Panathinaikos F.C.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 01/2017
Full name
Panathinaikos Athletic Club
(Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος)
Nicknames
To Trifylli (the Trifolium)
Oi Prasinoi (the Greens)
Founded
3 February 1908; 108 years ago as Podosferikos Omilos Athinon
Ground
Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium
Athens, Greece
Capacity
16,003
Owner
Sortivo International Ltd
President
Giannis Alafouzos
Manager
Marinos Ouzounidis
League
Superleague Greece
2016-17
Superleague Greece, 4th
Panathinaikos F.C. (Greek: ΠΑΕ Παναθηναϊκός Α.Ο.), also known simply as Panathinaikos, or with its full name Panathinaikos A.O. (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.
Today a part of Panathinaikos A.O., they are the oldest active football club in Greece, initially founded only to practice this sport.
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-six Greek Championships, twenty-one Greek Cups, achieving eight times the Double, and five 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.
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."
Players