Olympiacos move represents a real gamble for Blackburn Rovers striker

11:01am Thursday 29th January 2009

By Chris Flanagan

WHEN Matt Derbyshire was turning out in non-league for Great Harwood Town, it is difficult to imagine him bragging to his friends that one day he would play for Olympiacos.

Now he looks set to achieve that improbable dream, Derbyshire faces four of the most pivotal months of his career.

When the 22-year-old striker joins Olympiacos on loan for the rest of the season, he will walk from a bit-part role at Blackburn Rovers into the pressure cooker of Greek football.

Fail, and he will be left trying to salvage his Premier League career on his return to England.

Derbyshire’s style may not be an obvious fit with Greek football but he is a goalscorer - a valued commodity throughout the world.

A move to Greece’s biggest club - based in Piraeus, the port of Athens - will test all of his mental strength, however.

Victory and nothing less is expected every time Olympiacos step out at the magnificently modern Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium.

And he does not have the time to adapt gradually to a new country and style of football. It is instant hit or nothing.

Athens can be an unforgiving place, too, as the riots that have adorned our television screens in recent months have illustrated so graphically.

The real danger for Derbyshire, though, is that his loan will not exactly put him in the shop window.

Few English clubs will see his performances and, if he fails to fit in, he could find himself off the football map for six months – a time in which Rovers may learn to cope without him.

But, if it had already been made clear to him that his chances would be limited at Ewood in the final months of the season, no-one could blame him for wanting to give it a go in Greece. It is a once in a lifetime opportunity.

Even for a friendly against Racing Santander, when I was fortunate enough to visit Olympiacos’ home ground in the summer, the atmosphere was sensational.

The passion and decibel levels of the British game are so often hailed but they pale into insignificance compared to Greece and Turkey, something that Derbyshire will quickly find out if he is in Athens for Sunday’s derby at AEK.

Many were surprised when Lomana LuaLua left Portsmouth for Olympiacos 17 months ago but he enjoyed moderate success there, even if he is now in Qatar with Al Arabi.

And, if Derbyshire makes it big, he will receive adulation that only falls upon the likes of Steven Gerrard and Cristiano Ronaldo in this country.

There is no doubt that, for the former Our Lady and St John School pupil, this loan represents a major gamble.