More than ever before: Olympiacos' fans ready to turn Belgrade into Piraeus / News - Basketnews.com

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Fans don't play basketball, but they're still the ones who can push their team to play better when they're losing, cheer them up when they're down, and celebrate with them after a happy ending.

2-pointers this season

58%19,5Points made:19,5Accuracy:58,1%Place in standings:10Record max:26Record min:11Most made 2FGs:Moustapha FallTeamEuroLeagueStatisticsSchedule

On certain occasions, a strong and noisy fanbase has become an essential element in a team's success. During a EuroLeague Final Four held on neutral ground, like the upcoming one in Belgrade, Olympiacos Piraeus' fans will certainly make the difference, even if their team doesn't win the trophy.

Olympiacos will be present in a Final Four for the eleventh time overall and seventh over the last 14 years (since 2009 in Berlin), aiming to reach the top for the fourth time. The Reds knocked down AS Monaco in the playoffs and are now preparing to do battle with reigning champs Anadolu Efes Istanbul.

On March 4, EuroLeague announced that its main event will move from Berlin to Belgrade. That was great news for Olympiacos' fans. Belgrade is a city separated by only 1.200 kilometers from Athens, accessible by all means of transport, including cars and buses. Serbs and Greeks have long-term ties and Olympiacos' die-hard fans have formed a special bond with their Crvena Zvezda counterparts.

With the exclusion of Russian teams, Olympiacos progressively consolidated their place among the Top 4 teams in the regular season and when their Final Four spot was secured, 1,000 tickets were purchased by Reds' fans in less than 24 hours, resulting in a sold-out.

Credit REUTERS/Osman Orsal

Some days ago, the club's GM, Nikos Lepeniotis, referred extensively to the issue and explained the situation.

"I don't know how many fans there will be in Belgrade, but I think we may see numbers similar to those of the (2010) Paris Final Four, where there were more than 6,000 Olympiacos' fans present," Lepeniotis told Greek outlet sport24.gr.

The number given by Lepeniotis is the largest ever recorded in terms of their fans' presence in a Final Four.

"There's tremendous demand. The four teams will get 600 tickets apiece. We said that we will take all of them and that we want more," he continued.

"We're in touch with other teams. There may be tickets left from Real or Barcelona, while Efes will use all of them. The Spanish teams always take about half the tickets they're given," he continued.

Lepeniotis and the club have made clear that priority has been given to season-ticket holders. "We will not be able to serve anyone who does not have a season ticket. It is important for us to reward people who supported us in COVID times. We will try to find tickets from various sources, but it's difficult," he added.

According to Olympiacos' estimations, 7,000 tickets have already ended up in their fans' hands, including the 600 that EuroLeague distributed to each of the Final Four contenders.

The Reds calculate that another 2,000 Greeks will be in Belgrade, whether they've purchased their tickets already from fans of other teams, or intend to do so once they reach the Serbian capital. Olympiacos are also counting on the support of Red Star fans ('Delije'). Serbs have acquired roughly 5% of the ticket total, which translates to almost 800 fans.

All things considered, the three-time EuroLeague champs could see up to 10,000 - or even more- of their fans cheer for them in the Stark Arena, where the allowed capacity will be around 15,500. That almost equals the entire capacity of the Peace and Friendship Stadium (11,847).

In case Olympiacos eliminate Anadolu Efes and qualify for the final, the number can further increase, as demand will be very high.

The Greek side estimates that 16% of all tickets have been sold to Spanish (Real Madrid and FC Barcelona) fans, another 6% to Maccabi Tel Aviv fans (a large number of which will not be present in Belgrade), and only a 5% to Anadolu Efes' supporters.

Since more details regarding the exact numbers are going to become available as we're heading towards Thursday's semi-finals,BasketNews guides you through the last four Final Four campaigns, where Olympiacos' fans accompanied their team in the event.

2012 (Sinan Erdem, Istanbul)

Capacity: 16,000 spectators

Final Four: Olympiacos-CSKA Moscow–Barcelona–Panathinaikos

Final: Olympiacos-CSKA Moscow 62-61

Olympiacos and Panathinaikos fans dominated the stands, as they had done in Berlin (2009). With the Reds eliminating Barca in the semi-final, a total of 5,000 Olympiacos' fans appeared on the day of the final, relishing the opportunity to see Printezis' buzzer-beater from up close.

2013 (O2 Arena, London)

Capacity: 20,000 spectators

Final Four: Olympiacos-Real Madrid–CSKA Moscow–Barcelona

Final: Olympiacos–Real Madrid 100-88

In the two semi-finals, none of the four teams had the lion's share. But in the final game, the balance changed with Olympiacos' fans filling the majority of the seats.

To the 3,000 who had already traveled to London were added another 500, who came to the English capital from different countries. The Greek club managed to secure additional tickets from EuroLeague to satisfy more requests and needs.

2015 (Barclaycard Center, Spain)

Capacity: 17,453 spectators

Final Four: Olympiacos-CSKA Moscow–Real Madrid–Fenerbahce Istanbul

Final: Real Madrid- Olympiacos 78-59

The first of two straight Final Fours where Olympiacos faced the home team in the final. Real's fans were the overwhelming majority, compared to the approximately 1,200 Olympiacos fans who were sitting in two different parts of the stadium.

2017 (Sinan Erdem, Istanbul)

Capacity: 16,000 spectators

Final Four: Olympiacos-CSKA Moscow–Fenerbahce Istanbul-Real Madrid

Final: Fenerbahce-Olympiacos 80-64

Initially, Olympiacos received 1,300 tickets, but most entries were bought by Fenerbahce fans. In the final, the Greeks had 2,000 fans by their side, but -still- the Turks easily outnumbered them, as they were almost five times as many.

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