The Derby of the Eternal Enemies (), also known among fans as the Mother of All Battles (), is an association football derby contested between the two most successful clubs of Greece, Olympiacos from Piraeus and Panathinaikos from Athens, the two main cities in the major Athens urban area. The derby is traditionally included among the world's top 10 greatest football derbies by the international media, along with rivalries such as Real Madrid–Barcelona, Liverpool–Manchester United and Boca Juniors–River Plate. American network CNN has ranked the Olympiacos–Panathinaikos derby among the ten greatest football rivalries of all-time. In October 2014, BBC named the Olympiacos–Panathinaikos derby "Europe's maddest derby" and in September 2019, Daily Mirror ranked the derby of the eternal enemies as the fifth most important derby in the world.

History

Cultural rivalry The rivalry between the two top Greek clubs can be traced back to social, cultural and regional differences. Panathinaikos, founded in 1908, comes from Athens and was considered the classic representative of the high class and old Athenian society of the Greek capital. On the other hand, Olympiacos was founded in 1925 and comes from the port city of Piraeus, thus attracting supporters from the surrounding working class areas. Both cities have played a major role in Greek history since classical antiquity.

These class differences between the people in the homelands of the two clubs offered further reasons for the animosity between their fans. Olympiacos' early success provided a way for the people of Piraeus to express their contempt for the wealthier classes. Furthermore, Olympiacos attracted fans from all over Greece who believed themselves to be victims of social and political unfairness.

Fans' rivalry Olympiacos and Panathinaikos are the most popular Greek clubs, with both sides having large fanbases that follow them in domestic and international matches. Football hooliganism is a very common phenomenon between their fans in recent years, featuring anything from breaking seats and fighting to fireworks and street rioting.

Football rivalry Both clubs have been in the top flight of Greek football since 1929, among the longest spells on the Continent. Their football departments attract the most fans, but the rivalry also extends into other team sports such as basketball, volleyball and water polo.

Domestically, Olympiacos is the most successful football club in Greece, having won a record 84 major official titles compared to Panathinaikos' 44 titles and also being the most successful in their head-to-head fixtures.

Until 2024, Panathinaikos boasted of their better performance in European competitions. Their greatest success is the participation in the European Cup final in 1971, two semi-final appearances in the UEFA Champions League (1985, 1996) and four quarter-final appearances in the UEFA Champions League (1992, 2002) and UEFA Europa League (1988, 2003). This changed in 2024, when Olympiacos won the UEFA Conference League, becoming the first Greek team to win an official UEFA´s title. Other top performances are their campaign to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League in 1999 and their campaign to the quarter-finals of the 1992–93 European Cup Winners' Cup

Official honours won Competition Olympiacos Panathinaikos Super League Greece 48 20 Greek Cup 29 20 Greek Super Cup 5 3 UEFA Conference League 1 0 Balkans Cup 1 1 Total 84 44 Unofficial honours won Competition Olympiacos Panathinaikos Greater Greece Cup31

Statistics

Head-to-head Olympiacoswins Draws Panathinaikoswins Panhellenic Championship (1927–1959)At Olympiacos home10 44At Panathinaikos home6 57At Neutral Field1 10Total171011 Alpha Ethniki / Super League Greece (1959–present)At Olympiacos home33 2416At Panathinaikos home21 3122Neutral field1 10Total555638 Greek CupAt Olympiacos home12 41At Panathinaikos home7 74Neutral / Common field1 24Total20139 Greek League CupAt Olympiacos home0 10At Panathinaikos home0 10Total020 Total231928158

Records Record win of the pre Alpha Ethniki era Olympiacos: Home: Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 6–1, Neo Phaliron Velodrome, 16 February 1936 Away: Panathinaikos – Olympiacos 0–3, Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, 7 May 1939 Panathinaikos: Home: Panathinaikos – Olympiacos 8–2, Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, 1 June 1930 Away: Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 1–4, Karaiskakis Stadium, 3 March 1940 Record Alpha Ethniki win Olympiacos Home: Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 4–0, Karaiskakis Stadium, 26 February 1967 Away: Panathinaikos – Olympiacos 1–4, Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, 16 May 2021 Panathinaikos Home: Panathinaikos – Olympiacos 3–0, Athens Olympic Stadium, 26 January 1992 Away: Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 1–4, Karaiskakis Stadium, 24 July 1960 , Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 1–4, Athens Olympic Stadium, 8 November 1987 and Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 0–3, Karaiskakis Stadium, 2 March 2014 Record Greek Cup win Olympiacos Home: Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 4–0, Karaiskakis Stadium, 13 April 1983 and Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 4–0, Karaiskakis Stadium, 16 January 2008 Away: Panathinaikos – Olympiacos 1–6, Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, 13 November 1932 Panathinaikos Common field: Panathinaikos – Olympiacos 4–0, Athens Olympic Stadium, 28 May 1986 Home: Panathinaikos – Olympiacos 3–2, Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, 13 January 1982 Away: Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 2–3, Karaiskakis Stadium, 1 March 1995 Longest sequence of Alpha Ethniki wins Olympiacos: 5, 8 December 1996 – 8 May 1999 Home: 4, 5 February 1966 – 11 May 1970 Away: 3, 6 April 1997 – 21 November 1999 Panathinaikos: 3, 11 April 1977 – 31 December 1978 Home: 2, 11 April 1977 – 12 February 1978 Away: 2, 11 May 1970 – 20 February 1972 Longest sequence of Greek Cup wins Olympiacos: 3, 14 July 1965 – 9 July 1969 and 3 May 1953 – 7 August 1960 Home: 6, 26 March 1939 – 9 July 1969 Away: 2, 26 June 1966 – 21 July 1968 and 22 February 1995–present Panathinaikos: 3, 8 June 1977 – 13 April 1983 and 6 February 1985 – 8 May 1988 Home: 4, 8 June 1977 – 4 April 1990 Away: 1 Longest sequence of unbeaten Alpha Ethniki matches Olympiacos: 11, 11 May 1980 – 7 November 1985 Home: 10, 8 December 1996 – 4 March 2007 Away: 8, 2 November 1980 – 6 November 1988 Panathinaikos: 7, 8 November 1987 – 10 March 1991 Home: 7, 14 February 1960 – 6 November 1966 Away: 5, 8 November 1987 – 13 December 1992 Longest sequence of unbeaten Greek Cup matches Olympiacos: 18, 13 November 1932 – 8 June 1977 Home: 10, 14 July 1965 – 20 February 1985 Away: 8, 13 November 1932 – 8 June 1977 Panathinaikos: 4, 6 February 1985 – 22 March 1990 home: 7, 8 June 1977 – 22 February 1995 away: 3, 11 March 1992 – 16 January 2008 Attendance records (in Athens Olympic Stadium) 74,452 Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 0–0, 18 November 1984 74,252 Olympiacos – Panathinaikos 2–1, 16 February 1987 74,146 Panathinaikos – Olympiacos 1–1, 31 March 1985 73,700 Panathinaikos – Olympiacos 1–2, 16 March 1986 73,525 Panathinaikos – Olympiacos 1–1, 20 September 1986

Matches list

Super League Greece (1959 – present)