Our next opponents: OFI Crete a defensive stronghold on the island

Position

In the national Stoiximan Super League, OFI Crete suffered their third defeat of the campaign last Sunday. The 4-3 reverse at promoted side Kalamata FC left the Greek Cup holders in seventh place after seven matches. Omilos Filathlon Irakleiou (‘Association of Sports Friends of Heraklion’), to use the full name, did come from 3-1 behind to level the score but conceded the winning goal in the fourth minute of stoppage time. Coach Christos Kontis' side are now winless in four games in all competitions following a 2-1 loss at Stade Rennes on Matchday 2 of the Europa League as well as a 3-0 defeat at AEK Athens and a 2-2 draw at home to strugglers Asteras Tripolis in the league.

OFI's last win came five weeks ago - against a German team. On Matchday 1 of the Europa League league phase, they triumphed 2-0 against TSG Hoffenheim. The Kraichgau side came up against a Greek defensive wall as OFI barely gave their opponents a sniff and relied on counter-attacks, one of which led to the opening goal through Aitor after half an hour. Hoffenheim did create some good chances in the second half but substitute Georgios Kanellopoulos netted the decisive goal for OFI in the closing stages. The club from Heraklion were also looking good for another victory for a long time in their second league phase fixture, after striker Taxiarchis Fountas put the visitors 1-0 up in Rennes after just 10 minutes. However, Rennes equalised in the 76th minute before snatching a winner in the last minute of regular time.

OFI, who finished sixth in the Super League last season, qualified for the Europa League for the first time since 2000/01 - when it was still called the UEFA Cup - by winning the national cup with a 3-2 success in extra time against PAOK in the final. The club from Crete's capital got past CSKA Sofia in the play-offs (5-0 on aggregate).

Personnel

Kontis has been coach at OFI Crete since October 2025 and has overseen one of the most successful periods in the club's history. As well as the cup win, he also led his side to victory in the Greek Super Cup in August (5-4 on penalties against AEK). Kontis prefers a 3-4-2-1 system. Among the team's key players are captain Athanasios Androutsos, who pulls the strings in midfield. The 29-year-old is also a regular for the Greek national team and recently featured in the two UEFA Nations League matches against Germany. He spent six months with Bundesliga 2 side VfL Osnabrück in 2024 on loan from Olympiacos.

Andreas Bouchalakis normally partners Androutsos in the centre of midfield. The 33-year-old likewise has experience of German football having played for Hertha BSC from 2023 to 2025. Prior to that, the former Greece international won the domestic championship six times with Olympiacos. In attack, Argentinian winger Thiago Nuss and Bosnian forward Kenan Kodro are the main threats. Both have scored three goals in the league so far. Kodro, who's on loan from Ferencváros, spent the first half of the 2017/18 campaign at 1. FSV Mainz 05. The aforementioned Fountas is also a lively attacker: the 31-year-old was the team's top scorer last season with seven goals, although he missed the last league game in Kalamata due to a back problem. There's also a question mark over the involvement of first-choice goalkeeper Nikos Christogeorgos, who had to be taken off at half-time in that match.

Problems

After a strong start to the campaign with nine points from four games, OFI have lost consistency in the league lately. Kontis has had to rotate because of their participation in three competitions, and the 'second string' have not quite been up to scratch so far. The 51-year-old made five changes to his starting line-up for the 4-3 loss at Kalamata and they lacked cohesion and intensity, especially in the first half. The usually solid defence has now conceded 11 goals in four outings.

performers

Nevertheless, it is evident that the team are defending better as a collective than last season, in which OFI had the second-worst defence in the Super League with 45 goals conceded. Kontis clearly worked on this issue with his players during pre-season as they conceded just two goals in their first nine competitive games. Even Hoffenheim couldn't breach this defensive stronghold in Heraklion. "They have a passion for defending together," said TSG coach Christian Ilzer after the 2-0 defeat on Crete, in which his side were nevertheless the superior team. OFI are also unbeaten on home soil at the Pankritio this season (W5, D1).