Panathinaikos

Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( _el. Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, Audio|PAO ogg.ogg|listen), widely known both as Panathinaikos or PAO, is a Greek multisport club based in Athens, Greece. Panathinaikos has been very successful throughout its history, as its teams and individual athletes have won numerous titles. In English, the club's name would be "Pan-Athenian Athletic Club". According to the official history of the club, Panathinaikos was founded by George Kalafatis in 1908, when he and 40 other athletes decided to break away from Panellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos, following the club's refusal to form a football team.

Overview

Today, three professional teams use the "Panathinaikos" name — the football team, P.A.E. Panathinaikos; the basketball team, K.A.E. Panathinaikos; and the volleyball team, T.A.P. Panathinaikos. These three teams operate independently.

During its history the club has established teams in 24 different sports. In the past the club has also included teams in field hockey, handball, Waterskiing and Judo. Among the more recent additions has been a synchronized swimming team, established in 1992.

In 2006, the club reached a final agreement with the Municipality of Athens and the Greek Government, to build a new comprehensive sports complex to house all of the clubs sports teams. This is intended as a replacement for the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium and it will be built in Votanikos area, about 3km west of Athens city centre. Even though detailed plans and timetables have not yet been unveiled, construction is expected to start by the end of 2007. While it was originally expected for the complex to be ready by the end of 2008, in time to host celebrations for the club's 100th birthday, Panathinaikos officials stated their intention to host the centennial celebration at the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium, team's historical home venue. Panathinaikos has always been the most popular Greek sports club, with a varying support of about 40%–45% among the sports fans in Greece. This equates to about three million Panathinaikos club supporters inside the country of Greece.

Football

Football made its appearance in Greece at the end of the 19th century, but there was no official championship since it was considered a lacklustre activity. A young athlete of the sports club Panellinios, Giorgos Kalafatis, dismayed by his club's refusal to form a football team, founded Panathinaikos in 1908 with his older brother Alexander Kalafatis as team president. The name of the club was initially P.O.A. (Podosfairikos Omilos Athinon), meaning "Athens Football Club".

In 1918 it was decided that the official color of the team would be green so that the players' outfits would be standardized and the club's emblem would be the shamrock, an idea of Michalis Papazoglou, a great athlete from Istanbul who played for the team of Chalkidona, which had the same symbol. The club had its third and final name change in May 15, 1924: P.A.O. (Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos - Panathenaean Athletic Club).

In September 2001, IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) voted Panathinaikos FC as World's Club Team of the Month [http://www.iffhs.de/?3d4d443d0b803e8b447cce02285fdcdc3bfcdc0aec70aeedbc08]

Panathinaikos was also one of the first clubs that formed a women's team in 1980. This department is currently inactive.

The centenary crisis

Although Panathinaikos is celebrating its centenary, negative results over the years and some management decisions have created a crisis within the football team.

On April 13, 2008, a march from Panathinaikos fans took place starting at Pedion tou Areos and ending outside the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium, with the sole purpose of asking Vardinogiannis family to sell the club. It was advertised mainly through mobile phones and internet forums. The march was considered successful by its organisers with estimates ranging between 20,000 (police) and 60,000 (fans) [http://www.zografouclub.com/news/2007-2008/football/poria.html] . The fans later complained about a media blackout, since pictures from the march were not broadcast to the mainstream TV channels and attributed this to the control Vardinogiannis family has over two major TV channels (Mega and Star).

On April 22, 2008 the main shareholder of Panathinaikos FC, Giannis Vardinogiannis, announced on a press conference the decision of his family to reduce their share in the club to 50%, for the first time since 1979 when the family took over Panathinaikos FC, through an 80 million € increase of the share capital.

Currently Vardinogiannis family owns more than 80% of the share capital, while Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (Amateur Panathinaikos) holds 10% and the rest is spread to other shareholders. After the share capital increase, Vardinogiannis family would hold 50% of the club, Amateur Panathinaikos 10% and the rest shareholders 40%.

Although the prospectus describing the full terms of the share capital increase is expected to be published in mid-May, "Panathenian Unifying Movement" responded immediately with a press release stating that Giannis Vardinogiannis' decision is that the new ownership model would allow Panathinaikos FC to be more active [http://www.panathinaikosmas.com/pressRelease11.aspx]

(Honours: 41 titles)

*Greek Championships: 19
**1930, 1949, 1953, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1965,1969, 1970, 1972,1977, 1984, 1986,1990, 1991, 1995, 1996,2004

*Greek Cup: 16
**1940, 1948, 1955, 1967, 1969, 1977, 1982, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 2004

* Greek Super Cup: 4
**1970, 1988, 1993, 1994

*Balkan Cup: 1
**1978

* Doubles: 7
**1969, 1977, 1984, 1986, 1991, 1995, 2004

* European Cup Winners,Runners-Up
**1971, 1981

* Intercontinental Cup Runners-Up:
**1972

Basketball

The basketball department is called Panathinaikos Basketball Club (Greek name, transliterated into English: K.A.E. Panathinaikos A.O.), currently owned by two pharmaceutical magnates, the brothers Pavlos Giannakopoulos and Thanasis Giannakopoulos. It was founded in 1922 and has developed into the most successful basketball team in Greece and among the best in Europe. They have won 29 Greek National Championships, 11 Greek Cups, 4 European Championships and 1 Inter-continental Cup.

Well-known basketball players that have played with the club include: Dominique Wilkins, Byron Scott, Antonio Davis, Dino Raja, Tracy Murray, Tony Delk, John Salley, Nikos Galis, Dejan Bodiroga, Panagiotis Giannakis, Željko Rebrača, Stojko Vranković, Žarko Paspalj, Fanis Christodoulou, Fragiskos Alvertis, Dimitris Diamantidis, Vassilis Spanoulis, Šarūnas Jasikevičius, among others). Those players, along with the successful management of Pavlos and Thanassis Giannakopoulos, have made Panathinaikos one of the most successful and well-known teams in the continent, having won four Euroleague titles.

On April 1996 in Paris final-four (F4), Panathinaikos was the first Greek team to win the European Championships (now called Euroleague), beating FC Barcelona in a unique final tournament, by 67-66. In September of the same year the team also won the Intercontinental Cup, prevailing by 2-1 wins over Olympia of Argentina (83-89, 83-78, 101-76). In 2000 in Thessaloniki F4, Panathinaikos were the Champions of Europe for the second time, beating Maccabi 73-67 in the final. In 2002 in Bologna F4, Panathinaikos brought to Athens the most prestigious European trophy for the third time, beating hosts Kinder Bologna 89-83 in the final. In 2007 in Athens F4, Panathinaikos were crowned Champions of Europe for the fourth time, beating CSKA Moscow 93-91 in what was probably the best Euroleague final ever.

Panathinaikos participated in the F4 of the Euroleague another four times: Tel Aviv in 1994 (3rd), Zaragoza in 1995 (3rd), Paris in 2001 (2nd) and Moscow in 2005 (3rd). Other significant successes are: the two participations in the semifinals of the Cup Winners' Cup (1969, 1998), the course up to the semi-finals of the Champions' Cup for the season 1971-72 (eliminated by Ignis Varese (78-70, 55-69). In the season of 1981-82, Panathinaikos participated in the finals of the Cup Champions' Cup of that time, eliminating consecutively CSKA Moscow and Levski Sofia teams.

(Honours: 49 titles)

Men

*Greek Championships: 29
**1946, 1947, 1950, 1951, 1954, 1961, 1962, 1967, 1969, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1977, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1984, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008
*Greek Cups: 11
**1979, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1993, 1996, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

*European Championships - Euroleague: 4
**1996, 2000, 2002, 2007

*Intercontinental Cup: 1
**1996

*Doubles: 6
**1982, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

*Triple Crown in Basketball: 1
**2007

Women

*Greek Championships: 3
**1998, 2000, 2005

*Greek Cup: 1
**2000

*Double: 1
**2000

Volleyball

Since the year of its foundation in 1908, Panathinaikos has been one of the first athletic associations that created a volleyball club in Greece. The first dynamic presence of the team is dated in the years 1927 – 29 with many popular players of the time such as the historical member of the board Apostolos Nikolaidis as well as players such as Aravositas, Gkoumas, Arg. Nikolaidis, Papageorgiou and Papastefanou. In the following years the interest for volleyball became less until before the 2nd Word War when Panathinaikos presented a powerful team with leader players such as Labrou, Vallidis, Momferatos, Tzoumanis, Proselentis, Lykouris, Kakridis k.a.

In the recent history, the volleyball club has demonstrated many titles and honors due to the fact that the team roster has always included some of the leading volleyball players. The first and most popular generation of players of 60’s was Andreas and Nikos Bergeles, as well as Iliopoulos, Leloudas, Chasapis, Emmanouil, Perros and Fotiou who opened the road for the next generations. The most important achievement of the team was the participation in the final of the CEV Top Teams Cup in 1980 with players such as Georgantis, Agrapidakis (current team manager), Koliopoulos, Iliopoulos, Papadopoulos, Malousaris, Gkountakos, Astras and Kokkinaras. The following years Panathinaikos team has continued to dominate the Greek championship with players such as Kazazis, Tentzeris, Gontikas, Galakos, Dimitriadis, Margaronis, Karamaroudis and Andreopoulos.

One of the most successful periods were also the seasons 1994-95 and 1995-96 where Panathinaikos won two championships in a raw with Stelios Prosalikas as head coach and Andreopoulos, Triantafillidis, Filippof, Spanos, Hatziantoniou, Oyzounof, A. Kovatsef, P. Kovatsef, Karamaroudis, Mavrakis, Konstantinidis, Zakynthinos, Koutouleas, Tonef as players.

Today, after a difficult period for the team, Panathinaikos reached the top again.

(Honours: 48 titles)

Men

*Greek Championships: 18
**1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2006

*Greek Cups: 5
**1982, 1984, 1985, 2007, 2008

*Super Cup: 1
**2006

*Doubles: 3
**1982, 1984, 1985

*Cup Winners Cup Runners-Up
**1980

Women

*Greek Championships: 21
**1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

*Greek Cups: 3
**2005, 2006, 2008

*Doubles: 3
**2005, 2006, 2008

*Cup Winners Cup Runners-Up
**2000

Amateur Sports Sections

Table Tennis

The Table Tennis department was founded in 1924

(Honours: 112 titles)
*Greek Championship Men Single: 30 1930, 1931, 1940, 1951, 1954, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1959 [Mantzaroglou] , 1961, 1964, 1966, 1972, 1973, 1973 [A Category] , 1974, 1974 [A Category] , 1975, 1975 [A Category] , 1975 [Mantzaroglou] , 1978, 1979, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1986 [A Category] , 1987, 1988
*Greek Championship Women Single: 181948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1955, 1958, 1959 [Mantzaroglou] , 1959 [Spring] , 1972, 1972 [A Category] , 1973, 1973 [A Category] , 1974, 1974 [A Category] , 1976, 1976 [A Category] , 1976 [Mantzaroglou]
*Greek Championship Men Double: 211940, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1961, 1968, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988
*Greek Championship Women Double: 6 1953, 1954, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975
*Greek Championship Men-Women Double: 14 1955, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1978, 1979, 1982, 1986
*Greek Club's Championship - Overall Standings: 71951, 1952, 1955, 1956, 1959, 1961, 1962
*Greek Club's Championship Men: 61959, 1961, 1962, 1966, 1968, 1974
*"'Greek Club's Championship Women1972, 1973, 1974
*Greek Cup Men: 61966, 1969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1992
*Greek Cup Women: 11969

Athletics

The Athletics department was founded in 1919

(Honours: 59 titles)
*Greek Championship: 23 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1977, 1989, 1990
*Greek Indoor Championship: 41986, 1989, 1990, 1994
*Greek Cross Country Championship: 25 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1983, 1996, 1997, 1998
*Greek Championship (Damen): 21949, 1950
*Greek Cross Country Championshipn (Damen): 5 1949, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986

Cycling

The Cycling department was founded in 1928

(Honours: 51 titles)
*Greek Championship: 7 1956, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1973
*Greek Championship (Street): 291951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1989, 1990, 1997
*Greek Championship (Velodrom): 151954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1990

Boxing

The Boxing department was founded in 1946

(Honours: 27 titles)
*Greek Championship: 261949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1982, 1985, 1986, 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997
*Greek Cup: 11988

Fencing

The Fencing department was founded in 1960

(Honours: 27 titles)
*Greek Team Championship: 11 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974
*Greek Championship: 161964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1979, 1980

Diving

The Diving department was founded in 1947

(Honours: 26 titles)
*Greek Championship (Men, 5m. board): 191952, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1968, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1980, 1981
*Greek Championship (Men, 3m. board): 61969, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976
*Greek Championship (Men, Total Standings): 11965

Archery

The Archery department was founded in 1981

(Honours: 15 titles)
*Greek Championship (Men and Women): 51992, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986
*Greek Championship: 51992, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986
*Greek Championship Standard Bow: 11993
*Greek Championship Women: 41992, 1983, 1985, 1986

Swimming

The Swimming department was founded in 1930

(Honours: 13 titles)
*Greek Championship: 131951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1968

Shooting

The Shooting department was founded in 1928

(Honours: 9 titles)
*Greek Team - Championship: 8 1960, 1964, 1992, 1983, 1984, 1989, 1990, 1991
*Greek Military Championship: 11948

Chess

The Chess department was founded in 1959

(Honours: 8 titles)
*Greek Championship: 71964, 1966, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1976
*Greek Cup: 1 1972

Weightlifting

The Weightlifting department was founded in 1959

(Honours: 6 titles)
*Greek Championship: 61964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969

Pentathlon

The Pentathlon department was founded in 1978

(Honours: 2 titles)
*Greek Championship: 21980, 1987

Wrestling

The Wrestling department was founded in 1965

(Honours: 2 titles)
*Greek Championship: 21982, 1984

Gymnastics

The Gymnastics department was founded in 1962

(Honours: 1 title)
*Greek Championship: 11972

Water Ski

The Water Ski department was founded in 1963. It is currently inactive.

(Honours: 1 title)
*Greek Championship: 11968

Futsal

The Futsal department was founded in 1990. It is currently inactive.

(Honours: 1 title)
*Greek Championship: 1 1991

Water Polo

The Water Polo department was founded in 1930

(Honours: None)

= Handball =

The Handball department was founded in 1930. It is currently inactive.

(Honours: None)

Field Hockey

The Field Hokey department was founded in 1928. It is currently inactive.

(Honours: None)

Judo

The Judo department was founded in 1980. It is currently inactive.

(Honours: None)

Synchronized Swimming

The Synchronized Swimming department was founded in 1992. It is currently inactive.

(Honours: None)

References

* "Panathinaikos 1908-1998" from Panos Fiamengos
* "Mia zoi Panathinaikos" IDEV S.A. Publications, Athens 1985
* [http://www.sport.gov.gr/ Hellenic General Secretariat for Sports]

External links

* [http://www.pao.gr/ Panathinaikos FC - Official website] (in Greek & English)
* [http://www.paobc.gr/ Panathinaikos BC - Official website] (in Greek & English)
* [http://www.paovolleyball.gr/ Panathinaikos VC - Official website] (in Greek & English)
* [http://www.panathinaikos1908.gr/ Panathinaikos Amateur Departments - Official website]
* [http://www.gfd.gr/ Panathinaikos Youth Academy Official Website] (in Greek)
* [http://www.greenteam.gr/greenteam/ Panathinaikos Official Online Superstore] (in Greek & English)

Panathinaikos - Official Fan Club sites

* [http://www.eniaiosforeas13.com/ Ενιαίος Φορέας Συνδέσμων ΘΥΡΑΣ 13]
* [http://www.greenwebfans.com/ Panathinaikos Green Web Fans] (in Greek)
* [http://www.madboys.gr/ Mad Boys]
* [http://www.palefip.gr/ Pa.Le.Fi.P.]