Interview with Greek fan club Blue Angels (Niki Volos)

Continue acquainted with Greek fans antifascist. We interviewed fans of football club Niki Volos. This city is an important transport hub and one of the largest in the country. Niki Volos has the status of the second team after their eternal rival Olympiakos.

- Tell us about your fan-club. How many of your fans?

- In our fan club we have now about 150 fans. In our team we have 3 clubs. There is firm Blue Club and fan in Thessaloniki. But only our club is more close to the antifa idea.

Our fan club is since 1996. we have that name from the color of our team blue and the logo of our team tha is a statue of an angel. We support from 1996 everywhere our team plays. and also in basketball and other sports as i say. We have a website www.blueangels.gr and fanzine.

- Which clubs have a good relationship? What clubs do you hate?

- We have with some clubs a good relationships but not a lot. We have a good relationships with "Panionios Athens" from Greece, because we have the same roots.The fan club of Panionios "Panthers club" is antifa too. We have also a good relationships and a big friendship with a club from Bulgaria called "Dunav Russe". With Olympiakos volou we are haters between our teams. is derby with riots. and we make riots every where we see olympiakos volou.

- Tell us about the city of Volos. How many of your club?

Volos (Greek: Βόλος) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about 326 km north of Athens and 215 km south of Thessaloniki. It is the capital of the Magnesia regional unit. Volos is the only outlet to the sea from Thessaly, the country's largest agricultural region. With a population of 144,449 (2011) without Nea Ionia city, it is an important industrial centre, while its port provides a bridge between Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

Volos is the newest of the Greek port cities, with a large proportion of modern buildings erected following the catastrophic earthquakes of 1955. It includes the municipal units of Volos, Nea Ionia and Iolkos, as well as smaller suburban communities. The economy of the city is based on manufacturing, trade, services and tourism. Home to the University of Thessaly, the city also offers facilities for conferences, exhibitions and major sporting, cultural and scientific events. Volos participated in the 2004 Olympic Games, and the city has since played host to other athletic events, such as the European Athletic Championships.

Now after the beginning of 2012 Nea Ionia city and Volos city has became one city named Volos and the population is about 200.000. Our clubs of our team and our club too are from the begining of there creation, in Nea Ionia, now called Volos.

- Is there something that makes you believe that you are different from other Greek fans?

- No. We believe that all fans have the same target. We have some diferents with some clubs but for the fans we have the same beliefs.

- What choreography usually does your group?

- We make some choreography in the last 3 years but not a lot. In Greece choreography is not so mach popular in the fans and you need also a lot of money to make it.

- Tell us the story of niki volos and how it was created.

- Niki Volou is a Greek football club based in the city of Nea Ionia, in the region of Magnesia. The club currently competes in Football League (Greece), the second tier of Greek football. Niki Volou crest displays the goddess Nike as depicted in the statue Winged Victory of Samothrace. The image of the goddess was the original emblem of the Smyrna-based athletic club Panionios, one of the most popular Greek athletic clubs of Ionia, before it was uprooted and re-established in Athens after the Greco-Turkish War. The founding members of Niki Volou FC, many of them refugees from Smyrna (now Izmir) and the surrounding region, decided to restore the emblem as part of their new club.

- Often there are fights with the police?

- Very often we have problems with the police and very often we have fights. Last year when our team presents the new coach and the season tickets in a big hotel in Volos city, police brings a lot of cops there to make problem to us and fight with us. We have also problem with cops to the outside matches.

- In Volos many Nazis?

- In Volos not many nazis but the last year xrysh aygh going to the parliament and makes now people and in volos too. But not many. Volos is a antifa city.

- How often do drive to matches in other cities? 

- Very often, every 2 weeks and sometimes every 1 week. From our club we go 1 or 2 buses.

- Attendance of other sports: basketball, volleyball?

In basketball we have a lot of fans. In 2012 we promoted to the second division of Basketball and we have 2000-2500 fans. In volleyball we have only women club and in the last division but our club we support volleyball too. We have also Waterpolo in 3rd division and we support also the small teams of basket and football academys in thier championships.

- What the standings at Niki this season?

- Now we are in 7th place. In all of the first season fo Football League we are in the first three places again and again. But now our team make some bud results and droped in 7th place.

- What is your relationship with the players and the club president?

- The relationship with players and president is very good. We offer a lot to the new president because he brings us from nothing and try's to bring our team in first division after 46 years.

- What are the achievements and titles in your club?

- We don't have a lot of achievements. Our team reached in 8 best teams in the Greek cup in 2004 and we have some participations in first division for 4 years streak. Titles no.

- Do you participate in meetings and social projects?

- A lot of times we participate in meetings and social projects. Programs that help the community. Christmas for example we do collect clothing and toys for the orphanage. We also participated in the march against austerity measures.

- How do you feel about homophobia?

- About homophobia: we are indifferent to this. Everyone do everything he wants to his bed. We don't care for this.

- Your wishes Russian antifa

- A lot of wishes to all Russian antifa and fight till the end to kick racism away from football and our lives.

March 2013