Panachaiki
Full namePanachaiki 1891 Football Club
Nickname(s)Kokkinómavri (The Red and Blacks)
I Megáli Kyría tis Peloponnísou (The Great Lady of the Peloponnese)
Short namePFC
Founded14 June 1891 (1891-06-14)
as Panachaikos Gymnastikos Syllogos
GroundKostas Davourlis Stadium
Capacity11,321
OwnerJoseph Κobzan
ChairmanPetros Stathakis
ManagerGiannis Tatsis
LeagueSuper League Greece 2
2022–23Super League Greece 2, 8th
WebsiteClub website

Panachaiki F.C. (Greek: Παναχαϊκή ΓΕ ΠΑΕ ) is a Greek professional football club based in Patras, Greece and they play in Super League Greece 2, the second tier of Greek football. Founded in 1891, they have reached the Greek Cup semi-finals twice (1979, 1997), as well as the quarter-finals on ten occasions. They were the first Greek club outside both the Athens (including Piraeus) and Thessaloniki metropolitan areas to represent Greece in a European competition, the 1973–74 UEFA Cup.

Panachaiki is the football department of Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi (P.G.E.), a multi-sport club. In 1979, the department became professional and independent. They have played their home games in various grounds since their first official game in 1899, mainly the Kostas Davourlis Stadium, their traditional home ground, and the Pampeloponnisiako Stadium.

History

Establishment

The history of Panachaiki began in 1891, when Panachaikos Gymnastikos Syllogos (Pan-Achaean Gymnastic Club) was founded. In 1894, a rival sports club, Gymnastiki Eteria Patron (Gymnastic Company of Patras), was founded in Patras by former Panachaikos' members.[1]

The football department was founded in 1899 by a Brit, Arthur Morphy, and played its first friendly game against a team of British sailors the same year, winning 4–2. In 1902, Morphy established a football team and a Gymnastics Company, playing many friendly games with each other and other clubs from Patras.

Early years

1923–1940

Panachaiki's first sections were founded in 1923. The players on the football team were athletes from the club's other departments, Italian immigrants and members of the British community of Patras. Due to the lack of rivals, the first games were played against the crews of foreign warships arriving in the city.

In 1924, Panachaiki had two equivalent soccer teams, A and B, since both the Panachaikos and the Gymnastics Company had football sections. As a result, some players left Panachaiki and created other clubs in the following years. At the same time, in 1922, with the Asia Minor Catastrophe, thousands of refugees arrived in Patras, bringing with them their love of football and establishing several new clubs. This situation led to the secession of the associations from SEGAS and the establishment of the Hellenic Football Federation of Patras in 1927. In the same year, the new association founded a championship, in which Panachaiki was a leading contender, prevailing many times until 1959. The championship was organized by Panachaiki from 1923–24 to 1925–26. At that time, the Greek championship was a tournament between the champions of Athens, Piraeus and Thessaloniki, with the Hellenic Football Federation excluding provincial clubs for many years. Patras, due to disagreements between the clubs and disobedience to the Epirus Achaia, failed to organize a regular championship and this resulted in its exclusion from the Greek championship.

Nevertheless, the Athenian clubs held friendly games in the city, culminating on 11 August 1945, when Panachaiki played a Greek XI at home, losing 7–1. In 1928, Panachaiki faced Panathinaikos, who won 4–3. In 1929, they played against AEK, losing 0–1, 0–2 and 0–6, while against Olympiacos they were defeated 2–5 in the same year, followed by 1–7 and 0–7 defeats in 1930 and 1934 respectively. The significant difference in ability was due, among other factors, to the Athens and Piraeus teams' 25 years of experience in tournament events.

1940–1953

In 1940, all sporting activity in Greece was suspended due to World War II. Some friendly games were played during the occupation, while in 1943 a Patras cup was organized. Upon the end of the war, the local championship was restarted. Several Panachaiki players were killed during the Greco-Italian war. In this period, Panachaiki played in the Patras Championship, but failed to qualify for the Panhellenic Championship.

1954–1961: National championships

Panachaiki participated in the Panhellenic Championship for the first time in the 1953–54 season. It was in this year that the Championship first admitted teams from outside Athens, Piraeus, and Thessaloniki. A Regional Championship was inaugurated, consisting of a Southern Group and a Northern Group. Panachaiki participated in the Southern Group and won, thus qualifying for the final round of the Panhellenic Championship, where they finished in 6th and last place. Two seasons later, the team took third place in the Southern Group behind Olympiacos and Ethnikos Piraeus, while the 1956–57 also brought a third-place finish. In 1957–58, Panachaiki finished second in the Southern Group, and in 1958-59 were beaten in the qualifiers by Panegialios in the Southern Group, as they were again the following year.

1961–1975

In 1962-63, Panachaiki participated in the first season of the newly established second tier, the Beta Ethniki (known since 2019 as the Football League). From then until 2007, Panachaiki would not compete in a lower league. Panachaiki immediately starred in the Beta Ethniki, targeting promotion every year, which they secured in 1969. But Panachaiki's first year in the Alpha Ethniki was disastrous, as they were accused of attempting to fix a match against Aris and docked 13 points. They finished bottom of the table and were relegated. The following year, however, Panachaiki performed well again in the Beta Ethniki and returned immediately to the top flight.

Panachaiki had their greatest success in the early- and mid-1970s. In 1971, they returned to the Alpha Ethniki and a golden era began with a team of Davourlis, Rigas, Stravopodis, Michalopoulos and others achieving success, culminating in qualification for the UEFA Cup. The club ended the season 6th with 11 wins, 14 draws, 9 defeats, and a total of 40 goals scored and 35 conceded. At this time, the club's average match attendance was 8,773, the second highest among the provincial teams.

In 1972-73, Panachaiki took 4th position in the league and qualified for the UEFA Cup. They denied PAOK the championship with a 5–3 in the last game at the Toumba Stadium.

The team subsequently took part in the 1973–74 UEFA Cup, eliminating Grazer AK before losing to Twente.[2] Former Manchester United manager Wilf McGuinness took over as head coach for the 1974–75 season, before returning to England eighteen months later.

In 1974, Panachaiki finished sixth. Kostas Davourlis' record 10 million drachma transfer to Olympiacos was a powerful blow to the red-black fans' dreams of winning a championship. In 1975, Panachaiki finished in seventh place.

1976–2004

In 1975-76, Panachaiki finished tenth and began their downward spiral, as the club's star players began to leave and the team aged. Every year thereafter, the team finished in the bottom half of the table until their eventual relegation to the Beta Ethniki in 1980-81. Since then, Panachaiki have tended to oscillate between the first and second tiers of Greek football.

Panachaiki were again relegated from the Alpha Ethniki in 1987-88. Fans demonstrated on the main streets of the city, setting up barricades and clashing with the police, leaving 15 injured. In the summer of 1996, Panachaiki participated in the Intertoto Cup, taking part in a European event for the second time. In 2003, with the intervention of then-minister Evangelos Venizelos, Panachaiki were punished for debts and eliminated from the Football League.

2004–2015

In 2004, Panachaiki were absorbed by Patraikos, a debt-free Beta Ethniki team. This created the "Panahaiki GI 2005", who took part in the Beta Ethniki in 2005. Nevertheless, the team was relegated the following season to the Gamma Ethniki.

Although they managed to rise to the Beta Etniki in 2011, Panachaiki were relegated and fined EUR 300,000 for bribery in a match against the Olympiakos Chersonissos. Simultaneously, in relation to the same case, a fine and a five-year ban were imposed upon the club's chairman Alexis Kougias. However, the EPAA Appeals Committee later allowed the team to continue in the second tier and replaced the original penalty with a 5-point deduction. Kougias was also acquitted.

In 2015, Panachaiki's chairman left the club. The team were relegated the same year to the Gamma Ethniki with a squad of only 13 players.

Recent years

In 2016, Panachaiki, having been relegated to the third tier, went into the hands of the amateur Panachaikis. Fifteen city entrepreneurs created the "Panachaean Alliance" in order to take over the reins of the group and start efforts to clear debts from previous administrations. In the post of technical director, the veteran international footballer and former Panachaiki player Kostas Katsouranis was hired by the "alliance" to take over the organization of the football section. The team were crowned league champions in 2016-17 and returned to the Beta Ethniki.

Kostas Katsouranis

On 21 June 2017, the Deputy Minister of Sports tabled an amendment to Hellenic Parliament concerning article 10 of the new Sport Law, which states inter alia that, from the 2016–17 season onwards, if an A.A.E. is relegated to an amateur league and goes into liquidation, and a new A.A.E. is set up for the same sport by the same founding sports club, any liability falls to the persons who are responsible. The amendment was passed by a majority in Parliament a few days later, paving the way for the creation of a new football club under the name "PAE Panachaiki 1891" and the club's current iteration.

During the 2018–19 season, Panachaiki was the only team to beat PAOK, who did not lose a single league game that season. Panchaiki defeated the Thessaloniki club 2–1 at home in the Greek Cup round of 16.

Stadiums

The team's privately owned arena is the Kostas Davourlis Stadium, with a capacity of 11,321 spectators.[3] Panachaiki have also used the municipality-operated Pampeloponnisiako Stadium, which has a capacity of 23,588.[4]

Honours

Shirt of the team

Domestic

Leagues

Winners (6) (record): 1964, 1969, 1971, 1982, 1984, 1987
Winners (3): 2011, 2017, 2022

O.P.A.P. Championship[5](1):1972

Cups

Semi-finals (2): 1979, 1997

European record

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate
1973–74 UEFA Cup First round Austria Grazer AK 2–1 1–0 3–1
Second round Netherlands Twente 1–1 0–7 1–8
1997–98 UEFA Intertoto Cup Group 5 Norway Stabæk 1–1 4th
Russia Dynamo Moscow 1–2
Faroe Islands B36 Tórshavn 4–2
Belgium Racing Genk 2–4

Season to season

SeasonDivisionPos.SeasonDivisionPos.SeasonDivisionPos.SeasonDivisionPos.SeasonDivisionPos.SeasonDivisionPos.SeasonDivisionPos.
1960–61Div 22nd1970–71Div 21st1980–81Alpha Ethniki17th1990–91Alpha Ethniki13th2000-01Alpha Ethniki11th2010–11Div 31st2020–21Div 27th
1961–62Div 24th1971–72Alpha Ethniki6th1981–82Div 21st1991–92Alpha Ethniki15th2001–02Alpha Ethniki13th2011–12Div 24th2021–22Div 31st
1962–63Div 25th1972–73Alpha Ethniki4th1982–83Alpha Ethniki16th1992–93Alpha Ethniki11th2002–03Alpha Ethniki15th2012–13Div 215th2022–23Div 28th
1963–64Div 21st1973–74Alpha Ethniki6th1983–84Div 21st1993–94Alpha Ethniki16th2003–04Div 216th2013–14Div 26th
1964–65Div 24th1974–75Alpha Ethniki7th1984–85Alpha Ethniki14th1994–95Div 22nd2004–05Div 212th2014–15Div 26th*
1965–66Div 28th1975–76Alpha Ethniki10th1985–86Alpha Ethniki16th1995–96Alpha Ethniki15th2005–06Div 215th2015–16Div 216th
1966–67Div 22nd1976–77Alpha Ethniki15th1986–87Div 21st1996–97Alpha Ethniki15th2006–07Div 310th2016–17Div 31st
1967–68Div 26th1977–78Alpha Ethniki10th1987–88Alpha Ethniki16th1997–98Alpha Ethniki16th2007–08Div 35th2017–18Div 23rd
1968–69Div 21st1978–79Alpha Ethniki15th1988–89Div 216th1998–99 Div 22nd2008–09Div 33rd2018–19Div 25th
1969–70Alpha Ethniki18th1979–80Alpha Ethniki13th1989–90Div 22nd1999–00Alpha Ethniki14th2009–10Div 33rd2019–20Div 28th

* Finished 2nd in the South Group and 6th in the promotion playoffs

Participation history

  • First Division (26): 1969–1970, 1971–1981, 1982–1983, 1984–1986, 1987–1988, 1990–1994, 1995–1998, 1999–2003
  • Second Division (30): 1960–1969, 1970–1971, 1981–1982, 1983–1984, 1986–1987, 1988–1990, 1994–1995, 1998–1999, 2003–2006, 2011–2016, 2017–2021, 2022–present
  • Third Division (7): 2006–2011, 2016–2017, 2021–2022

Players

Current squad

As of 3 January 2024

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 Greece GRE Christoforos Karagiannis
4 DF Argentina ARG Brian Ganchier
5 MF Argentina ARG Matias Martinez
6 DF Greece GRE Anestis Nastos
7 FW Greece GRE Antonis Gaitanidis
8 DF Greece GRE Orestis Grigoropoulos
9 FW Greece GRE Themis Patrinos
11 FW Cape Verde CPV Joni de Oliveira
13 GK Greece GRE Marios Mikes
14 DF Greece GRE Lefteris Mikes
16 FW Greece GRE Giannis Iatroudis
17 MF Greece GRE Giannis Parastatidis
18 GK Greece GRE Andreas Kolovouris
19 MF Greece GRE Konstantinos Galariotis
20 MF Greece GRE Georgios Prountzos (on loan from Asteras Tripolis)
No. Pos. Nation Player
22 DF Greece GRE Manolis Liofagos
23 MF Guinea GUI Amadou Traoré
25 DF Mexico MEX Daniel Zamora
29 MF Russia RUS Valentin Zekhov
33 FW Greece GRE Nikos Masouras
34 MF United States USA Zurab Bedoshvili
35 DF Greece GRE Alexis Koutsias
44 DF Greece GRE Konstantinos Dabizas
47 FW Greece GRE Ilias Petratos
55 DF Netherlands NED Michael Mulder
70 FW Greece GRE Efthymis Christopoulos
75 DF Greece GRE Nikolaos Baxevanos
80 MF Greece GRE Kyriakos Kyrsanidis
88 MF Albania ALB Anxhelo Toska
93 DF France FRA Yohan Baret

Notable players

Personnel

Ownership and current board

Position Staff
Owner Ashton Bailey
President Ashton Bailey
1st Vice-President Vacant
2nd Vice-President Vacant
CEO Vacant
CFO Vacant
Executive Director Petros Stathakis
Accounting department Vacant
Communications Director Greece Giorgos Sotiropoulos
Head of Administrative Organization Vacant
Chief Scouting Fernando Brandán
Technical Director
Sports Director Leonidas Kyvelidis
Board member Vacant
Amateur Panachaiki Greece Panagiotis Polydoropoulos

Technical staff

Position Staff
Head coach Greece Soulis Papadopoulos
Assistant coach Ioannis Vogiatzis
Goalkeeper coach Giannis Baltimas And Dimitris Komplas
Physical fitness coach Vasilis Georgoutsos
Analyst Greece Vacant

Sponsorships

  • Great Shirt Sponsor: Zagori Mineral Water
  • Official Sport Clothing Manufacturer: PlaySports

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Patras' sports history Politis, N.G. (1994). Sports in Patras, Tome A, The first decade 1891-1900. Patras: Achaikes Ekdoseis. ISBN 960-7164-91-1.
  2. ↑ The Rec.Sport.Soccer Statistics Foundation
  3. ↑ Γήπεδο Παναχαϊκής "Κώστας Δαβουρλής" (in Greek). stadia.gr. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  4. ↑ "Παμπελοποννησιακό Στάδιο". stadia.gr. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
  5. ↑ "Θερινό πρωτάθλημα Ο.Π.Α.Π.", Βικιπαίδεια (in Greek), 2023-10-15, retrieved 2024-01-13

References

  • Papageorgiou, V.G., Patraikon Imerologion, 1906
  • Politis, N.G. (1994). Sports in Patras, Tome A, The first decade 1891-1900. Patras: Achaikes Ekdoseis. ISBN 960-7164-91-1.
  • Ιkonomopoulos, V., Patras Sports Panorama, 1994
  • Politis, N.G. (1997). Sports in Patras, Tome B, From the Tofalos period to the foundation of Panachaiki. Patras: Achaikes Ekdoseis. ISBN 960-7164-92-X.
  • Kokkovikas, K., The sports past of Achaia, 2004
  • Patras Municipality, 100 years of football in Patras, 2006
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