Why Nottingham Forest fans are right to be excited: Mail Sport goes inside Olympiacos’ wild 100th birthday party to see what makes Evangelos Marinakis tick

There are six words written in white on the back of Olympiacos’ bright red team bus: dream, love, create, fight, survive, and win. They are also the six words inked onto Evangelos Marinakis’ left forearm.

They all feel apt, particularly for a club owned by Marinakis, and particularly on the day they are toasting 100 years since their inception.

Dreaming, many say, is part of the formula here. It is why no-one scoffed at the suggestion they can one day go on to win the Champions League during his presidency.

The journey from a meeting in Moira’s Tavern in March 1925, where the legend in these parts goes that the team was founded amid a sea of red wine that night, to becoming the first Greek team to win a major European trophy has whet the appetite, not suppressed it.

‘He is the captain of our boat,’ former Olympiacos striker Darko Kovacevic tells Mail Sport of Marinakis.

‘He is always optimistic, an incredibly hard worker, and he is always a winner. We are happy to be working with him because we know he is always going to win because he works so hard.

‘The future? Dreams are free. Everyone can dream as big as they can.’

Marinakis is upstairs in the stadium restaurant after a 1-0 win over Crete-based side OFI that, coupled with a defeat for PAOK and a draw for Panathinaikos, stretched their lead at the top of the Greek Super League to seven points.

He is sat at the head of the 10-person table in his private dining area. Waiters are moving in and out as plates come and go with fresh fish, vegetables and grilled meats delivered. He is holding court with a cigar delicately resting on a side plate.

It has been a long weekend for Marinakis, as they so often are. One that started with a 12:30pm Saturday kick-off to watch Nottingham Forest beat Manchester City and ending with a late night cigar as fans gathered down by the harbour to celebrate long into the morning with fireworks and flares for Olympiacos’ 100th birthday.

Our conversation is occasionally punctuated as he asks club staff to check invited guests and dignitaries are all taken care of. He is tired from his travels but takes interest in the stories of others. It is easy to see why players in Nottingham and in Piraeus have grown so attached to him.

‘There are two words to describe Mr Marinakis: passionate and visionary,’ assistant coach Sotiris Silaidopoulos tells Mail Sport.

‘He is also a winner and all those values are his own that have since been embedded into the DNA of this club.

‘You can see today a team that always fights to the end, always tries to aim for the best. We are driven to be better every single day and I think the combination between Mr Marinakis and the team is really strong. It sets the tone.’

Giannis, a lifelong Olympiacos fan, is driving along the motorway before realising he can hear fans inside the ground chanting inside.

Horns beep incessantly and there is still more than an hour to go until José Luis Mendilibar and his players emerge from the tunnel.

Many fans had taken the day off work to bask in this celebration, which saw children entertained with inflatables and a mini-theme park outside the ground during the day and adults queuing in long lines to pose for photos with the club’s European trophies.

A special 100th anniversary shirt has caused pandemonium. On Saturday morning fans queued from as early as 4am to ensure they did not miss out, creating a queue that seemed to run for miles, starting from the station at gate 8, and making a circle to lead to Karaoli and Dimitriou 8, the road that leads to Piraeus

The shirt features the club’s original emblem, which has only been given to a few teams by adidas, including Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Manchester United, Juventus and Arsenal. To the powers that be the shirt, which sold out on Saturday and caused an online frenzy on Sunday with a late restock, has been treated like any of Europe’s powerhouse sides.

Now, led by Gate 7, the largest fan movement in Greece, many headed inside to drum up a noise that was heard for miles.

In a lengthy post on Facebook by the fan group in recent days, the message was clear: every single seat must be filled. There is no alternative option.

‘PS. Those who do not come, it is necessary to transfer their season tickets. It is of MAJOR importance that NO SEAT is left empty on SUNDAY,’ their public service announcement read.

‘PS2. OUR BROTHERS IN PRISON ARE CELEBRATING TOGETHER!’

Others evidently couldn’t get out of work and on the approach to the stadium those filtering out of offices were seen in red ties as they hot-footed it to the ground.

Stickers around the stadium were red. The desk at reception was red. Many food items were packaged in red. First aiders were head to toe in red. There were caps, scarves, and jackets. The red sea was washing through the streets of Piraeus.

Inside the evidence of how oversubscribed the game is becomes clear. The press box, where Mail Sport is sat, has chairs locked together with more chairs than space. One journalist makes it a family affair by bringing his young son to sit on his lap.

‘I cannot always get to the games,’ he explained, ‘but this one could not be missed.’

Marinakis is still riding the wave of Forest’s result a day earlier, albeit also bristling from the 3-0 Europa League last-16 first leg away to Bodo/Glimt days prior that has put progress in real jeopardy.

That win for Forest felt symbolic of the feeling that it is a club looking forward. Looking forward to returning to Europe; looking forward to even brighter days; looking forward to trying to establish themselves as one of the powerhouses of the Premier League.

Here in Piraeus this was as much about looking back and paying homage as it was looking forward. This was a celebration of those who had come before, the founding fathers, those that had paved the way for Marinakis and others to transform a club into what we see it as today.

He is in a casual white t-shirt in his usual seat. Days like this one don’t come around often.

For a young kid from Piraeus who grew up with Olympiacos in his bloodstream, his dad Miltiadis formerly part of the administration and the club crest tattooed on his body, who is now estimated to be worth around £3billion, he was no doubt feeling a cocktail of emotions as a choreographed tifo to mark 100 years transformed the stands before kick-off.

Tears were shed by some; anxious smoking was the tonic for others as club anthems reverberated around. Up in the sky drone footage beams the iconography of the tifo into the homes of millions watching on television. It proves to be appointment viewing.

‘Nobody has built a club up like him,’ sporting director Christian Karembeu told Mail Sport.

‘Nobody has done this. He has had 15 years with Olympiacos and he implemented a vision to win.

‘Of course the DNA, we had this culture already, but he has invested a lot, innovating all the time.

‘We have new facilities, we always have the best quality and best conditions for the players. He’s committed, he’s passionate, he loves our teams, and he never gives up. That is what he wants to transmit to us. You never give up and you always believe.

‘But also to win. As a successful entrepreneur he also gave us this mentality. When I talk about transformation I was a player here but we never travelled to win it all. Today, Olympiacos has a name and can achieve many goals abroad. We are a big club with values and always this is the culture for victory.’

Before he disappears there is a last word for the president: ‘He is a legend for Greece, not only for Olympiacos.’

The game itself proves something of a non-event. In the stands fans come together as one to beam their phone torch to create a wall of light more reminiscent of a Coldplay concert than a footballing arena.

The bounce of the stadium never died. There was an energy and a buzz from 90 minutes before kick-off to well after the final whistle when the team danced with their supporters. This was a party in more ways than one. The football, to some, felt like an added bonus.

That certainly applied to the young pitch invader who sneakily managed to leap the advertising boards to run towards his favourite player, Chiquinho, with a sharpie pen in his hand.

He was no older than 11 years old and as he dipped and weaved from security chasing him down he got Chiquinho to sign his shirt before taking a selfie. Players on both sides could not hide their smiles. The youngster had a photo to cherish forever.

Back to the action and 22 minutes in there were heads in hands for many fans as Roman Yaremchuk capitalised on a mix-up between defender and goalkeeper to lift it over both, only to then slot wide.

On the stroke of half-time came the game’s only goal. Olympiacos were awarded a penalty which was won and scored by Rodinei.

Up he pointed towards where Marinakis and company was sitting and produced a heart gesture with his hands to celebrate.

Anniversary games do not always go to plan. Last week Bayern Munich lost on their 125th anniversary despite going up 2-0 on Bochum. They would, embarrassingly, go on to lose 3-2.

For Olympiacos there was no such jeopardy, even if they spurned a series of chances to take the game away from OF.

Attention will turn to Thursday’s crucial Europa League second leg, already down 3-0, against Bodo/Glimt, but for a few hours at least Marinakis and friends want to enjoy the occasion.

Olympiacos feels like a model that Nottingham Forest are being built up to emulate. A stadium befitting of the Champions League; a documentary with a British film-making company is in the works; there is a culture of winning and a belief that they can thrive as favourites, not just underdogs.

That big picture thinking is what has Marinakis so motivated to keep putting in hours that one source said squeezes the very most out of his staff.

‘He works tirelessly and it is why we want to work so hard also,’ a club source said.

Only minutes after the match it is announced that Marinakis has extended the contract of head coach Mendilibar.

He gave his manager an extension last season also, following a crushing 4-0 first leg defeat to Maccabi Haifa in the UEFA Conference League. They made history with a 6-1 second leg win before going on to win the tournament.

Now conversation is buzzing that Marinakis is trying to drum up a repeat with another major turnaround required in three days against Bodo/Glimt.

‘Everything he does has a meaning,’ an Olympiacos source said.

‘He is not just sending a message to the manager, he’s sending one to the team. This is why he is so good, it’s inspirational.

‘He is the heart and soul of this club and it is why nobody here is surprised to see just how well he is doing in England.’

Mendilibar heads home, plenty of back-slapping as he leaves Marinakis’ company, with fans having descended en masse to the harbour front. At midnight the party would enter fever-pitch mode.

This weekend Ta Nea, a daily newspaper published in Athens, revealed plans to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Olympiacos with a collectible daily 4-page spread, starting on Monday and running for 10 weeks.

Monday also sees a specially orchestrated drone show to mark March 10, 1925, the day of the founding of the Piraeus Olympic Fans Association. A collectible stamp is also to be released.

‘A whole century has passed since the laurel-crowned youth took his first breath,’ Marinakis wrote in an open letter on his Instagram page as he gathered his thoughts following a long night – and weekend – of festivities.

‘One hundred years filled with battles, victories, trophies in Greece and in Europe, triumphs worthy of a fairytale.

‘The team and its heroes became a symbol of the working class and the champions of life—a symbol that went on to become a LEGEND.

‘The largest social group in the country, the unwavering people of Olympiacos, celebrate the anniversary of OLYMPIACOS CLUB OF FANS OF PIRAEUS, and together, we dream of the century to come.

‘Our victories and trophies make us stronger. Our challenges and hardships make us UNBEATABLE.

‘With faith, courage, and hard work, we will continue to elevate our Club, which already stands among the elite of European football, while at the same time being the leading multi-sport club in Europe across all disciplines.

‘Our OLYMPIACOS carries Piraeus and Greece to the ends of the earth under its sacred red-and-white flag—and it will continue to do so.

‘Through its contributions, always stands by society and those in need, and it will continue to do so with even greater strength in the future.

‘We raise the red-and-white flags and all together we celebrate our great love! Happy birthday, Legend! Long live OLYMPIACOS CLUB OF FANS OF PIRAEUS!’

Captained by an academy player, Olympiacos is a side brimming with young talent that many believe can take the club to even greater heights.

A UEFA Youth League win last season has paved the way for a production line of youngsters to make the grade. 17-year-old striker Charalampos Kostoulas and 18-year-old midfielder Christos Mouzakitis are already on Premier League radars.

But, most crucial of all, Olympiacos is a winning machine with a league, Greek Cup and European treble in their sights and for Marinakis, dreams have no limit.

That’s why Nottingham Forest fans should be as excited as they have ever been. A return to Europe is step one. From there, as he’s shown in Piraeus, the sky is the limit.