Local Football:

AEK Karteros 3 v Zaros 0:

AEK started the game with some good football, putting constant pressure on the Zaros defence. An overhead kick by Mihalis Sitheridis was very close and in the 16^th minute AEK won a corner and Takis Psalidakis opened the scoring with a great header. AEK went on to dominate the game and Zaros never had a shot in the last 20 minutes of the first half. In the 50^th minute a goal from Mihalis Sitheridis from 20 yards made it 2-0. He had been a constant threat to the Zaros defence and, with Stelios Hronakis organizing the defence well, Zaros rarely went close to goal. In the 80^th minute No 9 Somarakis scored to make it 3-0. Zaros made some late attacks but could not break down AEK’s defence.

The Khronicles Man of the Match is No 6 Stelios Hronakis.

PAO Gouves 1 v N Irodotou 0:

 PAO went close to scoring in the first minute but the game was mainly played in mid field and after 20 minutes the PAO goalkeeper had yet to make a save. PAO won a free kick and, from 10 yards out, Yiorgos Kiriakakis scored. PAO continued to press and a shot in the 40^th minute was just wide. In the second half, Irodotou started with more confidence but PAO always looked dangerous on the break. Irodotou made three quick substitutions and it started to work as they went close to equalizing. The game started to get a little scrappy with both teams making unnecessary fouls but still with Irodotou doing most of the attacking. Hristos Katsaitis held the defence together well and the PAO goalkeeper, Yiorgos Zervakis, made a great save in the dying minutes to keep the match at 1-0.

The Khronicles Man of the Match is Hristos Katsaitis.

Athletics: Athens has made the shortlist to host the 2010 Summer Youth Olympics. It was amongst five cities selected as finalists, the others being Moscow, Bangkok, Singapore and Turin. The final vote will take place in February 2008.

Greek Football: A great month for Greek football. In the UEFA European Under 21 Championship, Greece is in third place with a game in hand and is still a strong contender to go through to the finals in Sweden in 2009.

Olympiakos march on to Moscow after beating Werder Bremen of Germany in the Champions League to finish top of their table. The final will take place on May 21, 2008 at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.

Finally, congratulations to the Greek National Team for reaching the Euro 2008 finals which will be held jointly by Switzerland and Austria. Their first game will be against Sweden in Salzburg on June 10, 2008.

Greek Super League:

After twelve games AEK and Olympiakos are joint leaders with 27 points, third are Panathinaikos on 24 points. Still the surprise team are newly promoted Asteros Tripoli, who holds on to fourth position with 21 points. OFI, who beat Iraklis 2-0, move out of the bottom three.

Panathinaikos’ Centenary:

To mark Panathinaikos’ 100 years, they plan to give something back to the city of Athens and the fans in the way of music and art as well as football. They will play three European teams in a two day tournament in the summer and a charity game against a top European team before Christmas. The identities of the teams are not known yet. Also an art exhibition and a music concert will be staged; again details will be released later.

Sports to watch in January:

January 5 – 20:

Motor Racing - 2008 Dakar Rally from Lisbon, Portugal and to Dakar, Senegal.

January 14 – 27:

Tennis - Australian Open Championship, Melbourne Park.

January 15 – 20:

 Skiing - World Cup 2008, Kitzbuhel, Austria.

January 18 – 20:

Cycling - World Cup 111, Los Angeles.

January 21 – 28:

Ice Skating - European Figure Skating Championship, Zagreb, Croatia.

January 26:

Boxing - WBA Heavyweight Championship, Düsseldorf, Germany. Russian Chagaev v Brit Matt Skelton.

OFI games to watch in January:

January 6: OFI v Aris Salonica

January 20: OFI v Olympiakos

January 30: OFI v PAOK Salonica