Athens Kallithea's promotion as seen from the sidelines

«After 3 years, we finally made it». With these words, Ted Philipakos, the president of Athens Kallithea, welcomed us on a more than unique day for the club, which achieved the dream of returning to the top division after a long 18 years. Three years of hard work and planning have led the Greek team to first stand out off the pitch with an elegant aesthetic - thanks to the meticulously designed jerseys and the logo created by Bureau Borsche. But the recognition has now also come on the pitch, after a season largely dominated and playoff matches that left no chance for their opponents.

The match against Podosfairikos Syllogos Ī Kalamata, won 4-1, was a mere formality. At El Paso, Athens Kallithea took the field with a Spaghetti Western musical background. The boys of Alekos Vosniadis needed only a few minutes to settle the Super League Ellada issue, without disappointing the fans who, as always, turned out in full force, surprising everyone with a specially planned choreography, along with chants, flags, smoke bombs, and customized flyers. The atmosphere at El Paso was hard to describe, both in words and in images. That's why we use both.

In ninety minutes, Kallithea crushed the opponents, who before the match paid tribute to the team with a pasillo de honor. The goals of the match are only useful for the statistics: as soon as the referee blows the final whistle, the celebration kicks off and the players don a commemorative shirt made for the occasion. That shirt, embellished with the claim "second to none", means freedom. In the last three years, the Athens team had always come close to promotion, placing at most second in the league table. As the shared SMS exchanges between the president and the sports director on social media attest, perfect work was done in terms of squad building this season, and finishing second was not even considered as an idea.

This extends the list of Athens teams in Super League Ellada, which already includes AEK, Olympiakos, and Panathinaikos. Athens Kallithea has demonstrated that dreams are not for everyone, but only for the most ambitious. The goal for the future is to reach even more significant stages, such as European competitions. But for now, it's time to enjoy a long-sought promotion in a season where Athens Kallithea truly was "Second to none".