clubs. ’96 + 21 YNWA’ it read.
The heartfelt gesture was appreciated by not just the visiting fans that night but also those watching at home back in Greece.
Three years later, a group of Liverpool fans laid a wreath at the Gate 7 memorial.
As a mark of gratitude for the respect shown, Olympiacos fans created their own banner that read ‘JUSTICE FOR THE 96’ and hung it on the Gate 7 section of their ground. It’s a banner that can be seen at every game – not just for the match against Manchester United.
Another large banner, not shown on TV, but bearing both club crests, reads: ‘Brothers, you show us the way - 21+96 - You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
Tragedy may have brought the two clubs together but in Chicago on July 27, it will be a mutual respect between the two sets of supporters that strengthens a genuine bond that is unique in football.
Author: Paul Rogers
http://www.lfctour.com/news/latest-news/why-olympiacos-fans-will-never-walk-alone
Why Olympiacos fans will never walk alone
25th February 2014
When Liverpool meet Olympiacos in this summer’s Guinness International Champions Cup in Chicago, don’t be surprised if the biggest round of applause of the night from the LFC fans is directed at the Greek club’s supporters.
The two clubs have enjoyed a special relationship ever since they met in the Champions League in 2004 – a competition the Reds would famously go on to win that season - and if any further proof was needed about the bond that has grown between both sets of supporters, it was evident on Tuesday night when Olympiacos hosted Manchester United.
Football fans watching the match at home may have been surprised when a picture of a banner paying tribute to the 96 Liverpool supporters who lost their lives at Hillsborough started trending on social media but the banner is not new and can actually be seen in the ground whenever Greek football’s most successful club – winners of 40 league titles – play at home.
Olympiacos, like Liverpool, know all about football tragedies.
In 1981, eight years before Hillsborough, there was the Karaiskakis Stadium disaster. Having enjoyed a famous 6-nil win over AEK Athens, thousands of fans rushed to the exit at Gate 7 to make their way to the stadium’s main entrance to celebrate with their heroes. The doors were closed, however, and the turnstiles were still in place. There was no way out of the stadium and as more fans came rushing down the stairs – unable to see the tragedy beginning to unfold at Gate 7 – those at the front were crushed.
21 fans – many of them young – died. The cause of death for many was suffocation.
What April 15th 1989 is for Liverpool FC, February 8th 1981 is for Olympiacos.
Liverpool supporters, more knowledgeable than most about European football history, made sure that the Olympiacos fans knew that they understood their pain when the Greek side visited Anfield in 2004.
A mosaic was created on the Kop that remembered fans lost by both clubs. ’96 + 21 YNWA’ it read.
The heartfelt gesture was appreciated by not just the visiting fans that night but also those watching at home back in Greece.
Three years later, a group of Liverpool fans laid a wreath at the Gate 7 memorial.
As a mark of gratitude for the respect shown, Olympiacos fans created their own banner that read ‘JUSTICE FOR THE 96’ and hung it on the Gate 7 section of their ground. It’s a banner that can be seen at every game – not just for the match against Manchester United.
Another large banner, not shown on TV, but bearing both club crests, reads: ‘Brothers, you show us the way - 21+96 - You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
Tragedy may have brought the two clubs together but in Chicago on July 27, it will be a mutual respect between the two sets of supporters that strengthens a genuine bond that is unique in football.
Author: Paul Rogers
