ΠΑΝΑΘΗΝΑΪΚΟΣ (1908)

Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (Greek: Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, listen (help·info)), widely known both as Panathinaikos or PAO, is the largest Greek multisport club, based in Athens, Greece. Panathinaikos throughout its history is considered as the most successful Greek sports club, as its teams and individual athletes have won numerous titles, more than any other club in Greece, with notable participations in international competitions such as Champions League, UEFA Cup in football, or the Euroleague in basketball. In English the club's name would be Pan-Athenian Athletic Club. According to the official history of the club, Panathinaikos was founded by George Kalafatis in 1908, when he and 40 other athletes decided to break away from Panellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos following the club's refusal to form a football team.

OVERVIEW
Today, three different Panathinaikos' departments have professional teams that operate independently — the football team, P.A.E. Panathinaikos A.O.; the basketball team, K.A.E. Panathinaikos A.O.; and the volleyball team, T.A.P. Panathinaikos A.O..
The club also features an amateur section whose chairman and board members are elected on a regular basis by members of the club. The current chairman is Michalis Kitsios. During its history the club has established teams in 24 different sports. In the past the club has also included teams in field hockey, handball, Waterskiing and Judo. Among the more recent additions has been a synchronized swimming team, established in 1992.
In 2006, the club reached a final agreement with the Municipality of Athens and the Greek Government, to build a new comprehensive sports complex to house all of the clubs sports teams. This is intended as a replacement for the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium and it will be built in Votanikos area, about 3 km west of Athens city centre. Even though detailed plans and timetables have not yet been unveiled, construction is expected to start by the end of 2007. While it was originally expected for the complex to be ready by the end of 2008, in time to host celebrations for the club's 100th birthday, Panathinaikos officials stated their intention to host the centennial celebration at the Apostolos Nikolaidis stadium, team's historical home venue

FOOTBALL

Football made its appearance in Greece at the end of the 19th century, but there was no official championship since it was considered a lacklustre activity. A young athlete of the sports club Panellinios, Giorgos Kalafatis, dismayed by his club's refusal to form a football team, founded Panathinaikos in 1908 with his older brother Alexander Kalafatis as team president. The name of the club was initially P.O.A. (Podosfairikos Omilos Athinon), meaning "Athens Football Club".
In 1918 it was decided that the official color of the team would be green so that the players' outfits would be standardized and the club's emblem would be the shamrock, an idea of Michalis Papazoglou, a great athlete from Constantinople who played for the team of Chalkidona, which had the same symbol. The club had its third and final name change in May 15, 1924: P.A.O. (Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos - Panathenaean Athletic Club).
In September 2001, IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) voted Panathinaikos F.C. as World's Club Team of the Month [1]
Panathinaikos was also one of the first clubs that formed a women team in 1980. This department is currently inactive.
(Honours: 41 titles)

BASKETBALL
The basketball department is called Panathinaikos Basketball Club (Greek name, transliterated into English: K.A.E. Panathinaikos A.O.), currently owned by two pharmaceutical magnates, the brothers Pavlos Giannakopoulos and Thanasis Giannakopoulos. It was founded in 1922 and has developed into the most successful basketball team in Greece and among the best in Europe. They have won 30 National Championships, 12 Greek Cups, 5 European Championships and 1 Intercontinental Cup (also known as the International Championship).
Legends of world basketball have played with the club (Dominique Wilkins, Byron Scott, Dino Radja, Dejan Bodiroga, Nikos Galis, Panagiotis Giannakis, Stojan Vrankovic, Fanis Christodoulou, Antonio Davis, Zeljko Rebraca, Fragiskos Alvertis, Dimitris Diamantidis, Vassilis Spanoulis, Šarūnas Jasikevičius among others). Those players, along with the successful management of Pavlos and Thanassis Giannakopoulos, have made Panathinaikos one of the most successful and well-known teams in the continent, having won four Euroleague titles.
On April 1996 in Paris final-four (F4), Panathinaikos was the first Greek team to win the European Championships (now called Euroleague), beating FC Barcelona in a unique final tournament, by 67-66. In September of the same year the team also won the Intercontinental Cup (International Championship), prevailing by 2-1 wins over Olympia of Argentina (83-89, 83-78, 101-76). In 2000 in Thessaloniki F4, Panathinaikos were the Champions of Europe for the second time, beating Maccabi 73-67 in the final. In 2002 in Bologna F4, Panathinaikos brought to Athens the most prestigious European trophy for the third time, beating hosts Kinder Bologna 89-83 in the final. In 2007 in Athens F4, Panathinaikos were crowned Champions of Europe for the fourth time, beating CSKA Moscow 93-91 in what was probably the best Euroleague final ever. In 2009 in Berlin F4, Panathinaikos beated again CSKA Moscow 73-71 and become the Champions of Europe for the fifth time.
Panathinaikos participated in the F4 of the Euroleague another four times: Tel Aviv in 1994 (3rd), Zaragoza in 1995 (3rd), Paris in 2001 (2nd) and Moscow in 2005 (3rd). Other significant successes are: the two participations in the semifinals of the Cup Winners' Cup (1969, 1998), the course up to the semi-finals of the Champions' Cup for the season 1971-72 (eliminated by Ignis Varese (78-70, 55-69). In the season of 1981-82, Panathinaikos participated in the finals of the Cup Champions' Cup of that time, eliminating consecutively CSKA Moscow and Levski Sofia teams.
(Honours: 52 titles)

VOLLEYBALL 
Since the year of its foundation in 1908, Panathinaikos has been one of the first athletic associations that formed a volleyball club in Greece. The first dynamic presence of the team is dated in the years 1927 – 29 with many popular players of the time such as the historical member of the board Apostolos Nikolaidis as well as players such as Aravositas, Gkoumas, Arg. Nikolaidis, Papageorgiou and Papastefanou. In the following years the interest for volleyball became less until before the 2nd Word War when Panathinaikos presented a powerful team with leader players such as Labrou, Vallidis, Momferatos, Tzoumanis, Proselentis, Lykouris, Kakridis k.a.
In the recent history, the volleyball club has demonstrated many titles and honors due to the fact that the team roster has always included some of the leading volleyball players. The first and most popular generation of players of 60’s was Andreas and Nikos Bergeles, as well as Iliopoulos, Leloudas, Chasapis, Emmanouil, Perros and Fotiou who opened the road for the next generations. The most important achievement of the team was the participation in the final of the CEV Top Teams Cup in 1980 with players such as Georgantis, Agrapidakis (current team manager), Koliopoulos, Iliopoulos, Papadopoulos, Malousaris, Gkountakos, Astras and Kokkinaras. The following years Panathinaikos team has continued to dominate the Greek championship with players such as Kazazis, Tentzeris, Gontikas, Galakos, Dimitriadis, Margaronis, Karamaroudis and Andreopoulos.
One of the most successful periods were also the seasons 1994-95 and 1995-96 where Panathinaikos won two championships in a raw with Stelios Prosalikas as head coach and Andreopoulos, Triantafillidis, Filippof, Spanos, Hatziantoniou, Oyzounof, A. Kovatsef, P. Kovatsef, Karamaroudis, Mavrakis, Konstantinidis, Zakynthinos, Koutouleas, Tonef as players.
Today, after a difficult period for the team, Panathinaikos reached the top again. The administration, the coaching team, players, fans and supporters acted as the biggest guarantee for the cause but most important the long-lasting history which «condemns» our club to be an eternal leader. A look at club's trophies would be enough...
(Honours: 50 titles)