PAOK FC

Foundation and early years (1926–1945)

PAOK in 1926

PAOK FC is the oldest department of the major multi-sport club AC P.A.O.K., which is closely linked with Hermes Sports Club, that was formed in 1875 by the Greek community of Pera, a district of Istanbul (Constantinople).^[12]

The football club was founded in April 1926 by Constantinopolitan who fled to Thessaloniki after the Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War. PAOK's policy was to be open to every citizen of Thessaloniki, leading to a minor rivalry with AEK Thessaloniki, the other Constantinopolitan club of the city, in which only refugees were allowed to play. The original logo of PAOK was a horseshoe and a four-leaf clover.^[15]

PAOK played their primary friendly match on 4 May 1926 at the stadium of Thermaikos, defeating Megas Alexandros Thessaloniki 2–1. The first coach of the club was Kostas Andreadis who spent five years on the team's bench without demanding payment.^[16] Their first captain was Michalis Ventourelis.

PAOK in 1937

In 1926–1927 season, PAOK participated in the 2nd tier of Macedonia Football Clubs Association (Greek: Ένωση Ποδοσφαιρικών Σωματείων Μακεδονίας or Ε.Π.Σ.Μ.) local championship. PAOK FC historic inaugural official match was a 3–1^[17] win against Nea Genea Kalamaria on 12 December 1926. Despite finishing at the top of the 2nd division, PAOK were forced by the organizing committee to play against the 1st division teams and defeat all of them in order to get promoted. Eventually, they defeated all four teams: Thermaikos 4–1,^[18] Aris 2–1,^[19][20] Atlas Ippodromiou 2–0 (w/o)^[21] and Iraklis 1–0.^[22] In 1927–1928, PAOK participated for the first time in the 1st tier of Ε.Π.Σ.Μ.^[23]

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.^[24]

In March 1929, AEK Thessaloniki was disbanded as a sports club and their members joined PAOK. PAOK thereupon changed their emblem, adopting the Double-headed eagle, as a symbol of the club's Byzantine/Constantinopolitan heritage. PAOK also got possession of AEK's facilities located around Syntrivani (i.e. Fountain) Square, next to the Children's Heritage Foundation, where today stands the Faculty of Theology of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki.

In 1930–1931, PAOK made their debut in the Panhellenic Championship, playing their first match on 1 February 1931 against Olympiacos at Piraeus, where they were defeated by 3–1, and ended the season in 5th place. The first foreign coach in team's history was Austrian Rudolf Gasner, who served at PAOK in 1931–1932.^[25] On 5 June 1932 the Syntrivani Stadium was inaugurated with PAOK's 3–2^[26] victory over Iraklis. Syntrivani meant to be their home ground for 27 years.^[27][28]

In 1937, PAOK won their first title, the Macedonia championship (Greek: Ε.Π.Σ.Μ.) and participated in the Panhellenic Championship, finishing 2nd. The 1937 team included: Sotiriadis, Vatikis, Goulios, Kontopoulos, Bostantzoglou, Panidis, Glaros, Kritas, Ioannidis, Kalogiannis, Koukoulas, Kosmidis, Apostolou, Vafiadis, Vasiliadis, Anastasiadis, Moschidis, Tzakatzoglou, Zakapidas.

On 28 May 1939, PAOK competed for first time in a Greek Cup final against AEK Athens and were defeated 2–1^[29] at Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium. The following season, PAOK won the Northern Greece Championship and reached the two-legged final of the Panhellenic Championship, but they lost 5–3 on aggregate to AEK.^[30]

The team of 1939

The declaration of the Greco-Italian War caused mobilization in Greece and ended every sport activity. PAOK football players recruited to Hellenic Army and two of them died on duty. Goalkeeper Nikolaos Sotiriadis and left defender Georgios Vatikis. They are both among the four Greek footballers who took their last breath on the front. The others were Spyridon Kontoulis of AEK and Mimis Pierrakos of Panathinaikos. Georgios Vatikis, who was the first Greek athlete to fall on the Greek-Italian front, served as a warrant officer. He was 22 years old when he died in Battle of Morava–Ivan. After his death, Vatikis was honorarily promoted to lieutenant and awarded the Silver Cross of Valour and the Homeland of Gratitude. Nikolaos Sotiriadis, who played from 1932 until 1940 for PAOK, died on 28 January 1941 in Kleisura, fighting with the rank of Sergeant for the 5th Infantry Regiment. He was 33 years old.^[31]

Macedonia Football Clubs Association Championships (1946–1959)

After the Second World War, in the early 1950s, PAOK Academy was created by the Austrian coach, Wilhelm (Willi) Sefzik, and was known as the "chicos of Willi". From the newly founded academy sprang some great football players of the period, such as Leandros Symeonidis, Giannelos Margaritis and Giorgos Havanidis.^[32]

In 1948, PAOK won the Macedonia Championship for second time in history, and then participated in the final phase of the Panhellenic Championship where they were ranked 3rd. PAOK footballers dedicated the title to the memory of team captain, Thrasyvoulos Panidis, who had lost his life (18 February 1948) in the civil war few days before. Panidis played for PAOK since 1930 and had 122 appearances.^[33] In 1950, they emerged once again champions of Macedonia, and the following year (1950–51), the team reached for second time the final of the Greek Cup, but lost 4–0^[34] to Olympiacos at Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium.

During the summer transfer period of 1953 Kouiroukidis, Petridis, Progios, Geroudis, Kemanidis, Chassiotis and Angelidis joined the team. The acquirement of Lampis Kouiroukidis from Doxa Drama was the most important transfer. Along with Lefteris Papadakis and Christophoros Yientzis, they formed the famous attacking trio of that age.^[35]

For four consecutive seasons (1954, 1955, 1956, 1957), PAOK won the Macedonia championship and participated in the Panhellenic Championship, finishing 4th each year. Yientzis was the top scorer in 1953–54 season and Kouiroukidis in 1955–56 season.^[36] Coached by Nikos Pangalos, PAOK won the 1954 and 1955 local Macedonia championship unbeaten. In 1955, PAOK participated for third time in a Greek Cup final and were defeated 2–0^[37] by Panathinaikos at Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium (home ground of Panathinaikos). Ιn 1956, under Hungarian coach Erman Hoffman they won their third consecutive unbeaten local championship.^[38] The successful 4-year period ended with 1957 championship, coached by the Austrian Walter Pfeiffer.

Toumba Stadium, first years in Greek National League and rise of Koudas to prominence (1959–1969)

Toumba Stadium

Snapshot from the old Syntrivani stadium

The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki purchased a two-acre piece of land in the area of Syntrivani Stadium in order to construct new schools. PAOK had to relocate and a 7.5 acres area, owned by the Ministry of National Defence at Toumba district was chosen as the adequate location. The purchase cost was set at 1.5 million drachmas and was paid by PAOK administration in 20 six-month instalments of 75,000 drachmas each. On 7 February 1958, a committee of III Army Corps officers delivered the land to PAOK representatives.

There were still barracks on the premises, housing victims of the Greek Civil War and the 1953 Ionian earthquake. Relocating all these people cost the club 70,000 drachmas. The total cost of the stadium's construction amounted to 6 million drachmas, with just 1.1 million coming from the General Secretariat of Sports as subvention. In spring of 1958 construction work started, based on the plans of architect Minas Trempelas and civil engineer Antonis Triglianos. In an attempt to collect the necessary funds, the club issued the "Lottery for the construction of PAOK New Stadium" in April 1958 at a cost of 20 drachmas each. Since 1956, the administration was withholding 15% of the gate income in order to fund the construction of the new stadium. Many PAOK fans, apart from money, also contributed to construction by volunteering to work as builders. The construction of the stadium was completed at a record time of one year.

The inauguration event was scheduled for Sunday 6 September 1959 with a friendly encounter against AEK (PAOK prevailed 1–0 with a goal by Kostas Kiourtzis). Prime minister Konstantinos Karamanlis's attendance was cancelled at the last minute. However, several ministers of his government were there for the occasion. As for the ball for the first kick-off, it fell at 17:30 off an airplane of Sedes Military Air Base. On inauguration day, 15,000 PAOK supporters packed Toumba Stadium, as that was the stadium's capacity back then. It would increase to 20,000 seats in the following months until it reached a 45,000-seat capacity in the mid-'70s through extensive expansion work.

The attendance record remains at 45,252 tickets and was registered on 19 December 1976 in the goalless draw against AEK. In European football, the highest attendance was a 45,200 crowd in the 1–0^[39][40] win against Barcelona (UEFA Cup, 16 September 1975).^[1][41][42]

First years in Greek National League (Alpha Ethniki)

In 1959 the Alpha Ethniki – the precursor of the current Super League – was set up as a national round-robin tournament and the 1959–60 championship was the first nationwide league competition. In the first decade of Greek Alpha Ethniki (1959–1969), PAOK had a top-half finish in every season except from the 10th-place finish in 1961. The best outcome came out in 1963 and 1967 with a 4th-place finish. Notable players of this period were Leandros Symeonidis,^[43] Ioannis Giakoumis, Ignatios Mouratidis, Pavlos Papadopoulos,^[44] Anestis Afentoulidis^[45] and Giorgos Makris.^[46]

Koudas debut and his two-year absence that fueled Olympiacos–PAOK rivalry

Giorgos Koudas^[47][48][49] was born on 23 November 1946 in Thessaloniki. At the age of 12, he signed his first contract with PAOK and made his debut with the first team on 21 December 1963 in a 1–0 loss to Ethnikos at Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium. Koudas' talent immediately started to excel and in 1965–66 season he made 29 apps and scored 13 goals . On 14 July 1966, PAOK fans were shocked by the news of Koudas' descent to Piraeus, accompanied by his father (who was enraged with PAOK administration for financial reasons) and determined to sign for Olympiacos, who tempted him by offering a much higher annual salary without going into a negotiation with his club. PAOK president Giorgos Pantelakis^[50] never gave his consent for the transfer to be completed and for the next 2 seasons, Koudas participated only in Olympiacos friendly games. Military junta's Minister of Sports Kostas Aslanidis suggested in 1968 that Koudas should return to PAOK for 2 years and then move to Olympiacos, but Pantelakis turned down his proposition saying "I may go to Gyaros island (place of exile for leftist political dissidents), but Koudas would never go to Olympiacos".^[51] Eventually, Koudas returned to PAOK in the summer of 1968 and led the great team of the 1970s to glorious days. Fueled by this incident, Olympiacos–PAOK rivalry is considered nowadays the fiercest intercity football rivalry in Greece.

1970s and 1980s (1970–1989)

The great team of the 1970s

The 1970s decade was one of the best periods in the history of the football club. Scouting some of the best youth players in Northern Greece at the time and signing many of them to PAOK, president Giorgos Pantelakis built a very strong team (including Stavros Sarafis,^[52] Christos Terzanidis,^[53] Kostas Iosifidis,^[54] Giannis Gounaris, Dimitris Paridis,^[55] Achilleas Aslanidis,^[56] Koulis Apostolidis,^[57] Filotas Pellios, Aristarchos Fountoukidis,^[58] Panagiotis Kermanidis,^[59] Angelos Anastasiadis,^[60] Neto Guerino^[61] and captained by Giorgos Koudas). Playing spectacular football, the team managed to win their first Championship (1976), two Cups (1972, 1974), a Greater Greece Cup (1973) and distinguish themselves in European competitions.

Christos Terzanidis, member of the great team of PAOK during the 1970s

PAOK participated in 7 Greek Cup finals from 1970 to 1978 . In 1969–70 Greek Cup PAOK lost 1–0^[62] to local rivals Aris in the final held at Kaftanzoglio Stadium and in the 1970–71 Greek Cup final they were defeated 3–1^[63] by Olympiacos at Karaiskakis Stadium (home ground of Olympiacos).

The first domestic title PAOK won, was the Cup of 1971–72 season. PAOK reached the final for third straight year, sixth in total and it would be the fifth time traveling to Athens for the trophy match. This time PAOK would face league champions Panathinaikos who were also runners-up in 1971 European Cup. The final was held at Karaiskakis Stadium on 5 July 1972. PAOK players had 10,000 fans on their side and they vowed that it was about time to return with the trophy at Thessaloniki. PAOK won the game 2–1^[64] with Koudas scoring both goals. In the second half, a magnificent bicycle kick of Matzourakis found the net, but the goal was surprisingly disallowed by referee Michas. PAOK triumph and 1st Greek Cup title was widely celebrated by the fans at Thessaloniki.^[65]

In 1972–73 season, PAOK came close to winning their first ever championship title playing exceptional football under the guidance of Les Shannon.^[66][67] On 25 February 1973 (matchday 20), PAOK who were leading the league table being 3pts (point system 3–2–1) ahead of rivals Olympiacos suffered their first loss with 1–0^[68] in a much disputed derby against Olympiacos at Karaiskakis Stadium. PAOK had tremendous complaints against referee Fakis for not taking the proper disciplinary action against Olympiacos players who committed violent fouls. Two players (Iosifidis and Aslanidis) were substituted in the first half after sustaining injuries. One week later, PAOK lost 1–0 to Fostiras in Athens and Olympiacos drew 0–0 away to Egaleo, results that left the two teams level on pts. On 22 April 1973 (matchday 28), PAOK suffered a 3–5^[69][70][71] shock defeat against Panachaiki at Toumba Stadium and Olympiacos who drew 1–1 away to Kavala, took the lead in the standings and went on with 6 wins in the remaining matches to win the championship. At the end of the season, PAOK participated for fourth consecutive year in the Greek Cup final and lost 1–0^[72] to Olympiacos at Karaiskakis Stadium (home ground of Olympiacos).

In 1973–74 season, PAOK reached the quarter-finals of 1973–74 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup where they were knocked out by Milan with 5–2 on aggregate.^[73] PAOK defeated Legia Warsaw with 2–1 on aggregate^[74][75] and Lyon with 7–3 on aggregate^[76][77] in the previous rounds. That season, PAOK reached the Greek Cup final for fifth consecutive year. The final was held at Nikos Goumas Stadium, once again in Athens, on Sunday 16 June, and was the first ever that was decided by penalty shoot-out. The game ended in a thrilling 2–2 draw and PAOK won 4–3 on penalties over Olympiacos with Koulis Apostolidis converting the last of the procedure.^[78][79]

Filotas Pellios, defender and member of the 1975–76 champions team

1975–76 Greek Champions

In 1975–76 season, with Gyula Lóránt at the helm,^[80] the team had two daily practices instead of one and physical condition of the players improved significantly. On 4 January 1976, PAOK made an impressive 4–0^[81] away win over Olympiacos (biggest home defeat of Olympiacos in Greek football history). On 11 April, PAOK defeated Panionios 4–0 and climbed at the top of the standings for first time that season, level on points with AEK who lost 0–1 to Panathinaikos. On matchday 25, AEK were defeated 1–0 by Aris in Thessaloniki and PAOK, with a 3–0 away win over Panachaiki, were alone at the top of the league table. The league title would be decided in two consecutive high-profile encounters at Toumba Stadium. PAOK prevailed 3–1 over Olympiacos and 1–0 over AEK with Neto Guerino scoring the winner in the 89th minute,^[82] giving the Double-Headed Eagle of the North a 4pt lead (point system 2–1–0). The league title was clinched on the following matchday, when AEK were held to a goalless draw at Panserraikos and PAOK defeated 3–1 Iraklis at Kaftanzoglio Stadium.^[83]

In 1976–77 season, the team tried to defend the title and reached the last 16 of 1976–77 European Cup where they were knocked out by a far superior Dynamo Kyiv side.^[84] On 1 May 1977 (matchday 28), PAOK were leading the league table and lost 1–0^[85] to AEK at Nikos Goumas Stadium with a controversial first-half goal that was scored from a direct free kick and while goalkeeper Milinis was still setting up the wall. Referee Tsoukaladelis credited the goal to AEK despite the heavy protests from all PAOK players and he also sent off PAOK midfielder Damanakis in the first half for dangerous play. In the second half, a goal scored by Sarafis with a header was wrongly ruled out for offside. PAOK fell from the top of the table and on 12 June (matchday 32), the team had a great chance against Panathinaikos at a packed Toumba Stadium to regain the lead (Panathinaikos were 1pt ahead). The game ended in a 0–0^[86] stalemate and it was followed by a huge disappointment among the fans not only for the missed chance to win a back-to-back championship, but also for the team performance in the championship decider which did not meet expectations.^[87][88] On 22 June, PAOK lost 2–1^[89] to Panathinaikos in the Greek Cup final held at Karaiskakis Stadium. President Pantelakis was furious with referee Platopoulos who sent off Gounaris in the 64th minute and ordered PAOK players to leave the awarding ceremony without receiving their medals.

In 1977–78 season, PAOK finished runners-up in the league and lost 2–0^[90] to AEK in the Greek Cup final held at Karaiskakis Stadium.

In 1979–80 season, five teams were battling for the championship title. On 9 March 1980 (matchday 24), PAOK were leading the table and lost 0–2^[91] to rivals Panathinaikos at Toumba Stadium. This was the first home defeat after a 62-game unbeaten run (52 wins/10 draws).^[92] Kostikos scored two goals in the first half, but both of them were disallowed by referee Litsas. In the second half, Kostikos was brought down in the area by Kovis, but Litsas denied the penalty and sent off PAOK defender Pellios who was protesting. In the final minutes of the game, PAOK had a chance to score from the penalty spot, but the fans shouted to Orfanos to send the ball wide. Orfanos made a really weak side foot-kick which was easily saved by goalkeeper Konstantinou. After the final whistle, all hell broke loose in and around the stadium with 23 police officers and 20 fans sustaining injuries.

On 31 May 1981, PAOK manager Gyula Lóránt had a heart attack in the 16th minute of the match against Olympiacos at Toumba Stadium when Koudas headed the ball wide from close range. Doctors attempted to resuscitate him on the spot, but he died before the ambulance arrived. PAOK players were told in the half-time break that he had to be transported to the hospital and his death was revealed to them only after the game had ended. PAOK eventually won the derby 1–0^[93][94] with the goal of the substitute Vassilis Vasilakos who was sitting next to Lóránt on the bench when he collapsed. PAOK players wanted to dedicate a Greek Cup title to his memory, but the team lost 3–1^[95] to Olympiacos in the Greek Cup final held at Nikos Goumas Stadium on 21 June.

On 29 June 1983, PAOK participated once again in the Greek Cup final which was held for first time at the newly built Olympic Stadium of Athens. Captained for last time in a Greek Cup final by Koudas, the team lost 2–0^[96] to AEK despite their superiority over the opponents that day. A first-half goal by Kostikos was ruled out for offside.

PAOK also made a memorable appearance against German giants Bayern Munich in the 2nd round of 1983–84 UEFA Cup, where they were knocked out on penalties (9–8) after two goalless draws.^[97][98] Bayern's first penalty kick, taken by Klaus Augenthaler, was saved twice by PAOK goalkeeper Mladen Furtula, but the English referee Arthur Robinson ordered the penalty to be retaken both times. Augenthaler admitted in a 2018 interview that the referee favored Bayern and that he felt uncomfortable when he was asked to take the penalty for a third time.^[99][100]

Kyriakos Alexandridis member of the 1984–85 champions team

1984–85 Greek Champions

The second Championship of PAOK came in 1984–85 season, under Austrian manager Walter Skocik.^[101] Notable figures of the team included Giorgos Skartados,^[102] Nikos Alavantas,^[103] Thomas Siggas,^[104] Rade Paprica^[105] and attacking duo of Giorgos Kostikos^[106] and Christos Dimopoulos. It was the last season at the club for Ioannis Damanakis^[107] and captain Kostas Iosifidis, who ended his football career.

On 20 January 1985 (matchday 15), PAOK gained a 5pt lead (point system 2–1–0) on the table with a 1–0^[108] away win over Panathinaikos at the Olympic Stadium of Athens. The crucial goal was scored by Paprica in the 80th minute with a diving header. On 9 June, PAOK clinched the league title with a goalless draw at Nea Smyrni Stadium against Panionios, as Panathinaikos were held to a 2–2 draw by bottom of the table Pierikos.^[109] It was the only away point of Pierikos that season. On 22 June, 10-man (Vasilakos was sent-off early in the first half) PAOK lost 4–1^[110] to Larissa in the Greek Cup final which was held at the Olympic Stadium of Athens and wasted the opportunity to win a domestic Double for first time in history. An interesting story of the final was that PAOK top goalscorer of that season Christos Dimopoulos did not participate as he left the team at Athens airport when they arrived from Thessaloniki for the game. Dimopoulos headed to the headquarters of Motor Oil (company of Panathinaikos president Vardinogiannis) in order to seal his transfer to Panathinaikos as his 5-year contract with PAOK was expiring.^[111]

In 1987–88 season, PAOK were fighting for the title (along with AEL and AEK) up to matchday 23, when they suffered a surprising 0–2 home defeat to Iraklis. Earlier that season, on 6 December 1987, PAOK made a record 6–1^[112][113] win over rivals Olympiacos at Serres Municipal Stadium (biggest defeat of Olympiacos in Greek Alpha Ethniki/Superleague history). PAOK finished 3rd in the league and qualified for 1988–89 UEFA Cup where they faced Napoli of Maradona, Careca and Alemão. The team fought vigorously, but lost 2–1 on aggregate.^{[114][115][116]} Maradona, when asked on RAI TV, moments after the final whistle of the 2nd leg at Toumba Stadium, if he had ever played in such an atmosphere, said "I have played a lot of games, but I have never seen anything like this. We couldn't find any rhythm and I believe that it was difficult for the opponents too. It was a weird encounter".

Voulinos era (1989–1996)

PAOK vs AEK in Toumba Stadium (1989–90)

In 1989–90 season, with Magdy Tolba^[117] shining and youngster Giorgos Toursounidis^[118] rising, the team managed to reach the half-way stage of the competition topping the table (winter champions),^[119] but good form deteriorated and PAOK finished in 3rd place.

1990–91 season started with PAOK facing Sevilla in the 1st round of the UEFA Cup and they were knocked out on penalties (3–4) after two goalless draws.^[120][121] On 23 September 1990 (matchday 2), president Thomas Voulinos stormed the field in the 77th minute of the derby against Panathinaikos at the Olympic Stadium of Athens. Voulinos was furious with referee Karamanis and despite the fact that the scoreline was 3–0^[122] and the winner was already determined, he ordered PAOK players to leave the pitch. After the game which was eventually abandoned, he said "We felt like sheep that were heading to be butchered and that was unacceptable". PAOK were later sentenced with a 3pt deduction and a 5 home games behind closed doors penalty by court decision. The two teams met again in the Greek Cup semi-finals and in the 57th minute of the 2nd leg at Toumba Stadium, Voulinos once again entered the pitch in anger at decisions from referee Vasilakis.^[123] Panathinaikos won 2–1 on aggregate.

Fan favorite Giorgos Toursounidis

In 1991–92 season, under Croatian manager Miroslav Blažević, PAOK qualified against the then strong KV Mechelen (winners in 1988, semi-finalists in 1989 Cup Winners' Cup / quarter-finalists in 1990 European Cup) in the 1st round of 1991–92 UEFA Cup with 2–1 on aggregate.^[124] Stefanos Borbokis scored the winner in the 85th minute of the 2nd leg at Achter de Kazerne Stadium.^[125] Blazevic was replaced by Gounaris later and the team lost in the two-legged Greek Cup final to Olympiacos with 3–1 on aggregate.^[126] On 24 May 1992 (matchday 32), PAOK lost 1–2^[127] to Olympiacos at Toumba Stadium and suffered their first home defeat against rivals Olympiacos after a 24-game unbeaten run (21 wins/3 draws – 21 league matches/3 cup matches – goals 52/12) which lasted for 23 years.^[128] It is widely rumoured that after this shock defeat, the most renowned PAOK ultras leader Thomas Mavromichalis^[129][130] (nicknamed Makis Manavis, i.e., greengrocer due to his profession – PAOK ultras refer to him as «The General») decided to never set foot again at Toumba Stadium.

On 1 October 1992, PAOK vs Paris Saint-Germain^[131][132] UEFA Cup match was abandoned due to crowd violence and PAOK were punished with a two-year ban from all European competitions by the UEFA disciplinary committee. The sentence was later reduced to one year. In 1994–95 season, under Dutch manager Arie Haan,^[133] PAOK finished 3rd in the league and Apollon Athens took their place in the next season's UEFA Cup.

1995–96 season was the worst in club's history. PAOK were seriously threatened with a possible relegation for first time in history. The team managed to avoid relegation few weeks before the end of the league and finished in 14th place.

Batatoudis era (1996–2003)

Zisis Vryzas, former player, sports director and president of the club

In 1996, Thomas Voulinos handed over a debt-free PAOK to Giorgos Batatoudis. Numerous transfers of quality players such as Zisis Vryzas,^[134] Spyros Marangos, free kick specialist Kostas Frantzeskos,^[135] Percy Olivares^[136] and Joe Nagbe^[137] took place under the new administration. In May 1997, after a five-year absence from European competitions, PAOK qualified for the UEFA Cup under coach Angelos Anastasiadis.^[138] The club's reappearance at European level was marked by a victory and qualification over Arsenal with 2–1 on aggregate.^[139][140] Arsenal went on to win a domestic Double that season. Remembering the 1st leg encounter, captain Tony Adams and goalkeeper David Seaman spoke very highly of the atmosphere created by PAOK fans at Toumba Stadium.^[141][142]

In the night of 9 February 1998, PAOK player Panagiotis Katsouris, aged 21, was returning from an amateur 5x5 match, when his car skidded off the road due to excessive speed, hitting the barriers at the Thermi interchange outside Thessaloniki. His death was verified in AHEPA Hospital shortly afterwards. He was buried on 12 February in the Anastaseos Cemetery in Thessaloniki. A bust was erected in his memory at Toumba Stadium and memorial services are held each year near the accident scene. In February 2009, PAOK announced that a football tournament, bearing his name, would be held annually. Katsouris' No 17 jersey was permanently retired by the club in his memory.^{[143][144][145]}

Early in the morning of 4 October 1999, a bus accident took place in the Vale of Tempe, Thessaly, with six PAOK fans killed (Kyriakos Lazaridis, Christina Tziova, Anastasios Themelis, Charalampos Zapounidis, Georgios Ganatsios, Dimitris Andreadakis). The bus was heading back to Thessaloniki after a 1–1^[146] draw against Panathinaikos at the Olympic Stadium of Athens. A ceremony in commemoration of the incident has taken place every year since.^{[147][148][149]}

In January 2000, PAOK appointed Dušan Bajević as their new manager. PAOK won the 2001 Greek Cup beating Olympiacos 4–2^[150][151] in the final held at Nikos Goumas Stadium on 12 May 2001.^[152]

On 17 May 2003, PAOK defeated local rivals Aris 1–0^{[153][154][155]} in the final held at Toumba Stadium with an excellent goal scored by Georgiadis and earned their 4th Greek Cup title.^[156] PAOK manager Angelos Anastasiadis became the first in club's history to win the Cup both as a player (in 1974) and manager.

During the seven-year period of Batatoudis' ownership, PAOK's debts rose to about €10 million.

Angelos Anastasiadis, 2002–03 Greek Cup winner as a coach

Goumenos era, troubled times (2003–2006)

The 2003–04 season was an unexpected success. Batatoudis was no longer the major shareholder^[157] and under coach Anastasiadis, PAOK managed to finish 3rd in the league and to secure participation in the third qualifying round of 2004–05 UEFA Champions League, where they faced Maccabi Tel Aviv. The 1st leg at Toumba Stadium ended 1–2,^[158] but it was later awarded 0–3^[159] against PAOK for fielding a suspended player. The club fielded Liasos Louka, a Cypriot player who was still serving a two-match ban in UEFA competitions (for his sending-off in a UEFA Intertoto Cup tie while playing for Nea Salamis on 8 July 2000). Eventually, the team failed to qualify for the group stage.^[160]

Rolf Fringer succeeded Angelos Anastasiadis in September 2004,^[161] but after a few games, he was replaced by Nikos Karageorgiou, who led the club to a 5th-place finish in May 2005 and a subsequent 2005–06 UEFA Cup qualification.

By the end of May 2006, the club's dramatic situation started to emerge, with players openly declaring they have been unpaid for months, plus a shocking decision by UEFA to ban the club from participating in the upcoming UEFA Cup,^[162] brought the club close to dissolution. The organized supporters' groups launched an all-out war against president Giannis Goumenos during the summer of 2006,^[163] going as far as to occupy the club's offices in Toumba stadium for a handful of days.^[164] The situation was worsening for Goumenos after various negotiations with possible investors failed,^[165] constant allegations of embezzlement emerged,^[166] and especially after his decision to sell star player Dimitris Salpingidis to Panathinaikos.^[167]

On 13 November 2006, Goumenos resigned from PAOK presidency^[168] leaving huge debts behind (during the three-year period of Goumenos' ownership, the club's debts rose from about €10 million to around €30 million → €10 million were the primary debt obligations plus €20 million from additional taxes, fines and surcharges)^{[169][170][171]} and few weeks later, Nikos Vezyrtzis–Apostolos Oikonomidis duo (former PAOK BC presidents) assumed temporary management of the club.^[172]

Zagorakis–Vryzas management with massive fans' support (2007–2012)

Theodoros Zagorakis, the iconic captain and former president of PAOK FC

In June 2007, former player and captain Theodoros Zagorakis^[173] assumed the presidency of the club, replacing the Nikos Vezyrtzis and Apostolos Oikonomidis administration and thus ushered a new era, in an effort to bring the club back to successes.^[174][175]

In 2007–2008 season, the early replacement of Georgios Paraschos by the well-known established manager Fernando Santos^[176] did little to prevent a 9th-place finish in the league.^[177] On 6 January 2008, Zisis Vryzas ended his football career coming on as a substitute in the game against AEL and immediately started his tenure as PAOK sports director.^[178][179]

Coach Fernando Santos

The club's finances gradually improved thanks to new sponsorship deals and to the continuing massive support from the fans (the number of season tickets was vastly increased^[180]). In June 2008, Zagorakis announced the club's intention of building a new training facility complex^[181] in the Nea Mesimvria area of Thessaloniki, owned by the club.^[182] The administration had already acquired land from the municipality of Agios Athanasios and the project would be executed by former president Vasilis Sergiannidis'^[183] construction company.^[184][185]

In the summer of 2008, the club brought in promising winger Vieirinha and widely known internationals like Pablo Contreras, Zlatan Muslimović and Pablo García.^[186][187] In the winter transfer window that followed, Olivier Sorlin and Lino joined the team.^[188][189] The end of the 2008–09 season found PAOK in 2nd place, 8pts behind champions Olympiacos. However, team lost in the Super League playoffs (pos. 2–5) to Panathinaikos and finished in 4th place.^[190]

Pablo García in action for PAOK in 2010

In 2009–10 season, PAOK fought for the title up to matchday 26 (Panathinaikos were 2pts ahead), when they lost 2–0^[191] against local rivals Aris at Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium. The club had tremendous complaints against referee Spathas and after the final whistle, Zagorakis went in the dressing room and apologized to PAOK players for not being able to protect them against poor refereeing.^[192] PAOK went on to win the league playoffs (pos. 2–5) and qualified for 2010–11 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round, but the success was swiftly followed by Fernando Santos' announcement of his decision to depart, having concluded his three-year contract as head coach.^[193][194] It was eventually decided in mid-June that Mario Beretta would be his successor.^[195]

Beretta was quickly replaced by Pavlos Dermitzakis^[196] and became the shortest-serving PAOK coach ever, sitting on the bench for 38 days only.^[197] With Dermitzakis at the helm, PAOK faced Ajax and was ultimately eliminated on the away goals rule, managing a 1–1^[198][199] draw in Amsterdam and a thrilling 3–3^[200][201] draw in Thessaloniki. Entering the UEFA Europa League playoff round, PAOK were drawn against Fenerbahçe, also eliminated from the Champions League third qualifying round. This time, PAOK fared much better and after winning the home game 1–0^[202] in Thessaloniki, secured a memorable 1–1^[203][204] draw after extra time in Constantinople. Dermitzakis was removed after a 1–0 loss to Panathinaikos on 17 October.^[205] His assistant, Makis Chavos, replaced him as caretaker manager^[206] and PAOK reached the knockout phase of the Europa League, losing 2–1 on aggregate to CSKA Moscow.^[207][208] In the league, PAOK finished 3rd and qualified for the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League.

Tottenham 1–2 PAOK, László Bölöni at White Hart Lane

PAOK board appointed Romanian László Bölöni as the club's new head coach for the following season.^[209] The team qualified from the UEFA Europa League playoff round and entered the group stage. On 30 November 2011, PAOK achieved a historic 2–1^[210][211] victory over Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane. With this victory, the club qualified to the knockout phase for second consecutive year. On 26 January 2012, Zagorakis resigned from club's presidency and he was replaced by Vryzas.^[212][213]

Ivan Savvidis era (2012–present)

PAOK supporters in 2014 Greek Cup final at the Olympic Stadium of Athens

On 10 August 2012, Ivan Savvidis^{[2][214][215]} acquired PAOK ownership by depositing a fee of €9,951,000 and thus becoming the major shareholder of the club.^[216][217]

In 2012–13 season, under manager Giorgos Donis, PAOK finished 2nd during the regular period, qualifying for the Super League playoffs (pos. 2–5). After a Greek Cup semi-final loss to Asteras Tripoli, Donis was replaced by technical director and former player Georgios Georgiadis, who was appointed as caretaker manager.^[218] PAOK managed to win qualification for the third qualifying round of the 2013–14 UEFA Champions League through the playoffs after a last game win against PAS Giannina.^[219]

In June 2013, PAOK appointed Huub Stevens as their new coach,^[220] but he was dismissed in March 2014 after achieving poor results.^[221] Once again, Georgiadis was appointed as caretaker manager and the team managed to reach the 2013–14 Greek Cup final, but lost 4–1^[222] to Panathinaikos at the Olympic Stadium of Athens.

In March 2015, Law N° 4321/2015 on regulations for kickstarting the economy was adopted by the Greek government and stated that a total repayment of a company's primary debt obligations would lead to the deletion of all additional taxes, fines and surcharges.^[223] On 12 May 2015, PAOK owner Ivan Savvidis paid the total amount of the club's debts towards Greek public authorities, a fee of €10,886,811.^{[224][225][226]} On 27 May, PAOK hired Frank Arnesen as their new sports director.^[227] On 18 June, Igor Tudor was hired as the new manager of the club, signing a three-year contract.^[228] On 2 September, PAOK announced the signing of Dimitar Berbatov on a one-year deal.^[229][230] Playing a 3–5–2 formation, the team progressed through three qualifying rounds to reach the UEFA Europa League group stage and on 10 December, PAOK made a surprising 1–0^[231] away win over Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park. Tudor was replaced in March 2016 by youth-team coach Vladimir Ivić^[232] and the team won the Super League playoffs (pos. 2–5) and qualified for the 2016–17 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

PAOK won the 2016–17 Greek Cup^[233] beating AEK 2–1^[234] in the final held at Panthessaliko Stadium with a controversial goal scored by Pedro Henrique in the 81st minute. Linesman Kalfoglou failed to indicate that the scorer was in an offside position. In the same phase of play, moments before Leovac made the cross to Henrique, Crespo was brought down in the area by Simoes, but PAOK were denied a penalty by referee Kominis.^[235] The final was marred by crowd violence before the kick-off.^[236] In the Super League playoffs (pos. 2–5) that followed, a game against Panathinaikos at Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium was abandoned (scoreline 1–0 at the time) when Ivić was struck on his head by a beer can that was thrown from the crowd.^[237][238] The Serbian coach was taken to a public hospital and the match was interrupted by referee Kominis in the 54th minute. Panathinaikos representatives claimed that Ivić exaggerated the impact of the injury and could continue.^[239][240] The game was awarded 0–3 to PAOK by court decision. AEK went on to win the playoffs and PAOK finished 4th. After the end of the season, Ivić did not renew his contract^[241] and the club appointed Aleksandar Stanojević whose tenure as PAOK manager did not last long. On 11 August 2017, he was replaced by Răzvan Lucescu.^[242]

2017–18 eventful season

Aleksandar Prijović, Top goalscorer in 2017–2018 season

On 25 February 2018 (and while PAOK were leading the league table being 2pts ahead of AEK), PAOK–Olympiacos derby was suspended before kick-off when Olympiacos manager Óscar García Junyent was hit by an object thrown from the crowd (reportedly by an unfolding cash register paper roll). Óscar García received medical attention before being taken to a private general hospital (Interbalkan Medical Center). The private clinic where García was taken issued a statement about five hours after the coach was admitted, saying that due to his medical condition (sensitivity in the jaw, neck pain, dizziness and nausea) García had to stay at the hospital overnight and PAOK vs Olympiacos game never started.^[243][244] Olympiacos communications chief Karapapas stated that he expected a huge apology from PAOK for the incident and that their rivals should become more civilized if they want to develop into a big club. He also claimed that the object that fell onto García was a sealed cash register paper roll, which can be as heavy as a stone and when thrown from a certain height and distance with a certain force can be a very powerful blow.^[245] PAOK representatives claimed that the whole incident was a certain tactic from Olympiacos, which eventually did not work out because there was no injury sustained.^{[246][247][248][249][250][251][252]} Medical report of the official doctor of the match, approved by the Greek Football Federation (EPO), stated that García was not seriously injured and could return on the bench, but Olympiacos questioned doctor's credibility because he was a PAOK employee, working in PAOK youth academy.^[253] Referee Aretopoulos (who had many controversial moments in his career^[254][255]) submitted two match reports to describe why the game was abandoned (an initial report^[256] at Toumba Stadium and a supplementary report^[257] few days later that was demanded by first-instance court judge). Olympiacos were later awarded a 0–3 win by court decision.

Răzvan Lucescu, most successful PAOK manager

On 11 March 2018, during a championship decider derby against AEK (timeline of events before the game: 24 Feb: PAOK 52pts/AEK 50pts, 25 Feb: PAOK–Olympiacos suspended before kick-off, 26 Feb: Atromitos–AEK 1–1 and PAOK 52pts/AEK 51pts, 4 Mar: Asteras Tripoli–PAOK 3–2, AEK–Panionios 1–0 and AEK 54pts/PAOK 52pts, 5 Mar: first-instance court sentence: PAOK deducted 3pts, game awarded 0–3 to Olympiacos, 2 home games behind closed doors and AEK 54pts/PAOK 49pts, 10 Mar: court of appeal sentence: 3pts returned to PAOK, game awarded 0–3 to Olympiacos, closed doors penalty suspended and AEK 54pts/PAOK 52pts), the president of the team, Ivan Savvidis, stormed onto the pitch when referee Georgios Kominis disallowed a 90th-minute goal scored by Fernando Varela with a header.^[258] The goal was initially credited to PAOK by both the referee who pointed the center spot and the linesman who never raised his flag and ran towards the center. About 10–15 seconds later and while PAOK players were celebrating, linesman Pontikis was approached by AEK players who were protesting and approximately 3 minutes after the goal was scored, they altered their decision. The goal was ruled out for offside (according to referee Kominis, Maurício influenced play). Savvidis entered the pitch with few members of his personal guard and Ľuboš Micheľ (former UEFA Elite referee).^[259] At first, he ordered his team to leave the pitch, but his request was denied by PAOK captain Vieirinha. Afterwards they went close to the referee, where Micheľ expressed his complaints about the decision. Leaving the pitch 1 minute after his entry, a tension was built between Savvidis and members of AEK bench and moments later Savvidis took off his jacket and a gun appeared attached to his belt.^[260] The referee suspended the game and sent the two teams to the dressing rooms. Savvidis tried to enter into the referees' dressing room, but he was denied entrance by security and few minutes later he left the stadium.^[261] Kominis' intention was the game to be continued after 1 hour (and blew his whistle outside the dressing rooms calling the two teams^[262]), but AEK general manager Vasilis Dimitriadis approached him and claimed (as can be heard in audio^[263]) that the players of AEK were terrified from the incident and could not continue as he felt that their safety was at risk. PAOK vice-president Chrisostomos Gagatsis is heard trying to persuade Dimitriadis to order AEK players to return on the pitch. Soon after, the game was abandoned. The incident caused the league to be suspended by the Greek government.^[264] AEK manager Manolo Jiménez giving his side of the story, confirmed that Kominis wanted the game to be concluded, but AEK president told them not to play.^[265] He also said about a year later, that AEK players and himself realized that Savvidis was actually carrying a gun on his belt when they received photos on their cellphones and not while they were on the pitch.^[266] AEK midfielder Panagiotis Kone in an interview after the game also confirmed that Kominis told them to go out and play for the remaining 5 minutes, but he did not inform AEK players as to whether he would award or overturn PAOK goal when asked in the dressing rooms. He replied that they would be informed outside on the pitch.^[267] Of course, both Jiménez and Kone condemned Savvidis' actions and held him responsible for the interruption. PAOK goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis stated that it was clearly a legitimate goal scored by Varela, because Maurício was behind the goalkeeper and did not influence play. He also said that Savvidis' invasion of the pitch wasn't proper.^[268] On his official match report, referee Kominis wrote down that when the match was interrupted the scoreline was 1–0 and that he decided to award the goal.^[269] Kominis received a summons to appear at the court hearing, but he sent a letter instead, explaining that he could not show up due to personal reasons.^[270] He also received a legal document with 3 questions from first-instance court judge and gave a definite answer in one of them and a vague response in the other two.^[271] Ivan Savvidis apologised for his behaviour two days after the game^[272] and he was later banned from all football stadiums for three years. PAOK were sentenced with a 3pt deduction (and 2pts from next season's championship) and AEK were awarded a 0–3 win by court decision.^[273] The 6-point swing was a major blow to PAOK's title hopes and the club was unable to secure the title as AEK were crowned champions with three match-days to go.

The club still managed to end their season on a high note by winning their second consecutive Greek Cup beating AEK 2–0^{[274][275][276]} in the final held at the Olympic Stadium of Athens (AEK home ground at the time), with the match refereed after many years in Greece by a foreign referee (David Fernández Borbalán). During the post-game press conference, manager Lucescu and captain Vieirinha (final MVP^[277]) both stated that 2018 championship title was stolen from PAOK.^[278][279]

2018–19 unbeaten Champions and first domestic Double

PAOK 3–2 Spartak Moscow, August 2018

2018–19 season was the best in club's history.^[14] During the 2018–19 Super League Greece, the major derbies, after decades in Greek football history, were refereed by foreign referees.

On 21 April, PAOK beat Levadiakos 5–0 and clinched the league title, hosting a memorable celebration.^{[280][281][282]} On 5 May, PAOK earned their 26th win in 30 games to complete an undefeated season (26–4–0 record).^[283] This is arguably the best performance in Greek football history, the previous held by Panathinaikos, who won the 1963–64 Alpha Ethniki title undefeated, but with a 24–6–0 record.^[284][285] PAOK were also the only unbeaten European football club in the national championships held across Europe during the 2018–2019 season.^[286]

On 11 May, PAOK won the Greek Cup for third consecutive year, defeating AEK 1–0.^{[287][288][289]} This was the third consecutive Greek Cup final against the same opponent and it was held for second consecutive year at the Olympic Stadium of Athens (AEK home ground at the time). The Video assistant referee (VAR) was used for the first time in Greek football and in a Greek Cup final. The winning goal came in the 45th minute with an overhead kick of Chuba Akpom. Dimitris Pelkas provided the assist. With this Greek Cup victory, PAOK FC achieved a domestic Double for first time in their history.

Vieirinha was named MVP of the Season.^[290]

2020–21 Greek Cup Winners and 2021–22 UEFA Europa Conference League quarter-finalists

On 22 May 2021, under Uruguayan manager and fan favorite Pablo García, PAOK won their eighth Greek Cup title, beating Olympiacos 2–1^[291][292] in the final held at the Athens Olympic Stadium with Michael Krmenčík scoring the winner in the 90th minute. In 2021–22 season, PAOK reached the quarter-finals of the inaugural UEFA Europa Conference League, losing 1–3 on aggregate to Marseille. On 21 May 2022, PAOK lost 1–0^[293][294] to Panathinaikos in the Greek Cup final which was held at the Olympic Stadium of Athens.

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P.A.O.K.

P.A.O.K.

PAOK, commonly known as A.C. PAOK, is a major multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. The club has several departments, including football, basketball, volleyball, handball, water polo, swimming, wrestling, ice hockey, and weightlifting. P.A.O.K was founded in April 1926. Because of its crest, it is also known as the "Double-Headed Eagle of the North", in contrast with AEK, the "Double-Headed Eagle of the South". They are one of the most popular Greek sports-clubs with many fans all over the country, and also among the Greek diaspora.

Sports club

Sports club

A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.

Istanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul, formerly known as Constantinople, is the largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, cultural and historic hub. The city straddles the Bosporus strait, lying in both Europe and Asia, and has a population of over 15 million residents, comprising 19% of the population of Turkey. Istanbul is the most populous European city, and the world's 15th-largest city.

Constantinople

Constantinople

Constantinople became the de facto capital of the Roman Empire upon its founding in 330, and became the de jure capital in AD 476 after the fall of Ravenna and the Western Roman Empire. It remained the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). Following the Turkish War of Independence, the Turkish capital then moved to Ankara. Officially renamed Istanbul in 1930, the city is today the largest city and financial centre of the Republic of Turkey (1923–present). It is also the largest city in Europe.

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki, also known as Thessalonica, Saloniki, or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of Macedonia, the administrative region of Central Macedonia and the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace. It is also known in Greek as η Συμπρωτεύουσα, literally "the co-capital", a reference to its historical status as the Συμβασιλεύουσα or "co-reigning" city of the Byzantine Empire alongside Constantinople.

Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)

Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)

The Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 was fought between Greece and the Turkish National Movement during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of World War I, between May 1919 and October 1922.

A.E.K. (sports club)

A.E.K. (sports club)

A.E.K, known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Athens. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K Athens.

Thermaikos

Thermaikos

Thermaikos is a suburban municipality of the regional unit of Thessaloniki, Greece. It consists of the municipal units Thermaikos, Epanomi and Michaniona. The municipal unit Thermaikos is subdivided into the communities Peraia, Neoi Epivates and Agia Triada. The municipality Thermaikos has an area of 133.41 km2 and the municipal unit Thermaikos has an area of 20.300 km2. Thermaikos stretches for 10 km along the southeastern coast of the Thermaic Gulf. The seat of the municipality is in Peraia.

Macedonia Football Clubs Association

Macedonia Football Clubs Association

Macedonia Football Clubs Association is an association responsible for administering football in the Prefecture of Thessaloniki. It was formed in 1924 as Football Union of Macedonia and Thrace and it administrated football in the regions of West Macedonia, Central Macedonia and East Macedonia and Thrace. Since 1935 its area of responsibility was restricted within the borders of the Prefecture of Thessaloniki. Founding members of the union were Aris, Iraklis and Megas Alexandros.

Greek language

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages, native to Greece, Cyprus, southern Italy, southern Albania, and other regions of the Balkans, the Black Sea coast, Asia Minor, and the Eastern Mediterranean. It has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning at least 3,400 years of written records. Its writing system is the Greek alphabet, which has been used for approximately 2,800 years; previously, Greek was recorded in writing systems such as Linear B and the Cypriot syllabary. The alphabet arose from the Phoenician script and was in turn the basis of the Latin, Cyrillic, Armenian, Coptic, Gothic, and many other writing systems.

Aris Thessaloniki F.C.

Aris Thessaloniki F.C.

Aris FC, commonly known as Aris Thessaloniki FC, AFC or simply Aris, is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. Created in 1914 as Aris Thessaloniki Football Club, the club was a founding member of the Macedonian Football Clubs Association, as well as the Hellenic Football Federation. The colours of the club are golden/yellow, a dominant colour in the culture of Macedonia and reminiscent of the Byzantine heritage of Thessaloniki, and black. It is named after Ares, the ancient Olympian "God of War," associated also with courage and masculinity, whose image is portrayed on the club's logo as depicted in the Ludovisi Ares sculpture.

Walkover

Walkover

A walkover, also W.O. or w/o is awarded to the opposing team/player etc, if there are no other players available, or they have been disqualified, because the other contestants have forfeited or the other contestants have withdrawn from the contest. The term can apply in sport, elections or other contexts where a victory can be achieved by default. The narrow and extended meanings of "walkover" as a single word are both found from 1829.

Crest

The first emblem of PAOK depicted a four-leaf clover and a horseshoe. The leaves were green and above them were the initials of the word PAOK. Kostas Koemtzopoulos, one of PAOK's founding members, came up with this idea, inspired by his favourite brand of cigarettes.^[295]

On 20 March 1929, AEK Thessaloniki was dissolved and absorbed by PAOK and a mournful version of the double-headed eagle with the wings closed instead of stretched, indicating the grief for the lost homelands, was adopted as the club's new emblem.^[296]

On 11 June 2013, under the presidency of Ivan Savvidis, a golden outline was added to the crest, as a symbol of the club's Byzantine heritage.^[297][298]

During the 2018–19 season, the first emblem was used on the third kit.

Colours

The club's colours have always been black and white, black for the sorrow related to countless thousands of Greek refugees who were forced to leave the land their ancestors had been living in for centuries (Asia Minor, Eastern Thrace, Pontus, Caucasus) and white for the hope of a new beginning that came with settling in a new home.^[299] PAOK's traditional kit features a black and white vertical striped shirt, combined with black or white shorts and socks. Various types of shirts were used throughout the club's history and the most common alternatives were those with thinner or wider stripes, the all-black one and the all-white one.^{[300][301][302]} Over the years, several other colours were used on the 3rd kit, such as grey, silver, blue, purple, orange and red.^[303]

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

The current kit manufacturer is Macron, a collaboration that started in July 2015 and was renewed twice until 2027.^{[304][305][306]} Stoiximan, a Greek online gambling company, is the shirt sponsor since June 2017, with the sponsorship deal extended twice and set to last until 2025.^[307]

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Double-headed eagle

Double-headed eagle

In heraldry and vexillology, the double-headed eagle is a charge associated with the concept of Empire. Most modern uses of the emblem are directly or indirectly associated with its use by the late Byzantine Empire, originally a dynastic emblem of the Palaiologoi. It was adopted during the Late Medieval to Early Modern period in the Holy Roman Empire, Albania and in Orthodox principalities, representing an augmentation of the (single-headed) eagle or Aquila associated with the Roman Empire. In a few places, among them the Holy Roman Empire and Russia, the motif was further augmented to create the less prominent triple-headed eagle.

Greek refugees

Greek refugees

Greek refugees is a collective term used to refer to the more than one million Greek Orthodox natives of Asia Minor, Thrace and the Black Sea areas who fled during the Greek genocide (1914-1923) and Greece's later defeat in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), as well as remaining Greek Orthodox inhabitants of Turkey who were required to leave their homes for Greece shortly thereafter as part of the population exchange between Greece and Turkey, which formalized the population transfer and barred the return of the refugees. This Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations was signed in Lausanne, on January 30, 1923 as part of the peace treaty between Greece and Turkey and required all remaining Orthodox Christians in Turkey, regardless of what language they spoke, be relocated to Greece with the exception of those in Istanbul and two nearby islands. Although the term has been used in various times to refer to fleeing populations of Greek descent, the population strength and the influence of the Asia Minor Greeks in Greece itself, has attached the term to the Anatolian Greek population of the early 20th century. At least 300,000 Greek refugees were from Eastern Thrace, whereas at least 900,000 were from Asia Minor. At least 150,000 were from Istanbul, who left the city in three years before 1928.

Ivan Savvidis

Ivan Savvidis

Ivan Ignatyevich Savvidi, is a Russian-Greek oligarch and politician. Savvidis is one of Russia's wealthiest men and was a member of the Russian Parliament, closely linked to the President Vladimir Putin.

Byzantine Greeks

Byzantine Greeks

The Byzantine Greeks were the Greek-speaking Eastern Romans of Orthodox Christianity throughout Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages. They were the main inhabitants of the lands of the Byzantine Empire, of Constantinople and Asia Minor, the Greek islands, Cyprus, and portions of the southern Balkans, and formed large minorities, or pluralities, in the coastal urban centres of the Levant and northern Egypt. Throughout their history, the Byzantine Greeks self-identified as Romans, but are referred to as "Byzantine Greeks" in modern historiography. Latin speakers identified them simply as Greeks or with the term Romei.

Pontus (region)

Pontus (region)

Pontus or Pontos is a region on the southern coast of the Black Sea, located in the modern-day eastern Black Sea Region of Turkey. The name was applied to the coastal region and its mountainous hinterland by the Greeks who colonized the area in the Archaic period and derived from the Greek name of the Black Sea: Εύξεινος Πόντος (Eúxinos Póntos), "Hospitable Sea", or simply Pontos as early as the Aeschylean Persians and Herodotus' Histories.

Caucasus

Caucasus

The Caucasus or Caucasia, is a region between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea, mainly comprising Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, and parts of Southern Russia. The Caucasus Mountains, including the Greater Caucasus range, have historically been considered as a natural barrier between Eastern Europe and Western Asia.

Macron (sportswear)

Macron (sportswear)

Macron S.p.A. is an Italian sporting apparel company, based in Crespellano, Bologna. It is considered a European leader in the production of active sportswear.

Online gambling

Online gambling

Online gambling is any kind of gambling conducted on the internet. This includes virtual poker, casinos and sports betting. The first online gambling venue opened to the general public was ticketing for the Liechtenstein International Lottery in October 1994. Today the market is worth around $40 billion globally each year, according to various estimates.

Adidas

Adidas

Adidas AG is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the world, after Nike. It is the holding company for the Adidas Group, which consists 8.33% stake of the football club Bayern München, and Runtastic, an Austrian fitness technology company. Adidas's revenue for 2018 was listed at €21.915 billion.

Asics

Asics

Asics is a Japanese multinational corporation that produces sportswear. The name is an acronym for the Latin phrase anima sana in corpore sano. Products manufactured and marketed by Asics include footwear, clothing, and accessories.

Suzuki

Suzuki

Suzuki Motor Corporation is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Minami-ku, Hamamatsu, Japan. Suzuki manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), outboard marine engines, wheelchairs and a variety of other small internal combustion engines. In 2016, Suzuki was the eleventh biggest automaker by production worldwide. Suzuki has over 45,000 employees and has 35 production facilities in 23 countries, and 133 distributors in 192 countries. The worldwide sales volume of automobiles is the world's tenth largest, while domestic sales volume is the third largest in the country.

Greek drachma

Greek drachma

The drachma was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history:An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, from the Archaic period throughout the Classical period, the Hellenistic period up to the Roman period under Greek Imperial Coinage. Three modern Greek currencies, the first introduced in 1832 by the Greek King Otto (Όθων) and the last replaced by the euro in 2001. The euro did not begin circulating until 2001 but the exchange rate was fixed on 19 June 2000, with legal introduction of the euro taking place in January 2002.

Stadium

Syntrivani Stadium was PAOK's first home ground. It was situated near the Children's Asylum, where the Theological School of Aristotle University stands today.^[27]

Their current home ground is Toumba Stadium, which was built in 1959. The stadium has been renovated many times since and its seating capacity is 29,000.^[1][41][42]

New Stadium project

PAOK administration have already presented to the Greek public authorities an architecture study of a new Stadium at Toumba. The Greek Council of State (CoS), the country's supreme court, in April 2022 approved a proposal to setup the complete redevelopment of Toumba Stadium, with the CoS deeming legal a draft Presidential Decree concerning the approval of a Special Urban Plan for the district of Toumba, where the venue is located. On 21 June 2022, PAOK has formalized the beginning of a collaboration with a team consisting of domestic engineering and consulting firm SALFO and global architectural design company Populous to deliver the project's master plan.^[317][318] It is estimated that PAOK will be granted a building permit in 2023 and construction process should last three to four years. PAOK would probably move to Kaftanzoglio Stadium until the new Stadium is built.

• 

  Toumba Stadium

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  External view

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  Inside view

• 

  Inside view

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  PAOK FC bus

Training Facilities and Academy

PAOK FC Sport Center is the training ground of the first team and Academy, located in Nea Mesimvria area of Thessaloniki. The construction started under the presidency of Theodoros Zagorakis.^{[184][185][319]}

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Toumba Stadium

Toumba Stadium

Toumba Stadium is a football stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. It is property of AC PAOK. The official name of the stadium is simply PAOK Stadium, but through the years it has become synonymous with the borough it is built at, the borough of Toumba.

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

Aristotle University of Thessaloniki

The Aristotle University of Thessaloniki is the sixth oldest, and among the most highly ranked, tertiary education institution within Greece. Named after the philosopher Aristotle, who was born in Stageira, about 55 km east of Thessaloniki, it is the largest university in Greece and its campus covers 230,000 square metres in the centre of Thessaloniki, with additional educational and administrative facilities elsewhere.

Populous (company)

Populous (company)

Populous, legally Populous Holdings, Inc., is a global architectural and design practice specializing in sports facilities, arenas and convention centers, as well as the planning and design of major special events.

Kaftanzoglio Stadium

Kaftanzoglio Stadium

Kaftanzoglio Stadium is a sports stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. The stadium was built with money donated by the Kaftanzoglou Foundation, in honour of Lysandros Kaftanzoglou, hence its name. At the time of its opening on 27 October 1960, the stadium was one of the highest quality stadiums in the Balkans. It currently has 27,770 seats, owing to a comprehensive renovation before reopening to host football matches for the 2004 Summer Olympics, which was centered in Athens. It was the largest stadium in Greece until 1982, but has since been surpassed in capacity by the Olympic Stadium in Athens.

PAOK FC Sport Center

PAOK FC Sport Center

PAOK Sports Center is the training ground and academy headquarters of Greek football club PAOK FC, located in Nea Mesimvria, Chalkidona, Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. It is the first training center owned by the club. Before that, PAOK first team and the academies were renting several training centers in Thessaloniki. Construction on the Nea Mesimvria area began in February 2009, and was opened in September 2011 where the first coaching session took place. Since then, there have been major additions at the center, including a bigger medical centre, larger physiotherapy room, diagnostic ultrasound, hyperbaric chamber for recovery, cryotherapy room, pool and hydrotherapy room.

PAOK Academy

PAOK Academy

PAOK Academy is the football academy system of Greek professional football club PAOK consisting of eleven official youth teams, based on the young athletes' age. PAOK's U15, U17 and U20 teams all play in Greek Superleague's. Ιn 2016–17 season, U20 team participated in UEFA Youth League as a champion on official superleague U17 2015–16. This academy holds more than 280 young players, and also more than 50 people work there. The PAOK Academy maintains 16 training centers outside of Thessaloniki. These are in Athens, Didimoticho, Alexandroupoli, Komotini - Xanthi, Kilkis, Kavala, Drama, Kozani, Katerini, Lamia, Corfu, Rethymnon, Chios, Chalkidiki, Cyclades and Rhodes.

Nea Mesimvria

Nea Mesimvria

Nea Mesimvria is a village in the west suburbs of Thessaloniki, Greece. It is part of the municipality Chalkidona. Its population was 3,050 in 2011.

Thessaloniki (regional unit)

Thessaloniki (regional unit)

Thessaloniki is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Region of Central Macedonia and its capital is the city of Thessaloniki.

Theodoros Zagorakis

Theodoros Zagorakis

Theodoros Zagorakis is a Greek politician and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was the captain of Greece that won UEFA Euro 2004, and was also president of PAOK. He was named the Greek Male Athlete of the Year in 2004. He was elected as a Greek MEP at the May 2014 European Parliament election. He was also the president of the HFF from March to September 2021.

PAOK fans in Gate 4

Big shirt in Toumba stadium

PAOK FC is the most widely supported football club in Northern Greece and with the 3rd largest fanbase in the country, according to the latest polls and researches.^{[4][5][6][7][8]}

PAOK's traditional fanbase comes from the city of Thessaloniki, where the club is based, as well as from the rest of Macedonia region and Northern Greece. They also have fans all over the country and in the Greek Diaspora (Germany, Australia, USA, etc.). Research by Marca in August 2018 reported that PAOK are the most popular Greek football team on social media.^[9][10][11]

Toumba Stadium is infamous for its hostile atmosphere, a factor that led to the attribution of the Stadium as "The Black Hell".^[320] On high-profile encounters, when the players walk out of the tunnel, the song Hells Bells by AC/DC is heard from the stadium's speakers.^[321] The notorious Gate 4 is home to many PAOK organized supporters' groups from around the globe, with the homonymous Gate 4 fan club which was founded in April 1976, being the most familiar everywhere.^[322][323] The supporters' group from Neapoli district of Thessaloniki that was founded in 1963 is the oldest one.^[324] One of the biggest banners in the world was created by Michaniona fan club.^[325]

No 12 jersey is dedicated to the fans, the symbolic 12th man on the pitch. It was permanently retired by the club on 16 August 2000.^[326][327]

Vale of Tempe tragedy (4/10/1999)

Constantly on tour in order to follow their beloved team everywhere, some 3,000 PAOK fans descended to the Olympic Stadium of Athens for the game against Panathinaikos on 3 October 1999. A few hours later, time stopped. On its way back to Thessaloniki, the double-decker bus of the Kordelio fan club collided with a truck and fell into a ditch in the Vale of Tempe, Thessaly. The aftermath of the bus crash was devastating. Six PAOK fans lost their lives (Kyriakos Lazaridis, Christina Tziova, Anastasios Themelis, Charalampos Zapounidis, Georgios Ganatsios, Dimitris Andreadakis) and many others were injured. A roadside memorial was erected at the site of the crash bearing the following inscription: "Their love for PAOK brought them here, left them here and went beyond".^[147][148]

Friendships

• Partizan
• CSKA Moscow
• OFI

PAOK fans maintain a strong friendship with the supporters of Serbian club Partizan, the Grobari. On many occasions, fans from both clubs traveled to watch each other's games.^[328][329] Lately, some PAOK supporters' groups have developed a friendship with fans of CSKA Moscow (common Orthodox faith).^[330]

PAOK fans have good relations with the fans of OFI Crete, a friendship that started in October 1987 when OFI faced Atalanta for 1987–88 Cup Winners' Cup at Toumba Stadium and numerous PAOK fans supported the Cretans.^[331][332]

Rivalries

PAOK 1–0 Olympiacos, 2009 Greek Cup quarter-final

• Olympiacos
• Aris
• Panathinaikos
• AEK

The rivalry between Olympiacos and PAOK is the fiercest intercity football rivalry in Greece and is long-standing, emerging in the 1960s, when Olympiacos unsuccessfully tried to acquire Giorgos Koudas from PAOK, approaching him directly without going into a negotiation with his club.^[333][334]

A longtime heated rivalry exists between PAOK and local rivals Aris.^[335][336]

Panathinaikos and AEK, Athens' two big clubs, are also considered major rivals.^[337][338]

There are also some less intense rivalries, like those with Iraklis (local conflict) and AEL can be characterized as.

Discover more about Supporters related topics

Gate 4

Gate 4

Gate 4 is the most popular organized supporters group of the Greek multi-sports club PAOK. The group has played an important role in the club's course over the years influencing the club's decisions. They mostly wear black and white symbols and clothes, which are the colors of the club.

Northern Greece

Northern Greece

Northern Greece is used to refer to the northern parts of Greece, and can have various definitions.

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki

Thessaloniki, also known as Thessalonica, Saloniki, or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of Macedonia, the administrative region of Central Macedonia and the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace. It is also known in Greek as η Συμπρωτεύουσα, literally "the co-capital", a reference to its historical status as the Συμβασιλεύουσα or "co-reigning" city of the Byzantine Empire alongside Constantinople.

Macedonia (Greece)

Macedonia (Greece)

Macedonia is a geographic and former administrative region of Greece, in the southern Balkans. Macedonia is the largest and second-most-populous Greek geographic region, with a population of 2.36 million in 2020. It is highly mountainous, with most major urban centres such as Thessaloniki and Kavala being concentrated on its southern coastline. Together with Thrace, and sometimes also Thessaly and Epirus, it is part of Northern Greece. Greek Macedonia encompasses entirely the southern part of the wider region of Macedonia, making up 51% of the total area of that region. Additionally, it forms part of Greece's borders with three countries: Bulgaria to the northeast, North Macedonia to the north, and Albania to the northwest.

Marca (newspaper)

Marca (newspaper)

Marca, stylised as MARCA, is Spain's national daily sport newspaper owned by Unidad Editorial. The newspaper focuses primarily on football, in particular the day-to-day activities of Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, and Atlético Madrid. Also, It has daily and fresh information about influencers, Instagram Girls, an infamous programme first dates, and other Pink press. It has a daily readership of over 2,500,000, the highest in Spain for a daily newspaper, and more than half of sports readership, as of 2007.

Social media

Social media

Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of social media arise due to the variety of stand-alone and built-in social media services currently available, there are some common features:Social media are interactive Web 2.0 Internet-based applications. User-generated content—such as text posts or comments, digital photos or videos, and data generated through all online interactions—is the lifeblood of social media. Users create service-specific profiles for the website or app that are designed and maintained by the social media organization. Social media helps the development of online social networks by connecting a user's profile with those of other individuals or groups.

Hells Bells (song)

Hells Bells (song)

"Hells Bells" is the first track of Back in Black, the seventh studio album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC and their comeback album after the death of lead singer Bon Scott. "Hells Bells" is the second single from Back in Black, released on 31 October 1980. The song also appears on Who Made Who, AC/DC's 1986 soundtrack to the Stephen King film Maximum Overdrive and on both versions of 1992's AC/DC Live.

AC/DC

AC/DC

AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born Australian brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal, but the band calls it simply "rock and roll".

Neapoli, Thessaloniki

Neapoli, Thessaloniki

Neapoli is a suburb of the Thessaloniki Urban Area and a former municipality in the regional unit of Thessaloniki, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Neapoli-Sykies, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit population is 27,084, while its land area is only 1.168 km2 (0.45 sq mi), with a resulting population density of 23,188/km2 (60,060/sq mi), making it one of the densest places in the world. Neapoli is located northwest of the city center of Thessaloniki. Its neighboring suburbs are those of Polichni, Stavroupoli, Sykies, Thessaloniki and Ampelokipoi. There are eight districts in Neapoli: Neapoli, Piropathon, Kato Anagennisi, Pano Anagennisi, Kountourioti, Troada, Riga Feraiou, Hydragogio.

Michaniona

Michaniona

Michaniona was a former municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, the town/suburb is part of the municipality of Thermaikos, of which it is a municipal unit. Population 11,901 (2011). The municipal unit has an area of 21.569 km2. The seat of the municipality was in Nea Michaniona. The other communities in the municipal unit are Angelochori and Nea Kerasia.

Eleftherio-Kordelio

Eleftherio-Kordelio

Eleftherio-Kordelio is a suburb of the Thessaloniki Urban Area and was a former municipality of the regional unit of Thessaloniki, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Kordelio-Evosmos, of which it is a municipal unit. It gained its present form in 1982, after the union of the then municipalities of Eleftheria and Neo Kordelio. They were formed in 1924 by Greek refugees from the town of Kordelio on the west coast of Asia Minor. In the Ottoman Empire the region and the small village that stood in the same area was known as Harman koy.

Roadside memorial

Roadside memorial

A roadside memorial is a marker that usually commemorates a site where a person died suddenly and unexpectedly, away from home. Unlike a grave site headstone, which marks where a body is laid, the memorial marks the last place on earth where a person was alive – although in the past travelers were, out of necessity, often buried where they fell.

Domestic

The Double Trophies in 2019

• Super League
  • Winners (3): 1975–76, 1984–85, 2018–19
• Greek Cup
  • Winners (8): 1971–72, 1973–74, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21
• Greater Greece Cup
  • Winners (1): 1973
• Double
  • Winners (1): 2018–19

European

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup:
  • Quarter-finalists (1): 1973–74
• UEFA Europa Conference League
  • Quarter-finalists (1): 2021–22

Regional

• Macedonia FCA Championship:
  • Winners (7): 1936–37, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57
• Macedonia–Thrace FCA Championship:
  • Winners (1): 1939–40

Discover more about Honours related topics

1975–76 Alpha Ethniki

1975–76 Alpha Ethniki

The 1975–76 Alpha Ethniki was the 40th season of the highest football league of Greece. The season began on 5 October 1975 and ended on 23 May 1976. PAOK won their first Greek title in history.

1984–85 Alpha Ethniki

1984–85 Alpha Ethniki

The 1984–85 Alpha Ethniki was the 49th season of the highest football league of Greece. The season began on 23 September 1984 and ended on 16 June 1985. PAOK won their second Greek title and their first one in nine years.

2018–19 Super League Greece

2018–19 Super League Greece

The 2018–19 Super League Greece, or Super League Souroti for sponsorship reasons, was the 83rd season of the highest tier in league of Greek football and the 13th under its current name. The season started on 25 August 2018 and concluded on 22 May 2019 with the relegation play-offs.

1971–72 Greek Football Cup

1971–72 Greek Football Cup

The 1971–72 Greek Football Cup was the 30th edition of the Greek Football Cup. The competition culminated with the Greek Cup Final, held at Karaiskakis Stadium, on 5 July 1972. The match was contested by PAOK and Panathinaikos, with PAOK winning by 2–1.

1973–74 Greek Football Cup

1973–74 Greek Football Cup

The 1973–74 Greek Football Cup was the 32nd edition of the Greek Football Cup. The competition culminated with the Greek Cup Final, held at AEK Stadium on 16 June 1974. The match was contested by PAOK and Olympiacos, with PAOK winning by 4–3 on penalty shootout, after a 2–2 draw between the two teams.

2000–01 Greek Football Cup

2000–01 Greek Football Cup

The 2000–01 Greek Football Cup was the 59th edition of the Greek Football Cup.

2002–03 Greek Football Cup

2002–03 Greek Football Cup

The 2002–03 Greek Football Cup was the 61st edition of the Greek Football Cup. That season's edition was entitled "Vodafone Greek Cup" for sponsorship reasons.

2016–17 Greek Football Cup

2016–17 Greek Football Cup

The 2016–17 Greek Football Cup was the 75th edition of the Greek Football Cup. Just as last year's edition, a total of 34 clubs were accepted to enter. The competition commenced on 14 September 2016 with the Preliminary Round and concluded on 6 May 2017 with the Final. The winner of the competition was PAOK for fifth time.

2017–18 Greek Football Cup

2017–18 Greek Football Cup

The 2017–18 Greek Football Cup was the 76th edition of the Greek Football Cup. A total of 33 clubs were accepted to enter. The competition commenced in September 2017 with the Preliminary Round and concluded on 12 May 2018 with the Final. PAOK won the competition for second consecutive year beating AEK Athens 2–0 in the final held at the Olympic Stadium.

2018–19 Greek Football Cup

2018–19 Greek Football Cup

The 2018–19 Greek Football Cup was the 77th season of the Greek Football Cup. A total of 73 clubs were accepted to enter, 16 from the Super League, 16 from the Football League and the 41 previous season local FCA Cup Winners. PAOK won the competition for third consecutive year beating AEK Athens 1–0 in the final held at the Olympic Stadium.

2018–19 PAOK FC season

2018–19 PAOK FC season

The 2018–19 season was PAOK Football Club's 93rd in existence and the club's 60th consecutive season in the top flight of Greek football. The team won the Super League unbeaten, defended their Greek Football Cup title won in 2018, and also competed in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

1973–74 European Cup Winners' Cup

1973–74 European Cup Winners' Cup

The 1973–74 European Cup Winners' Cup football club tournament was won by Magdeburg in a final victory against defending champions Milan. It was the first–and only–win for an East German side in a European tournament.

Last updated: 28 July 2022

UEFA Club Ranking

As of 19 July 2022^[339]

Current ranking

Rank	Team	Coeff.
52	Olympique Marseille	29.000
53	Celtic	29.000
54	Gent	29.000
55	PAOK	25.000
56	Malmo FF	25.000
57	FK Krasnodar	25.000
58	Real Betis	24.000

Discover more about European record related topics

PAOK FC in European football

PAOK FC in European football

PAOK FC history and statistics in UEFA competitions.

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

Inter-Cities Fairs Cup

The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecessor to the UEFA Cup. The competition was the idea of FIFA vice-president and executive committee member Ernst Thommen, Italian Football Federation president and FIFA executive committee member Ottorino Barassi, and the English Football Association general secretary and president of FIFA from 1961 to 1974, Stanley Rous. As the name suggests, the competition was set up to promote international trade fairs. Friendly games were regularly held between teams from cities holding trade fairs and it was from these games that the competition evolved. The competition was initially only open to teams from cities that hosted trade fairs and where these teams finished in their national league had no relevance. Early competitions also featured a one city, one team rule. After 1964, it was sometimes referred to as the Runners-up Cup, with teams now qualifying based on league position. The winning team received the Noel Beard Trophy, named for the cutler who designed it.

France

France

France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. It also includes overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans, giving it one of the largest discontiguous exclusive economic zones in the world. Its metropolitan area extends from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean and from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea; overseas territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the North Atlantic, the French West Indies, and many islands in Oceania and the Indian Ocean. Its eighteen integral regions span a combined area of 643,801 km2 (248,573 sq mi) and had a total population of over 68 million as of January 2023. France is a unitary semi-presidential republic with its capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre; other major urban areas include Marseille, Lyon, Toulouse, Lille, Bordeaux, and Nice.

Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a 96-mile (154-kilometre) border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, the North Sea to the northeast and east, and the Irish Sea to the south. It also contains more than 790 islands, principally in the archipelagos of the Hebrides and the Northern Isles. Most of the population, including the capital Edinburgh, is concentrated in the Central Belt—the plain between the Scottish Highlands and the Southern Uplands—in the Scottish Lowlands.

Celtic F.C.

Celtic F.C.

The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic, is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigrant Irish population in the East End of Glasgow. They played their first match in May 1888, a friendly match against Rangers which Celtic won 5–2. Celtic established themselves within Scottish football, winning six successive league titles during the first decade of the 20th century. The club enjoyed their greatest successes during the 1960s and 70s under Jock Stein, when they won nine consecutive league titles and the 1967 European Cup. Celtic have played in green and white throughout their history, adopting hoops in 1903, which have been used ever since.

Belgium

Belgium

Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to the southwest, and the North Sea to the northwest. It covers an area of 30,528 km2 (11,787 sq mi) and has a population of more than 11.5 million, making it the 22nd most densely populated country in the world and the 6th most densely populated country in Europe, with a density of 376/km2 (970/sq mi). Belgium is part of an area known as the Low Countries, historically a somewhat larger region than the Benelux group of states, as it also included parts of northern France. The capital and largest city is Brussels; other major cities are Antwerp, Ghent, Charleroi, Liège, Bruges, Namur, and Leuven.

Ghent

Ghent

Ghent is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in size only by Brussels and Antwerp. It is a port and university city.

Greece

Greece

Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin, featuring thousands of islands. The country consists of nine traditional geographic regions, and has a population of approximately 10.4 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki and Patras.

Sweden

Sweden

Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, Finland to the east, and is connected to Denmark in the southwest by a bridge–tunnel across the Öresund. At 447,425 square kilometres (172,752 sq mi), Sweden is the largest Nordic country, the third-largest country in the European Union, and the fifth-largest country in Europe. The capital and largest city is Stockholm. Sweden has a total population of 10.5 million, and a low population density of 25.5 inhabitants per square kilometre (66/sq mi), with around 87% of Swedes residing in urban areas, which cover 1.5% of the entire land area, in the central and southern half of the country.

Russia

Russia

Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world encompassing one-eighth of Earth's inhabitable landmass. Russia extends across eleven time zones and shares land boundaries with fourteen countries. It is the world's ninth-most populous country and Europe's most populous country, with a population of over 147 million people. The country's capital and largest city is Moscow. Saint Petersburg is Russia's cultural centre and second-largest city. Other major urban areas include Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kazan.

Spain

Spain

Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country primarily located in southwestern Europe with parts of territory in the Atlantic Ocean and across the Mediterranean Sea. The largest part of Spain is situated on the Iberian Peninsula; its territory also includes the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea, and the autonomous cities of Ceuta and Melilla in Africa. The country's mainland is bordered to the south by Gibraltar; to the south and east by the Mediterranean Sea; to the north by France, Andorra and the Bay of Biscay; and to the west by Portugal and the Atlantic Ocean. With an area of 505,990 km2 (195,360 sq mi), Spain is the second-largest country in the European Union (EU) and, with a population exceeding 47.4 million, the fourth-most populous EU member state. Spain's capital and largest city is Madrid; other major urban areas include Barcelona, Valencia, Seville, Zaragoza, Málaga, Murcia, Palma de Mallorca, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, and Bilbao.

Real Betis

Real Betis

Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Villamarín in the south of the city with a 60,720-seat capacity.

First-team squad

As of 29 January 2023^[340]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  GRE Giannis Kargas 3 DF  NOR Ivan Näsberg 4 DF  ISL Sverrir Ingi Ingason (vice-captain) 5 DF  GRE Giannis Michailidis 7 MF  MAR Omar El Kaddouri (3rd-captain) 8 MF  BRA Douglas Augusto (4rd-captain) 9 FW  POR Nélson Oliveira 11 MF  BRA Taison 14 MF  SRB Andrija Živković 16 DF  POL Tomasz Kędziora (on loan from Dynamo Kyiv) 18 GK  SRB Živko Živković 19 DF  GRE Lefteris Lyratzis 20 DF  POR Vieirinha (captain) 21 MF  SUR Diego Biseswar 22 MF  AUT Stefan Schwab

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 DF  ESP Joan Sastre 24 DF  GRE Marios Tsaousis 26 MF  POR Tiago Dantas (on loan from Benfica) 31 MF  POR André Ricardo 42 GK  CRO Dominik Kotarski 50 MF  POR Filipe Soares 54 GK  GRE Konstantinos Balomenos 55 DF  POR Rafa Soares 59 DF  GRE Konstantinos Koulierakis 65 MF  GRE Giannis Konstantelias 71 FW  ESP Brandon 77 MF  GER Khaled Narey 95 FW  GRE Stefanos Tzimas 99 MF  BIH Vladimir Bradonjić

Reserves and Academy

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 34 MF  GRE Dimitrios Tsopouroglou 41 GK  GRE Dimitrios Monastirlis 44 DF  ITA Raul Morichelli 46 FW  GRE Vasilios Gordeziani 53 MF  GRE Nikolaos Spyrakos 56 MF  GRE Zisis Chatzistravos

No. Pos. Nation Player 57 DF  GRE Lefteris Tasiouras 68 MF  GRE Argyris Darelas 72 MF  BFA Ismahila Ouédraogo 75 DF  GRE Ermis Selimaj 76 DF  GRE Panagiotis Panagiotou 90 DF  GRE Dimitrios Kottas

Other players under contract

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

No. Pos. Nation Player 10 MF  AUT Thomas Murg 32 MF  GEO Nika Ninua

No. Pos. Nation Player 27 MF  SVN Jasmin Kurtić (on loan from Parma) 64 GK  GRE Christos Talichmanidis

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  BRA Lucas Taylor (at Shakhtar Donetsk until 30 June 2023) — MF  GRE Giorgos Vrakas (at Levadiakos until 30 June 2023) — MF  GRE Panagiotis Tzimas (at PAS Giannina until 30 June 2023)

No. Pos. Nation Player} — MF  GRE Charis Tsingaras (at Toulouse until 30 June 2023) — MF  MAR Hicham Kanis (at Panserraikos until 30 June 2023) — MF  URU Nicolás Quagliata (at Cuiabá until 31 December 2023)

Captains (since 1959)

Club captain Vieirinha

Name Period Leandros Symeonidis 1959–1969 Giorgos Koudas 1969–1974 Various[a] 1974–1980 Giorgos Koudas 1980–1984 Konstantinos Iosifidis 1984–1985 Nikos Alavantas 1985–1989 Giorgos Skartados 1989–1992 Alexandros Alexiou 1992–1996 Theodoros Zagorakis 1996–1998 Giorgos Toursounidis 1998–1999 Kostas Frantzeskos 1999–2000 Anastasios Katsabis 2000–2002 Pantelis Kafes 2002–2003

Name Period Loukas Karadimos 2003–2004 Dimitris Salpingidis 2004–2005 Theodoros Zagorakis 2005–2007 Georgios Georgiadis 2007–2008 Pantelis Konstantinidis 2008–2009 Sérgio Conceição 2009–2010 Kostas Chalkias 2010–2012 Pablo García 2012–2013 Dimitris Salpingidis 2013–2014 Stefanos Athanasiadis 2014–2017 Vieirinha 2017–

Notes

MVP of the Season

Year Winner 1989/90 Giorgos Skartados 1990/91 Georgios Mitsibonas 1991/92 Alexandros Alexiou 1992/93 Kostas Lagonidis 1993/94 Alexandros Alexiou 1994/95 Alexandros Alexiou 1995/96 Paraschos Zouboulis 1996/97 Theodoros Zagorakis 1997/98 Kostas Frantzeskos 1998/99 Kostas Frantzeskos 1999/00 Kostas Frantzeskos 2000/01 Pantelis Konstantinidis 2001/02 Ioannis Okkas 2002/03 Ioannis Okkas 2003/04 Dimitris Salpingidis

Year Winner 2004/05 Dimitris Salpingidis 2005/06 Dimitris Salpingidis 2006/07 Marcin Mięciel 2007/08 Daniel Fernandes 2008/09 Kostas Chalkias 2009/10 Lino 2010/11 Vieirinha 2011/12 Pablo García 2012/13 Lino 2013/14 Lino 2014/15 Ergys Kaçe 2015/16 Georgios Tzavellas 2016/17 Panagiotis Glykos 2017/18 Vieirinha 2018/19 Vieirinha

Year Winner 2019/20 Josip Mišić 2020/21 Christos Tzolis 2021/22 Jasmin Kurtić

Source: [1]

Notes

Discover more about Players related topics

FIFA eligibility rules

FIFA eligibility rules

As the governing body of association football, FIFA is responsible for maintaining and implementing the rules that determine whether an association football player is eligible to represent a particular country in officially recognised international competitions and friendly matches. In the 20th century, FIFA allowed a player to represent any national team, as long as the player held citizenship of that country. In 2004, in reaction to the growing trend towards naturalisation of foreign players in some countries, FIFA implemented a significant new ruling that requires a player to demonstrate a "clear connection" to any country they wish to represent. FIFA has used its authority to overturn results of competitive international matches that feature ineligible players.

Defender (association football)

Defender (association football)

In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.

Hellenic Football Federation

Hellenic Football Federation

The Hellenic Football Federation (HFF), also known as the Greek Football Federation is the governing body of football in Greece. It contributes in the organisation of Superleague Greece and organizes the Greek Cup and the Greece national team. It is based in Athens.

Giannis Kargas

Giannis Kargas

Giannis Kargas is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Super League club PAOK.

Norwegian Football Federation

Norwegian Football Federation

The Norwegian Football Federation is the governing body of football in Norway. It was formed in 1902 and organises the men's and women's national teams, as well as the league systems for men and women. The current president of NFF is Lise Klaveness. By 1 January 2004, there were 1,814 clubs organized in Norway and 373,532 registered players. It is the largest sports federation in Norway.

Ivan Näsberg

Ivan Näsberg

Ivan Tarek Fjellstad Näsberg is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Greek Super League club PAOK.

Football Association of Iceland

Football Association of Iceland

The Football Association of Iceland is the governing body of football in Iceland. It was founded on 26 March 1947, joined FIFA the same year, and UEFA in 1954. It organises the football league, Úrvalsdeild, and the Iceland men's national football team and Iceland women's national football team. It is based in Reykjavík.

Captain (association football)

Captain (association football)

The team captain of an association football team, sometimes known as the skipper, is a team member chosen to be the on-pitch leader of the team; they are often one of the older or more experienced members of the squad, or a player that can heavily influence a game or has good leadership qualities. The team captain is usually identified by the wearing of an armband.

Giannis Michailidis

Giannis Michailidis

Giannis Michailidis is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Super League club PAOK and the Greece national team.

Midfielder

Midfielder

A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively right back role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundaries, with mobility and passing ability, they are often referred to as deep-lying midfielders, play-makers, box-to-box midfielders, or holding midfielders. There are also attacking midfielders with limited defensive assignments.

Omar El Kaddouri

Omar El Kaddouri

Omar El Kaddouri is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or a winger for Greek Super League club PAOK. Born in Belgium, he represents Morocco at international level.

Brazilian Football Confederation

Brazilian Football Confederation

The Brazilian Football Confederation is the governing body of football in Brazil. It was founded on Monday, 8 June 1914, as Federação Brasileira de Sports, and renamed Confederação Brasileira de Desportos in 1916. The football confederation, as known today, separated from other sports associations on 24 September 1979. Between 1914 and 1979 it was the governing body, or at least the international reference, for other olympic sports, such as tennis, athletics, handball, swimming and waterpolo. It currently has the most wins on FIFA world cups, with a total of five.

Head coach Răzvan Lucescu

Coaching staff
Răzvan Lucescu	Manager
Cristiano Bacci	Assistant coach
Pantelis Konstantinidis	Assistant coach
Giorgio Bianchi	Goalkeeping coach
Fitness coaches
Matteo Spatafora	Head Fitness Coach
Anestis Aslanidis	Fitness coach
Georgios Tsonakas	Fitness coach
Vasilios Kanaras	Rehabilitation Coach
Analysis department
Makis Kosmidis	Match analyst
Kyriakos Tsitiridis	Data Analyst
Ioannis Tsaniklidis	Data Analyst
Sport management and organisation
José Boto	Sporting director
Christos Karipidis	Team Manager
Scouting
Andriy Fedchenkov	Head of Scouting
Fernando Matos	Scout
Giorgos Kostikos	Scout
Stefanos Borbokis	Scout
Medical department
Dr. Periklis Papadopoulos	Head of medical services
Dr. Ioannis Gigis	Medical Services
Dr. Konstantinos Ditsios	Medical Services
Dr. Ioannis Rallis	Club doctor
Dr. Theoharis Kyriakidis	Club doctor
Ioanna Paspala	Nutritionist
Nikos Tsirelas	Head physiotherapist
Petros Nikoloudis	Physiotherapist
Nikos Mouratidis	Physiotherapist
Athanasios Kapoulas	Physiotherapist

Source: PAOK F.C.

Notable Managers

The following managers won at least one national trophy when in charge of PAOK:

Name	Period	Trophies
Les Shannon	1971–1974	2 Greek Cups, Greater Greece Cup
Gyula Lóránt	1975–1976	Super League
Walter Skocik	1984–1985	Super League
Dušan Bajević	2000–2002	Greek Cup
Angelos Anastasiadis	2002–2004	Greek Cup
Vladimir Ivić	2016–2017	Greek Cup
Răzvan Lucescu	2017–2019	Super League, 2 Greek Cups
Pablo García	2020–2021	Greek Cup

Gallery

• 

  Gyula Lóránt

• 

  Walter Skocik

• 

  Angelos Anastasiadis

• 

  Vladimir Ivić

• 

  Răzvan Lucescu

• 

  Pablo García

Discover more about Coaching Staff related topics

Răzvan Lucescu

Răzvan Lucescu

Răzvan Lucescu is a Romanian professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Greek Super League club PAOK.

Romania

Romania

Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and the Black Sea to the southeast. It has a predominantly temperate-continental climate, and an area of 238,397 km2 (92,046 sq mi), with a population of under 18.9 million inhabitants (2023). Romania is the twelfth-largest country in Europe and the sixth-most populous member state of the European Union. Its capital and largest city is Bucharest, followed by Iași, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Constanța, Craiova, Brașov, and Galați.

Italy

Italy

Italy, officially the Italian Republic or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern and Western Europe. Located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, it consists of a peninsula delimited by the Alps and surrounded by several islands; its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical region. Italy shares land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia and the enclaved microstates of Vatican City and San Marino. It has a territorial exclave in Switzerland, Campione, and some islands in the African Plate. Italy covers an area of 301,230 km2 (116,310 sq mi), with a population of about 60 million. It is the third-most populous member state of the European Union, the sixth-most populous country in Europe, and the tenth-largest country in the continent by land area. Italy's capital and largest city is Rome.

Cristiano Bacci

Cristiano Bacci

Cristiano Bacci is an Italian retired footballer and current assistant coach of PAOK. He has played as central defender.

Greece

Greece

Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin, featuring thousands of islands. The country consists of nine traditional geographic regions, and has a population of approximately 10.4 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki and Patras.

Pantelis Konstantinidis

Pantelis Konstantinidis

Pantelis Konstantinidis is a Greek former footballer. He was born in Florina. Konstantinidis played as a left winger for most of his career, earning the nickname Svouras for his quick dribbling in his youth. During 2010 Konstantinidis took the position of the Technical Director to PAOK, succeeding Zisis Vryzas. He could also play as a defender.

Portugal

Portugal

Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira. It features the westernmost point in continental Europe, and its Iberian portion is bordered to the west and south by the Atlantic Ocean and to the north and east by Spain, the sole country to have a land border with Portugal. Its two archipelagos form two autonomous regions with their own regional governments. Lisbon is the capital and largest city by population.

José Boto

José Boto

José Boto is a Portuguese Sporting Director of Super League Greece club PAOK.

Christos Karipidis

Christos Karipidis

Christos Karipidis is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a centre back.

Ukraine

Ukraine

Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately 600,000 square kilometres (230,000 sq mi). Prior to the ongoing Russian invasion, it was the eighth-most populous country in Europe, with a population of around 41 million people. On 1 January 2023, the United Nations estimated the Ukrainian population to be 34.1 million, with record low birth rates. It is also bordered by Belarus to the north; by Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; and by Romania and Moldova to the southwest; with a coastline along the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov to the south and southeast. Kyiv is the nation's capital and largest city. Ukraine's state language is Ukrainian; Russian is also widely spoken, especially in the east and south.

Board of directors

^[342]

Ivan Savvidis

Former president Ľuboš Micheľ

Position	Name
Ownership	Dimera Group Limited
President	Ivan Savvidis
A" Vice–President & Chief Executive Officer CEO	Makis Gagatsis
B" Vice–President	Angelos Anastasiadis
Chief Executive Officer CEO	Kostas Lagonidis
Partner Network Coordinator	Vasilis Chatziapostolou
New Toumba Stadium Project Manager	Dimitris Moutsakis
Counselor of administrative board	Giorgos Koudas
head of international football partnerships	Pantelis Thomaretis
Head of transition of footballers from PAOK B	Dimitris Saraidaris
Football Section Advisor	Malamas Tevekelis
Legal Department Manager	Achilleas Mavromatis
Marketing Department Manager	Lazaros Bachtsevanos
Member of the Board	Kyriakos Kyriakos
Member of the Board	Maria Goncharova
Member of the Board	Dimokratis Papadopoulos
Head of the Security Department	Ilias Gerontidis
Director of New Media	Panagiotis Aroniadis
Communication Officer	Lefteris Doukas

PAOK FC presidents

^[343]

Former president Iakovos Angelides (left) with Zisis Vryzas

Name Period Giorgos Pantelakis 1979–1984 Petros Kalafatis 1984–1985 Charis Savvidis 1985–1988 Giannis Dedeoglou 1988–1989 Thomas Voulinos 1989–1996 Giorgos Kalyvas 1996 Giorgos Batatoudis 1996–2001 Petros Kalafatis 2001–2003 Vassilis Sergiannidis 2003 Apostolos Pagonis 2003

Name Period Giannis Goumenos 2003–2006 Nikolaos Vezyrtzis 2006–2007 Thodoris Zagorakis 2007–2009 Zisis Vryzas 2009–2010 Thodoris Zagorakis 2010–2012 Zisis Vryzas 2012–2014 Iakovos Angelides 2014–2016 Ľuboš Micheľ 2016–2017 Ivan Savvidis 2017–

Discover more about Management related topics

Ivan Savvidis

Ivan Savvidis

Ivan Ignatyevich Savvidi, is a Russian-Greek oligarch and politician. Savvidis is one of Russia's wealthiest men and was a member of the Russian Parliament, closely linked to the President Vladimir Putin.

Ľuboš Micheľ

Ľuboš Micheľ

Ľuboš Micheľ is a retired Slovak football referee.

Russia

Russia

Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world encompassing one-eighth of Earth's inhabitable landmass. Russia extends across eleven time zones and shares land boundaries with fourteen countries. It is the world's ninth-most populous country and Europe's most populous country, with a population of over 147 million people. The country's capital and largest city is Moscow. Saint Petersburg is Russia's cultural centre and second-largest city. Other major urban areas include Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, and Kazan.

Greece

Greece

Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin, featuring thousands of islands. The country consists of nine traditional geographic regions, and has a population of approximately 10.4 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki and Patras.

Angelos Anastasiadis

Angelos Anastasiadis

Angelos Anastasiadis is a Greek football manager and former international footballer. He previously coached numerous clubs in Greece including PAOK, Panathinaikos, Platanias and PAS Giannina as well as the Greece and Cyprus national teams.

Kostas Lagonidis

Kostas Lagonidis

Kostas Lagonidis is a Greek former football player and current football manager.

Toumba Stadium

Toumba Stadium

Toumba Stadium is a football stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. It is property of AC PAOK. The official name of the stadium is simply PAOK Stadium, but through the years it has become synonymous with the borough it is built at, the borough of Toumba.

Giorgos Koudas

Giorgos Koudas

Giorgos Koudas is a Greek former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent his entire career in PAOK. Due to his fierce competitiveness and his Macedonian heritage, his nickname was Alexander the Great.

PAOK B

PAOK B

PAOK FC B is a Greek professional football club based in Thessaloniki, Macedonia.

Legendary Giorgos Koudas, a powerful attacking midfielder, is the appearances recordman and second all-time goalscorer of the club.

One-club men

Player	Position	Debut	Last match
Giorgos Koudas	MF	21 December 1963	26 February 1984
Stavros Sarafis	MF	8 October 1967	7 June 1981
Konstantinos Iosifidis	DF	19 September 1971	16 June 1985

Player records

Giorgos Koudas holds the record for most PAOK league appearances, having played 504 matches (607 overall) from 1963 to 1984.^{[47][48][49][344]}

Stavros Sarafis is the club's top goalscorer with 170 goals overall (136 in league matches), from 1967 to 1981.^[52][345]

Most league appearances: Rank Name Apps 1 Giorgos Koudas 504 2 Kostas Iosifidis 397 3 Giannis Gounaris 377 4 Stavros Sarafis 358 5 Aristarchos Fountoukidis 336 6 Koulis Apostolidis 280 7 Georgios Skartados 265 8 Dimitris Salpingidis 262 9 Giorgos Toursounidis 261 10 Giannis Giakoumis 250

League top goalscorers: Rank Name Goals 1 Stavros Sarafis 136 2 Giorgos Koudas 133 3 Dimitris Salpingidis 90 4 Georgios Skartados 84 5 Giorgos Kostikos 79 6 Stefanos Athanasiadis 72 7 Neto Guerino 66 8 Panagiotis Kermanidis 60 9 Achilleas Aslanidis 55 10 Koulis Apostolidis 51

Domestic records

Discover more about Records and statistics related topics

List of PAOK FC records and statistics

List of PAOK FC records and statistics

PAOK Football Club, commonly known as PAOK Thessaloniki or PAOK, is a professional football club based in Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. Established on 20 April 1926 by Greek refugees who fled to Thessaloniki from Constantinople in the wake of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), they play their home games at Toumba Stadium, with a capacity of 29,000 seats.

List of PAOK FC seasons

List of PAOK FC seasons

PAOK FC is a football club based in Thessaloniki, that competes in Super League, the most senior football league in Greece. The club was formed on 20 April 1926 by Greek refugees from Constantinople, and played their first official encounter on 12 December 1926, prevailing 3–1 over Nea Genea Kalamaria. Initially PAOK played against other local clubs in the Macedonia FCA (EPSM). In 1927–28, PAOK took part in the Macedonia FCA 1st Division for the first time. In 1930–31 they qualified for their maiden participation in the Panhellenic Championship. From 1930 to 1959 PAOK played in the Macedonia FCA 1st Division and qualified many times for the final phase of the Panhellenic Championship. As of 2013, PAOK is one of only three clubs never to have been relegated from the top level of Greek football, the others being Olympiacos and Panathinaikos.

Giorgos Koudas

Giorgos Koudas

Giorgos Koudas is a Greek former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. He spent his entire career in PAOK. Due to his fierce competitiveness and his Macedonian heritage, his nickname was Alexander the Great.

Greece

Greece

Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkan Peninsula, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. The Aegean Sea lies to the east of the mainland, the Ionian Sea to the west, and the Sea of Crete and the Mediterranean Sea to the south. Greece has the longest coastline on the Mediterranean Basin, featuring thousands of islands. The country consists of nine traditional geographic regions, and has a population of approximately 10.4 million. Athens is the nation's capital and largest city, followed by Thessaloniki and Patras.

Stavros Sarafis

Stavros Sarafis

Stavros Sarafis was a Greek football player who spent his entire career in PAOK, playing as an attacking midfielder or forward. He was one of the club's most famous players and also the all-time top scorer. His nickname was "Ceasar" (Greek: "Kaisaras").

Konstantinos Iosifidis

Konstantinos Iosifidis

Konstantinos Iosifidis is a retired Greek footballer.

Defender (association football)

Defender (association football)

In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.

Mladen Furtula

Mladen Furtula

Mladen Furtula is a former Bosnian Serb football goalkeeper.

Aristarchos Fountoukidis

Aristarchos Fountoukidis

Aristarchos Fountoukidis was a Greek football defender.

Fernando Varela (Cape Verdean footballer)

Fernando Varela (Cape Verdean footballer)

Fernando Lopes dos Santos Varela is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays mainly as a centre-back for Portuguese club Casa Pia.

Vieirinha

Vieirinha

Adelino André Vieira de Freitas, known as Vieirinha, is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a winger or a full-back for Greek club PAOK, for which he is captain.

Theodoros Zagorakis

Theodoros Zagorakis

Theodoros Zagorakis is a Greek politician and former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was the captain of Greece that won UEFA Euro 2004, and was also president of PAOK. He was named the Greek Male Athlete of the Year in 2004. He was elected as a Greek MEP at the May 2014 European Parliament election. He was also the president of the HFF from March to September 2021.