Panathinaikos Athens (soccer)

Panathinaikos
Basic data
Surname	Panathinaikos AO
Seat	Athens
founding	February 3, 1908
Colours	green white
president	Manos Mavrokoukoulakis
Website	pao.gr
First soccer team
Head coach	Dani Poyatos
Venue	Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium
Places	16,620
league	Super League
2019/20	4th Place
home Away

Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (short form: PAO) ( Greek : Παναθηναϊκός listen ^{? / I} , ΠAO ) also refers to the football department of Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (all-Athens sports club) from Athens . Panathinaikos currently plays in the Greek Super League , the top division in the country and is one of the most successful clubs in the country. The club, which was founded in 1908, had its greatest international success in 1971, when it made it to the final of the European Cup , the predecessor of today's UEFA Champions League. Panathinaikos is known for its excellent youth work and since the founding of the youth academies has produced a number of players who have enjoyed great success at home and abroad.

history

1908–1924: The first steps

Giorgos Kalafatis

The young Giorgos Kalafatis gathered around 40 athletes in Athens in February 1908 in order to found a sports club. This should also offer football , which had not succeeded in other clubs at that time, as the society at that time could not gain anything from football. The newly founded club was called Podosferikos Omilos Athinon (POA) and is the forerunner of today's football club.

The first president of the association was Alexandros Kalafatis. His younger brother Giorgos took the position of coach and captain of the team. In December of the same year, the team traveled to Trikala for the first time for a football tournament . In the Panthesse Games, they beat Piraikos, a team from the port city of Piraeus, with a clear 9-0. In 1910 the association was renamed Panellinios Podosferikos Omilos (PPO), before it changed its name again just eight years later in 1918 and was called Panellinios Podosferikos kai Agonistikos Omilos (PPAO). In the meantime, three of the greatest athletes in its history have joined the club: Apostolos Nikolaidis , Loukas Panourgias and Michalis Papazoglou began their club membership as athletes, before later steering the fortunes of PAO as its president for more than half a century.

In addition to the renaming, it was decided in 1918 to change the club's colors. While the players were still wearing white shirts and black pants up to this point in time, it was from then on the color green that characterizes the appearance of Panathinaikos to this day. At the same time, the three-leaf clover was introduced by Michalis Papazoglou as a club emblem . In 1919 Giorgos Kalafatis traveled to Paris, where he took part in competitions as a member of the Greek national team. On his way home, he brought the first professional football shirts with him.

Panathinaikos in 1921

In 1921, the city of Athens gave the association the site on which the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium is now located. While more and more sports departments were gradually established here and the stadium was expanded further, the last, and still valid, renaming of the club to its current name Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (PAO) took place in 1924 .

1925–1932: The "Golden Team"

At the end of the 1920s, Greek football was largely the same as it is today: Panathinaikos and AEK had the predominant position in Athens, Olympiakos and Ethnikos in Piraeus and Aris and Iraklis in Thessaloniki. Although PAO was able to win five of the first six Athens city championships, it was not enough for one of the two Greek championships.

The big hour of Panathinaikos finally struck in 1930: For the first time the three best teams in the country met in a final tournament. The interest of the audience had risen sharply in the meantime and Greek football experienced its first heyday. Many stars that have not been forgotten to this day filled the stadiums and the league saw increasing attendance figures. One of the protagonists was Angelos Messaris (1910–1978): The Cape Town- born striker returned to Athens with his parents in 1927 and initially played for Goudi, the oldest football club in Athens. During one of his games he was noticed by the then PAO coach Forner, who advocated Messari's commitment. So he switched to Panathinaikos in 1930 and, despite his very young age, saw himself as the team captain of the "Golden Team", which included players like Antonis Migiakis , Mimis Pierrakos, Diomidis Simeonidis, Konstantinos Andritsos or Dimitrios and Konstantinos Baltasis.

Panathinaikos in 1930

The first game of the finals between Aris and Olympiakos ended with a clear 5-0 victory for the team from Piraeus, who traveled to the match against Panathinaikos on June 1, 1930, with confidence. 10,000 spectators, a very large number for the time, watched this game, which has not been forgotten to this day. PAO won 8-2 against Olympiakos after goals from Messaris (2), Pierrakos (2), Simeonidis (2), Migiakis and an own goal by Olympiakos. In the second game of the final round PAO defeated Aris 4-1 in Thessaloniki and thus laid the foundation for the first Greek championship, as the second legs were subsequently won. It is worth mentioning the fact that the second leg against Olympiacos had to be played in Thessaloniki, as the police in Piraeus could not ensure that the game was played safely. Panathinaikos also won this match (2: 1) and thus finally secured the championship.

Another special date for Panathinaikos was April 26, 1925: For the first time in the club's history they competed against a foreign club. Opponents were the Yugoslav team Vittoria Zagreb , from which they separated 1: 1 in a draw. The first victory came a year later against Kapfenberger SV (1-0).

1933–1945: The "Dark Years"

Takis Triantafyllis

After the first championship, and given the young and talented players, it looked like Panathinaikos would dominate Greek football for the next few years. However, nothing should come of this to the disappointment of the club's supporters. The beginning of this dark chapter in the club's history was a conflict between Angelos Messaris and Apostolos Nikolaidis . Messaris wanted to enroll at the University of Athens , but failed three times in this attempt despite the fact that he was an excellent student . Messaris speculated that the influential Nikolaidis caused the rejections to get him to focus only on the sport.

Messaris then made the momentous decision for the club to end his career at the age of just 22. The supporters were appalled by this decision, and hundreds of people moved to his property to change his mind. Messaris was not deterred, however, and stuck to his decision. Even if he was only active for Panathinaikos for a short time, Messaris managed to build a myth around his name that continues to this day. The actor, who died in 1978, is still one of the most popular players of all time at PAO.

With Angelos Messari's departure, Panathinaikos fell into a sporting no man's land. In the following years and until the Second World War , the team could not win another championship. In addition to the poor sporting performance, quarrels on the board caused continued unrest in the club. The highlight was the removal of Giorgos Kalafati from all offices and his removal from the membership lists by Apostolos Nikolaidis. This decision was later reversed, but it shows the situation the club was in at that time. Little was left of the “Golden Team”, and only the cup win in 1940 could give the supporters a little consolation.

1946–1958: The post-war period

The years after World War II did not prove particularly successful for Panathinaikos. From 1946 to 1948, the club even failed to qualify for the championship finals for three consecutive seasons. Even if some of the best Greek players at the moment such as B. Konstantinos Linoxilakis, Lakis Petropoulos or Anastasios Kritos were under contract with the club, the yield of titles was rather low. Until the establishment of the A Ethniki , the highest Greek league, these were two championships (1949 and 1953) and two cup wins (1948 and 1955). The number of spectators at the home games of Panathinaikos was remarkable for this period. Despite the low sporting success, the stadium was almost always sold out for years, regardless of the opponent.

1959–1970: The Decade of Domination

At the end of the 1950s, Panathinaikos was in the final phase of a time that was not very successful in terms of titles and was looking to the future with confidence for the first time in a long time. On the one hand, this was due to the fact that the club's internal political problems were resolved and the fact that it never lost the support of its fans.

When the first A Ethniki Championship was finally held in 1959–1960 , PAO provided one of the youngest and most talented cadres of the time. In addition to Andreas Papaemmanouil, Michalis Voutsaras, Georgios Andreou, Dimitrios Theofanis and Konstantinos Linoxilakis, this was above all a player who, like no other, managed to put his stamp on Greek football, and Panathinaikos in particular. This player who is still considered the best Greek footballer of all time and who after years was able to close the gap that Messaris left behind was Dimitrios Domazos . With Domazos, who was to become the captain and top performer of his team for the next 20 years, Panathinaikos won the first three A Ethniki championships in a row (1960 to 1962) as well as nine championships and three cups in total.

Mimis Domazos

In 1963 the Yugoslav Stjepan Bobek took over the coaching position at Panathinaikos and was the first to introduce the 4-3-3 system in Greece. With the engagements of Takis Ikonomopoulos , Aristidis Kamaras and above all Takis Loukanidis, PAO finally provided what many experts consider the strongest squad in Greek football history. The championship of 1964 was an expression of the playful superiority of this team, which could be won without losing a single game - to this day unique in Greek history. On September 30, 1964, Panathinaikos became the first Greek team to qualify for the second round of the European Cup after defeating Irish representatives Glentoran FC 3-2 after a 2-2 away draw in Athens in the first round . In the following season, Panathinaikos secured the championship and only lost one game. In the period from January 17 to May 16, 1965, the club remained in twelve consecutive games and for a total of 1088 minutes without conceding a goal, which is still the best in the Greek league today. In 1968 Bobek finally left the team after the differences between him and some of the players grew. His office was taken over by Lakis Petropoulos who was Bobek's assistant coach up to this point. After the obligations of Antonis Antoniadis , Konstantinos Eleftherakis , Gonios, Grammos, Anthimos Kapsis and Dimitriou, players who were to ensure the club's greatest international triumph just a few years later, he managed the first double in the club's history (1969) and another championship to achieve (1970). When the Hungarian Ferenc Puskás took over as coach in May 1970 , the time had come for Panathinaikos to make a breakthrough on a European level.

1970–1971: Wembley myth

Panathinaikos, Wembley Stadium

Line up of the two teams in the final

June 2, 1971 remains a special date in the history of Panathinaikos to this day. As the first and so far only Greek team, PAO managed to qualify for the final of the European Cup. The opponent in London's venerable Wembley Stadium was Ajax Amsterdam , and the majority of the population back home kept their fingers crossed for the "Greens". According to the match reports at the time, PAO played courageously in front of 25,000 fans who traveled with them, but lost 2-0 to the favored Dutchmen, who had stars such as Johan Neeskens , Johan Cruyff and Arie Haan under contract. On the way to the final Panathinaikos had against Jeunesse Esch (Luxembourg; 2: 1, 5: 0), Slovan Bratislava (Czechoslovakia; 3: 0, 2: 1), FC Everton (England; 1: 1, 0: 0) and Red Star Belgrade (Yugoslavia; 1: 4; 3: 0) prevailed.

The players in this team, trained by Ferenc Puskás , were:
Ikonomopoulos , Tomaras, Kapsis, Sourpis, Vlachos, Kamaras , Eleftherakis , Grammos, Antoniadis , Domazos and Filakouris.

In the same year Panathinaikos also played against Nacional Montevideo for the World Cup after Ajax Amsterdam had decided not to participate. After a 1-1 draw in Athens, Montevideo finally won the second leg 2-1, securing the trophy in front of their home crowd.

1972–1980: Between Wembley and the professional league

Juan Ramon Veron

After participating in the finals, the club's management assumed that similar or even greater deeds would follow in the period that followed. A strong squad and the euphoria of the last few years made those responsible for their sporting goals high. However, the desired successes did not turn out as hoped, so that only two championships (1972 and 1977) and a cup title (1977) could be booked. In 1978, PAO was repeatedly able to make a name for itself internationally when Slavia Sofia was beaten in the final for the Balkan Cup (0-0, 2-1).

At the same time, however, the club faced financial problems for the first time in its history. In the summer of 1979, the Vardinogiannis family finally took over all the shares * in the club and the ownership of the most famous Greek soccer club was transferred to the shipowner and media mogul Vardis Vardinogiannis . In 1980 the professional league was finally introduced in Greece, which PAO won for the first time in 1984.

* Under Greek law, all professional clubs must be public companies. However, the shares are not, as is usual, publicly traded on the stock exchange. Only when an association is up for sale can it change hands, usually as a complete package.

1981–1996: European successes and Greek triumphs

Juan Ramon Rocha

After the introduction of the professional league, Panathinaikos had a number of national successes. In addition to winning six championships (1984, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996) and nine cup wins (1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995), PAO was also able to bring the Greek Supercup to Athens three times ( 1988, 1993, 1994). In 1982 they lost the championship after a tie and despite a better goal difference to Piraeus, who won the playoff with 2-1. In the regular season, the two teams had previously drawn 1: 1 apart. Outstanding during this period was the championship of 1995 when Panathinaikos set two records that are still valid today. In addition to the 16 point lead over the second in the table, the championship was won six game days before the end of the season. At the same time, respectable successes were regularly achieved in European competitions.

Since then, PAO has been the most consistent and successful team in Greece in the European Cup competitions with good performances in the Champions League and the UEFA Cup . The most successful year in this phase was 1996, when the club made it to the semi-finals of the Champions League and won 1-0 against Ajax Amsterdam there in Amsterdam. In the second leg, however, the team finally lost 3-0 and thus missed another participation in the final for the highest European football award for club teams.

1997–2007: The lean years

While the club continued to attract attention in Europe, the domestic league got worse from year to year from 1996 onwards. Constant coaching changes, unrest in the club management and a high fluctuation of players let the connection to the national top tear off, so that PAO could not win a title for seven years.

Greek postage stamp with the PAO club logo

Inferior players as well as the not entirely undisputed decisions of the referees in the key games stood in the way of success. Internationally, however, the club continued to make a name for itself. PAO qualified for the second group stage of the Champions League in 2001 and a year later in the 2001/02 season they even made it to the quarter-finals of the same competition under coach Ioannis Kirastas, who died in 2004, and his successor Sergio Markarian. In the first group stage of the Champions League, PAO finished first in front of FC Arsenal , RCD Mallorca and FC Schalke 04 and qualified for the second group stage. There they finished second behind Real Madrid and ahead of FC Porto and Sparta Prague . In the quarter-finals, the "Greens" then narrowly eliminated against FC Barcelona (1: 0; 1: 3). In 2003 Panathinaikos started in the UEFA Cup and played their way up to the quarter-finals where they were eliminated from eventual title winners FC Porto despite an away win. In the previous season, the club lost a championship again despite a tie to Piraeus. The decisive factor this time was the worse goal difference in a direct comparison of the two teams (3: 5). Only in 1998, after many years, did the club fail to qualify for a European competition.

Players during the 2007/08 season preparation

The long national dry spell without a title win could Panathinaikos end only in 2004 under the coach Itzhak Shum . After defeating Olympiacos 3-1 in the cup final, the championship followed a few weeks later and thus the seventh double in the club's history. At the European level, the club fell far short of its own expectations. The former fear of favorites had to accept some very significant defeats, which widened the gap between the fan base and the board.

2008: 100 years of Panathinaikos

Anniversary jersey

In 2008, a century after it was founded by Georgios Kalafatis, Panathinaikos celebrated its 100th anniversary on February 3, 2008. A series of events, celebrations and friendly matches took place throughout the year on this occasion. At the first competitive match of the calendar year, the club presented its jubilee jersey, which was to commemorate both the beginnings of the team and the greatest international success to date, the European Cup final in 1971.

In terms of sport, the anniversary year started promisingly for Panathinaikos. In the second half of the 2007/08 season they started as leaders of the Greek championship. In the national cup competition they had qualified for the quarter-finals and in the UEFA Cup the club had successfully survived the group stage. Despite these good starting conditions, the club did not manage to end the season with a title. In the championship they finished third after the regular season and went into second place in the first playoff round. This ended PAO, after four wins and two draws, as the winner and thus at least secured participation in the UEFA Champions League of the following season.

Djibril Cissé

The playful championship and the fact that they were eliminated in the cup against Piraeus, of all places, caused great resentment among the club's fan base. If there were repeated rallies against the club management during the season, these have now reached new dimensions. On April 13th, around 40,000 supporters of the club gathered on Leoforos Alexandra, the main artery in front of the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, to demonstrate peacefully against the Vardinogiannis family who owned the club. Just a few weeks earlier, under the chairman of the MIG Andreas Vgenopoulos, a number of financially strong supporters of the association had gathered to found the "PEK" (Παναθηναϊκή Ενωτική Κίνηση, Panathinaiki Enotiko Kinima, Unifying Movement of Panathinaikos) . The aim of this movement was to urge the current club president Ioannis Vardinogiannis to open the doors of the club for the PEK and to give them a say in the club and the opportunity to contribute financially. In addition to Vgenopoulos, the most important members of this movement included the pharmaceutical entrepreneurs and brothers Pavlos (owner and president of the basketball department of Panathinaikos ) and Athanassios Giannakopoulos (president of the umbrella organization), as well as the shipowner Nikolaos Pateras. In view of this pressure, Vardinogiannis announced at a press conference on April 22nd that it would approve an increase in the share capital by 80 million euros. The Vardinogiannis family now owned 50% of the shares, while 10% (according to Greek law) remained with the umbrella organization. From then on, the remaining 40% were mainly shared by Vgenopouos, Pateras and the Giannakopoulos brothers. At the same time Vardionogiannis resigned as president of the association and handed over this office to Nikolaos Pateras.

As a result of this capital increase, the club invested more than any other Greek club in the summer of 2008. Approx. 23 million were spent on player transfers alone, with the Brazilian international Gilberto Silva being the most notable newcomer. With the Dutchman Henk ten Cate finally came a new coach. Under him, PAO managed to build on old successful times on the European stage by the end of the year, after the team beat Inter Milan and Werder Bremen away and qualified as group winners for the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League. In the following season, the club was reinforced again by a number of well-known newcomers. In addition to the French Djibril Cissé , the Greek national players and European champions from 2004 Konstantinos Katsouranis and Georgios Seitaridis as well as the Argentine Sebastián Leto from Liverpool FC . Led by these players, the club reached its 20th championship and, after winning the cup competition, achieved the eighth double in the club's history.

2011 until today: The rebuilding

In 2011 the club faced major financial difficulties. In addition to the Greek economic crisis, which PAO brought in lower audience, sponsorship and TV income, the main reason for this was the disagreement of the club's management about how to deal with this crisis. As a result, Panathinaikos felt compelled u. a. Surrender the crowd favorite and top performer Cissé for the club's record transfer fee of 5.8 million euros to Lazio Rome and national goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas to US Palermo in order to reduce the running budget costs. Panathinaiko's problems during this period became particularly evident in the fact that the association was headed by six different presidents between May 2010 and January 2011, i.e. a little over six months. After the board resigned in spring 2012, the Greek media entrepreneur Ioannis Alafouzos presented a concept that provided for the financial restructuring of the association. The core of his plan was to take over the shares of the Vardinogiannis family. Furthermore, unlike its predecessors, his concept envisaged participation for simple supporters of the association for what purpose the Panathinaiki Simachia (Παναθηναϊκή Συμμαχία, Panathinaikos Alliance) was founded.

Graffiti at the entrance to Gate 13

From July 2nd, 2012, it was possible for the broad fan base to register via membership and thus contribute to the recovery of the association. In addition to a number of prominent personalities, former and then active players such as u. a. Jean-Alain Boumsong , Sotirios Ninis , Gilberto Silva and Djibril Cissé were among the members from the very beginning. On July 18, 2012, the Vardionogiannis family, which had owned the association since 1979, handed over their shares to the Panathinaiki Simachia. After the subsequent 2012/2013 season could only be finished in sixth place in the table after several coach changes, Panathinaikos failed to qualify for participation in an international competition for the first time in many years. In May 2013 Ioannis Anastasiou took over the post of team coach. The former international striker and player from Ajax Amsterdam relied more and more on the club's youngsters in his squad formation in the summer of 2013 and, with Panathinaikos, had the youngest squad in the Greek league on average. They were supported by the experienced professionals Marcus Berg , Mladen Petrić , Danijel Pranjić and Gordon Schildenfeld , who were formerly also active in the German Bundesliga . PAO finished his first season under Anastasiou in fourth place, but with the convincing 4-1 final win over PAOK Thessaloniki in the cup final, the club was able to show the first title win since 2010 and the first under the new club management.

Panathinaikos and the national team

Greece's record international Karagounis in the national jersey

The Panathinaikos players have been the backbone of the Greek national team since its inception . From the youth teams to the men's selection, players such as Linoxilakis, Ikonomopoulos , Domazos , Saravakos , Basinas or Karagounis were among the top performers. PAO is also particularly successful in its youth work. For example, there were four players in the squad for the 2004 European champions, Greece: Basinas, Chalkias , Karagounis and Goumas , who come from their own PAO youth team. With Nikopolidis , Seitaridis , Fyssas , Georgiadis and Papadopoulos there were five other players in the squad who were under contract with Panathinaikos or who made their big breakthroughs there.

In the decisive play-off game in Ukraine for participation in the 2010 World Cup , Panathinaikos provided seven of the 14 players used. In detail, these were Tzorvas , Spyropoulos , Vyntra , Karagounis , Katsouranis , Tziolis and Salpingidis . With Kyrgiakos and Gekas , two more players came into play who made the breakthrough at Panathinaikos.

In qualifying for the European Football Championship 2012 , Panathinaikos again made up the largest part of the national team with seven players with Karagounis, Katsouranis, Ninis, Seitaridis, Spyropoulos, Tzorvas and Vyntra.

In addition to the many players that Panathinaikos have played for the national team to this day, the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium , which is privately owned by the club, was home to many games of the Greek national team.

Stages

Until 1922 Panathinaikos had no stadium or sports field of their own. Games and training units therefore took place in places owned by the city.

Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium

View of the west curve with the famous Gate 13

→ Main article : Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium

From 1922 the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, popularly known as “Leoforos”, was home to the largest Athens football club. After the first grandstand was built in 1928, all of the club's major national and international meetings took place there over the next 50 years or so. In 1938 it was the first Greek stadium to have a floodlight system, and 20 years later, in 1958, it was the first stadium in the country to have a turf. In 1984 Panathinaikos finally left the home stadium for the first time in its history to move to the then newly built Athens Olympic Stadium . In 2000, the club carried out modernization work on the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium for seven million euros, and Panathinaikos returned to his old place of work until the end of the 2004/05 season. The high demands placed by UEFA on the stadiums for the UEFA Champions League games did not allow any further matches, and Panathinaikos was forced to move to the Olympic Stadium again. In the summer of 2007 the association decided again to return to the "Apostolos Nikolaidis". On this occasion, the stadium was repeatedly subjected to extensive modernization work. Although it was originally planned to play at the old place of work until the new stadium was completed, Panathinaikos only stayed at Leoforos until the end of the 2007/08 season.

A return to the Leoforos came in the summer of 2013. The club management under President Ioannis Alafouzos was no longer willing to pay the high rental costs for the Olympic Stadium, not least because of the tight financial situation of the club.

Athens Olympic Stadium

Athens Olympic Stadium

→ Main article : Athens Olympic Stadium

The Athens Olympic Stadium (popularly called OAKA) bears the name of Spyridon Louis , the winner of the first modern Olympic marathon (1896). Construction began on January 7, 1980 and lasted until September 1982. Before the Olympic Games, the stadium was completely rebuilt and modernized; the costs for this amounted to 156 million euros. The stadium was given a 17,000 tonne roof made of polycarbonate panes designed by the Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava . This 25,000 m² polycarbonate roof, the largest in the world, was completed shortly before the official reopening on July 30, 2004 and covers a total of 95% of the seats. The stadium is located within a sports complex in Marousi , ten kilometers northeast of central Athens. This is served by line 1 of the Athens subway.

After Panathinaikos played its home games in the Olympic Stadium from 1984 to 2000, the stadium, which was modernized for the Olympic Games in Athens , was home to the "Greens" from summer 2005 to 2007 and between 2008 and 2013. The Olympic Stadium, which one had to share with AEK Athens , was originally only intended to be a temporary solution until the new stadium should be completed.

New stadium construction

Model of the new arena

→ Main article : Marfin Stadium

Plans that include building a new stadium have been considered by the club since the 1990s. The search for a suitable location and the financing of the project have so far been extremely difficult. The city of Athens categorically ruled out a new stadium to replace the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium, as the property is located in one of the most densely populated districts of Athens . In the search for alternatives, construction measures in the districts of Goudi and Helliniko were considered. While the first solution was favored by the fans due to its geographical proximity to the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, considerations for a new building in Helliniko met with great resistance from the club's supporters. Although the Helliniko with its competition ports from the time of the Olympic Games , in the middle of which the stadium was to be built, is located in a suburb of Athens, the tradition-conscious supporters insisted on a solution within the Athens district.

After negotiations with the city of Athens, which lasted for several years, an agreement was finally reached on a new stadium in the Athens district of Votanikos, which is located approx. 2.5 km west of the city center. Originally a sports complex was to be built here by 2010, which in addition to a football stadium, multi-purpose sports halls for the basketball and volleyball departments and a swimming pool for the water polo department, also includes sports facilities for all the other departments of the club. According to these plans, the football stadium should be the first to be completed. The capacity should be around 46,000 spectators. The Marfin Investment Group acquired the stadium's naming rights .

Work on the stadium has not yet started. Especially at the beginning it was protests by affected residents that led to long-term court hearings, but later the economic crisis in Greece hit the association so that the new building in the Votanikos district was a long way off.

The association is currently investigating the phased expansion of the Leoforos Alexandras with the aim of later having a capacity of 30,000 spectators.

Training ground

Entrance to the former training ground in Peania

Between 1981 and 2013 Panathinaikos used the training ground in Peania, which was the first of its kind in Greece. The site to the east of the city center near Athens' Eleftherios Venizelos Airport is still one of the most modern in Europe. In addition to the training facilities for the professional team, the club's youth academy was also on site.

The training area includes four grass pitches, two of which have floodlights, and an artificial turf pitch. In addition to the training areas, there are also office buildings, strength and treatment rooms, a swimming pool and a residential unit with 27 double rooms, a restaurant, conference and relaxation rooms. The seven hectare training ground is owned by the Vardinogiannis family.

In May 2013, Panathinaikos announced that they had acquired only about 2.5 km southwest of the training camp "Apilion" near Koropi and another 5 hectares of land for a total of 10 million euros. This step was taken because the club management was no longer willing to continue paying the high rental costs of 1.2 million euros per season for the training camp in Peania to the Vardinogiannis family.

The new training camp has two natural and one artificial turf pitches as well as six other small-field facilities, all of which have floodlights. In addition to the training grounds, there is also a swimming pool (eight lanes, 25 m long), tennis courts, changing, strength and treatment rooms as well as a restaurant and a cafeteria.

In April 2014 it was announced that the training area would be expanded by three more grass pitches.

In October 2016, the club announced that it would temporarily return to the old training ground in Peania until the expansion measures on their own premises were completed.

Panathinaikos in the media

Macheda Chatzigiovannis Bouzoukis Zahid Donis Kourbelis Insúa Schenkeveld Poungouras Johansson Dioudis

Root formation 2019/2020 (4-3-3)

In the Greek mass media , Panathinaikos Athens is represented as well as hardly any other Greek team. With I Prasini there is a sports newspaper that appears nationwide every day. I Prasini pursues the interests of the association and supports its policy. The daily newspapers Athlitiki Icho, Derby and the Prasinos Tipos, which used to be available weekly, are no longer in circulation .

All football division matches are televised. For the 2017/18 season, the matches in the Greek Cup and the Super League will be broadcast by the state television company ERT (Elliniki Radiophonia Tileorassi) . In addition, almost all of the club's preparatory and friendly matches are broadcast.

The magazine Prasinos Palmos is no longer broadcast . This ran weekly on the private broadcaster High TV until 2010 and lasted around two hours. In addition to the football department's affairs, the broadcast also included topics relating to the club's other sports departments.

player

Transfers 2020/21

Arrivals Aitor Cantalapiedra ( FC Twente Enschede ) Dimitrios Emmanouilidis ( Panionios Athens ) 1 Fotis Ioannidis ( Levadiakos ) Theofanis Mavrommatis ( SønderjyskE Fodbold ) 1 Facundo Sánchez ( Estudiantes de La Plata ) Fran Vélez ( Aris Thessaloniki ) Lucas Villafáñez ( Monarcas Morelia ) António Xavier ( CD Tondela ) 000 000

Departures Konstantinos Apostolakis ( APOEL Nicosia ) Christos Donis (destination unknown) Emanuel Insúa ( AEK Athens ) Mattias Johansson ( Gençlerbirliği Ankara ) Dominik Nagy ( Legia Warsaw ) 1 João Nunes ( Puskás Akadémia ) Mark Sifneos ( FC Chiasso ) Anuar Tuhami ( Real Valladolid ) 1 Georgios Vagiannidis ( Inter Milan ) Nikolaos Vergos ( Panetolikos ) Ghayas Zahid ( APOEL Nicosia ) 1

¹ was on loan

Current squad

Back number	Surname	nationality	born	in the team since	Contract until	Last club	SL games *	SL goals *	status
goal
1	Sokratis Dioudis		02/03/1993	2017 (S)	2023	Aris Thessaloniki	128	0
15th	Vasilios Xenopoulos		05/20/1998	2016 (S)	2021	own youth	3	0
27	Konstantinos Kotsaris		07/25/1996	2017 (S)	2021	Omonia Nicosia	5	0
71	Nikolaos Christogeorgos		03/01/2000	2018 (S)	2021	own youth	1	0
Defense
4th	Dimitrios Kolovetsios		10/16/1991	2017 (S)	2022	AEK Athens	202	5
5	Bart Schenkeveld		08/28/1991	2019 (S)	2021	Melbourne City FC	29	1
12	Ilias Chatzitheodoridis		05/11/1997	2018 (S)	2023	Brentford FC	43	3
23	Evangelos Theocharis		07/06/1998	2017 (S)	2022	own youth	8th	0
24	Theofanis Mavrommatis		01/16/1997	2020 (S)	2022	SønderjyskE Fodbold	21st	0
44	Achilleas Poungouras		12/13/1995	2018 (S)	2023	PAOK Thessaloniki	66	0
47	Vasilios Zagaritis		05/04/2001	2019 (W)	2021	own youth	7th	0
	Facundo Sánchez		07.03.1990	2020 (S)	2022	Estudiantes de La Plata	0	0	A.
	Fran Vélez		06/23/1991	2020 (S)	2023	Aris Thessaloniki	47	5
midfield
7th	Dimitrios Kolovos		04/27/1993	2019 (S)	2022	Omonia Nicosia	124	24	N
8th	Yassin Ayoub		03/06/1994	2020 (S)	2023	Feyenoord Rotterdam	6th	0
11	Anastasios Chatzigiovannis		05/31/1997	2016 (S)	2022	own youth	85	12
17th	Uffe Bech		01/13/1993	2019 (S)	2022	Hannover 96	14th	1	N
18th	Ioannis Bouzoukis		03/27/1998	2017 (S)	2022	own youth	61	5
21st	Dimitrios Kourbelis		11/02/1993	2017 (W)	2023	Asteras Tripoli	199	7th	C / N
37	Andreas Athanasakopoulos		11/27/2001	2018 (S)	2022	own youth	5	0
55	Sotirios Alexandropoulos		11/26/2001	2019 (S)	2022	own youth	10	0
58	Dimitrios Serpezis		03/14/2001	2017 (S)	2022	own youth	6th	0
	Lucas Villafáñez		08/04/1991	2020 (S)	2022	Monarcas Morelia	91	20th	A.
Storm
9	Federico Macheda		08/22/1991	2018 (S)	2021	Novara Calcio	59	24
19th	Juan José Perea		02/23/2000	2019 (S)	2021	FC Porto	23	3	A.
20th	Dimitrios Emmanouilidis		October 24, 2000	2020 (S)	2022	Panionios Athens	31	6th
22nd	Aitor Cantalapiedra		02/10/1996	2020 (S)	2023	FC Twente Enschede	0	0
54	Spyros Tzavidas		08/21/2001	2019 (S)	2022	own youth	1	0
77	Christian Konan		07/12/1999	2020 (W)	2022	Levadiakos	0	0
77	Antonio Xavier		07/06/1992	2020 (S)	2023	CD Tondela	0	0
99	Anargyros kampetsis		05/06/1999	2018 (S)	2021	Borussia Dortmund II	38	2
	Carlitos		06/12/1990	2020 (W)	2023	al-Wahda	0	0
	Fotis Ioannidis		01/10/2000	2020 (S)	2024	Levadiakos	22nd	2

S = summer transfer W = winter transfer

A = non-UEFA foreigners (only five per club admitted in Greece) C = team captain L = loan N = national player

As of August 22, 2020

Awarded Players

Surname	nationality	born	position	lent to
Georgios Angelopoulos		02/25/1997	midfield	AE Sparti
Antonis Ikonomopoulos		05/09/1998	Defense	AE Sparti
Yohan Mollo		07/18/1989	midfield	US Orléans
Christos Shehu		03/01/2000	Storm	Bologna FC
Fausto Tienza		01/08/1990	midfield	Gimnàstic de Tarragona

Significant or famous former players

→ More precise and more data on the former key performers can be found on Panathinaikos Athens (football) / names and numbers .

Greek players

The following is a selection of major or well-known players who have been under contract with Panathinaikos in the past. In addition to the period and position of the game, the number of games played for PAO and goals scored in the national championship are given. When listing the national titles, only those are taken into account that fall within the period in which the respective players were active at Panathinaikos. For active players, all information is correct as of November 12, 2010.

• Antonis Antoniadis (1968–1978, 1981–1982; striker)

five-time top scorer in the Greek league (1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975); Finalist of the European Champion Clubs' Cup 1971; Finalist World Cup 1971; top scorer of the 1971 European Cup, Greek national player; with a total of 180 goals scored, Antoniadis is in second place on the all-time best list of PAOs; With a total of 187 goals scored, Antoniadis is fifth on Greece's all-time best list

Titles: four championships, two cup wins, one Supercup, Balkan Cup

• Efstratios Apostolakis (1988–1998; defender; 249 games, 21 goals)

96-time national player, World Cup participant in 1994, Champions League semi-finalist in 1996

Title: three championships, four cup wins, three Supercups

Angelos Basinas

• Angelos Basinas (1995-2006; midfielder; 199 games, 27 goals)

coming from one's own youth; Champions League semi-finalist 1996; longtime team captain; 100-time national player; European Champion 2004; European Championship participant 2008

Title: two championships, one cup win, one Supercup

• Dimitrios Domazos (1959–1978, 1980; midfielder; 503 games, 134 goals)

longtime team captain, finalist of the European Cup in 1971; Finalist World Cup 1971; with 503 games played Domazos is number one on the all-time PAO best list; with 536 completed games Domazos is number one on the all-time best list of Greece; with a total of 134 goals scored Domazos is in third place on the all-time best list PAOs; 51 times national player

Titles: nine championships, three cup wins, one Supercup, Balkan Cup

• Konstantinos Eleftherakis (1968–1980; defender; 308 games, 85 goals)

Finalist of the European Champion Clubs' Cup 1971; Finalist World Cup 1971; with 307 completed games, Eleftherakis is number one on the all-time PAO best list; with a total of 85 goals scored, Eleftherakis is fifth on the all-time PAO best list; 34-time national player

Titles: four championships, two cup wins, one Supercup, Balkan Cup

• Panagiotis Filakouris (1965-1975; midfielder)

Finalist of the European Champion Clubs' Cup 1971; Finalist World Cup 1971

Title: three championships, two cup wins, one Supercup

Ioannis Goumas

• Ioannis Goumas (1994–2009; defender; 287 games, 27 goals)

coming from one's own youth; longtime team captain; Champions League semi-finalist 1996; 44-time national player; European Champion 2004; European Championship participant 2008

Title: three championships, three cup wins, one Supercup

• Panagiotis Ikonomopoulos (1963–1977; goalkeeper)

Finalist of the European Champion Clubs' Cup 1971; Finalist World Cup 1971; 1965 remained with Panathinaikos for 1088 minutes without conceding (Greek league record); 25-time national player

Title: five championships, two cup wins, one Supercup

• Giorgos Kalafatis (1908–1923)

Founding father of Panathinaikos

• Ioannis Kalitzakis (1987–1997; defender; 260 games, 15 goals)

Champions League semi-finalist 1996; 72-time national player, participant in the 1994 World Cup

Title: four championships, six cup wins, three Supercups

• Giorgos Karagounis (1998–2003, 2007–2012; midfielder; 245 games, 37 goals)

coming from one's own youth; longtime team captain; record-breaking Greek national player; European Champion 2004; European Championship participant 2008 and 2012; World Cup participant 2010

Title: two championships, one cup win

• Spyros Livathinos (1975–1986; midfielder; 267 games, 43 goals)

coming from one's own youth; 27-time national player

Title: three championships, four cup wins

Dimitrios Salpingidis

• Spyros Marangos (1989–1996; midfielder; 199 games, 17 goals)

Champions League semi-finalist 1996; 26-time national player; World Cup participant in 1994

Title: four championships, five cup wins, two Supercups

• Antonios Nikopolidis (1989-2004; goalkeeper, 189 games)

Champions League semi-finalist 1996; longtime team captain; 90 times national player; European Champion 2004; European Championship participant 2008

Title: five championships, five cup wins, three Supercups

• Nikolaos Sarganis (1985–1991; goalkeeper)

58 times national player; European Championship participant 1980

Title: three championships, four cup wins, one Supercup

• Dimitrios Saravakos (1984–1994, 1997–1998; midfielder; 254 games, 125 goals)

78 times national player; World Cup participant in 1994

Title: three championships, six cup wins, two Supercups

Other important or well-known players are the 2004 European champions Konstantinos Chalkias , Panagiotis Fyssas , Georgios Georgiadis , Dimitris Papadopoulos and Georgios Seitaridis , Maik Galakos , Theofanis Gekas , Sotirios Kyrgiakos , Nikos Liberopoulos and Evangelos Mantzios as well as other actors like Georgios Mantzios , who were also active in Germany Delikaris, Georgios Donis , Christos Dimopoulos Aristidis Kamaras, Georgios Kapouranis, Anthimos Kapsis, Ioannis Kyrastas, Kostantonos Linoxilakis, Takis Loukanidis, Angelos Messaris , Apostolos Nikolaidis , Nikos Nioplias , Loukas Panourgias, Dimitrios Salpingidis , Konstantinos Tsiklitiras and Nikolaos Vamvakoulas.

Foreign players

Krzysztof Warzycha

The most important foreign football player who was ever active for Panathinaikos Athens is likely to be the Pole Krzysztof Warzycha . The center forward and 50-time national player moved to PAO in 1989 and was there under contract until 2004. He scored 244 goals in 390 first division games, making him the most successful goalscorer in the club's history. With Panathinaikos, Warzycha was able to win the championship and the cup five times and the Supercup twice. In 1996 he also reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League with the club.

Another important player of international stature is Gilberto Silva . The former team captain of the Brazilian national soccer team and world champion from 2002 was under contract with Panathinaikos between 2008 and 2011 and was able to win the Greek club cup once in addition to a championship.

The French Djibril Cissé was under contract with Panathinaikos between 2009 and 2011. During this period, the French international and Champions League winner in 2005 won the Greek championship as well as the cup and was also top scorer in the Greek league twice.

Outstanding in the club's history was also Velimir Zajec who was under contract with the Athenians between 1984 and 1988. His transfer to the Greeks caused a sensation, especially as Zajec was promoted to captain of the Yugoslav national football team at this point and top European clubs from Spain and Italy were interested in signing the Libero. At Panathinaikos, Zajec won a championship and two cups.

Gilberto Silva

Other important players from the Latin American market were, besides the Brazilians Flávio Conceição and Júlio César da Silva, above all the Argentinians Oscar Alvarez, Juan José Borrelli , Juan Ramón Rocha and Juan Ramón Verón . The role of Borelli was outstanding. Between 1991 and 1996 the playmaker PAO led to two championships, three cup wins, two Supercups and in 1996 made it to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Borelli scored 26 goals in 86 first division games.

Other famous or important players were the Croats Aljoša Asanović , Igor Bišćan , Robert Jarni , Mladen Petrić , Danijel Pranjić and Goran Vlaović , the Poles Emmanuel Olisadebe and Józef Wandzik , the Dane René Henriksen , the Swede Marcus Berg and Hélder Postiga and Paulo Sousa from Portugal and Champions League winners Luis García and Victor from Spain and Michael Essien from Ghana .

The Germans Markus Münch , Karlheinz Pflipsen , Marco Villa , Walter Wagner and Jens Wemmer as well as the Austrian Andreas Ivanschitz have played for Panathinaikos from the German-speaking countries .

Trainer

Current coaching staff

function	Surname	nationality
Trainer	Dani Poyatos
Assistant coach	Marcel Sans
Goalkeeping coach	Josep Pascual Traba
Fitness trainer	Miquel Gomila
technical director	Xavi Roca
Team manager	Grigoris Papavasiliou

Historical trainer list

Surname	nationality	from	to
John Cyril Campbell		1908	1914
Giorgos Kalafatis		1918	1924
Apostolos Nikolaidis		1924	1928
Miklos Forner		1928	1929
Jozsef Kinsler		1929	1939
Antonis Migiakis		1945	1948
Joseph Beach		1948	1949
Antonis Migiakis		1949	1950
Harry Game		1950	1953
Svetislav Glišović		1953	1958
Antonis Migiakis		1959	1960
Harry Game		1960	1963
Stjepan Bobek		1963	1967
Béla Guttmann		1967	1968
Lakis Petropoulos		1968	1970
Ferenc Puskás		1970	1974
Stjepan Bobek		1975	1975
Aimore Moreira		1976	1976
Kazimierz Górski		1976	1978
Lakis Petropoulos		June 1979	November 1979
Gavrilos Gazis		November 1979	December 1979
Bruno Pesaola	/	December 1979	June 1980
Ronnie Allen		June 1980	September 1980
Andreas Papaemanouil		September 1980	October 1980
Helmut Senekowitsch		October 1980	June 1981
Lakis Petropoulos		June 1981	June 1982
Ștefan Kovács		June 1982	March 1983
Andreas Papaemanouil		March 1983	April 1983
Konstantinos Tsakos		April 1983	June 1983
Jacek Gmoch		June 1983	June 1985
Petr Packert		June 1985	June 1986
Tomislav Ivić		June 1986	September 1986
Vasilios Daniil		September 1986	January 1988
Ioannis Kalogeras		January 1988	January 1988
Gunder Bengtsson		January 1988	November 1989
Christo Bonew		November 1989	September 1990
Vasilios Daniil		September 1990	June 1992
Ivica Osim		June 1992	March 1994
Juan Ramón Rocha		March 1994	October 1996
Maik Galakos		October 1996	October 1996
Velimir Zajec		October 1996	June 1997
Nikolaos Karoulias		June 1997	June 1997
Vasilios Daniil		June 1997	March 1999
Juan Ramón Rocha		March 1999	June 1999
Ioannis Kirastas		June 1999	June 2000
Angelos Anastasiadis		June 2000	February 2001
Efstratios Apostolakis		February 2001	June 2001
Ioannis Kirastas		June 2001	December 2001
Sergio Markarian		December 2001	June 2002
Fernando Santos		June 15, 2002	October 16, 2002
Sergio Markarian		October 17, 2002	May 27, 2003
Itzhak Shum		June 3, 2003	4th October 2004
Zdeněk Ščasný		October 5, 2004	February 4, 2005
Panagiotis Filakouris		February 5, 2005	February 14, 2005
Alberto Malesani		February 15, 2005	May 15, 2006
Hans Backe		May 15, 2006	September 16, 2006
Jasminko Velic		17th September 2006	October 8, 2006
Víctor Muñoz		October 9, 2006	May 25, 2007
José Peseiro		June 5, 2007	May 14, 2008
Henk ten Cate		June 13, 2008	December 8, 2009
Nikolaos Nioplias		December 8, 2009	November 15, 2010
Jacek Gmoch		November 15, 2010	November 20, 2010
Jesualdo Ferreira		November 20, 2010	November 14, 2012
Juan Ramón Rocha		November 14, 2012	January 7, 2013
Fabriciano González		January 8, 2013	March 31, 2013
Ioannis Vonortas		March 31, 2013	13th of May 2013
Ioannis Anastasiou		13th of May 2013	November 2, 2015
Andrea Stramaccioni		November 9, 2015	December 1, 2016
Marinos Ouzounidis		December 1, 2016	May 2018
Georgios Donis		3rd July 2018	19th July 2020
Dani Poyatos		20th July 2020

Source: www.gazzette.gr

• 

  Ferenc Puskás

• 

  Jacek Gmoch

• 

  Velimir Zajec

• 

  Alberto Malesani

• 

  Hans Backe

• 

  José Peseiro

• 

  Henk ten Cate

• 

  Jesualdo Ferreira

• 

  Ioannis Anastasiou

• 

  Andrea Stramaccioni

President

The following is a list of all presidents since the foundation of the association. The longest term of office is Georgios Vardinogiannis, who was President of the Panathinaikos Football Department for 21 years between June 1979 and May 2000.

The media entrepreneur Ioannis Alafouzos has headed the association since September 25th.

president	from	to
Alexandros Kalafatis	1908	1908
Marinos Marinakis	1908	1909
Euthymios Chrysis	1910	1910
Georgios Vratsanos	1911	1911
Ioannis Masvoulas	1912	1912
Georgios Gennimatas	1913	1913
Georgios Tsochas	1914	1918
Christos Merisimitzakis	1919	1919
Nikolaos Kyriakidis	1920	1920
Georgios Chatzopoulos	1921	1921
Panos Savvidis	1922	1923
Pantelis Karasevdas	1924	1926
Dimitrios Damaskinos	1927	1927
Pantelis Karasevdas	1928	1930
Nikolaos Ksiros	1931	1933
Georgios Giannoulatos	1934	1934
Georgios Tsochas	1935	1936
Konstantinos Kotzias	1937	1939
Georgios Kozonis	1940	1940
Evangelos Stamatis	1941	1944
Konstantinos Kotzias	1945	1951
Ioannis Moatsos	1952	1961
Loukas Panourgias	1962	1966
Matthaios Koumarianos	1967	1968
Georgios Asimakopoulos	1969	1969
Georgios Merikas	1970	1970
Dimitrios Chamosfakitis	1971	1971
Mikhail Kitsios	1971	1972
Spyridon Anestis	1973	1973
Ioannis OIkonomopoulos	1974	1974
Apostolos Nikolaidis	1974	1979
Jack Nikolaidis	1979	1979
Georgios Vardinogiannis	June 1979	May 2000
Angelos Filippidis	May 2000	May 2003
Stilianos Spanoudakis	May 2003	June 2003
Argiris Mitsou	June 2003	May 2008
Nikolaos Pateras	May 26, 2008	May 21, 2010
Dimitrios Gontikas	May 21, 2010	July 13, 2010
Nikolaos Konstantopoulos	July 13, 2010	September 8, 2010
Nikolaos Pateras	September 8, 2010	December 20, 2010
Ioannis Vekris	December 20, 2010	January 2011
Dimitris Gontikas	January 2011	September 25, 2012
Ioannis Alafouzos	September 25, 2012	29th September 2017
Vasilios Konstantinou	29th September 2017

Fans

Clubhouse of a fan club in Gyzi , Athens

Panathinaikos was the first club in Greece to have an organized fan base. In 1966 a group of young Panathinaikos fans founded the so-called Gate 13 . The aim was to get tickets for games more easily and to prevent the opposing supporters from infiltrating their own fan scene. The name was based on the entrance that the audience used to get to the block of the same name on the west stand of the local Apostolos-Nikolaidis Stadium .

Gate 13 was very well organized and continued to develop in the following years, not least thanks to the European cup successes of the soccer team. In addition to Gate 13, there were also other fan clubs that mainly used the name of their respective district for their names.

A prominent point in the history of PAO's fan scene was the 80s. As there were riots at soccer games in Greece in previous years, the then club president Georgios Vardinogiannis decided to dissolve and ban the various groups at Gate 13 and replace them to found the so-called PA.LE.FI.P. From then on, this was the only fan group officially recognized by the club. Part of the scene opposed this policy and acted again under the name Gate 13 from 1986 . At this time the "Green Club" was founded, which was renamed the "Green Cockneys Club" shortly afterwards. In 1988 the "Mad Boys" and in 1991 the "Zografou" fan club were founded. In 1993 they joined together under the name “Athens Fans” before the Mad Boys split off again in 1995. In 1997 the club's management tried for the last time to smash all fan groups except for PA.LE.FI.P, but this time too this attempt was unsuccessful. So Gate 13 still exists today and dominates the scene in Panathinaiko's fan scene through its appearance and choreography.

There are currently around 40 Panathinaikos fan clubs in Athens, the number of which varies between 60 and 700. A total of 7,000 members are counted in the city of Athens alone. In the rest of Greece there are another 50 fan clubs. Most of these clubs have their own premises which are maintained through membership fees and the sale of merchandise items. Most of the members come from the part of town in which the fan club is located.

Fan friendships

Fan choreo

Since the Champions League game at Sturm Graz in the 2000/01 season, the supporters of Panathinaikos Athens have been close friends with the members of the Ultras Rapid from SK Rapid Vienna . This intense friendship is now referred to by both sides as a "brotherhood". Members of the Ultras Rapid and Gate 13 attend the games of the other club and can often be found on trips away.

In addition to the close friendship with the Ultras Rapid, there are very good contacts to the groups Orgullo Vikingo ( Real Madrid ), Bothwell Emerald CSC ( Celtic Glasgow ), Shamrock Rovers Ultras ( Shamrock Rovers ), Barabajare ( Hammarby IF ), BOYS Zurich ( FC Zurich) ) and Torcida Verde ( Sporting Lisbon ). (CUCS ASROMA) There are no fan friendships with Greek clubs.

Fan rivalries

The biggest opponent and arch rival of Panathinaikos fans is the unloved local neighbor Olympiacos Piraeus . This aversion can mainly be explained by their origin. In addition to their origins, the Attic basin , both clubs also have a large number of sports departments in which the respective fans of the two clubs meet regularly. Derbies between these two clubs have been arousing great emotions for decades and it is not uncommon for riots between the two fan camps.

Another big rival is the second largest Athens club AEK . Here, too, the reasons are mainly to be found in the geographical proximity and the size of the two clubs.

Outside Athens, only the teams PAOK and Aris from Thessaloniki are seen as real rivals.

coat of arms

Anniversary emblem

The club's coat of arms shows the three- leaf clover, typical of Panathinaikos, on a white background, which has been used by all sports departments of the club since 1918.

On the occasion of the upcoming 100th anniversary, the association announced an open competition at the beginning of 2007 with the requirement to create an anniversary emblem. The winning design was presented on December 7, 2007. It shows a four-leaf clover consisting of several hearts , which is reminiscent of the number 100, comes from Nikolaos Karokis and has since been depicted on jerseys together with the traditional coat of arms.

anthem

Panathinaikos hymn comes from Georgios Mouzakis (born August 15, 1922 - August 27, 2005) from 1958. Georgios Ikonomidis wrote the text.

Greek Σύλλογος μεγάλος δεν υπάρχει άλλος δεν υπάρχει άλλος πιο δυναμικός. Kαι χιλιάδες φίλοι μόλις δουν τριφύλλι ζήτω λένε ο Παναθηναϊκός. Παναθηναϊκέ, Παναθηναϊκέ, Παναθηναϊκέ μεγάλε και τρανέ. Παναθηναϊκέ, Παναθηναϊκέ, πρωταθλητή σ'όλα τα σπορ παντοτινέ. Σ'έχουνε δοξάσει οι γνωστοί σου άσσοι που λεβέντες είναι όλοι με καρδιά. Χαίρεται η Ελλάδα που έχει τέτοια ομάδα που της νίκης έχει πάντα τα κλειδιά Παναθηναϊκέ, Παναθηναϊκέ, Παναθηναϊκέ μεγάλε και τρανέ. Παναθηναϊκέ, Παναθηναϊκέ, πρωταθλητή σ'όλα τα σπορ παντοτινέ.

German There is no team as big as you, there is no other team as dynamic. And thousands of followers, as soon as they see the shamrock, cheer "long live Panathinaikos" Panathinaikos, Panathinaikos, Panathinaikos you great and glorious. Panathinaikos, Panathinaikos, eternal master of all sports. You were honored by your famous stars, who are all heroes with big hearts. The whole of Greece is happy to have such a club that always has the keys to victory. Panathinaikos, Panathinaikos, Panathinaikos you great and glorious. Panathinaikos, Panathinaikos, eternal master of all sports.

title

First division positions of Panathinaikos at the end of the season

In total, the Panathinaikos Athens soccer team won 50 titles, making it one of the most successful departments of the club. Panathinaikos was able to achieve the Greek double eight times . Between 1924 and 1959, the club was also able to win the Athens City Championship 17 times.

• Greek master (20 ×): 1930, 1949, 1953, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1977, 1984, 1986, 1990, 1991, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2010
• Greek cup winners (18 ×): 1940, 1948, 1955, 1967, 1969, 1977, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2004, 2010, 2014
• Supercup (4 ×): 1970, 1988, 1993, 1994
• Balkan Cup (1 ×): 1977
• SEGAS championships (6 ×): 1909, 1911, 1912, 1915, 1921, 1922
• Great Greece Cup (1 ×): 1970
• Double winners (8 ×): 1969, 1977, 1984, 1986, 1991, 1995, 2004, 2010
• Athens City Championships (17 ×): 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1937, 1939, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959

Statistics and records

Games played

The following list shows the players with the most stakes in the top Greek league.

space	player	Calls	Period
1	Dimitrios Domazos	503	1959-1978 1980
2	Krzysztof Warzycha	390	1989-2004
3	Konstantinos Antoniou	324	1977-1981 1983-1994
4th	Anthimos Kapsis	318	1968-1985
5	Konstantinos Eleftherakis	307	1968-1980
6th	Aristidis Kamaras	304	1961-1973
7th	Panagiotis Ikonomopoulos	303	1964-1976
8th	Frangiskos Sourpis	302	1962-1973
9	Konstantinos Mavridis	297	1982-1995
10	Vasilios Konstantinou	289	1964-1982

Goals scored

The following list shows the players with the most goals in the top Greek league. With his 244 goals, Warzycha is the second most successful striker in the top Greek league across all leagues.

space	player	Gates	Period
1	Krzysztof Warzycha	244	1989-2004
2	Antonis Antoniadis	180	1968-1988 1981-1982
3	Dimitrios Domazos	134	1959-1978 1980
4th	Dimitrios Saravakos	128	1984-1994 1997-1998
5	Konstantinos Eleftherakis	85	1968-1980
6th	Andreas Papaemmanouil	79	1958-1969
7th	Nikos Liberopoulos	72	1996-2003
-	Marcus Berg	72	2013-2017
9	Georgios Georgiadis	60	1993-1998
10	Takis Loukanidis	59	1961-1969

Most expensive transfers in the club's history

Most expensive sale in the club's history: Djibril Cissé

Accesses

space	player	Transfer fee ∗	from	season
1	Michalis Konstantinou	15.0 1	Iraklis Thessaloniki	2001/02
2	Djibril Cissé	08.0	Olympique Marseille	2009/10
3	Marcelo Mattos	07.0 2	Corinthians São Paulo	2007/08
4th	Sebastian Leto	04.5	Liverpool FC	2009/10
5	Konstantinos Katsouranis	03.3	Benfica Lisbon	2009/10

Departures

space	player	Transfer fee ∗	to	season
1	Djibril Cissé	5.8	Lazio Rome	2011/12
2	Georgios Seitaridis	5.0 3	FC Porto	2004/05
3	Marcus Berg	3.3	al Ain Club	2017/18
4th	Sotirios Kyrgiakos	003.125	Glasgow Rangers	2004/05
5	Charis Mavrias	3.0	Sunderland AFC	2013/14

^∗ Sums in millions of euros

¹ In addition to the transfer fee, three players moved from Panathinaikos to Iraklos.

²At the beginning of the 2007/08 season, PAO acquired 25% of the rights to the player for 3.2 million euros. In the following year another 65% was acquired for 3.8 million.

³Panathinaikos received a total of € 5 million for Seitaridis. Initially € 3 million directly from the transfer to FC Porto and 20% from the resale to Dynamo Moscow (€ 2 million).

Top scorer

So far, Panathinaikos has been the top scorer in the top Greek league 15 times . While Antonis Antoniadis holds the Greek record with five awards, Krzysztof Warzycha's three first places represent the best mark for a non-Greek player.

player	season	Gates
Antonis Antoniadis	1969/70 1971/72 1972/73 1973/74 1974/75	25 39 22 26 20
Georgios Charalampidis	1981/82	21st
Dimitrios Saravakos	1990/91	23
Krzysztof Warzycha	1993/94 1994/95 1997/98	24 29 32
Nikos Liberopoulos	2002/03	16
Theofanis Gekas	2004/05	18th
Djibril Cissé	2009/10 2010/11	23 20
Marcus Berg	2016/17	22nd

Others

• Best placement: 1st (17 times since the introduction of the A 'Ethniki)
• Worst place: 11th (2017/2018 season)
• Biggest home win: 9-1 against Edessaikos (December 6, 1992)
• Biggest away win: 6-0 against Panionios (June 3, 1973 and January 15, 1995) and Ethnikos Piraeus (May 11, 1969)
• Biggest home defeat: 3-6 against Ethnikos Piraeus (May 17, 1987)
• Biggest away defeat: 6-0 against Iraklis Thessaloniki (December 30, 1979)

Sponsors and suppliers

Shirt from the 2002/03 season

Current shirt sponsor: OPAP

Panathinaikos Athens first appeared in the 1983/84 season with a shirt sponsor. The French automobile company Citroën became the first and so far only foreign company to become the club's main sponsor. Between 1985 and 1999 the Greek insurance company Interamerican took over the successor for 14 years. To date, this represents the longest contract term for the association with a main sponsor.

Between 1995 and 2015, the German sporting goods manufacturer adidas equipped the Athenians for over 20 years . From the 2017/2018 season onwards, Panathinaikos will be equipped by Nike .

Overview of all suppliers and jersey sponsors of Panathinaikos Athens:

Period	Outfitter	Shirt sponsor	Branch
1983-1985	ASICS	Citroën	Automobile manufacturer
1985-1993		Interamerican	Insurance
1993-1995	Robe di Kappa
1995-1999	adidas
1999-2000		Motor Oil Hellas	Mineral oil company
2000-2001		winbank	Credit institution
2001-2006		OTE	telecommunications
2006-2011		Cosmote	telecommunications
2011-2015		OPAP	Sports betting provider
2015-2017	puma
2017–	Nike

Shareholder structure

As of March 6, 2019, 75.48% of Panathinaikos shares are owned by Ioannis Alafouzos (19.7% directly; 55.78 through his company Sortivo International Ltd). 12.29% are owned by Panathinaiki Simmaxia , and according to Greek legislation 10% are owned by the umbrella organization Panathinaikos AO . The remaining 2.23% are in free float.

shareholder	number of stocks	Percentage ownership %
Sortivo International Ltd.	11,069,981	55.78
Ioannis Alafouzos	03,909,639	19.70
Panathinaiki Simmaxia	02,439,433	12.29
Panathinaikos AO	01,984,451	10.00
Others	00441.002	02.23
total	19,844,506	100

Encounters with associations from German-speaking countries

Encounters with clubs from Germany

Since Panathinaiko's first international appearance in 1960 there have been eight Greek-German duels so far (as of April 2015). Of the total of 16 matches, PAO won six, seven were lost and three ended in a draw. Panathinaikos was also until 2007 the only Greek team in professional football that could win a competitive game on German soil. Outstanding is the series of five games in a row that they played unbeaten against German teams, four of them even victorious.

season	competition	Encounter*	result
1964/65	European Champions Cup	Panathinaikos - 1. FC Cologne 1. FC Cologne - Panathinaikos	1: 1 2: 1
1967/68	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	FC Bayern Munich - Panathinaikos Panathinaikos - FC Bayern Munich	5: 0 1: 2
1993/94	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	Panathinaikos - Bayer 04 Leverkusen Bayer 04 Leverkusen - Panathinaikos	1: 4 1: 2
2000/01	UEFA Champions League	Hamburger SV - Panathinaikos Panathinaikos - Hamburger SV	0: 1 0: 0
2001/02	UEFA Champions League	FC Schalke 04 - Panathinaikos Panathinaikos - FC Schalke 04	0: 2 2: 0
2003/04	UEFA Champions League	VfB Stuttgart - Panathinaikos Panathinaikos - VfB Stuttgart	2: 0 1: 3
2005/06	UEFA Champions League	Panathinaikos - Werder Bremen Werder Bremen - Panathinaikos	2: 1 5: 1
2008/09	UEFA Champions League	Panathinaikos - Werder Bremen Werder Bremen - Panathinaikos	2: 2 0: 3

Encounters with clubs from Switzerland

season	competition	Encounter*	result
1974/75	Uefa cup	Grasshopper Zurich - Panathinaikos Panathinaikos - Grasshopper Zurich	2-0 2-1

Encounters with clubs from Austria

season	competition	Encounter*	result
1982/83	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	FK Austria Vienna - Panathinaikos Panathinaikos - FK Austria Vienna	2-0 2-1
1999/00	UEFA Cup	Grazer AK - Panathinaikos Panathinaikos - Grazer AK	2: 1 1: 0
2000/01	UEFA Champions League	SK Sturm Graz - Panathinaikos Panathinaikos - SK Sturm Graz	2: 0 1: 2
2009/10	UEFA Europa League	Panathinaikos - SK Sturm Graz SK Sturm Graz - Panathinaikos	1: 0 0: 1

Encounters with clubs from Luxembourg

season	competition	Encounter*	result
1970/71	European Champions Cup	Jeunesse Esch - Panathinaikos Panathinaikos - Jeunesse Esch	1: 2 5: 0

Encounters with clubs from the GDR

season	competition	Encounter*	result
1969/70	European Champions Cup	FC Vorwärts Berlin - Panathinaikos Panathinaikos - Vorwärts Berlin	2: 0 1: 1
1975/76	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	Panathinaikos - Sachsenring Zwickau Sachsenring Zwickau - Panathinaikos	0-0 2-0

* Only competitive games are listed

Overall balance

opponent	Games	Victories	draw	Defeats	Gates
Germany	16	6th	3	7th	20:28
Switzerland	2	1	0	1	2: 3
Austria	8th	4th	0	4th	7: 9
Luxembourg	2	2	0	0	7: 1
GDR	4th	0	2	2	1: 5
total	32	13	5	14th	37:46

Women's department

Panathinaikos was one of the first clubs in Greece to set up a women's football division. Launched in early 1980, there were a number of friendly games against other women's teams and against some men's teams until 1982. Coach of this team were Spilios Zacharopoulos and Panagiotis Ikonomopoulos , goalkeeper of the Wembley team in 1971. At the end of 1982 the department was dissolved and the players founded the new club Doxa Piraeus which they ran independently until 1990. With the introduction of the official Greek women's championship by the Greek football association EPO (ΕΠΟ) , this team won four of the first five championships held.

Trivia

All jerseys since the club was founded

• In honor and in recognition of GATE 13 , the club's largest group of fans, the jersey with the number 13 has not been awarded at Panathinaikos since the beginning of the 2003/04 season. Goalkeeper Stefanos Kotsolis went down in club history as the last player to be awarded the “13” .
• At the beginning of the 2000s, Antonios Nikopolidis , Stefanos Kotsolis and Alexandros Tzorvas were the three goalkeepers of the men's, U21 and U18 national teams of Greece in the Panathinaikos squad. The quartet was completed by Konstantinos Chalkias who, together with Nikopolidis, became European champion in Portugal in 2004 .
• With officially 74,473 visitors, Panathinaikos holds the Greek audience record. Opponent was at a cup encounter in 1986 AEK Athens .
• With an average of 44,972 spectators per match from the 1985/86 season, Panathinaikos holds the Greek league record.
• Panathinaikos holds the record for the most draws in a season (15, 1979/80 season) and the lowest (1, 1997/98 season).
• With the first division of Konstantinos Antoniou against Veria on February 2, 1978, Panathinaikos used the youngest player in Greek football history. Antoniou was 15 years, nine months and 14 days old at the time.
• With the goal of Sotirios Ninis against Panionios Athens on January 27, 2007, Panathinaikos is the youngest scorer to date in a first division encounter in the Greek league since it received professional status in 1979. Ninis was 16 years, nine months and 24 days old at the time.
• When Charis Mavrias played in the Champions League against Rubin Kazan on October 20, 2010, Panathinaikos played the youngest player in Greek football history in a European Cup game. Mavrias was 16 years, seven months and 30 days old at the time.
• In 1969 Panathinaikos won the Greek club cup after drawing lots. The opponent in the final was Olympiacos Piraeus.
• In addition to Olympique Lyon , Panathinaikos had the most players at the 2008 European Championship with ten players .
• With 30,091 season tickets sold in the 2010/11 season, Panathinaikos holds the Greek record.
• In a world rankings for club teams published by the IFFHS, Panathinaikos ranks 52nd, making it the highest-ranking Greek team for the period between 1991 and 2008.

Web links

Commons : Panathinaikos Athens  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the association
• Official website of the PEK
• Data sheet on www.transfermarkt.de

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} www.pao.gr ( Memento from December 24, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
2. ↑ Report on the jersey history on www.leoforos.gr
3. ^ Report ( memento of April 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on www.sansimera.gr
4. ↑ www.greengate.gr ( Memento from December 22, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
5. ^ Report ( Memento of December 8, 2008 in the Internet Archive ) on www.shoot.gr
6. ↑ www.greengate.gr ( Memento of May 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
7. ↑ “100 Years of Panathinaikos”, Sifis Votzakis, page 136
8. ↑ www.greengate.gr ( Memento of May 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
9. ↑ www.greengate.gr ( Memento of May 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
10. ↑ Report on the European Cup game against Glentoran FC ( Memento from August 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) on www.prasinanea.gr
11. ^ Report in Derby Sports on February 3, 2008
12. ↑ Report ( Memento of May 31, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) on www.leoforos.gr
13. ↑ Report on www.fifa.com
14. ↑ www.greengate.gr ( Memento of May 21, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
15. ↑ Statistics on www.rsssf.com
16. ↑ Handelsblatt of March 16, 2005 ( Memento of September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
17. ↑ Statistics on www.rsssf.com
18. ↑ PEK press release ( memento of February 8, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) of July 18, 2008
19. ^ Announcement about the resignation of President Gontikas (Greek)
20. ↑ Report on Alafouzo's redevelopment concept (Greek)
21. ↑ Stadium profile on www.stadia.gr
22. ↑ www.pao.gr ( Memento of February 12, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
23. ^ Announcement on the acquisition of the Apilion training camp
24. ↑ Report on the new training center ( Memento from June 7, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
25. ↑ Report on the expansion of the training area (Greek)
26. ↑ Coach chronicle on www.gazzette.gr
27. ↑ Stadionwelt - Issue 17, April / May 2006
28. ↑ Information on the coat of arms ( memento of January 10, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) at www.pao.gr
29. ^ Report ( Memento of February 6, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) on www.leoforos.gr
30. ↑ Source on the 1970 Supercup win
31. ↑ Source of the 1970 Supercup win at www.sdna.gr
32. ↑ Documentation of the Segas championships on www.gazzetta.gr (Greek)
33. ↑ Source on the Cup of Greater Greece (Greek)
34. ↑ List of the Athens City Championships on www.rsssf.com (English)
35. ↑ Eternal top scorer list on www.sport24.gr (Greek)
36. ↑ Statistics on www.panatha.gr
37. ↑ Report on the new supplier on www.sdna.gr (Greek)
38. ↑ Shareholder structure on www.sdna.gr (Greek)
39. ↑ Report on www.fifa.com
40. ^ Report on Mavria's record ( memento of October 21, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) at www.sportdog.gr
41. ↑ Cup history on www.rsssf.com
42. ↑ Report on www.sport24.gr
43. ↑ Report on www.gazzetta.gr
44. ↑ World ranking according to the IFFHS