PAS Giannina
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| PAS Giannina | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Panipeirotikos Athlitikos Syllogos Giannina (Panepirotic Athletic Association of Giannina) |
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| Nickname(s) | Ajax of Epirus | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Founded | 1966 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Ground | Zosimades Stadium, Ioannina, Greece |
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| Capacity | 7,500 (seated) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chairman |  Alexis Kouyias |
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| League | Second Division B | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 2006-07 | 7th* | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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PAS Giannina (Greek: Πανηπειρωτικός Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Γιάννινα - Panipeirotikos Athlitikos Syllogos Giannina), the Panepirotic Athletic Association of Giannina, is a Greek association football club based in the town of Ioannina, the capital of Greece’s Epirus region.
After the 2005-6 football season, the team was promoted to Greece’s Second Division. The club is probably best known among Greek football spectators for its fervent support and the rebellious anti-establishment attitude of many of its fans.
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[edit] History
[edit] The Rise of the 'Ajax of Epirus'
PAS was formed in 1966 as a result of the union of the two local teams - Atromitos and Averof. During its 1970s and early 1980s prime, the provincial club was bolstered by the acquisition of six Argentine players of Greek descent (Oscar Alvarez, Edouardo Rigani, Juan Montez, Jose Pasternac, Alfredo Glasman and Edouardo Lisa, with De Faria as coach) and procured several finishes near the top of the National Division table, often earning victories over Greece’s more established big city teams such as Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, AEK and PAOK. The club’s effective and spirited play during the 1970s drew flattering comparisons with that of the renowned Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam, and the moniker “Ajax of Epirus” has stuck with the team ever since. In 1980 former Poland national team coach Jacek Gmoh took the helm of the Epirote club for what was a brief but reasonably successful tenure.
[edit] In the Doldrums: Mid 1980s and 1990s
The period following the club's aforementioned peak years generally marked a sharp decline in the club's fortunes as many of its top stars moved on or retired outright without being satisfactorily replaced. PAS languished in the lower rungs of Greek football from the mid 1980s onwards, having only managed to stubbornly climb back up to the top flight for a single season in 1990 before being immediately demoted. The club would spend the remainder of the 1990s in the lower divisions.
[edit] Bumpy Ride: 2000 to present
PAS has experienced a fair degree of instability in recent years. Under the stewardship of businessman Manthos Kolempas, the club showed signs of a mild resurgence by managing to be promoted to the National Division twice since 2000. The club was relegated, however, from the top flight after the 2000-1 season following a controversial 3-game playoff with OFI Crete and again after the 2002-3 season following sanctions of 65 points imposed on it by the Greek football association (EPO) due to outstanding debts. Related administrative and financial issues threatened to cause the club to be stripped of its professional status and relegated to the amateur division indefinitely. This was ultimately averted and the club's control switched over to attorney Alexis Kouyias, who has up to this point overseen the promotion of the team from the Tertiary Division (Gamma Ethniki) to the Second Division (Beta Ethniki).
[edit] Honors and Distinctions
Over the years, PAS has competed in the National Division for a total of 15 seasons. The club has never won the National Championship or the Greek Cup, but it has won lower division titles throughout its history and represented the Greek football league in the 1978-9 and 1993-4 Balkans Cup tournaments. During its peak years, the club twice finished in the 5th place position (1975-6, 1977-8 seasons) and once in the 6th place spot (1979-80 season) in the National Division. The most famous player to have donned the blue and white PAS jersey in recent years is defender Giourkas Seitaridis, who later played for Panathinaikos, FC Porto, Dynamo Moscow, and Atlético Madrid as well as the triumphant Euro 2004 Greece squad. History was written on January 31st, 2007 for Pas Giannina. It qualified to the Greek Cup semi-finals against Olympiakos in Karaiskaki Stadium. Pas won the first leg 2-0 in Ioannina but it lost the second leg 2-1 in Piraeus. However, the "Ajax of Epirus" was able to advance to the next round on the aggregate score.
[edit] Rivalries
PAS fans harbor a deep antipathy for the "establishment" teams from Athens-Piraeus, Panathinaikos, Olympiakos and AEK. They also hold a grudge against OFI Crete based on the events surrounding their 2001 playoff. In contrast, derby matches against the upstart city team AE Giannina and nearby AO Kerkyra are competitive in the sporting sense but do not evoke the same feelings of enmity from PAS supporters.
[edit] Current roster
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[edit] External links
| Greek Northern Tertiary Division 2005/06 | ||||
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Agrotikos Asteras | AE Ptolemaidas | Anagennisi Artas | Anagennisi Karditsas | Apollonas Larissas | Doxa Dramas | PAS Giannina | Thermaikos | Kavala FC | Kozani FC | Lamia FC | ILTEX Lykoi | Pavlos Melas FC | Panetolikos FC | Pandramaikos FC | Thraki PAE | |
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| Greek football by seasons | ||||
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1990-91 | 1991-92 | 1992-93 | 1993-94 | 1994-95 | 1995-96 | 1996-97 | 1997-98 |
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| Football in Greece | ||||
| Greek Cup | Greek Super Cup | Greek League Cup | ||
| Greek Super League | Second Division | Fourth Division | ||
| Fifth Division | Third Division | Greek Amateur Cup | ||
| National Squads | ||||
| Greek National Football Team | Greece Under 21 | |||
| Other | ||||
| Other: Greek Footballer of the Year | ||||
