PAOK FC
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| PAOK FC | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | PAE Panthessalonikeios Athlitikos Omilos Konstantinoupoliton (Pan-Thessalonikan Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans FC) |
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| Nickname(s) | Dikefalos Tou Vorra (Two-Headed Eagle of the North) |
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| Founded | 1926 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Vezirtzis Nikos |
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| Manager | Giorgos Parashos |
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| League | Super League Greece (Σούπερ Λίγκα Ελλάδα 2007) |
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| 2005-06 | 6th | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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PAOK FC (Greek: ΠΑΟΚ - Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινουπολιτών - Panthessalonikeios Athlitikos Omilos Konstantinoupoliton), the Pan-Thessalonikan Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans, is a Greek association football club based in Thessaloniki, Greece.
Established in Thessaloniki in 1926 by Greek refugees from Constantinople (Istanbul) and Pontus in the wake of the Greco-Turkish War, PAOK has become one of the biggest football clubs in northern Greece.
The club currently competes in the Super League Greece.
Contents |
[edit] History
[edit] The Foundation
PAOK is the historical continuation of the Hermes (Greek: Ερμής - Ermis) Sports Club, which was formed in 1875 by the Greek community of Pera , a district of Constantinople. The need of Constantinople’s Greek residents to express and support their spirit within Turkey was what led to the creation of this club. The club won cup after cup proving that although the Greeks were a minority they continued to have a strong presence in the sporting sector. However, that situation did not last long and most players were forced to flee leaving behind a team consisting of residents of Constantinople renamed Politakia. Those who fled settled in Thessaloniki and in 1926 established PAOK which translated means the Panthessalonikian Athletic Club of Constantinople. The twin-headed eagle of the Byzantine Empire combined with mourning black and white, a window onto the future, symbolizing their struggle for tomorrow and the victories they intended to win. This club history stretching back to the 19th century in effect makes PAOK one of Greece’s oldest athletic clubs but also means that it shoulders a heavy historical burden.
The club’s first charter was approved on 20th April 1926 by means of decision of the Thessaloniki Court of First Instance (No. 822). However, PAOK had in effect been established a year earlier when it took part in the Thessaloniki Championship where it was unfortunately demoted to the 2nd Division, a demotion which forced the founders of the club to bolster it substantially.
PAOK's first emblem adopted in 1926 was a four-leaved clover and a horseshoe. The leaves were green with the letters PAOK marked on each of them, a symbol devised by Kostas Koemtzopoulos(president of Pera Club) who took the idea from a packet of cigarettes he smoked.
The club’s founding members were A. Angelopoulos, A. Athanassiadis, K. Anagnostidis, M. Ventourellis, F. Vyzantinos (second Chairman), A. Dimitriadis, D. Dimitriadis, N. Zoumboulidis, M. Theodosiadis, T. Ioakimopoulos, P. Kalpaktsoglou, T. Kartsambekis, D. Koemtzopoulos, K. Koemtzopoulos, P. Kontopoulos, K. Kritikos, M. Konstantinidis, P. Maletskas, I. Nikolaidis, L. Papadopoulos, F. Samantzopoulos, T. Tsoulkas, M. Tsoulkas, S. Triantafyllidis, T. Triantafyllidis (who was also its first Chairman).
After 2 months of preparation by the team following the club’s establishment it was decided that the team should compete against the other teams in Thessaloniki. The desire to see the new team compete led many to the Iraklis Football Ground on 26th July 1925 where it won 2-1. Two weeks later PAOK lost 5-2 to the champion of Thessaloniki, Aris.
In 1927 PAOK’s first anthem was heard: "We are the praiseworthy children of Constantinople who play outstanding football; overflowing with joy like no other team. Our system is to pass the ball, and at the season’s end to reckon up how many goals we have scored and how many we have let in. We have everything, yes everything: studs, boots, shorts, black tops and kneepads, to drive the young girls crazy. We fear no one not even Aris or Iraklis, because we have skilful Ventourellis as our chief."
The vision of the club’s founders and fans of the team of establishing a home base became reality in 1928 following much effort and thus on 12th December 1930 the Syntrivaniou Football Ground was officially opened. This was followed by a friendly match against Aris with the home team winning 2-1.
The first professional contract was a document of historic importance. It was signed by the Club on 5th September 1928. The contract stipulated that the footballer Etien who had come from the Constantinople club Peraclub would be paid 4,000 drachmas per month. The contract was singed by Dr. Meletiou (PAOK Chairman) and Mr. Sakellaropoulos, Hon. Secretary.
[edit] Merging with AEK
Until 20th March 1929 the two clubs were rivals, competing against each other although both had been established by refugees from Constantinople. It was the Chairman of AEK, Dr.Musa, who brokered the merger between Thessaloniki’s two refugee teams. The main figures behind the idea and its implementation were Mindhat and Ozbek who had defected from AEK Thessaloniki, which had been established in 1924-25 by the first wave of refugees who had come to Thessaloniki from Constantinople in 1922. Certain members of AEK Thessaloniki headed south to the capital upon the merger to found the modern-day team AEK.
Following the merger with AEK in 1929, PAOK changed its emblem. The new emblem became the Eagle, which it remains to this day, and symbolizes the arrival of the club and the return to the roots and heritage of the refugees (Byzantium and Constantinople). The Eagle holds a sword and a crown, with its two heads looking East and West. The difference between this emblem and that of AEK, (which is also the symbol of the Eastern Orthodox Church), is that PAOK’s emblem has its wings folded signifying mourning for expulsion from the homeland.
The first foreign coach in the history of the team was the German Rudolph Ganser, who served with PAOK for the 1931-1932 season.
[edit] Decades 1940,1950
Following World War II and the German Occupation of Greece, the team known as the ‘Double-Headed Eagle of the North’ entered upon a shining chapter in its career starting at the beginning of the 1950s. Willi, an Austrian coach (1950-1952) who had worn the PAOK jersey in 1931-1932 established a young talent academy within the club which gave rise to leading names who later left their mark such as Leandros, Symeonidis, Giannelos, Margaritis, Giorgos Havanidis, and others.
1953 marked the beginning of PAOK’s golden age. During the summer transfer period, Kouiroukidis, Petridis, Progios, Geroudis, Kemanidis, Hourvouliadis, Hasiotis and Angelidis all joined the club. PAOK became all-powerful, taking the Thessaloniki championship for 3 successive years and becoming a worthy representative of Greece’s second largest city in the national championship. The legendary trio Yientzis, Kouiroukidis and Papadakis went down in history!
During 1957 the club managers envisioned a new football ground worthy of the team’s performance since the old ground had been compulsorily purchased. The search for a site led to the choice of a plot belonging to the National Defence Fund in the Toumba neighbourhood, which in addition to offering unlimited free space was also an area of Thessaloniki closely associated with refugees from Asia Minor. A total area of 30,000 m2 was acquired by PAOK for a significant price, and construction of the new football ground began. Lottery tickets were even issued to aid construction of the new stadium, which was eventually opened on 6th September 1959 by the Minister of National Defence, Mr. G. Themelis. Before the first kick off an Air Force plane dropped a ball on a fly-past as a symbolic donation from the armed forces. Thanks to its new, large football ground, PAOK was ready to start a brilliant career which has lasted to this day, starting with the 1st Division established in October 1959.
At the opening of the 1st Division’s first championship on 25th October 1959 PAOK welcomed the Katerini team Megas Alexandros beating it 3-1. The team line-up was as follows: Zarko Michailovic (Yugoslavian) and Progios, Hasiotis, Raptopoulos, Giannelos, Kemanidis, Havanidis, Leandros, Kiourtzis, Kouiroukidis, Salousto and Nikolaidis.
[edit] 1960-Today
The success of the 50's was followed by a decade during which PAOK had an average performance. One could say that it was as if it was building up its strength to unleash it during the 1970s, when the team became established as one of the best ever to play at Greek football grounds with players whose names became legens for Greek football. It was a team and players who set records which even today are difficult to beat. Thanks to the team PAOK put together it managed to strike a blow to the traditional football powers of Athens, and took the cup twice in 1972 and 1974, and a championship in 1976 and could have won more trophies if the circumstances were different. PAOK became established as Northern Greece’s greatest team with thousands of fanatical fans. In Europe it performed exceptionally well during the 1973-74 season, qualifying for the quarter finals of the Cupholder’s Cup but was knocked out in the end by Italian team Milan. PAOK’s excellent performance continued during the 1980s with very few unsuccessful seasons. The high point came mid-decade when the team won its second Greek Championship in 1985, its first title since Greek football turned professional.
Characteristic of the 1980s was the excessive fanaticism of the fans, which reached levels never seen before and which began to move beyond Greece becoming a European-wide phenomenon. However, the obsession shown by fans also had a downside, translating in quite a few cases into episodes which entailed penalties being imposed on the club. At European level, PAOK made a memorable appearance against Bayern Munich, where it was knocked out on penalties, possibly one of the best-ever performances by a Greek team in a European cup. The 1990s started well with PAOK firmly among the top three teams in Greece. However, it was stigmatized by an extremely average-to-poor team performance under the chairmanship of T. Voulinos, who came into direct conflict with the fan club following serious episodes during the PAOK – Paris St. Germain match, which led to PAOK’s exclusion and very nearly to financial ruin. In 1996 the change demanded by PAOK fans came about. Thomas Voulinos handed over the baton to Giorgos Batatoudis and an air of optimism was tangible everywhere in Thessaloniki. Numerous transfers of well-known players such as Zisis Vryzas, Spyros Marangos, Kostas Fratzeskos and others took place from the first season under new management. In 1997 PAOK eventually found a place in the UEFA Cup and team coach Angelos Anastassiadis made his debut on the PAOK bench. The team’s reappearance at European level was marked by the elimination of legendary team Arsenal.
The following year Anastassiadis was dismissed and Oleg Blachin took his place for a few months only since the fans demanded the urgent return of Anastassiadis. He stayed for a season, succeeded by Ari Haan and then in December by Dusan Bajievic who took over the reigns.
PAOK had firmly established its position among the teams that play in Europe every year but that was no longer enough. A place in the Champions League was the next target. The team’s next steps were taken in 2001 with a win in the Greek Cup after 25 years in an unforgettable final against Olympiakos. Playing at Nea Philadelphia PAOK thrashed the former champions 2-4.
However, financial problems continued to plague the club and acted as a brake on the efforts of the team’s footballers to achieve even greater targets.
Angelos Anastassiadis returned to the PAOK bench as coach in the summer of 2002. The season led to another winning of the Cup for second time in three years at the Toumba Stadium against ARIS 1-0.
However, it was the following season that held much more in store and which rocketed the team skyward. Although key players left over the summer (Georgiadis, Okkas, Kafes) PAOK managed to secure its participation in the qualifying rounds of following year's Champions League by finishing third in the championship.
Despite great optimism among PAOK fans, the team failed to qualify for the 2004-2005 Champions League group stage, as they were knocked out by Maccabi Tel-Aviv on a two-legged tie. After several more bad results, manager Anastassiadis resigned.
[edit] Rivalries
PAOK's main foes are the other popular Thessaloniki team Aris, as well as the Greek capital's Olympiacos, Panathinaikos FC, and AEK. As far as the last three are concerned, PAOK fans blame them for systematically influencing referee decisions and player transfers in order to dominate the Greek League. Furthermore, financial difficulties and bad board decisions have been the excuse for many players to leave PAOK for the "Big Three" over the years (culminating with the matter of top-player Giorgos Koudas).
[edit] Aris
Aris the god of war as they say in Greece, supported to the death by his fans, is probably the greatest and oldest rival of PAOK, both in local and national level. The rivalry has lost its former importance over the years though, mainly because of Aris' recent major financial and management problems, and the fact that in 2005 the team was relegated to the second division after a miserable 2004-2005 season. Aris' recent promotion to the First Division promises for yet another pair of turbulent local face-offs in the 2006/2007 season.
[edit] Olympiacos
The rivalry started in the '70s when Olympiacos tried to "steal" Giorgos Koudas, one of the best players of his time, from PAOK through direct negotiations with the player. Furthermore, several controversial refereeing decisions in games between the two, have aggravated relations over the years. PAOK, and Thessaloniki fans in general, believe Olympiacos use immoral tactics to ensure their domination on the Greek scene.
[edit] Ultras
PAOK are also known to have one of the most fanatical supporter bases in the world. PAOK's best known organized supporter club (Ultras) is Thira 4 ("Gate 4"), based very near the Toumba Stadium. Other federations include Makedones (Macedonians), 'and Ultras Fans PAOK. PAOK Supporter Clubs have also been established globally, both throughout Europe and as far away as the Americas (New York Club PAOK), Australia 'Melbourne Club PAOK and West Turkey.
[edit] Current squad
| Number | Nationality | Player | Position | Birth Year | Previous Club |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | |||||
| 1 |  |
Daniel Fernandes | GK | 1983 | Celta de Vigo |
| 33 | |
Kyriakos-Nektarios Tochouroglou | GK | 1972 | Olympiakos |
| 40 | |
Dimitris Kyriakidis | GK | 1986 | Kavala FC |
| Defenders | |||||
| 2 | |
Nikos Arabatzis | RB | 1984 | Panserraikos |
| 16 |  |
Jose Satiro Do Nascimento Indio | RB | 1979 | Daegu FC |
| 4 |  |
Cosmin Barcauan | CB | 1978 | Shakhtar Donetsk |
| 44 |  |
Ilias Haralambous | LB | 1980 | AC Omonia |
| 45 | |
Xristos Melissis | RB | 1982 | Panserraikos |
| 77 |  |
Amir Azmy Megahed | CB | 1983 | Al-Zamalek |
| Midfielders / Wingers | |||||
| 7 | |
Theodoros Zagorakis | CM | 1971 | Bologna |
| 10 |  |
Toni González | SM | 1982 | Ciudad de Murcia |
| 15 | |
Stelios Malezas | CM | 1985 | AEP Katerini |
| 18 | |
Lambros-Charalambos Vagelis | AM | 1982 | AC Siena |
| 25 | |
Sotiris Balafas | CM | 1986 | Anagenisi Artas |
| 27 | |
Husein Mumin | CM | 1987 | Panthrakikos |
| 28 | |
Stelios Iliadis | DM | 1986 | Apollon Kalamarias |
| 31 | |
Pantelis Kostandinidis | SM | 1975 | Panathinaikos |
| 98 | |
Giorgos Georgiadis | WF | 1972 | Iraklis |
| Forwards | |||||
| 11 | |
Yiasoumis Yiasoumi | CF | 1975 | Apoel FC |
| 20 |  |
Marcin Mięciel | CF | 1975 | Iraklis |
| 29 |  |
Sandor Torghelle | CF | 1982 | Panathinaikos |
Official Squad Information (in greek)
[edit] Notable Players
- Giorgos Koudas *Profile & Statistics (Provided on behalf of Melbourne Club PAOK)
- Angelos Anastasiadis
- Stavros Sarafis
- Kostas Iosifidis
- Koulis Apostolidis
- Kostas Frantzeskos
- Theodoros Zagorakis
- Panagiotis Katsouris (deceased 9 years ago in a car accident while was still an active player)
Interesting facts:
- Kostas Iosifidis is the player with the most PAOK titles. He won two Cups (1972 & 1974) and two League Championships (1976 & 1985). He later worked in PAOK as the general manager.
[edit] Notable Coaches
Many famous coaches both Greeks and foreigners have served PAOK throughout its rich history. Some of the most important and successful are the following:
- Angelos Anastasiadis Greek Cup Winner 2003 with PAOK
Dusan Bajevic Greek Cup Winner 2001 with PAOK
Walter Skocik Greek League Champion 1985 with PAOK- Gyula Lorant Greek League Champion 1976 with PAOK
Les Shannon Greek Cup Winner 1972 and 1974 with PAOK
Interesting facts:
- Gyula Lorant died of a heart attack while coaching a PAOK-Olympiacos (1-0) derby on May 31, 1981, in Toumba stadium.
- Angelos Anastasiadis is the only man to win titles with PAOK as both a player and a coach. He won the 1972 Cup and the 1976 League Championship as a player and also the 2003 Cup as a coach.
[edit] Domestic Honors
[edit] 1st Division Championship
[edit] Greek Cup
Winners: 1972, 1974, 2001, 2003
Runners-up: 1939,1951,1955,1970,1971,1973,1977,1978,1981,1983,1985,1992 (record)
[edit] European Campaigns
PAOK FC have played in the UEFA Cup and the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup on many occasions, and made a name for themselves, both for their fanatically obsessed fans, and for eliminating a handful of European teams.
PAOK's best Cup Winner's cup performance was in the 1973/74 season, when PAOK reached the quarter finals of the competition. Eliminating Legia Warsaw and Olympique Lyonnais on the way, PAOK were finally eliminated by A.C. Milan. After a 3-0 defeat at the San Siro,PAOK was confined to a thrilling 2-2 draw at Toumba Stadium. Milan would later reach the final, only to lose it to 1. FC Magdeburg.
PAOK's most memorable appearance in the UEFA cup was on September the 30th, 1997, when PAOK managed to qualify to the second round at the expense of Arsenal FC. Having won by a single goal in Thessaloniki, PAOK was facing the prospect of going into extra time with 10 men and in foreign ground, with Arsenal leading 1-0 in Highbury with an early goal by Dennis Bergkamp. Yet three minutes from the end, a great individual effort from Zisis Vryzas provided the equaliser and PAOK qualified by 2-1 on aggregate. Yet the club was eliminated in the second round by Atletico Madrid (5-2 in madrid and 4-4 in thessaloniki) in a tie that was marked by the two spectacular free-kicks scored by PAOK's specialist, Kostas Frantzeskos, both home and away.
PAOK's last good UEFA Cup campaign was in the 2001/2002 season, reaching the third round, only to be eliminated at the hands of PSV Eindhoven. Having eliminated Kärnten FC (4-0 on aggregate) and FK Marila Příbram (4-3 on aggregate), PAOK managed to defeat PSV in Toumba by 3-2. Yet they were thrashed 4-1 in the return leg at Eindhoven, leaving them two goals behind on aggregate, in a night that PAOK fans ponder as full of missed chances. This was the second time in two years that PAOK was eliminated in the competition by PSV.
PAOK FC also holds the record for the most consecutive UEFA Cup appearances, having qualified for the UEFA Cup ten times in a row from 1995 to 2005. This record was broken in 2006, as PAOK were banned by UEFA from taking part in the 2006/2007 season of the UEFA Cup, because of the club's long-unsettled debts.
[edit] Facilities
Name: PAOK Stadium (Toumba Stadium)
Location: Toumba District, Thessaloniki
Year Built: 1959
Capacity: 28701 seats
Ownership: PAOK Sports Club
Access:
By car:
Major streets leading to the stadium are Gregoriou Lambraki Street, Kleanthous Street, Mikras Asias Street, and the Agiou Dimitriou Avenue.
By bus:
No. 14 or No. 37 from Egnatia Avenue to "Santa Barbara's Church" bus stop.
No. 30 from Martiou Street to "Santa Barbara's Church" bus stop.
No. 12 from Mitropoleos Street to "PAOK Stadium" bus stop.
[edit] PAOK Marketing and Media
PAOK is the best organised club in Thessaloniki in terms of marketing. Since 1992 when PAOK Marketing Inc.was founded the club has developed rapidly.
[edit] PAOK Channel
In 2001 the second Greek Club Channel was launched (Olympiacos was first with Magic TV). It was named PAOK Channel and was loved by fans from the first moment. Unfortunally, Alpha Digital, the company responsible for the channel's broadcast went bankrupt and the service was shut down.
[edit] PAOK Boutique
PAOK Boutique is the club's official shop and it is considered to be one of the best club shops in the city. It was designed by a group of American companies and was opened in 1996. It is located in Toumba Stadium and serves PAOK fans from Greece as well as other countries, it is a must place to visit in Thessaloniki.
[edit] PAOK Shops
These are the official PAOK's shops. The offer a wide variety of products such as official PAOK merchantise, mobile phones by PAOK Telecom and more. Currently, there are shops in Athens,Herakleion,New York,Toronto,Chicago,Melbourne,Tokyo and Beijing.
[edit] PAOK Telecom
Official Telecommunications company exclusively for PAOK's fans. It offers a wide variety of products.
[edit] See also
- PAOK Thessaloniki FC (Official Website - Football) (Greek & English)
- PAOK Thessaloniki BC (Official Website - Basketball) (Greek)
- PAOK Thessaloniki VC (Official Website - Volleyball) (Greek)
- Melbourne Club PAOK (Official PAOK Thessaloniki Supporters Club of Australia) (English)
[edit] External links
- The best website of PAOK fans (Greek)
- Toumba Stadium at Stadia.gr (Information and Photos) (Greek)
- UEFA homepage
- UEFA European Women's Championship
- UEFA Standings
- UEFA European Football Cup Predictions Game
- Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA)
- Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)
- South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL)
- Oceania Football Confederation (OFC)
- The Current Laws of the Game (LOTG)
- The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation (RSSSF)
- Association of Football Statisticians (AFS)
- Economics of Football - Literature Review (PDF)
- Full History of PAOK Thessaloniki (Provided on behalf of Melbourne Club PAOK)
