OM21 NEWS
AEK In Australia In July!
Greek giant AEK Athens will play compete in a friendly tournament in Sydney at the end of July. AEK will join English Premier League side Blackburn Rovers, Scottish side Glasgow Rangers and A-League franchise Sydney FC in the four team tournament.
Dubbed the Sydney Festival of Football tournament, the round robin format will have a trophy for the winner and will also feature a special points system.
There will be one point for every goal scored on top of the regular three points for a win and one for a draw.
The tournament will be spread out over three days at the end of July and each match day will have double-header matches, giving fans two games per session.
Ticket prices begin at $29.00 per session, but tickets in the Original 21 Melbourne (OM21) bays will be $65.00 plus $5.00 booking fee. OM21 has bay 2 for the first match and will have bay 21 (!) for the second and third match.
AEK and Sydney FC will kick-off the tournament on the afternoon of Sunday July 25 at approximately 12.45. AEK's second match will see them face Vince Grella and Brett Emerton's Blackburn on Wednesday July 28 at 6pm.
Finally, AEK will be pitted against the side it knocked out of the Champions League in 1993, Glasgow Rangers on Saturday July 31 at 5pm.
AEK's Socceroo Nathan Burns is expected to take part in the tournament for the 'Enosis', after a successful season on loan to Corfu side Kerkyra. Also making the trip will be fan favourite Nikos Lymberopoulos who will naturally be greeted in true Original 21 style.
The tournament will also coincide with a visit by FIFA delegates who will be examining infrastructure in Australia in relation to Australia's World Cup bid.
Local AEK supporters are expected to travel from Australia-wide for what is AEK's first Australian tour in 30 years. The majority of these fans will be from Melbourne and Sydney.
AEK has previously toured in 1961/62, 1964/65, the summer of 1969, with the most recent trip having taken place in 1979/80.
OM21 had a meeting in Melbourne last week to discuss plans regarding travel and ticket arrangements. All AEK fans interested in seeing AEK are ENCOURAGED to contact the club via email; original_21_melbourne@yahoo.com.
Title or Not - Its our night!
The cup final has crept upon us and what a mouthwatering tie it is. Anytime we play our rivals from Peiraias it’s always a big occasion and with a trophy for the winner, the stakes are raised. Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Dusan Bajevic (commonly known as Kermit the Frog) will be on our bench as coach. Everyone knows the story behind the relationship with AEK-Ftousan – it’s a common tail which sees Kermit at AEK for the 4th separate occasion. Being a former Peiraias coach, this would hint that he could be the main focus of the 2008/09 Greek cup final.
However for our club, a group of passionate AEK fans here in Melbourne that is far from the case. Our main focus will be the chance to celebrate the club and hopefully (for the first time) celebrate (since our inception) AEK winning a piece of silverware. That chance was presented to us a few yrs ago when we met Kokkali’s followers in the Cup final. That time we lost comprehensively 3-0 in Crete but the beauty of the night was seeing OM21 flourish with a great turnout at the Dickens and a sensational pre-game party which showed the club’s potential.
OM21’s best chance for a title was last year in the 2007/08 championship where AEK was pipped for the title by none other than our fishy rivals in a somewhat controversial manner. Once again for OM21 there was exciting times in the last few weeks hoping for that last miracle to gives us something to celebrate together, but it wasn’t to be.
This leads us to the big game on the 2nd May 2009. It has been the biggest on-field rivalry in Greek Football for the best part of 4 years. While our team might not be the best on paper and with a lack of form leading into the final, it is of little concern to OM21. The most important aspect for our family is to get together for a big day of celebrations highlighted by the fact we will have interstate guests as far as Adelaide joining in the festivities. A special pre-match event with good company will set the scene for a memorable night (regards of the result).
As is always the case with such a big event, the OM21 boys will make its way to its home, the Charles Dickens Tavern, the only way it knows how to – a poreia through the city with lots of colour and plenty of singing. The people of Melbourne will be well aware that the OM21 family is in town.
Across the world, success brings supporters. Many in Greece are looking to this cup as a way to win over some of the youth to become fans of AEK. Closer to home, this cup final is a great chance for all AEK fans to come down to the Dickens to watch the game and meet fellow fans who have the same passion – a passion for this great club. With this in mind, OM21 will try it’s best to unite the AEK fans of Melbourne, evident by the many flyers around local suburbs. Finding new people who have a passion for AEK in Melbourne and getting them to be part of our friendly and passionate group is something that money and success can’t buy.
So we call on all AEKtzides of Melbourne to make sure you make the trip to Charles Dickens Tavern for the Cup Final on May 2 which will kick off at 3.30am – the one thing we know is that this will night be forgotten for a long time.
More Than Just Football
The year 2008 was a rollercoaster year for everyone involved in the idea that is Αθλητικη Ενωσης Κωνσταντινουπολη. To most, AEK is known in the football realm, however this idea extends to less-popular sports such as basketball, volleyball and handball.
As all AEK fans are aware of the financial troubles that have riddled the football team in recent years, few would be aware of the difficulties the other sporting teams have faced.
While the football side has the luxury of being able to generate revenue from sponsorships, TV rights and record season ticket sales, amateur AEK struggles to make ends meet. Often this struggle can affect management’s ability to field a competitive side, or worse yet, pay the players.
Many of the younger generation won’t be aware of the fact that the AEK basketball side was the first Greek team to win a European trophy in the sport on that historic day back on the 4th April 1968 at the famous Kallimarmaro stadium. This match still stands as the highest ever recorded attendance at a basketball game (and currently held in the Guinness book of records). Those lucky enough to attend witnessed greats such as Amerikanos and Trontzos beat Slavia Prague 92-89. The club also won the European Saporta cup in 2002 against Kinder Bologna with current great Greek players such as Ntikoudis, Kakiouzis, Hatzis and Zisis all part of the triumphant team. Those who hold this team close to them commonly refer to her as our Queen, our Βασιλισσα.
While this team has been more successful than the football side in recent years, this hasn’t transferred to off-field economic success with minimal sales of season tickets, small attendances, minimal TV revenue, no solid sponsorship and mis-management. On top of all of that, the team is playing without a home stadium and has been for the best part of 6 years.
Even worse is the situation in sports such as volleyball and handball which are managed by ERA AEK. These sports have extremely low revenue methods as the public’s interest is minute in comparison to the mainstream sports. This has resulted in many players, who wore the shirt proudly, going lengthy periods without pay. In an effort to stabilise Amateur AEK, part of the constitution in place stipulates that 10% of all revenue collected by the football department (PAE AEK) is given to ERA AEK.
Unfortunately in 2008 this didn’t occur as the then president Mr.Nikolaidis refused to hand over this revenue. Adding to the poorly organised committee (led by Anatoliakis), this saw teams struggle to compete and saw a number of players depart.
It was seen as the straw that broke the camel’s back, as at the end of the 07/08 season, Original 21 decided to takes things into their own hands. During the off-season elections, R-21 made efforts to throw out the current ERA board and win seats to take over its management. History now speaks for itself, R-21’s party did win the elections and a mix of AEK fans are now at the helm of ERA AEK.
Fast-forward to present day (6 months after R-21 won the elections), and we have seen an increase in season ticket sales and strong support across the board with AEK Boxing winning the title back in December. This is something that the club here in Melbourne takes seriously and are very proud to contribute to.
This positive news has also had a flow-on effect to the Βασιλισσα with all home games at Sporting being sold out thus far. We hope this will continue throughout the year, and more importantly help generate and increase interest among all AEK fans who love this great club. When Friday night comes around, our biggest issues should not be what position Basinas will play in, but how we are going to get to every game AEK participates in over the weekend and scream ‘ΑΕΚ θυμησου ηρθε η ORIGINAL και ειναι ‘δω μαζι σου.
A Reflection on 2008
As we are about to bid farewell to the year 2008, its always a good time to reflect on the events of the past 12 months. For some, it has been a year that we would rather forget, others see it as a stepping stone for the future. However you see it, its been a season of many highs and lows. And at the end of it, we stand firm as a family and look to 2009 with much anticipation and excitement. Let's break down 2008 as we look at AEK and then things much closer to home.
AEKara
Its tough finding a starting point, but lets start with the top - the departure of President Nikolaidis. Everyone has an opinion on what he done during his reign, thus the mixed feelings when he walked. One thing we can say is that the timing of his departure was poor. After 4.5 years at the top, he walked mid-season and left us in a financially better position, but with no stadium, no training ground and a string of ex-players which we churned out in the bid for a title.
In the history books you will see the champions of season 07/08 are the Kotes from Peiraia. A season that saw the title decided by the courts which is no surprise by Greek standards. While we may have been the true champions, the events that followed season end ultimately brought AEK to its knees. Falling out between the players and board saw club legends leave on bitter terms and basically leave the club without any AEK people, without any leaders. Sadly, these players would be extremely handy in times like these.
Whilst many do focus on AEK of the football kind, it has been a big year for AEK of the amateur style. What ORIGINAL orchestrated and then implemented was phenomenal. For a fan group (of any kind) to take matters into their own hands shows that they are serious about their commitment to this club. The beauty of this takeover is that it is not purely an ORIGINAL-based committee, with a mixture of R-21 people and non R-21 people shows that with AEK's best interests at heart, great things can be achieved. While it is all still fresh, the results so far in things like Handball, Volleyball and Boxing have started to show.
The basketball team has been on its knees for a while now. Similar to how football has become, AEK's board have turned over players, struggled to find a home and play with a tiny budget year after year. As it looked like things were turning the corner with Drosos in 07/08, summer saw the club again unravel all its good work. Thankfully, things were resolved and AEK went back in time - well they actually went back to Sporting, a place where we played some 40 years ago. Sporting is a magical place, the atmosphere is amazing and something that only the crowd of AEK can create. As if the world stands still for 2 hours, you sit in a breathtaking cauldron as the hairs on your neck stand up. If you get the opportunity, you definitely want to experience this.
On the volleyball front, both teams unfortunately were relegated in season 07/08. After a great start to the season for both teams it was disappointing to go down that path, but in such a time it now becomes our job to make sure that we lift her back into the first division. Thus far its been a successful start to the campaign and 2009 should see the team return to where it belongs.
After a great 06/07, the handball team struggled in 07/08 and eventually missed the play-offs. With some signings and the resolve for the team to do better in 08/09, the team came out of the blocks and go into Xmas sitting in 2nd place. OM21 have great support for this team and look forward to a solid finish to the season so we can jump on a plane and get back to Europe to watch the team in European competition.
OM21
2008 saw the club celebrate its 6th birthday, that in itself is a great achievement. As the year passed, some new faces joined the crew at the Dickens as the club continues to go from strength to strength. A year which saw the boys attend the Charles Dickens on over 40 occasions for both football and basketball matches.
It was also the first time since its inception, that OM21 lost the Lakeside Cup to CC. Regardless of the result the day was absolutely fantastic and plenty of money was raised to support the South Melbourne Football Club. It was great to see some new players in the team and for many people to come down and support the club.
For the 5th consecutive year the OM21 banner made another appearance in Greece. This time it managed to get to football, basketball, volleyball, handball and even Futsal's matches. OM21 have prided itself on getting over at every opportunity to support our beloved team in every sporting arena and hope that this tradition continues for the years to come.
More importantly, the club continued to mature. Friendships were formed, and there was a real family presence at a number of events. The young ones enjoyed getting a part of it and show that AEK truly is a special concept to hold close to you. Whilst we may be thousands of kilometres away, our ties with Greece continued to grow and more importantly the family continues to unite.
2009 is going to be an interesting season on-field for AEK. Whatever happens we know that OM21 will be with her on every step of the way in every sport. The doors to the Charles Dickens are always open so we welcome all AEK fans of Melbourne to get down there and join in on the magical ride that is ORIGINAL21 Melbourne.
OM21 Merchandise
OM21 currently has a number of items in its merchandise pool available for sale. Items vary from the club's 5th-year DVD, a small number of OM21 t-shirts, various t-shirts from other R-21 clubs in Greece and some AEK Empires from the past few months.
For more information about these items, either come down to the next home game at the Charles Dickens or contact the club via email.