Panathinaikos F.C.

Panathinaikos

Full name	Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος (Panathinaikos Athletic Club)
Nickname(s)	To Trifylli (the Trifolium) Oi Prasinoi (the Greens)
Founded	3 February 1908 (1908-02-03) as Podosferikos Omilos Athinon
Ground	Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium Athens, Greece
Ground Capacity	16,003[1]
Owner	Sortivo International Ltd[2]
President	Giannis Alafouzos
Manager	Marinos Ouzounidis
League	Superleague Greece
2015–16	Superleague Greece, 3rd
Website	Club home page
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Active departments of Panathinaikos AC
Football Basketball (Men's) Basketball (Women's) Volleyball (Men's) Volleyball (Women's) Water Polo Athletics Swimming Diving Table tennis Cycling Boxing Wrestling Weightlifting Kickboxing Fencing Archery Shooting Field hockey Rugby (Men's) Rugby (Women's) Modern pentathlon

Panathinaikos F.C. (Greek: ΠΑΕ Παναθηναϊκός Α.Ο.), also known simply as Panathinaikos (Greek pronunciation: [panaˈθinai̯kˈos]), or with its full name Panathinaikos A.O. (Greek: Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, transliterated "Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos", Panathenaic Athletic Club) are a Greek professional football club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos can literally be translated as "Panathenaic," which means "of all Athens." The name "Panathinaikos" was inspired by the ancient work of Isocrates, Panathenaicus, where the orator praises the Athenians for their democratic education and their military superiority, used for the benefit of all Greeks.^[3]

Today a part of Panathinaikos A.O., they are the oldest active football club in Greece, initially founded only to practice this sport. ^[4] Created in 1908 as "Podosfairikos Omilos Athinon" (Football Club of Athens) by Georgios Kalafatis, they play in the Super League Greece, being one of the most successful clubs in Greek football and one of three clubs which have never been relegated from the top division. Amongst their major titles are twenty Greek Championships, eighteen Greek Cups, achieving eight times the Double, and three official Greek Super Cups. They are also the only club that won a championship undefeated, going without a loss in a top-flight campaign (1963-64 season), a feat that no other club in Greece has ever been able to achieve.

Panathinaikos is also the most successful Greek club in terms of achievements in the European competitions. It is the only Greek team that has reached the European Cup (later changed to UEFA Champions League) final in 1971, and also the semi-finals twice, in 1985 and 1996. It is also the only Greek team that has played for the Intercontinental Cup (1971). Furthermore, they have reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League on another two occasions (in 1992 and 2002), as well as the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup twice (1988 and 2003). They have also won the Balkans Cup in 1977. Panathinaikos is a member of the European Club Association.

Since the 1950s, the club maintains some of the oldest and most successful academies in Greece, producing and preparing new footballers for the first team and feeding also the Greek national football team. Panathinaikos became professional and independent in 1979. They have played their home games in the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, considered their traditional home ground, and the Athens Olympic Stadium.

According to the most recent researches and polls, Panathinaikos is the second-most popular football team in Greece, with the difference behind Olympiacos to be varied between 2% to 9% and the difference in front of the third to be fluctuated between 17% to 21% among the fans.^{[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]} The club has million of fans inside Greece and millions of others in the Greek communities all over the world. Panathinaikos currently is the only supporter-owned football club in Greece.

They hold a long-term rivalry with Olympiacos, the clash between the two teams being referred to as the "Derby of the eternal enemies."^[12]

History

Podosferikos Omilos Athinon

According to the official history of the club, Panathinaikos was founded by Giorgos Kalafatis on 3 February 1908, when he and 40 other athletes decided to break away from Panellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos following the club's decision to discontinue its football team.^[13] The name of the new club was "Podosferikos Omilos Athinon" (Football Club of Athens). It was founded with the aim of spreading and making more known this new sport (football) to the Athenian and Greek public in general. Also, intension of the founders was to create a team for all of Athens and to be connected with the rest of the European football movement, which was already active.^[14] The first president elected was Alexandros Kalafatis, brother of Giorgos. The ground of the team was in Patission Street.^[15] Oxford University athlete John Cyril Campbell was brought in as coach, the first time that a foreigner was appointed as the coach of a Greek team.^[15] Konstantinos Tsiklitiras, the great Greek athlete of the early 20th century, played as goalkeeper for the new team.

In 1910, after a dispute among a number of board members, Kalafatis with most of the players—also followed by Campbell—decided to pull out of POA and secured a new ground in Amerikis Square. Subsequently, the name of the club changed to Panellinios Podosferikos Omilos ("Panhellenic Football Club") and its colours to green and white. By 1914, Campbell had returned to England but the club was already at the top of Greek football with players such as Michalis Papazoglou, Michalis Rokkos and Loukas Panourgias.

In 1918, the team adopted the trifolium (shamrock) as its emblem, as proposed by Michalis Papazoglou.^[16] In 1921 and 1922, the Athens-Piraeus FCA organized the first two post-WWI championships, in both of which PPO was declared champion. By that stage, the club had outgrown both the grounds in Patission Street and Amerikis Square, due mainly to its expansion in other sports, and began to look at vacant land in the area of Perivola on Alexandras Avenue as its potential new ground.^[16] After long discussions with the Municipality of Athens, an agreement was finally reached and in 1922 Leoforos ("Avenue" in Greek) was granted to the club.^[15]

Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos

The move to a permanent home ground also heralded another—final—name change to Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (PAO), "Panathenaic Athletic Club", on 15 March 1924,^[15] from now on a multi-sport club. However, the decision was already taken by 1922.

In 1926, the Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) was founded and the first Greek Championship under its authority took place in 1927.

The stars of the 1930s

Panathinaikos won undefeated the Championship of 1929–30 under the guidance of József Künsztler and Angelos Messaris as the team's star player.^[17] Other notable players of this Belle Époque period of the team were Antonis Migiakis, Diomidis Symeonidis, Mimis Pierrakos and Stefanos Pierrakos, among others. They thrashed rivals Olympiacos 8–2, a result that still remains the biggest win either team has achieved against its rival, with Messaris scoring three goals.^[18] The team also defeated Aris 1–4 away in Thessaloniki. Messaris, who scored again three goals, became a hero and chant for the fans.

“

We scored eight against Olympiakos, and four more against Aris, hooray Angelos Messaris!

”

Crisis and WWII years

In 1931, a serious disagreement between leading board member Apostolos Nikolaidis from one side, and some players (most notably Angelos Messaris) and club's officials on the other side,^[16] regarding the professionalization in the Greek football, which lasted two years, damaged the club and led to a counterproductive period. In the meantime, the HFF Greek Cup had commenced in 1932. The last bright moment for the Greens before World War II was winning the Cup for the first time in 1940 against Aris, 3–1.

In 1940, with the break out of the Greco-Italian War, many players of the club joined the Hellenic Army. Mimis Pierrakos was killed during the war (later, during the 1950s, his bones were transferred from Albania back to Athens). During the Axis Occupation of Greece from 1941 to 1944, many players of the team became members of United Panhellenic Organization of Youth (PEAN) resistance organization.,^[19] while Michalis Papazoglou had a leading role in the resistance group of Jerzy Iwanow-Szajnowicz.

After this long crisis period, Panathinaikos had to wait until 1949 to win again a Greek Championship under the guidance of the Austrian coach Johann Strnad. That same year, Vangelis Panakis and Kostas Linoxilakis came to the club and quickly became the side's new star players. Panathinaikos was again champion for the 1952–53 Panhellenic Championship.

Until 1959, the team had also won seven of the last eight Athens Championships, the regional championships organised in Greece. In 1959, Mimis Domazos, the emblematic captain of the team, made his first appearance with Panathinaikos and the same year took place the first season under the new system of Alpha Ethniki (1959–60 Alpha Ethniki). Panathinaikos was the champion team.

1960s: The Golden Decade, the Bobek's rejuvenation

During the next years, Panathinaikos were again champions in 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1969 and 1970. Moreover, the team won two more Greek Cups, in 1967 and 1969. Also, during these years, a long process of rejuvenation took place in the club. Notable players retired, such as Panakis, Linoxilakis, Takis Loukanidis and Andreas Papaemmanouil, and the team had to count on young players like Domazos, Antonis Antoniadis, Anthimos Kapsis, Kostas Eleftherakis and Takis Ikonomopoulos.

Stjepan Bobek was the main contributor to this process. In 1963, he became the club's head coach, changing the playing style of the team to a 4–3–3 and created a new team based on young players (the "Bobek's rejuvenation"). Under his guidance, Panathinaikos won the Championship of 1964 without a loss, making them the only team that has won the Greek Championship (with its modern system) undefeated.^[13] Notable players of the team included Panakis, Domazos, Takis Ikonomopoulos, Totis Filakouris, Frangiskos Sourpis and Aristidis Kamaras.

With the establishment of the Greek military regime, the president of the club, Loukas Panourgias, was forced out of the presidency. The contract of Bobek was canceled by the State, while Apostolos Nikolaidis, the old player, manager and official of the club, went on trial.^[20]

In 1967, the great Béla Guttmann came as coach, but he soon left and ex-player Lakis Petropoulos was appointed. Under his guidance, Panathinaikos won the championships of 1969 (with a double) and 1970.

Puskás years and the epic road to Wembley: European Cup 1970–71 finalists

In 1971, under the guidance of Ferenc Puskás, Panathinaikos were 1970–71 European Cup finalists, the first and only Greek team until today, losing 2–0 to Ajax at Wembley Stadium.^[13] In the road to the final, they eliminated Jeunesse Esch, Slovan Bratislava, Everton and Red Star Belgrade.^[13][21] Notable players included the captain Mimis Domazos, Anthimos Kapsis, Aristidis Kamaras, Kostas Eleftherakis, Totis Filakouris and the goalkeepers Takis Ikonomopoulos and Vasilis Konstantinou. Antonis Antoniadis was the top scorer in the competition scoring ten goals.

In the same year, Panathinaikos played for the 1971 Intercontinental Cup (due to the refusal of Ajax to participate), where they lost to Uruguayan club Nacional (1–1 in Greece, 2–1 in Uruguay).^[22] Totis Filakouris was the scorer for the Greek club.

During the last amateur years of Greek football, the Trifolium won one more Championship in 1972. Antonis Antoniadis was again top scorer with 39 goals (also second in Europe). His record remains until today in the Greek league.

With the collapse of the militay regime, Apostolos Nikolaidis became again active for the club and was appointed honorary president of Panathinaikos. In 1975, one of the greatest coaches of his era, the Brazilian Aymoré Moreira, who mainly worked in Brazil (World Cup Champion with the Brazilian national team in 1962), was appointed. After a year-and-a-half of poor results, however, he was replaced by Kazimierz Górski. With Górski, Panathinaikos won the double in 1977, followed by a Balkans Cup victory in the same year.^[23] Notable foreign players who played for the team during the late 1970s include Juan Ramón Verón, Araquem de Melo and Óscar Álvarez.

Giorgos Vardinogiannis era (1979–2000)

In 1979, Greek football turned professional. The Vardinogiannis family purchased PAO's football department and Giorgos Vardinogiannis became president.^[16] Panathinaikos were one of the first Greek clubs that formed a women's team in 1980, but that department is currently inactive.

The transformation period lasted a few years, but in 1982 the club won its first professional era trophy, the Greek Cup, and during the 1980s they would go on winning two championships (1984, 1986), four more Greek Cups (1984, 1986—with a 4–0 against Olympiakos in the final—, 1988, 1989) and the Greek Super Cup in 1988. The great star of the team during these years was Dimitris Saravakos, nicknamed "The Kid." Saravakos, a high-technique explosive miedfielder and iconic captain of Panathinaikos, was the alsolute idol for the fans during the 1980s, while other players included Nikos Sarganis, Spiros Livathinos, Velimir Zajec, Juan Ramón Rocha, Christos Dimopoulos and Giannis Kyrastas.

European Cup 1984–85 semi-finalists

In the 1984–85 season, Panathinaikos, with coach Jacek Gmoch and stars Dimitris Saravakos, Velimir Zajec, Juan Ramón Rocha and Ioannis Kyrastas, made a run in Europe, eliminating Feyenoord, Linfield and IFK Göteborg to reach the semi-finals of the European Cup, where they were knocked out by Liverpool.^[13]

In 1987–88, they made it also to the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup, eliminating Juventus, Auxerre and Budapest Honvéd. Saravakos was top scorer of the competition.

The 1990s were an even more successful period for the club, both nationally and internationally. Four Greek championships (1990, 1991, 1995, 1996), four Greek Cups (1991, 1993, 1994, 1995) and two Greek Super Cups (1993, 1994) were awarded to the club.

In the 1991–92 season, Panathinaikos reached also the last eight of the European Cup and took part in the first ever European tournament to have a group stage.

Champions League 1995–96 semi-finalists

In 1995–96, with Juan Ramon Rocha as coach and key players Krzysztof Warzycha, Józef Wandzik, Stratos Apostolakis, Georgios Georgiadis, Dimitris Markos, Giannis Kalitzakis, Giorgos Donis and Juan Jose Borrelli, Panathinaikos reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, eliminating Nantes, Porto, Aalborg BK and Legia Warsaw.

In the semi-finals, they faced Ajax, recording an impressive 0–1 first leg away victory with Krzysztof Warzycha scoring the winning goal. Ajax had a record of 22 undefeated international matches until then, with Panathinaikos breaking their series. The Greek team, however, suffered a 0–3 defeat on the second leg and were thus denied entry to the final once more.

Sporadic success and european distinctions (2000–2012)

In the summer of 2000, President Giorgos Vardinogiannis resigned from his duties with complaints for the refereeing situation in Greece and passed his shares to his nephew Giannis Vardinogiannis, who changed the style of the club's management. Angelos Anastasiadis was initially appointed coach of the team and later the ex-player Giannis Kyrastas.

With the arrival of coach Sergio Markarian, Panathinaikos reached the quarter-finals of the 2001–02 UEFA Champions League, being eliminated by Barcelona. Panathinaikos had passed the first group stage as the top club against Arsenal, Mallorca and Schalke 04, and the second group stage as second against Real Madrid, Porto and Sparta Prague.

The next season, 2002–03, they lost the championship in the last two games by arch-rivals Olympiacos. In Europe, they were eliminated in the UEFA Cup quarter-finals by eventual winners Porto. En route, they had knocked-out Fenerbahçe (with an impressive 4–1 home win), Slovan Liberec and Anderlecht. Notable players of this team included Takis Fyssas, Giorgos Karagounis, Antonis Nikopolidis, Angelos Basinas, Nikos Lyberopoulos, Michalis Konstantinou, Giourkas Seitaridis, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Paulo Sousa, Goran Vlaović, Rene Henriksen, Joonas Kolkka, Jan Michaelsen and Emmanuel Olisadebe, considered by the fans one of the best teams in the club's history.

Under the guidance of Israeli coach Itzhak Shum, Panathinaikos managed to win the championship in 2004. They won also the Cup, beating Olympiakos 3–1 in the final, making the double. New players like Ezequiel González, Lucian Sanmartean and Markus Münch had signed the summer before. In the Champions League, they came third in the group stage facing Manchester United, VfB Stuttgart and Rangers. However, Shum was unexpectedly fired early in the next season (2004–05) and Zdeněk Ščasný succeeded him on the bench. Panathinaikos finished second in the championship, while in the Champions League they came again third in the group stage facing Rosenborg, PSV and Arsenal. They continued in the UEFA Cup, where they were eliminated by Sevilla.

In 2005, major changes were made in the team's roster. Players like Angelos Basinas and Michalis Konstantinou departed, while others like Flávio Conceição, Igor Bišćan and Andreas Ivanschitz arrived. Ščasný gave his seat to Alberto Malesani. At the start of the 2006–07 season, Malesani left the team and was replaced by Hans Backe, who left only three months after his appointment; Víctor Muñoz was his replacement. For the 2007–08 season, Panathinaikos hired José Peseiro.

On 22 April 2008, and under pressure from the fan base, main shareholder Giannis Vardinogiannis gave a press conference in which he announced the decision of his family to reduce their share in the club to 50%—after 30 years of full ownership—through a €80 million increase of the company's capital stock. After the negotiations and the share capital increase, the Vardinogiannis family would hold 56% of the club, the amateur Club 10% and the other shareholders 34% (with main investors Andreas Vgenopoulos, Pavlos Giannakopoulos, Adamantios Polemis and Nikos Pateras). Nikos Pateras was selected to be the new president of the club.

Following the major changes in 2008, Panathinaikos hired Henk ten Cate as coach and bought many expensive players, such as Gilberto Silva from Arsenal and Gabriel from Fluminense. In the 2008–09 season, the Greens proved that they could hold their weight in the Champions League by reaching the last 16. However, they disappointed in the Greek Championship, finishing third in the regular season, though they managed to come second overall after the playoff mini-league.

The 2009–10 season was successful for Panathinaikos. During the summer transfer period, the club bought Djibril Cissé from Marseille, Kostas Katsouranis from Benfica, Sebastián Leto from Liverpool and various other players, spending more than €35 million in total. Henk ten Cate left in December to be replaced by Nikos Nioplias. The team managed to reach the last 16 of the Europa League and win both the Greek Championship and the Greek Cup, beating Aris in the final of the latter.

In 2011, due to financial problems and management disagreements, Panathinaikos sold Cissé for €5.8 million to Lazio and first-choice goalkeeper Alexandros Tzorvas to Palermo in order to reduce the budget.^[24][25] New players then entered, such as Quincy Owusu-Abeyie, Toché, Vitolo and Zeca. The club also changed their president and chose Dimitris Gontikas to be the new chairman. Panathinaikos failed to qualify to the group stage of 2011–12 Champions League after they were knocked out by Odense BK 4–5 on aggregate.

Alafouzos era; PAO Alliance 2012 and new start (2012–)

Panathinaikos' downfall continued as a result of the serious riots in the Panathinaikos–Olympiacos derby of 18 March 2012. The entire board quit and Panathinaikos remained headless for about two months.^[26] However, the owner of Skai TV, Giannis Alafouzos, devised a plan to take Vardinogiannis' shares (54.7%) and make them available to fans around Greece so that everyone could contribute a desired amount, so that Panathinaikos could overcome the crisis.^[27] His plan seemed to be working, as a new 20-member board was elected with Dimitris Gontikas at the president's chair again,^[28] though it was yet to be seen how the fans would respond to Panathinaikos' call for help.

On 2 July 2012, the PAO Alliance 2012^[29] finally opened to the public so that everyone could be a member and contribute a desired amount in return for privileges. After a few weeks of operation, 8,606 members had signed up, some of which were current or former Panathinaikos players, including Jean-Alain Boumsong, Sotiris Ninis, Gilberto Silva and Djibril Cissé, among others.

18 July 2012 marked a historical day in Panathinaikos history, as Giannis Vardinogiannis gave his shares—54.7% of Panathinaikos—to the Panathinaikos Alliance, thereby allowing Panathinaikos to have a fresh start with their own fans at the steering wheel, who through elections (amongst the members of the Alliance) they compose the Board of Directors and elect the club's president. The first president elected was Giannis Alafouzos.

The first season with the Panathinaikos Alliance at the helm was nothing short of abysmal for the club. While still enduring financial troubles, Panathinaikos finished sixth in the championship and failed to qualify for the European competition for the first time in 16 years.

For the 2013–14 season, the membership had risen up to 9,305 members. Starting the football year, both fans and journalists were very skeptical of Panathinaikos' chances of a successful season, and many people expected the team to suffer relegation from the Superleague Greece. In May 2013, Yannis Anastasiou was appointed manager, and he planned a team based on players from the Panathinaikos Youth Academies joined by experienced foreign players looking to revive their careers. Despite the early skepticism, Panathinaikos' fans supported the team through the rough start, and the season turned out to be a massive success in light of the dire financial situation of the club and the young and inexperienced squad. The club finished fourth in the regular season and second after the playoffs (meaning they qualified for the 2014–15 Champions League), with Marcus Berg the top scorer of the team. Panathinaikos also won the 2013–14 Greek Football Cup after a 4–1 win over PAOK.

On 2 November 2015, after bad performances and a home draw with AEK Athens, manager Anastasiou was sacked and replaced by Andrea Stramaccioni.

Crest and colours

Crest evolution

• 

  1908

• 

  1995–present

Red was the colour that was first used by the team in 1908 (probably like that of the first crest). The first symbol of the club was a red association football ball of the era.

In 1911, the colours changed to green and white. In 1918, Michalis Papazoglou proposed the trifolium, symbol of harmony, unity, nature and good luck, as emblem of Panathinaikos.^[30] The officials of the club were looking for a universal, non-nationalistic or localistic, symbol aiming to represent the whole Athens at the country and further at the world.^[31] Papazoglou used to have it sewn on his shirt since he was competing for a club in his native Chalcedon, Constantinople (present-day Istanbul, Turkey).^[32] He was possibly inspired by Billy Sherring, an Irish Canadian athlete who had won the Athens 1906 Olympic marathon (1906 Intercalated Games) wearing a white outfit with a big green shamrock on the chest.^[33][34][35]

Georgios Chatzopoulos, member—and later president—of the club and director of the National Gallery, took over to design the new emblem for the team. Up to the end of the 1970s, a trifolium (green or white) was sewed on heart's side of the jersey and was big in size. With the beginning of professionalism, the crest of the F.C. was created, accompanied by the club initials and the year of founding, 1908.^[32]

Until today, the team's traditional colours are green and white (green for health, nature, such as physiolatry, and white for virtue), although the white sometimes is omitted, used as trim or as an alternative. During the first years after the establishment of green as Panathinaikos' primary colour, players were wearing green shirts, white shorts and green socks. During the 1930s, an appearance with characteristic horizontal strips was established. This motive was used also in the next decades as primary or second choice. Since then, the uniform style has changed many times, but green has always remained the team's primary colour.

Kit evolution

First

1908

1924–25

1928–29

1929–30

1958-59[36]

1966–67[36]

1967–68[37]

1967–70[36]

1971

1986–87[38][39]

1993–95

1995–96

2000–02

2003–04

2004–05 [40]

2013–14

Alternative

1937–38[36]

1970–71

1993–95

1995–96

2000–01

2006–07

2007–08

2012–13

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Since 1979, when football became professional in Greece, Panathinaikos had a specific kit manufacturer and since 1983 a specific shirt sponsor as well. The following table shows in detail Panathinaikos kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors by year:

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
1979–1980	Adidas	—
1980	Puma
1980–1981	ASICS Tiger
1981–1982	Admiral
1982–1983	ASICS Tiger
1983–1985		Citroën
1986–1987		Interamerican
1988–1993	ASICS
1993–1995	Kappa
1995–1997	Adidas
1997–1999		—
1999–2000		Motor Oil Hellas
2000–2001		Piraeus Bank
2001–2006		OTE
2006–2011		Cosmote
2011–2014		OPAP
2014–2015		Pame Stoixima
2015–	Puma

Stadiums and facilities

Panathinaikos' traditional home ground since the early 1920s is the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, the oldest active football stadium in Greece, in the Ampelokipoi district of central Athens. The stadium is located on Alexandras Avenue and is most commonly referred to as Leoforos (Greek for "Avenue"). It is considered one of the most historic stadiums in Greece, as it was used by the Greek national team as home ground for many years (most recently for the UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying matches) and even by Panathinaikos' biggest rivals, AEK Athens and Olympiacos, on various occasions.

Panathinaikos left Leoforos in 1984 to play in the newly-built Athens Olympic Stadium. In 2000, then-club president Angelos Filippidis announced a return to the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, following a €7 million renovation. Capacity was reduced from 25,000 to 16,620, new dressing rooms were built and modular stand roofing was added in compliance with UEFA requirements, but in 2004, stricter standards were announced and the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium would need further expansion were it to remain suitable for UEFA-sanctioned matches. This was precluded by local zoning regulations and the team had to return to the Olympic Stadium once more until a new stadium, the proposed Votanikos Arena, was built. The Leoforos ground was due for demolition.

On 27 January 2007, the board of Panathinaikos decided to reuse the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium for the team's 2007–08 domestic league and UEFA Cup home games. Additionally, the club officials decided to install new lawn, new seats and upgrade the press conference room and the restrooms.

As of October 2013, and due to the club's and the country's financial troubles, the construction of the Votanikos Arena has stopped and consequently the plans for the demolition of the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium have been put on hold. After another five-year spell at the Olympic Stadium, the team has returned to its traditional home ground once again.

The current president of the club, Giannis Alafouzos, declared his intension for another renovation of the stadium and the capacity increase, while the Panathinaikos Movement made its propositions for a total reconstruction.

Stadium	Capacity	Years
Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium	16,003	1923–1984 1988–1989 2000–2005 2007–2008 2013–
Athens Olympic Stadium	69,618	1984–1988 1989–2000 2005–2007 2008–2013

Paiania has been the training ground of Panathinaikos since 1981. That same year, the Academy of the club was reorganized, becoming one of the best in the country and feeding the first team with notable players, such as Giorgos Karagounis, Angelos Basinas, Sotirios Kyrgiakos and Sotiris Ninis among others, key members of the Greek national team. In 2013, was decided the move of the club from the previous training center of Paiania to a new one, owned by the team. Located in the area of Koropi, Georgios Kalafatis Sports Center became a new training ground and Academy base of Panathinaikos.

Financial information

Until 1979, football in Greece was still in amateur level. The team, such as the other departments of Panathinaikos A.O., depended on the financial support of the club's members, while the president (responsible for all athletic departments) was elected by the Board members. In 1979, the Greek football turned professional and the Vardinogiannis family purchased the football department. Giorgos Vardinogiannis became the new president.^[16] Vardinogiannis family were the owners of the club the next decades.

On 22 April 2008, and under pressure from the fan base, main shareholder Giannis Vardinogiannis gave a press conference in which he announced the decision of his family to reduce their share in the club to 50%—after 30 years of full ownership—through a €80 million increase of the company's capital stock. After the negotiations and the share capital increase, the Vardinogiannis family would hold 56% of the club, the amateur Club 10% (as before) and the new shareholders 34%. Pavlos Giannakopoulos, Nikos Pateras, Adamantios Polemis and Andreas Vgenopoulos were the main investors, plus other minor shareholders. Nikos Pateras was selected to be the new president.

In 2011, due to financial problems and management disagreements, the direction decided to reduce the budget and sell many players. In 2012, the owner of Skai TV, Giannis Alafouzos, devised a plan to take Vardinogiannis' shares (54.7%) and make them available to fans around Greece so that everyone could contribute, so that Panathinaikos could overcome the crisis.^[27] His intension was to create a new, for the Greek athletic standards, supporter-owned football club. On 2 July 2012, the Panathenaic Alliance finally opened to the public so that everyone could be a member and contribute a desired amount in return for privileges. A few days later, Giannis Vardinogiannis gave his shares—54.7% of Panathinaikos—to the Alliance, while the other shareholders maintained their percentage. The members of the Alliance through elections compose the Board of Directors and elect the club's president. The first president elected elected was Giannis Alafouzos. In 2013, was decided the move of the team from the previous training center of Paiania to a new one, owned by the club. Located in the area of Koropi, Georgios Kalafatis Sports Center became the new training ground and academy base of Panathinaikos.

For the 2014–15 season, the membership had risen up to 8,495 members contributing a total of €2,680,041.

Season	Members	% Difference	Contribution
2012–13	8.606	-	€2.325.608
2013–14	9.305	+8,1%	€2.580.836
2014–15	8.495	-8,7%	€2.680.041
2015–16	8.802	+3,6%	€905.265

Current sponsorships:

• Shirt Sponsor: Pame Stoixima
• Sport Clothing Manufacturer: Puma
• Official Sponsors: Cosmote, Vivartia, Piraeus Bank, Avance
• Supporters: Powerade, Marks & Spencer

Supporters

Panathinaikos was founded by middle class athletes (with Giorgos Kalafatis as a key figure) aiming of spreading and making more known football to the Athenian and Greek public in general. Also, their intension was to create a team for all of Athens and to be connected with the rest of the European football movement, which was already active.^[14]

Today, according to UEFA and numerous polls and researches by the biggest newspapers and poll companies in a span of 20 years, Panathinaikos is the second-most popular football team in Greece, with the difference behind Olympiakos to be varied between 2% to 9% and the difference in front of the third to be fluctuated between 17% to 21% among the fans.^{[6][7][8][9][10][11]} They have the highest popularity in greater Athens and the region of Attica, according to some researches, having also a large fanbase in all Greek prefectures, in Cyprus and in the Greek diaspora. They have a large fanbase among high-educated people and the Greek upper class (traditionally representing the old Athenian society), while they are popular among the middle and lower classes also.

Panathinaikos supporters hold both records of the most season tickets sales (31,091 in 2010) and highest average attendance for a unique season (44,942 in 1985–86) in the history of Greek football.

The main organized supporters of Panathinaikos are known as Gate 13 (established 1966),^[41] the oldest fan association in Greece, which consists of around 80 clubs alongside Greece and Cyprus.^[42] Gate 13 style of supporting includes the use of green fireworks, large and small green flags, displaying of banners and especially the creation of colorful and large choreographies, noisy and constant cheering and other supporters stuff. Gate 13 has over the years become a part of the club by affecting club decisions and by following the club on all occasions. They share close relations with Ultras Rapid Wien,^[43] as well as A.S. Roma fans.^[44][45] They are also allies with Dinamo Zagreb's Bad Blue Boys and Orgullo Vikingo of Real Madrid.^[46] PALEFIP (Panhellenic club of Panathinaikos friends) is another supporters organization.^[47]

Panathenaic Alliance, a collective organisation of the fan base, is the major shareholder of the football club, making it currently the only supporter-owned football club in Greece. The members of the Alliance, through elections, compose the Board of Directors and elect the club's president.

Panathinaikos Movement, founded in 2012, is also a Greek political party founded by people with an initial common their love for the sports club of Panathinaikos and the wish for a new stadium for the football team, despite the bureaucracy of the Greek state.

Relationships with other clubs

Panathinaikos has links with many football clubs in Greece and in other countries where Greek immigrants live, or teams named also "Panathinaikos" by friends of the club, such as Panathinaikos AO Futsal in Belgium, Panathinaikos Atlético Clube and Panathinaikos Futsal Betim (formed by common fans of Panathinaikos and Palmeiras) in Brazil.

Statistics and records

Mimis Domazos holds the record for Panathinaikos appearances, having played 502 first-team matches between 1959 and 1980.^[48] Striker Krzysztof Warzycha comes second, having played 390 times.^[49] The record for a goalkeeper is held by Takis Ikonomopoulos, with 303 appearances.^[50]

Krzysztof Warzycha is the club's top goalscorer with 288 goals in all competitions between 1989 and 2004,^[51] having surpassed Antonis Antoniadis' total of 180 in January 1998.^[52]

Panathinaikos record home attendance is 74,493, for a Greek League match against AEK Athens in 1986 at the Olympic Stadium.^[53] The record attendance for a Panathinaikos match at the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium is from 1967, when 29,665 spectators watched the Cup Winners' Cup game between Panathinaikos and Bayern Munich.^[54]

Panathinaikos is the only club in the history of Greek football to finish a top-flight (after 1959) campaign unbeaten. This happened in the 1963–64 season.^[55]

League top scorers Player Nationality Goals Krzysztof Warzycha 244 Antonis Antoniadis 180 Mimis Domazos 134 Dimitris Saravakos 128 Kostas Eleftherakis 85

Most league appearances Player Nationality Matches Mimis Domazos 504 Krzysztof Warzycha 390 Kostas Antoniou 320 Anthimos Kapsis 319 Frangiskos Sourpis 311

One-Club players

Player	Nationality	Position	Debut	Last Match
Vangelis Panakis		FW	1950	1965
Anthimos Kapsis		DF	1969	1984
Giannis Goumas		DF	1994	2009
Giannis Papantoniou		MF	1945	1958
Frangiskos Sourpis		DF	1962	1973

Superleague top scorers

Rank.	Nationality	Player	Times	Seasons
1		Antonis Antoniadis	5 (Greek record)	1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975
2		Krzysztof Warzycha	3	1994, 1995, 1998
3		Djibril Cissé	2	2010, 2011
4		Dimitris Saravakos	1	1991
5		Nikos Liberopoulos	1	2003
6		Angelos Messaris	1	1930
7		Filippos Asimakopoulos	1	1955
8		Tasos Kritikos	1	1936

Most goals in a season

Rank.	Nationality	Player	Goals	Season
1		Antonis Antoniadis	39 goals (Greek record)	1971–72 (also second -less one goal- in Europe, "Silver Shoe")

Top scorers in European competitions

Uefa Champions League

Rank.	Nationality	Player	Times	Seasons
1		Antonis Antoniadis	1	1970–71

UEFA Cup

Rank.	Nationality	Player	Times	Seasons
1		Dimitris Saravakos	1	1987–88

Domestic team's records

Outline	Record
Champions without a loss	2 (1929-30, 1952–53)
Champions without a loss in a top-flight campaign (after 1959)	once (1963–64)
Undefeated in a season (League/Cup)	once (1963–64)
Biggest win in a Greek Super Cup match	3-0 (vs AEK, 1994)

International record

Best seasons

Season	Achievement	Notes
UEFA Champions League
1960–61	Last 16	eliminated by Hradec Králové 1–0 in Hradec Králové, 0–0 in Athens
1964–65	Last 16	eliminated by Köln 1–1 in Athens, 2–1 in Cologne
1965–66	Last 16	eliminated by Ferencváros 0–0 in Budapest, 1–3 in Athens
1970–71	Final	lost to Ajax 0–2 in Wembley Stadium, London
1977–78	Last 16	eliminated by Brugge 2–0 in Brugge, 1–0 in Athens
1984–85	Semi Finals	eliminated by Liverpool 4–0 in Liverpool, 0–1 in Athens
1991–92	Quarter Finals	eliminated by Sampdoria, Red Star Belgrade, Anderlecht
1995–96	Semi Finals	eliminated by Ajax, 0–1 in Amsterdam, 0–3 in Athens
2000–01	Second Group Stage	eliminated by Valencia, Manchester United, Sturm Graz
2001–02	Quarter Finals	eliminated by Barcelona, 1–0 in Athens, 3–1 in Barcelona
2008–09	Last 16	eliminated by Villarreal, 1–1 in Villarreal, 1–2 in Athens
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
1988–89	Last 16	eliminated by CSKA Sofia 2–0 in Sofia, 0–1 in Athens
1989–90	Last 16	eliminated by Dinamo București 0–2 in Athens, 6–1 in Bucharest
1993–94	Last 16	eliminated by Bayer Leverkusen 1–4 in Athens, 2–1 in Leverkusen
1994–95	Last 16	eliminated by Club Brugge 1–0 in Brugge, 0–0 in Athens
UEFA Europa League
1987–88	Quarter Finals	eliminated by Club Brugge 2–2 in Athens, 1–0 in Brugge
2000–03	Quarter Finals	eliminated by Porto 0–1 in Porto, 0–2 (a.e.t.) in Athens
2009–10	Last 16	eliminated by Standard Liège 1–3 in Athens, 1–0 in Liège

Notable wins Season Match Score European Cup / Champions League 1970–71 Panathinaikos – Red Star Belgrade 3–0 1984–85 Panathinaikos – Feyenoord 2–1 1986–87 Panathinaikos – Red Star Belgrade 2–1 1984–85 IFK Göteborg – Panathinaikos 0–1 1991–92 Panathinaikos – IFK Göteborg 2–0 1995–96 Porto – Panathinaikos 0–1 1995–96 Ajax – Panathinaikos  [a]0–1 [a] 1998–99 Panathinaikos – Dynamo Kyiv 2–1 2000–01 Panathinaikos – Juventus 3–1 2000–01 Hamburg – Panathinaikos 0–1 2001–02 Schalke 04 – Panathinaikos 0–2 2001–02 Panathinaikos – Schalke 2–0 2001–02 Panathinaikos – Mallorca 2–0 2001–02 Panathinaikos – Arsenal 1–0 2001–02 Sparta Prague – Panathinaikos 0–2 2001–02 Panathinaikos – Barcelona 1–0 2003–04 Rangers – Panathinaikos 1–3 2004–05 Panathinaikos – PSV 4–1 2005–06 Panathinaikos – Werder Bremen 2–1 2008–09 Internazionale – Panathinaikos 0–1 2008–09 Werder Bremen – Panathinaikos  [b]0–3 [b] UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League 1980–81 Panathinaikos – Juventus 4–2 1987–88 Panathinaikos – Auxerre 2–0 1987–88 Panathinaikos – Budapest Honvéd 5–1 1987–88 Panathinaikos – Juventus 1–0 2002–03 Panathinaikos – Fenerbahçe 4–1 2002–03 Panathinaikos – Anderlecht 3–0 2002–03 Porto – Panathinaikos  [c]0–1 [c] 2004–05 Panathinaikos – Sevilla  [d]1–0 [d] 2009–10 Panathinaikos – Roma 3–2 2009–10 Roma – Panathinaikos 2–3 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1993–94 Bayer Leverkusen – Panathinaikos 1–2

Biggest wins Season Match Score European Cup / UEFA Champions League 1970–71 Panathinaikos – Jeunesse Esch 5–0 1970–71 Panathinaikos – Slovan Bratislava 3–0 1970–71 Panathinaikos – Red Star Belgrade 3–0 1977–78 Panathinaikos – Floriana 4–0 1995–96 Panathinaikos – Legia Warsaw 3–0 1998–99 Panathinaikos – Steaua București 6–3 2004–05 Panathinaikos – PSV 4–1 2005–06 Panathinaikos – Wisła Kraków 4–1 2008–09 Panathinaikos – Dinamo Tbilisi 3–0 2008–09 Werder Bremen – Panathinaikos 0–3 2009–10 Panathinaikos – Sparta Prague 3–0 2012–13 Panathinaikos – Motherwell 3–0 UEFA Cup / Europa League 1987–88 Panathinaikos – Budapest Honvéd 5–1 1992–93 Panathinaikos – Electroputere Craiova 4–0 1992–93 Electroputere Craiova – Panathinaikos 0–6 2002–03 Panathinaikos – Fenerbahçe 4–1 2002–03 Panathinaikos – Anderlecht 3–0 2007–08 Panathinaikos – Artmedia Bratislava 3–0 2007–08 Panathinaikos – Aberdeen 3–0 2009–10 Panathinaikos – Dinamo București 3–0 2014–15 Panathinaikos – Midtjylland 4–1 2016–17 Panathinaikos – Brøndby 3–0 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1993–94 Panathinaikos – Shelbourne 3–0 1994–95 Panathinaikos – Pirin Blagoevgrad 6–1

Notes

Honours

Domestic

• Superleague Greece^{[56][57][58][59]}
  • Winners (20): 1929–30, 1948–49, 1952–53, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1968–69, 1969–70, 1971–72, 1976–77, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1989–90, 1990–91, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2003–04, 2009–10
• Greek Cup^[58][59][60]
  • Winners (18): 1939–40, 1947–48, 1954–55, 1966–67, 1968–69, 1976–77, 1981–82, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2003–04, 2009–10, 2013–14
• Greek Super Cup^[61]
  • Winners (3) (record): 1988, 1993, 1994
• Greater Greece Cup:
  • Winners (1): 1970

European competitions

• UEFA Champions League:
  • Runners-up (1): 1970–71^[62]
  • Semi-finals (2): 1984–85, 1995–96
  • Quarter-finals (2): 1991–92, 2001–02
• UEFA Cup:
  • Quarter-finals (2): 1987–88, 2002–03
• Balkans Cup:^[63]
  • Winners (1): 1977

Worldwide competitions

• Intercontinental Cup:^[64]
  • Runners-up (1): 1971

Doubles

• • Winners (8): 1968-69, 1976–77, 1983–84, 1985–86, 1990–91, 1994–95, 2003–04, 2009-10

Regional

• SEGAS and FCA Championship: ^[65]
  • Winners (6): 1908-09, 1910-11, 1911-12, 1914–15, 1920–21, 1921-22
• Athens FCA Championship:^[66]
  • Winners (17) (record): 1925, 1926, 1927, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1934, 1937, 1939, 1949, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959

Friendly tournaments

• Trofeo Cidade de Vigo:
  • Winners (1): 1971

Youth teams

• Greek Amateur Cup¹: (2)
  • 1994, 1995
• Athens Cup¹: (2)
  • 1993, 1994
• Greek U-21 Championship: (2)
  • 2005, 2012
• Greek U-18 Championship: (1)
  • 2009
• Copa Amsterdam:
  • Winners (1): 2005
• Puskás Cup:
  • Runners-up (2): 2010, 2013

¹Competitions for amateur footballers, won by Panathinaikos' U-21 team (or Panathinaikos Amateurs, as it was called at that time).

Current squad

As of 31 August 2016^[67]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 1 GK Stefanos Kotsolis 2 DF Stathis Tavlaridis 3 DF Diamantis Chouchoumis 4 MF Giorgos Koutroubis (3rd-captain) 5 DF Nuno Reis 6 DF Christopher Samba 7 MF Olivier Boumal 8 FW Víctor Ibarbo (on loan from Cagliari) 9 FW Marcus Berg (vice-captain) 10 MF Zeca (captain) 11 FW Sebastián Leto 12 DF Nikos Marinakis 15 GK Luke Steele 17 MF Robin Lod 19 MF Lucas Villafáñez

No. Position Player 20 FW Lautaro Rinaldi 22 MF Mubarak Wakaso 23 DF Niklas Hult 24 MF Cristian Ledesma 25 DF Rasmus Thelander 27 DF Giandomenico Mesto 31 DF Rodrigo Moledo 34 MF Paschalis Staikos 38 MF Theodoros Miggos 40 FW Paul-José M'Poku (on loan from Chievo) 41 DF Stefanos Evangelou 51 DF Ivan Ivanov 61 GK Vasilios Xenopoulos 71 FW Panagiotis Vlachodimos 78 DF Ousmane Coulibaly 99 GK Odisseas Vlachodimos

Out of squad

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player DF Jens Wemmer

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 61 GK Konstantinos Kotsaris (to Omonia) 45 GK Nikos Giannakopoulos (to Aris Limassol)

No. Position Player 18 MF Christos Donis (to PAS Giannina) 14 MF Abdul Jeleel Ajagun (to Roda)

Retired Numbers

13 – in honour of Gate 13

Panathinaikos U20 squad

Panathinaikos U20 is the youth team of Panathinaikos. They participate in the Superleague U20 championship. They play their home games at Paiania (training ground) or Georgios Kalafatis Sports Center.

As of 1 September 2016

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Position Player 36 MF Anastasios Chatzigiovannis 37 MF Giorgos-Panagiotis Angelopoulos 38 MF Theodoros Mingos 40 DF Theofanis Mavromatis 44 DF Georgios Servilakis 45 DF Andreas Xiros 46 MF Giannis Bouzoukis 47 FW Spyros Papanikolaou 48 DF Alexandros Triantafyllopoulos 61 GK Vasilios Xenopoulos GK Konstantinos Chalkidis DF Charalampos Stratigis DF Konstantinos Valmas DF Christos Zervopoulos DF Manolis Samios DF Antonis Ikonomopoulos

No. Position Player DF Giannis Andreou DF Andreas Zikos MF Konstantinos Apostolakis MF Vangelis Xepapadakis MF Leonidas Kalomoiris MF Christos Kountouriotis MF Petros Agiasiotis MF Vangelis Theocharis FW Sotiris-Pantelis Pispas FW Athanasios Dimitroulas FW Kristo Shehu

Former players

Contribution to the Greek national team

Overall, Panathinaikos has a significant contribution to the Greek national football team. Giorgos Kalafatis, the founder of Panathinaikos, was the elector and member of the Greek national team that participated in the Inter-Allied Games in Paris, while later he was also a player/manager for Greece in the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp. During the next decades, Panathinaikos highlighted some of the best Greek players in the history of Greek football, who contributed also to the national team (Migiakis, Linoxilakis, Loukanidis, Domazos, Antoniadis, Kapsis, Ikonomopoulos, Saravakos etc.). Six Panathinaikos players were members of the first appearance of the national team in a World Cup in 1994 (Saravakos, Kolitsidakis, Apostolakis, Kalitzakis, Nioplias, Marangos).

Six players of the club were part of the golden team of 2004 that won the UEFA Euro 2004.

• UEFA Euro 2004 (6): Giourkas Seitaridis, Antonis Nikopolidis, Kostas Chalkias, Angelos Basinas, Giannis Goumas, Dimitris Papadopoulos

Personnel

Management

Position	Staff
Ownership	Sortivo International Ltd
President	Giannis Alafouzos
Honorary President	Achileas Makropoulos
Vice–President and CEO	Stratos Sopilis
Vice–President	Vasilis Konstantinou
Legal Department	Athena Balomenou
Legal Department	Giannis Karmis
Media Department	Stamatis Garis
Board Member	Agisilaos Toumazatos
Board Member	Spyridon Theodoropoulos
Board Member	Christos Panagopoulos
Board Member	Dimitris Vervesos
Board Member	Alexandros Risvas
Board Member	Ilias Michalarias
Director of football	Gilberto Silva
Football Department Coordinator	Dimitris Saravakos

Technical staff

Position	Name	Nationality
Head Coach	Marinos Ouzounidis
Assistant Coach	Roberto Muzzi
Assistant Coach	Omar Danesi
Match Analyst	Vincenzo Sasso
Fitness Coach	Federico Pannoncini
Goalkeepers Coach	Mario Galinović
Team Manager	Grigoris Papavasileiou
Medical staff
Club's doctor	Stathis Charalampidis
Club's doctor	Panagiotis Kouloumentas
Medical team	Vasilios Oikonomidis
Medical team	Apostolos Dritsas
Medical team	Odysseas Pajas
Medical team	Michael Papamichael
Medical team	Arsenis Kontos
Sports Nutritionist	Tonia Machaira
Sports Biochemist	Giannis Tsekouras
Scouting staff
Head Scouter	Dimitris Markos
Scouter	Kostas Mavridis
Scouter	Juan Ramón Rocha
Scouter	Ezequiel González
Scouter	René Henriksen

Academies staff

Position	Name
Youth Academy Technical Director	Giannis Samaras
U-20 coach	Vaggelis Samios
U-17 coach	Kostas Frantzeskos
U-16 coach	Spiros Marangos
U-15 coach	Aris Kiriazis
U-14 coach	Thomas Mavroudis
U-13 coach	Manolis Papadakis
U-12 coach	Kostas Tarasis
U-11 coach	Dimitris Klis
Fitness Coach	Alexis Alexopoulos

Gallery

• 

  József Künsztler, head coach (1929–39)

• 

  Loukas Panourgias, player and later president of the club (1962–66)

• 

  Stjepan Bobek, head coach (1963–67)

• 

  Ferenc Puskás, head coach (1970–74)

See also

Sports

• Panathinaikos A.O.
• Panathinaikos F.C. Academy
• Panathinaikos B.C.
• Panathinaikos Women's Basketball
• Panathinaikos V.C.
• Panathinaikos Women's Volleyball

Other

• European Club Association
• List of unrelegated association football clubs

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Panathinaikos FC.

• Official website (English) (Greek)
• Panathinaikos F.C. at UEFA
• Panathinaikos F.C. at Superleague Greece (English) (Greek)

Media

• Official YouTube channel