Panionios F.C. facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Panionios

Full name	Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης Paniónios Gymnastikós Sýllogos Smýrnis (Pan-Ionian Gymnastic Club of Smyrna)
Nickname(s)	Κυανέρυθροι (Blue and red) Ιστορικός (Historic) Πάνθηρες (Panthers)
Founded	14 September 1890; 134 years ago (1890-09-14) (as Orpheus Smyrni)
Ground	Nea Smyrni Stadium
Ground Capacity	11,700
Owner	Kostas Rouptsos
Chairman	Kostas Rouptsos
Manager	Pavlos Dermitzakis
League	Super League Greece 2
2024–25	Super League Greece 2 (South Group), 3rd
Home colours Away colours

Panionios G.S.S. Football Club is a Greek football team. Its full name means "Pan-Ionian Gymnastic Club of Smyrna." The club is often called Panionios F.C. or just Panionios. It is based in Nea Smyrni, a town near Athens, Greece.

Panionios G.S.S. was started in 1890 in Smyrna (now İzmir, Turkey). This makes Panionios F.C. the oldest Greek football club. The club moved to Athens after a war between Greece and Turkey.

Panionios has won the Greek Cup twice, in 1979 and 1998. They also finished second in the Greek Championship in 1951 and 1971. The team won the 1971 Balkans Cup and reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1999.

Today, the team plays in the Super League Greece 2, which is the second-highest football league in Greece. Their home games are played at Nea Smyrni Stadium, which can hold 11,700 fans.

Club History

How Panionios Started

The club began in 1890 in İzmir (Smyrna), where many Greek people lived. It was first called the "Orpheus Music and Sports Club." In 1893, some members who loved sports created a new group called the "Gymnasion Club." They held sports events every year.

In 1898, Orpheus and Gymnasion joined together to form Panionios GSS. Members of Panionios even represented Greece in international sports events. These events later grew into the modern Olympic Games.

After a war in 1922, the club had to move. It first went to Athens and then to New Smyrna. Many people from Smyrna settled there. Panionios has always supported many different sports. It was the first Greek club to create a track and field team for women in 1925. Panionios also helped bring Basketball and Volleyball to Greece.

Over time, men's football and basketball became professional sports. Panionios FC and Panionios BC became private clubs. They still worked under the older "amateur sports" Panionios GSS. Panionios is the only sports club in Greece to receive the Golden Cross award from the Athens Academy. This award recognizes the club's long history of helping Greek sports.

Recent Achievements

Panionios has spent most of its history in the Greek First Division, now called the 'Super League'. They have only been out of the top league twice in over 100 years. The team often reached high levels. They finished second in the league in 1971.

Eight years later, on June 9, 1979, Panionios won the Greek Cup for the first time. They beat AEK Athens 3–1 in the final. In 1998, they won the Greek Cup again. They also did well in the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup in 1999, reaching the quarter-finals.

Panionios has helped many great players get their start. In the 1980s, three major Greek strikers came from the club: Nikos Anastopoulos, Thomas Mavros, and Dimitris Saravakos. Later, in the 1990s, players like Nikos Tsiantakis and Takis Fyssas also came from Panionios. Fyssas was even part of the Greece national football team. In the 2000s, five more national team players started at Panionios. These included Alexandros Tziolis, Evangelos Mantzios, and Giannis Maniatis.

Alexandros Tziolis

The club faced money problems in the 1990s. This led to the city of Nea Smyrni taking over ownership in 1992. The team's performance in the league dropped, but they still stayed at a good level. In 2001, private owners took over most of the club's shares again. The club was renamed Neos Panionios FC to avoid being moved down to a lower league.

Constantinos Tsakiris' Time

Álvaro Recoba

In 2004, a shipowner named Constantinos Tsakiris became president of the "amateur sports" Panionios GSS. Under his leadership, the women's Basketball team won the championship in 2006. This was the club's first championship in a team sport. The women's volleyball team also moved up to the first division.

In 2006, Tsakiris bought most of the Neos Panionios FC shares. He started to rebuild the team. He changed the club's name back to the original Panionios GSS FC. He hired German coach Ewald Lienen. In his first year, Lienen helped the team finish in the top 5 of the Greek Super League. This allowed them to play in the UEFA Cup.

Tsakiris also had a big plan to replace the old stadium and athletics track. He wanted to build a new, modern sports complex. This complex would include a 12,000-seat football stadium. It would also have facilities for basketball, volleyball, swimming, track and field, boxing, gymnastics, and wrestling.

In 2008, the club signed famous players like Álvaro Recoba and Fabián Estoyanoff from Uruguay. Coach Lienen left the club later that year. Under Tsakiris, the club also built its own training center near Athens in Koropi. The training ground opened in 2008 and was fully finished in 2009.

Home Stadium

Nea Smyrni Stadium, West Stand

In November 1937, the Panionios G.S.S. leaders and the city of Nea Smyrni agreed to move the club there. Nea Smyrni was a suburb of Athens where many Greek refugees from İzmir (the club's original home) had settled. Building work on the stadium started in 1938 and finished a year later.

The first football games were played in the summer of 1940. The money earned from these games helped repair a Greek warship called "Elli" that was damaged in World War II. In September 1940, Panionios G.S.S. celebrated its 50th year and the completion of the new stadium. Since then, the stadium has been used for over 70 years by Panionios clubs and sports teams.

The stadium was improved in 2001 and 2003. These improvements included a cafeteria, a Panionios G.S.S. sports shop, and better facilities for the press, offices, medical staff, and players. A roof was also added over the East side of the stadium. In 2009, Panionios G.S.S. put in an electronic ticketing system to make games safer.

Even with these improvements, many fans and the club's management believe the old stadium is not good enough. It doesn't offer enough services for fans. There are also safety worries because the stadium does not have enough ways to enter and exit in an emergency.

The most people ever at a game was in 1974 against Panathinaikos, with 20,950 fans. After seats were installed, the stadium's capacity became smaller. However, many games have still been sold out, especially in European competitions. The most recent sold-out game was against Panathinaikos in 2008.

Besides Panionios G.S.S. and its youth teams, the stadium has been used by track and field athletes. It has also hosted games for the Greece National Under-21 football team and Greece National Under-23 football team. Because many stadiums were closed for renovations for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, other football clubs used Nea Smyrni stadium. These included AEK Athens and Olympiacos. The stadium also hosted the 2004 Greek Cup final between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos.

The Nea Smyrni stadium is in a busy area, so it has rarely been used for concerts. The most famous concert there was Metallica's first show in Greece on June 27, 1993.

Team Look: Crest and Colours

Club Crest

Panionios' first emblem in Smyrna was a picture of Nike, the goddess of victory. In the mid-1990s, when the club was run by the city of Nea Smyrni, a new emblem was used. This emblem had blue and red stripes. It also showed the Greek flag and an Ionic-style column top, representing the club's Greek and Ionian roots.

Later, the club brought back its classic emblem. This is the one they use now. It is a shield with the team's colours, blue and red. These colours were used by Greeks in the Ottoman Empire for many events.

Team Colours

Panionios' main colours are blue and red. White is also used, often as a trim or an alternative colour. The team's jerseys used to have a special diagonal stripe. You can still see this stripe on the team's crest today.

1908

1924

1930

2012

2013–14 (A)

2014–15 (A)

2016–17

Current sponsors for the team include:

• Main Shirt Sponsor: Car.gr
• Official Sport Clothing Maker: Luanvi
• Golden Sponsor: Funky Buddha

Fan Support

In 1983, a group of fans at Nea Smyrni Square had an idea to do something different for Panionios. This is how the "Panthers" fan club started. The Panthers officially became an organized fan club. The club's leaders at the time, Michalis Stamatelatos and Panagiotis Ammanitis, supported their new ideas.

After 2003, the Panthers had some problems with the club's management. This led to difficulties for the club, including finding a place to meet. After 2006, things got better for the Panthers. The new management approved and gave the Panthers a space inside the stadium for their club.

The Panthers Club 1983 has official friendships with fans of the Italian club Genoa and the Holmesdale Fanatics from the English club Crystal Palace. In Greece, the fans of Niki Volos are considered like brothers. This is because Niki Volos's emblem is similar to Panionios's first emblem in Smyrna. Also, Panagiotis Ammanitis, a beloved leader, worked with both clubs.

Recently, the Panthers have also worked with the Basso Rango Ultras of Apollon Smyrnis. This has created a strong connection between their fan groups. There is also a lot of respect between fans of PAOK and Panionios since 1999. This relationship has lasted a long time. The Panthers also have good communication with the Warriors – Gate 6 of Panetolikos.

Panthers Club 1983 does a lot of good work in the community. They have increased their social activities in recent years. Dimitros Dallas is a very important person for them. He helped keep their beloved team alive after it moved from Smyrna and gave Panionios a new start in Athens.

Team Players

Current Squad

No. Position Player 1 GK Nikos Giannakopoulos 7 MF Dimitris Kolovos 9 FW Felipe Felicio 11 MF Orgito Ruci 14 FW Giannis Alexandrakis 18 FW Konstantinos Volakis 28 MF Nikos Peios 31 DF Georgios Saramantas

No. Position Player 70 MF Ioan Yakovlev 77 DF Spyros Vernardos GK Fotis Sgouris DF Giannis Kiakos MF Danny Bejarano MF Konstantinos Papageorgiou MF Jonathan Morsay FW Silvester van der Water

Past Managers

Club Honours

National Titles

• First Division
  • Second Place (2): 1950–51, 1970–71
• Second Division
  • Winners (1): 1996–97
• Third Division
  • Winners (1): 2023–24
• Fourth Division
  • Winners (1): 2020–21
• Greek Cup
  • Winners (2): 1978–79, 1997–98
  • Second Place: 1951–52, 1960–61, 1966–67, 1988–89
• Athens FCA Championship
  • Winners (1): 1950–51

International Titles

• Balkans Cup
  • Winners (1): 1970–71
  • Second Place (1): 1985–86
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  • Quarter-finals (1): 1998–99

Panionios in the 21st Century

Best position in bold.

European Matches

Panionios has played in several European football competitions. These matches are important parts of the club's history.

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away
1964–65	Rapan Cup	Group C1	Malmö FF	1–1	1–5
			Dinamo Zagreb	2–2*
			Toulouse	0–3*
1969–70	Inter-Cities Fairs Cup	1st Round	Hansa Rostock	2–0	0–3
UEFA Competitions
1971–72	UEFA Cup	1st Round	Atlético Madrid	1–0	1–2
		2nd Round	Ferencváros	0–2	0–6
1979–80	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1st Round	Twente	4–0	1–3
		2nd Round	IFK Göteborg	1–0	0–2
1987–88	UEFA Cup	1st Round	Toulouse	0–1	1–5
1998–99	UEFA Cup Winners' Cup	1st Round	FC Haka	2–0	3–1
		2nd Round	Apollon Limassol	3–2	1–0
		Quarter-finals	Lazio	0–4	0–3
2003–04	UEFA Cup	1st Round	FC Nordsjælland	2–1	1–0
		2nd Round	Barcelona	0–3	0–2
2004–05	UEFA Cup	1st Round	Udinese	3–1	0–1
		Group stage	Newcastle United	0–1		4th
			Sporting CP		1–4
			Dinamo Tbilisi	5–2
			Sochaux		0–1
2007–08	UEFA Cup	1st Round	Sochaux	0–1	2–0
		Group stage	Helsingborgs IF		1–1	4th
			Galatasaray	0–3
			Austria Wien		1–0
			Bordeaux	2–3
2008	UEFA Intertoto Cup	2nd round	OFK Beograd	3–1	0–1
		3rd round	Napoli	0–1	0–1
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	2nd qualifying round	ND Gorica	2–0	3–2
		3rd qualifying round	Maccabi Tel Aviv	0–1	0–1

• In the summer of 1964, Panionios played in the Rapan Cup.
• Panionios's journeys in European competitions are a golden part of their history.

European Record

See also

In Spanish: Panionios de Atenas para niños

• Panionios G.S.S.
• Panionios B.C.
• Panionios Women's Basketball
• Panionios V.C.
• Panionios Water Polo Club
• Nea Smyrni Stadium