P.A.O.K.

AC PAOK

Full name	Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών Panthessaloníkeios Athlitikós Ómilos Konstantinopolitón (Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans)
Nickname	Dikefalos Aetos (Two-Headed Eagle) Asprόmavri (White-Blacks)
Founded	1926
Colours	Black, White
Chairman	Thanasis Katsaris
Website	Club home page

Active departments of P.A.O.K.
Football (Men's)	Football (Women's)	Basketball (Men's)
Basketball (Women's)	Volleyball	Handball
Water Polo	Swimming	Wrestling
Boxing	Taekwondo	Weightlifting
Cycling	Athletics	Ice hockey

P.A.O.K. (Greek: Π.Α.Ο.Κ., Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton, Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans),^[1][2] known in European competitions as A.C. PAOK^[3][4] (Α.Σ. Π.Α.Ο.Κ.),^[5][6][7][8] is a major multi-sports club in Thessaloniki, Greece. The club is home to several teams, including football, basketball, volleyball, handball, water polo, swimming, wrestling, ice hockey, and weightlifting. PAOK was founded in 1926. Because of its crest, it is also known as the "Two-Headed Eagle of the North", in contrast with AEK, the "Two-Headed Eagle of the South". They are one of the most popular Greek clubs with millions of fans all over Greece (mostly, but not exclusively, in Northern Greece), and also among the Greek diaspora.

History

The football team of 1926

The team of 1939

PAOK is the successor of Hermes Sports Club (Greek: Ερμής), which was formed in 1877 by the Greek community of Pera, a district of Istanbul (then Constantinople).^[9]

The football club was founded in 1926.^[10] It was created by Constantinopolitans who fled to Thessaloniki after the Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War, although it was open to every citizen of Thessaloniki, leading to a minor rivalry with AEK Thessaloniki, the other Constantinopolitan team of the city, in which played only refugees. The original logo of PAOK was a horseshoe and a four-leaf clover.^[11]

The club's first charter was approved on 20 April 1926 by a decision of the Thessaloniki Court of First Instance (No. 822). The club's founding members were A. Angelopoulos, A. Athanasiadis, K. Anagnostidis, M. Ventourellis, F. Vyzantinos ,V.Karapiperis, 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 and T. Triantafyllidis (who was also its first Chairman).^[12]

P.A.O.K.'s first Board of Directors, serving between 1926 and 1927, consisted of:

• T. Triantafyllidis (Chairman)
• P. Kalpaktsoglou (1st Vice-Chairman)
• A. Athanasiadis (2nd Vice Chairman)
• V. Karapiperis (3rd Vice Chairman)
• K. Kritikos (Hon. Secretary)
• M. Tsoulkas (Secretary)
• T. Ioakimopoulos (Treasurer)
• A. Angelopoulos (Football Steward)
• M. Konstantinidis (Director)
• S. Triantafyllidis (Director)

PAOK played their first (informal) game on May 4, 1926, at the Thermaikos stadium, defeating Megas Alexandros Thessaloniki 2-1. The first coach of the club spent five years on the team's bench, and was unpaid, Kostas Andreadis.^[13] Their first captain was Michalis Ventourelis.^[14]

The first professional contract was signed by the club on 5 September 1928. The contract stipulated that the French footballer Raymond Etienne  – of Jewish descent from Pera Club – would be paid 4,000 drachmas per month. The contract was signed by Dr. Meletiou, the PAOK chairman, and Mr. Sakellaropoulos, the Hon. Secretary.^[15]

In early 1929, AEK Thessaloniki was virtually dissolved, and absorbed by PAOK. PAOK changed their emblem, adopted the two-headed eagle, took over the installations of AEK Thessaloniki including the syntrivani area. The eagle symbolizes the origins of the club in the former Byzantine capital, Constantinople, and the legacy of the Greek refugees from the Ottoman Empire.^[11]

In 1937, PAOK won his first title, the Macedonia (EPSM or Thessaloniki) Championship, and participated in the Pan-Hellenic Championship, finishing second. The remarkable 1937 team included: Sotiriadis, Vatikis, Goulios, Kontopoulos, Bostantzoglou, Panidis, Glaros, Kritas, Ioannidis, Kalogiannis, Koukoulas, Kosmidis, Apostolou, Vafiadis, Vasiliadis, Anastasiadis, Moschidis, Tzakatzoglou, Zacapidas.^[16]

Colours and symbols

The club's traditional colours are black, as sadness for the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922 and the end of the Greek presence in Anatolia, and white as hope for recovery.^[17] Created by Constantinopolitans, the new club nevertheless was open to every citizen of Thessaloniki, leading to a minor rivalry with AEK Thessaloniki, the other Constantinopolitan team of the city, in which played only refugees. The original logo of PAOK was a horseshoe and a four-leaf clover.

In early 1929, AEK Thessaloniki was virtually dissolved, and absorbed by PAOK. The current symbol since 1929 is the two-headed eagle. The eagle symbolizes the origins of the club in the former Byzantine capital, Constantinople, and the legacy of the Greek refugees from the Ottoman Empire. Under the leadership of Ivan Savvidis a gold stripe was added to the crest of the FC, as a symbol of glory and renaissance of the club.^[18]

Supporters

Gate 4 of Toumba Stadium is where most of PAOK fan clubs assemble. They support all the teams within the PAOK Sports Society, wearing the club's colors and symbols and maintaining firms all over Greece. Gate 4 gave its name to the oldest PAOK fan club, founded in 1963. Other fan clubs include several SF of PAOK (Syndesmoi Filon, Friends Societies) found all over Greece and in Diaspora.

In the night of 4 October 1999 a road accident took place in the Vale of Tempe, Thessaly, with 6 fans of the team killed. An annual ceremony takes place since then.^[19]

Rivalries

P.A.O.K.'s main rivals are the teams of Olympiacos, Aris, Panathinaikos, AEK. The biggest rivalry is against Olympiacos and second with Aris. The derby against Olympiacos is the fiercest, representing more than any other, the animosity between Athens/Attica and Thessaloniki. The rivalry started in the 1960s when Olympiacos tried, and failed, to sign Giorgos Koudas, one of the best players of his time, from PAOK.

PAOK departments

Football

Men's football

• Greek Championships: 2
  • 1976, 1985
• Greek Cups: 6
  • 1972, 1974, 2001, 2003, 2017, 2018
• Greater Greece Cup: 1
  • 1973
• 3 Greek men's U-20 Championship: 2003, 2007, 2014
• 2 Greek men's U-17 Championship: 2013, 2016
• 2 Greek men's U-15 Championship: 2015, 2017

Football kit evolution

1925–26

1936–37

1938–39

1970-71

1984–85

1990–91[20]

2000–03

2004–05

2005–06

2006–09

2016-17

2017-18

Alternative

2000–01

2001–02

2004–05

2014–15

2015-16

2016-17

2017-18

Toumba Stadium

P.A.O.K. Sports Arena, home ground of basketball and volleyball teams

Bus of the team

PAOK fans

Women's football

• Greek Women's Championship: 13 (record)
  • 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2012–13, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18
• Greek Women's Cup: 6 (record)
  • 2001–02, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17

European honours of team sports

Notable athletes

• Football: Men: Dimitar Berbatov, Diego Biseswar, Lazaros Christodoulopoulos, Sérgio Conceição, Pablo Gabriel García, Georgios Georgiadis (footballer), Kostas Frantzeskos, Konstantinos Iosifidis, Giorgos Koudas, Hedwiges Maduro, Léo Matos, Bibras Natkho, Lucas Pérez, Aleksandar Prijović, Stavros Sarafis, Christos Terzanidis, Vieirinha, Theodoros Zagorakis Women: Jelena Dimitrijević (footballer), Dimitra Panteliadou
• Basketball: Men: Walter Berry (basketball), Nikos Boudouris, Claudio Coldebella, Panagiotis Fasoulas, Rasho Nesterovic, John Korfas, Cliff Levingston, İbrahim Kutluay, Loukas Mavrokefalidis, Damir Mulaomerović, Bane Prelevic, Efthimios Rentzias, Zoran Savić, Peja Stojaković, Scott Skiles, Dejan Tomašević
• Volleyball: Men: Dante Amaral, Marko Bojić, Rolando Cepeda, Ernardo Gómez, Vladimir Grbić, Kevin Hansen (volleyball), Matti Hietanen, Jayson Jablonsky, Javier Jiménez (volleyball), Plamen Konstantinov, Vasileios Kournetas, Andrej Kravárik, David Lee (volleyball), Paul Lotman, Riley McKibbin, Đula Mešter, Olli-Pekka Ojansivu, Evan Patak, Vlado Petković, Konstantinos Prousalis, Clayton Stanley, Riley Salmon, Nikolaos Smaragdis, Saša Starović, Ronald Zoodsma
• Athletics: Men: Michalis Akritidis, Themistoklis Akritidis, Dimitrios Kokotis, Konstantinos Koukodimos, Dimitrios Koutsoukis Women: Vasiliki Anastasiou, Xanthipi Koukoumaka, Voula Patoulidou
• Swimming: Men: Christos Papadopoulos Women: Kalliopi Araouzou, Antonia Machaira, Aikaterini Sarakatsani, Katerina Stikoudi

PAOK Presidents

Theodoros Zagorakis and Mr.Vasileios Bornovas with the President of the Beyoğlu Spor Kulübü (former PeraClub)

AC PAOK

Name Nationality Years Triantafillos Triantafillidis 1926–1927 Vyzantios Fanourios 1927–1928 Konstantinos Meletiou 1928–1929 Athinodoros Athinodorou 1929–1930 Pantelis Kalpatsoglou 1930–1931 Petros Levantis 1931–1933 Savas Tsantas 1933–1935 Filaretos Tsompesoglou 1935–1936 Savas Tsantas 1936–1938 Ioannis Tsakiroglou 1938–1939 Dimitrios Kamaras 1939–1940 Pantelis Kalpatsoglou 1940–1944 Filaretos Tsompesoglou 1944–1946 Pantelis Kalpatsoglou 1946–1948 Mirodis Dimitrakopoulos 1948–1949 Georgios Haralampidis 1949–63 Ippokratis Iordanoglou 1963–64 Dimitrios Dimadis 1964–66 Vassilios Zervas 1966–69 Evaggelos Mylonas 1969 Stavros Georgiadis 1969–1971

Name Nationality Years Ioannis Arvanitakis 1971–1972 Stavros Simitzis 1972–1973 Ioannis Arvanitakis 1973–1974 Georgios Zografos 1974 Arthouros Merdikian 1974–1975 Georgios Pantelakis 1975–1981 Ioannis Vranialis 1981–1983 Dimosthenis Fintanidis 1983–1984 Nikolaos Vezyrtzis 1984–1993 Apostolos Oikonomidis 1993–1995 Charis Lazaridis-Apostolos Alexopoulos 1995–1997 Apostolos Alexopoulos 1997–1998 Athanasios Katsaris 1998–Today

PAOK FC

^[21]

Ľuboš Micheľ

Years Name 1979–1984 Giorgos Pantelakis 1984–1986 Petros Kalafatis 1986–1988 Charis Savvidis 1988–1989 Giannis Dedeoglou 1989–1996 Thomas Voulinos 1996 Giorgos Kalyvas 1996–2001 Giorgos Batatoudis 2001–2003 Petros Kalafatis 2003–2006 Giannis Goumenos 2006–2007 Nikolaos Vezyrtzis 2007–2009 Thodoris Zagorakis 2009–2010 Zisis Vryzas 2010–2011 Thodoris Zagorakis 2011–2014 Zisis Vryzas 2014–2016 Iakovos Angelides 2016–2017 Ľuboš Micheľ 2017– Ivan Savvidis

Notable supporters

Gallery

Football

Basketball

Volleytball

References

External links

• Official website