Big Three (Greece)

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Wikipedia

The Big Three (Greek: Οι Τρεις Μεγάλοι, Oi Treis Megaloi) is the nickname of the three most successful sports clubs in Greece, all of whom are located within the so called Attica basin or Athens metropolitan area. The football teams of AEK Athens, Olympiacos and Panathinaikos have a great rivalry, and are usually the main contenders for the title. Combined they share a total of 81 out of 89 Greek Football Championships ever played and generally they usually end up sharing the top three positions. AEK has won 13 league titles (last won in 2023), Olympiacos has won a record 48 league titles (last won in 2025) and Panathinaikos has won 20 league titles (last won in 2010).[1][2][3][4]

In recent years, due to PAOK’s success and their overall history and support, the term “Big Three”, has been largely replaced by the term “Big Four” by both the media and the public.

The three-way rivalry

As of 29 September 2025

Olympiacos vs Panathinaikos

Team [5] Pl W D L
Olympiacos 228 90 81 57
Panathinaikos 228 57 81 90

AEK Athens vs Olympiacos

Team [6] Pld W D L
AEK 224 67 51 103
Olympiacos 224 103 51 67

AEK Athens vs Panathinaikos

Team [7] Pld W D L
AEK 268 70 93 105
Panathinaikos 268 105 93 70

Honours comparison

As of 29 September 2025
  •   Numbers with this background indicate the record holder in the competition.
Organization Olympiacos Panathinaikos AEK Athens
National
Super League Greece 48 20 13
Greek Cup 29 20 16
Greek Super Cup 4 3 3
Greek League Cup — — 1
Aggregate 81 43 33
Regional
Christmas Cup 11 2 3
Easter Cup 11 4 4
Athens FCA Championship — 17 5
Piraeus FCA Championship 25 — —
Aggregate 47 23 12
International
UEFA Europa Conference League 1 — —
UEFA Youth League 1 — —
Balkans Cup 1 1 —
Aggregate 3 1 —
Total 131 67 45

European competitions

Honours

As of 16 March 2025
Club European Cup / UEFA Champions League UEFA Cup Winners' Cup UEFA Cup / Europa League UEFA Europa Conference League
Finalist Semi-finalist Quarter-finalist Quarter-finalist Semi-finalist Quarter-finalist Winner
Olympiacos - - 1999 1993 - - 2024
Panathinaikos 1971 1985, 1996 1992, 2002 - - 1988, 2003 -
AEK Athens - - 1969 1997, 1998 1977 - -

Eternal Standings

Ranking Club Pld W D L GF GA Pts GD
1 Olympiacos 259 100 89 70 336 251 389 85
2 Panathinaikos 260 84 91 85 282 275 343 7
3 AEK Athens 255 76 74 105 252 344 302 -92

UEFA 5-year Club Ranking of the Big Three

Ranking [8] Team 20/21 21/22 22/23 23/24 24/25 Total Points
37 Olympiacos 10.000 8.000 3.000 17.000 18.500 56.500
111 Panathinaikos - - 2.000 3.000 11.000 16.000
159 AEK Athens 3.000 1.500 - 3.000 2.000 9.500

Players who have played for the three clubs

Lazaros Christodoulopoulos

Managers who have managed the three clubs

  • Poland Jacek Gmoch (Panathinaikos 1983-1985, AEK 1985–1986, Olympiacos 1988-1989)
Jacek Gmoch

See also

References

  1. ↑ "The challengers to Greece's big three". ESPN. 26 January 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  2. ↑ "Big three seek second wins". Neos Kosmos. 28 August 2015. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  3. ↑ "Soccer Cities: Athens". WorldSoccer.com. 27 July 2011. Retrieved 19 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Unbeaten". Archived from the original on 2015-12-16.
  5. ↑ "Fenerbahçe-Galatasaray rekabetinde 396. randevu". www.aa.com.tr. Archived from the original on 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  6. ↑ "Beşiktaş-Fenerbahçe rekabetinde 356. randevu". www.aa.com.tr. Archived from the original on 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  7. ↑ "Beşiktaş-Galatasaray rekabetinde 352. randevu". www.aa.com.tr. Archived from the original on 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2023-03-20.
  8. ↑ "UEFA 5-year Club Ranking 2023". kassiesa.net. Archived from the original on 2021-02-17. Retrieved 2022-08-04.