PAOK FC

PAOK

Full name	Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινουπολιτών (Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans in Thessaloniki all together)
Nickname(s)	Δικέφαλος (Double-headed) Ασπρόμαυροι (Black and whites)
Founded	20 April 1926 (1926-04-20)
Ground	Toumba Stadium
Ground Capacity	28,703[1]
Owner	Dimera Group Limited[2]
Chairman	Ivan Savvidis
Manager	Răzvan Lucescu[3]
League	Superleague Greece
2016–17	Superleague Greece, 2nd After play-off, 4th
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours

Active departments of P.A.O.K.
Football (Men's)	Football (Women's)	Basketball (Men's)
Basketball (Women's)	Volleyball	Handball
Water Polo	Swimming	Wrestling
Boxing	Taekwondo	Weightlifting
Cycling	Athletics	Ice hockey

PAOK F.C. (Greek: ΠΑΕ ΠΑΟΚ, Greek pronunciation: [paˈe ˈpaok]), short for Panthessalonikios Athlitikos Omilos Konstantinoupoliton (Greek: Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινουπολιτών, transliterated Pan-Thessalonikian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans),^[4] and commonly known as PAOK (Greek: ΠΑΟΚ, pronounced [ˈpaok]), is a professional Greek football club, a part of AC PAOK, based in Thessaloniki, Greece. Established on 20 April 1926 by Greek Constantinopolitans who fled to Thessaloniki from the city of Constantinople (present-day Istanbul) in the wake of the Greco-Turkish War, they play their home games at Toumba Stadium, with a capacity of 28,701 seats. Their name, along with the club’s emblem, the Byzantine-style double-headed eagle with retracted wings that was adopted three years after the establishment of the club, honours the memory of the people and places (mostly the city of Constantinople) that once belonged to the Byzantine Empire and were invaded and conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1453.

PAOK currently plays in the top-flight Superleague Greece, which they have won twice (1975–76 and 1984–85). They have won also five times the Greek Football Cup (in 1971–72, 1973–74, 2000–01, 2002–03 and 2016-17 seasons). With a 14th-place finish (1995–96) being the worst position ever achieved, the team has never been relegated to a lower national division since its establishment in 1926, a feat achieved only by rivals Olympiacos and Panathinaikos.^[5]

The team has appeared several times in the UEFA Europa League competition. Their best European performance was in the 1973–74 season, when they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.^[6] In addition to this, it is the only Greek team that has more wins than losses in all its European history (62 wins, 51 draws and 57 defeats, as of July 4, 2017); the 0–7 away win over Locomotive Tbilisi on 16 September 1999 in the UEFA Cup is the largest ever achieved^[7] by a Greek football club in all European football competitions.^[8]

History

Foundation and the early years (1926–1945)

PAOK FC is the oldest division of PAOK Sports Club, the successor of Hermes Sports Club (Greek: Ερμής), which was formed in 1877 by the Greek community of Pera, a district of Istanbul (then Constantinople).^[9]

The football club was founded in 1926.^[3] It was created by Constantinopolitans who fled to Thessaloniki after the Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War, although it was open to every citizen of Thessaloniki, leading to a minor rivalry with AEK Thessaloniki, the other Constantinopolitan team of the city, in which played only refugees. The original logo of PAOK was a horseshoe and a four-leaf clover.^[10]

PAOK played their first (informal) game on May 4, 1926, at the Thermaikos stadium, defeating Megas Alexandros Thessaloniki 2-1. The first coach of the club spent five years on the team's bench, and was unpaid, Kostas Andreadis.^[11] Their first captain was Michalis Ventourelis.^[12]

The season 1926-27, PAOK participated in the 2nd division of Macedonia Football Clubs Association Championship, where was also AEK Thessaloniki. The first official match of their history was on December 12, 1926, where they defeated Nea Genea 3-1, for the same division. After winning the championship of 2nd division, forced by the organizing authority (EPSMTH), to play with all club's from first division, and he had to win them to be promoted. Eventually they won all four teams, Thermaikos with 4-1, Aris with 2-1, Atlantas with 1-0 and Iraklis with 1-0, and was promoted. In 1927-28 they participated for the first time in 1st division EPSM.^[13]

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.^[14]

In early 1929, AEK Thessaloniki was absorbed by PAOK, who then changed their emblem, adopting the two-headed eagle. The eagle symbolizes the origins of the club in the former Byzantine capital, Constantinople, and the legacy of the Greek refugees from the Ottoman Empire.^[10]

In 1930-31 they made their debut in the Pan-Hellenic Championship, playing their first match against Olympiakos, and ended the season in 5th place.^[13] The first foreign coach in the team's history was Austrian Rudolf Gasner, who served PAOK in 1931-32.^[11] On 5 June 1932, the Syntrivani Stadium was inaugurated with PAOK’s 3-2 victory over Iraklis. Syntrivani was to be their home ground for 27 years. ^[15]

In 1937, PAOK won their first title, the Macedonia (EPSM or Thessaloniki) Championship, and participated in the Pan-Hellenic Championship, finishing second. The 1937 team included: Sotiriadis, Vatikis, Goulios, Kontopoulos, Bostantzoglou, Panidis, Glaros, Kritas, Ioannidis, Kalogiannis, Koukoulas, Kosmidis, Apostolou, Vafiadis, Vasiliadis, Anastasiadis, Moschidis, Tzakatzoglou, Zacapidas.^[16]

On May 28, 1939, PAOK competed for the first time in a Greek Cup final against AEK and was defeated 2-1 on the Apostolos Nikolaidis.^[17] In the same season they competed in the final of the 1939–40 Pan-Hellenic Championship, where they lost in double final from AEK. In 1940 they won the North Greece championship. ^[18]

• The beginning of the Greco-Italian War brought the general mobilization in Greece, and the end of every sport activity. PAOK's footballers were presented to Hellenic Army and two of them gave their lives to battle. Goalkeeper Nikos Sotiriadis and left defender Giorgos Vatikis. They are both among the four Greek footballers who have left their last breath on the front. The others was Spyros Kontoulis of AEK and Mimis Pierrakos of Panathinaikos.
• Giorgos Vatikis was the first Greek athlete to "fall" on the Greek-Italian front. As an Warrant Officer. He was 22 years old when he died in Battle of Morava–Ivan. Afterwards, Vatikis was promoted to a lieutenant, and he was awarded the Silver Cross of Valour and the Homeland of Gratitude.
• Nikos Sotiriadis played from 1932 until 1940 in the PAOK team, leaving his last breath on January 28, 1941, in Kleisura, fighting with the rank of Sergeant in the 50th Infantry regiment, in the Greco-Italian War. He was 33 years old.^[19]

1946-1958

After the Second World War, in the early 1950s, some important pages of PAOK's history began to be written. At that time, the 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 season, such as Leandros Symeonidis, Giannelos Margaritis and Giorgos Havanidis.^[20]

In 1948 PAOK won the Macedonia Championship for the second time in history, and then participated in the final phase of the Pan-Hellenic Championship where it was ranked 3rd. PAOK's footballers dedicated the title to the memory of team captain, Thrasyvoulos Panidis, who had lost his life (18 february 1948) in the civil War a few days before the club won it. Panidis played in PAOK since 1930 and had 122 appearances.^[21] In 1950 he emerged once again champion of Macedonia^[22], while the next year (1950-1951) participated for the second time in the final of the Greek Cup, but lost to Olympiakos.

In 1953 it marked the beginning of successful period for PAOK. During the summer transfers in the team came the Kouiroukidis, Petrides, Progios, Geroudis, Kemanidis, Chassiotis and Angelides.The acquirement of Lambis Kouiroukidis from Doxa Drama was the major move for club's board, as with Lefteris Papadakis and Christophor Yentzis, created the famous aggressive triple of that age.^[10]

For four consecutive seasons (1954, 1955, 1956, 1957) PAOK won the Macedonian championship and participated in the Pan-Hellenic Championship with Yientzis being the first scorer in the season 1953-54 and Kouiroukidis in the season 1955-56.

Under the coach Nikos Pangalos won the Championship in 1954 with 9 wins and only 1 draw. A similar run for the next championship in 1955 with the same coach, with 8 wins and 2 draws. Also, in 1955 PAOK participated for the third time in a final cup and was defeated by Panathinaikos, at Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium. Ιn 1956, under Hungarian coach Erman Hoffman they won the third consecutive unbeaten championship, with 9 wins and 1 draw. That year first scorer was Kouiroukidis, with 14 goals.^[23] The "golden" four years ended in 1957 championship, coached by the Austrian Walter Pfeiffer.^[24] This was the 7th title, and last Macedonia Championship in their history, before the establishment of national championship, Alpha Ethniki.

1959-1995

In 1959, their new Toumba Stadium opened.^[25]

PAOK won the Greek Cup, in 1972 and 1974.^[26]

They won also for the first time the Greek Championship in 1975–76, a feat they would repeat in 1984–85.^[27]

At the European level, the club made its best ever performance after reaching the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1973–74 European Cup Winners' Cup where they were knocked out by Milan. PAOK also made a memorable appearance against German giants Bayern Munich in the 1983–84 UEFA Cup, where it was knocked out on penalties after two goalless draws.^[28][29]

In 1992, they lost in the Greek Cup to Olympiacos.^[26]

1996–2006

In 1996, Thomas Voulinos handed over the reins of the club to Giorgos Batatoudis. Numerous transfers of well-known players such as Percy Olivares, Zisis Vryzas, Spiros Marangos and Kostas Frantzeskos took place under the new administration. In 1997, having served its five-year ban, PAOK qualified for the UEFA Cup under coach Angelos Anastasiadis. The club's reappearance at European level was marked by a victory and qualification over Arsenal.^[30] In 2001 they won the Greek Cup final defeating Olympiacos 4–2.^[26] In 2003, they won the Greek Cup final again, defeating Aris 1–0.^[26]

The 2003–04 season was an unexpected success. Batatoudis was no longer the major shareholder, and under the management of Anastasiadis, PAOK managed to finish third in the league and to secure participation in the qualifying rounds of the following year's UEFA Champions League. The first match in Toumba finished 2–1 to Maccabi Tel Aviv but was awarded 3–0 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).^[31]Unfortunately, the team failed to qualify for the group stages, as they were knocked out by Maccabi Tel Aviv in the third qualifying round.^[32]

Rolf Fringer was appointed as new coach in September 2004, replacing Aggelos Anastasiadis, but after a few games, Fringer was replaced by Nikos Karageorgiou, who led the club to a fifth-place finish in May 2005 and a subsequent 2005–06 UEFA Cup qualification.^[33]

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,^[34] brought the club one step from complete ruin, with the organized fanbase launching an all-out war against Giannis Goumenos during the summer of 2006,^[35] going as far as to occupy the club's offices in Toumba stadium for a handful of days. The situation was ever worsening for Goumenos, after many failed deals with possible investors,^[36] constant allegations of embezzlement,^[37] and especially his decision to sell star-player Dimitris Salpingidis to Panathinaikos.^[38]

The club appointed Momčilo Vukotić as coach in October 2006, replacing Dumitrescu, who had earlier resigned.^[39]

2007–2010

In the summer of 2007, Theodoros Zagorakis assumed presidency of the club, replacing the Nikos Vezyrtzis and Apostolos Oikonomidis administration and thus ushered in a new era.^[40]

The plan's first season saw the club eliminated from the Greek Cup by second division club Thrasyvoulos. The early replacement of coach Giorgos Paraschos by the well-known established manager Fernando Santos did little to prevent a ninth-place finish in the league.^[41]

The club's finances, however, gradually improved, and – thanks to the continuing massive support from fans in the form of season tickets,^[42] as well as many new sponsorship deals – the summer of 2008 saw the transfers of widely known internationals like Pablo Contreras,^[43] Zlatan Muslimović^[44] and Pablo García.^[45]

In January 2009, Zagorakis announced the club's intention of building a new training facility complex in the Nea Mesimvria area of Thessaloniki, owned by the club. The administration had already acquired land from the municipality of Agios Athanasios in the previous summer.^[46]

The end of the 2008–09 season found PAOK in second place, eight points behind champions Olympiacos, the best place the club had taken since 1985.^[47]

2010–12

The 2010 league playoff success was swiftly followed by Fernando Santos' announcement of his decision to depart, having concluded his three-year contract as head coach.^[48] It was eventually decided in mid-June that Mario Beretta would be his successor.^[49]

Beretta was quickly replaced with Pavlos Dermitzakis, veteran PAOK player and Zagorakis' initial choice before reverting to Beretta.^[50] Beretta also became the shortest-lived PAOK coach ever, sitting on the bench for just 38 days.^[51]

With Dermitzakis at the helm, PAOK faced Ajax and was ultimately eliminated on the away goals rule, managing a 1–1^[52] draw in Amsterdam and a thrilling 3–3^[53] draw in Thessaloniki. Entering the UEFA Europa League playoff round, PAOK were drawn against Fenerbahçe, also eliminated on the Champions League third qualifying round. This time, PAOK fared much better and after winning the home game 1–0^[54] in Thessaloniki, secured a memorable 1–1 draw.^[55]

Another defeat against Panathinaikos under Dermitzakis led to his removal on 17 October.^[56] His assistant, Makis Chavos, replaced him as caretaker coach. ^[57]

In 2010–11, PAOK reached the knockout phase in the Europa League, losing 2–1 on aggregate to CSKA Moscow.^[58] In the Superleague Greece, PAOK finished fourth in the regular season and secured a place in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round by finishing second in the playoff round.

The PAOK board then appointed the experienced Romanian László Bölöni as the club's new head coach.^[59] Under the leadership of Bölöni, PAOK passed the UEFA Europa League playoff round and entered the group stage, despite the many injured players the club had. On 30 November 2011, PAOK achieved a historic victory^[60] against English club Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, winning 2–1. With this victory, the club qualified for the Europa League round of 32 for the second consecutive year. There they faced Udinese. After a 0–0 draw away in Udine, however, they suffered a 0–3 loss at Toumba Stadium.

2012–present

PAOK entered the 2012–13 Europa League third qualification round, and with a 0–2 away and 4–1 home win over Bnei Yehuda, qualified for the play-off round, where faced Rapid Wien but were eliminated after 2–1 and 3–0 home and away defeats, respectively. PAOK finished the season in second place during the regular period, qualifying for the Superleague playoffs. Giorgos Donis was replaced by technical director and former player Georgios Georgiadis, who was appointed caretaker manager. PAOK managed to win qualification for the third qualifying round of the Champions League in the playoffs after a last game win against PAS Giannina.^[61]

In June 2013, PAOK appointed Huub Stevens as their new coach, but he was dismissed in March 2014 after achieving poor results.^[62]

In 2014, the team reached the 2013–14 Greek Cup final, but lost to Panathinaikos.^[63]

In 2015, club owner Ivan Savvidis paid all of the club's debts to the Greek government, an amount that totalled at €10,886,811.^[64] In May, PAOK hired Frank Arnesen as the new club's technical director (sports director). On 18 June 2015, Igor Tudor was hired as the new manager of the club, signing a three-year contract.^[65] Tudor was replaced in March 2016 by youth-team coach Vladimir Ivic.^[66]

They won the Greek Cup in May 2017, beating AEK Athens in the final, although the match kicked off late due to crowd trouble.^[67]

Stadiums

Syntrivani Stadium was PAOK's first home ground. It was situated near the Children’s Asylum, where the Theological School of Aristotle University is based today.^[68]

Their current home ground is Stadio Toumbas, which was opened in 1959, although it has been renovated a number of times since.^[69]

• 
  Toumba Stadium

Supporters

PAOK is one of the most popular football clubs in Greece, with one of the highest average home attendance in Greece. PAOK' traditional fanbase comes from the city of Thessaloniki, where the club is based, as well as most of the rest of Macedonia region and northern Greece.^[70]

The main organized supporters of PAOK are known as Gate 4.^[71]Gate 4 is where the largest PAOK supporters clubs assemble. They support all clubs within the PAOK Sports Society, wearing the club's colors and symbols and maintaining firms in every corner of Greece, created in 1976. However, the oldest fan club is "SF PAOK Neopolis Bellos" and was founded in 1963, which is one of the first fan clubs in the country.^[72]

The organized supporters of PAOK (included Gate 4) has over the years become a part of the club by affecting club decisions and by following the club on all occasions. The relations between PAOK's organized supporters and their presidents was usually have been disturbed, and have become the cause of ownership change. The reasons were, the team's bad course, but also the bad management of the club at various times. One of these cases was against the former president of PAOK, Thomas Voulinos. In 1992, organized PAOK fans had decided to persecute him from the club. That is why they stopped the UEFA Cup home match against Paris Saint-Germain in Toumba, invading the pitch to interrupt the game, and due to this interruption. Their purpose was forced the president to leave the club. The club was punished by UEFA with a 2-year exclusion from any European competition, receiving a painful financial shock. The president of PAOK in an explosion of rage had referred to the president of Gate 4, naming him as the only responsible for what had happened. The French newspaper "L'Équipe" had a title in the match report: "Thessaloniki was crazy", while Paris SG member said: "I have not seen such a show, with such furious fans". The beginning of the end of his presidency was essentially on 6 November 1995. In a match between PAOK and AEK, extended violent incidents took place at Toumba. A few months later, Thomas Voulinos left the club.^{[73][74][75][76] [77]}

PAOK fans are famous for their passion and fervent support to the team, with the atmosphere at home matches regarded as intimidating. They are also renowned for fireworks, for the small and large banners to display in the grandstands, and for noisy and constant cheering. One of the biggest banner in Europe and the world has been created by fan club Michaniona.^[78]

The group as a whole maintains a strong friendship with the supporters of Serbian club Partizan, the Grobari. There have been many occasions where fans from both clubs travel to watch each other's games.^[79] PAOK fans also have good relations with the fans of OFI Crete, a friendship that has been build mainly around their sharing of the same club colours.^[80] The friendship is supported by an annual exchange of tickets and a typically strong atmosphere in their matches. They also maintain good relations with fans of Panionios.

In the night of 4 October 1999 a road accident took place in the Vale of Tempe, Thessaly, with 6 fans of the team killed. An annual ceremony takes place since then.^[81]

Rivalries

The rivalry between Olympiacos and PAOK, is long-standing, emerging in the 1960s, when the infamous case of Giorgos Koudas' transfer from PAOK to Olympiacos occurred.^[82]

A long-time rivalry also exists between PAOK and local rivals Aris.^[83]

Panathinaikos and AEK Athens are also considered major rivals due to the bitter rivalry of citizens between Thessaloniki of Macedonia and Athens.^[84]

Badge and team colours

The team's traditional colours are black, as sadness for the Asia Minor Catastrophe of 1922 and the end of the Greek presence in Anatolia, and white as hope for recovery.^[85] PAOK's traditional home colours are black and white striped shirt. Shorts and socks are usually black with white lines, but it's never the same for a long time. For many seasons in history the shorts were white with black lines. In general, there is nothing stable for a long period. In the club's 91-year history there are over 100 changes, with variations of black and white with shirt and shorts. In addition to classic black and white, the club has used purple, blue, orange, silver and red as an alternative. Every year there are small or big changes.^[86] In 1926, the first shirt was black with white collar, and also white shorts.^[87] In 1931, the club used a black & white shirt with horizontal strips, and also white shorts. Similar appearance was used in 1953 but shorts was black. In 1967-68, for the first time appeared with white shirt, white shorts and white socks.^[88] Similar appearances occurred in 1980-82^[89], 1984-85^[90], and 1987-88^[91]. In 1970-71, for the first time appeared with black shirt, black shorts and black socks.^[92] On January 2016, PAOK presented an anniversary jersey for the 90th birthday of the club. The jersey was designed by Macron. His features were, the big white collar, the thick cords, a variation of the double-headed eagle, the logo of the 90 years on the sleeve, and τhe first characteristic logo of the team can be found printed on the backneck. Τhe anniversary shirt is a copy of 1966′s jersey.^[93] The current home kit designed by Macron. Ιn 2016-2017, the kit was the classic black and white colors of the club developed in vertical bands with side and front piping color of gold. The collar is enriched in the back by the press of the Club name.^[94]

Crest

The first logo of PAOK was a horseshoe and a four-leaf clover, that was proposed by the member of board Kostas Koemtzopoulos.^[95] The double-headed eagle was chosen as symbol of the club in 1929. Unlike other Byzantine-style eagles, the wings of the eagle are mournfully closed.^[96] Under the leadership of Ivan Savvidis a gold stripe was added to the crest, as a symbol of glory and renaissance of the club.^[97]

• 
  1929^[98]
• 
  2008–2013^[98]
• 
  2013–present^[99]

Kit evolution

First

1925–26[100]

1936–37[101]

1938–39[102]

1970-71[92]

1984–85[103]

1990–91 [104]

2002–03[92]

2004–05[92]

2007–08[105]

2014–15[106]

2015–16[107]

2016–17[108]

Alternative

1982–83[109]

2000–01[110]

2001–02[111]

2002–03 [112]

2013–14[113]

2014–15[106]

2015–16[107]

2016–17[108]

Shirt sponsors and manufacturers

Overview Kit manufacturers and shirt sponsors
Period Kit manufacturer Shirt partner 1972–1975 Umbro — 1975–1977 Adidas 1977–1980 Umbro 1980–1981 Asics Tiger 1981–1983 Puma 1983–1984 Suzuki 1984–1985 Persika 1985–1986 Asics Tiger Doperman Fashion 1986–1987 Persika 1987–1988 PRO-PO 1988–1989 Asics Coplam 1989–1990 Adidas 1990–1991 AGNO 1991–1992 Diadora 1992–1993 Nissan 1993–1995 ABM — 1995–1996 Puma Asfaleies Astir 1996–1997 Ethniki Asfalistiki 1997–2002 Adidas General Bank of Greece 2002–2003 Oikos Missias 2003–2005 EKO 2005–2006 Egnatia Asfalistiki 2006–2007 Puma [114][115] — 2007–2010 DEPA 2010–2012 Pame Stoixima 2012–2013 Umbro [116] 2013–2015 Nike[117] 2015-2017 Macron[118] sportingbet.gr[119] 2017- Stoiximan.gr

Until the 1980s, when football in Greece was amateur, the team jerseys had only the emblem and the number of each player. When football became professional (in 1980), then companies began to become official sponsors of the club.^[120]

In 1983, Suzuki Motor Corporation became the club's first shirt sponsor for one season.^[120] After one and a half years without a jersey sponsor, οn January 2008, there was an agreement with the natural gas supply corporation of Greece, DEPA. The agreement was two and a half years, and the deal is worth €3m. ^[121] At the start of the 2010-11 season, the club's main shirt sponsors was Pame Stoixima, which also sponsored them in 1987–88. The agreement was a three-year term,^[122] for €1.5m-a-year.^[123] The collaboration with Pame Stoixima continued for another 2 years. For the 2013-14 season, the club received €1.5m-a-year,^[124] and for the next €1.8m.^[125] On 22 September 2015, the club announce a two-year deal with sportingbet.gr.^[119] The shirt deal was €1.2m-a-year.^[126] On 30 June 2017, PAOK signed a three-year deal with online betting company "Stoiximan" as shirt sponsor.^[127] The new €1.8m-a-year shirt deal is worth €5.4m over three years.^[128]

ABM Diffusion became the kit manufacturer of PAOK for two years, until 1995.^[129] Puma returned again for 2 years, before Adidas started a second spell in 1997. Adidas remained for nine years, followed by PUMA's third period of cooperation with PAOK.^[114] Umbro became kit manufacturer of club again,^[116] before the agreement with nike in 2013.^[117] The current kit manufacturer is Macron since 2015.^[118]

Honours

^[130]

• Greek Championship
  • Winners (2): 1975–76, 1984–85
  • Runners-up (7): 1936–37, 1939–40, 1972–73, 1977–78, 2009–10, 2012–13, 2015–16
• Greek Cup
  • Winners (5): 1971–72, 1973–74, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2016–17
  • Runners-up (13): 1938–39, 1950–51, 1954–55, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1980–81, 1982–83, 1984–85, 1991–92, 2013–14

European record

PAOK's best European performance was in the 1973–74 season, when they reached the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup.^[6]

Players

Current squad

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

No. Position Player 1 GK Rodrigo Rey 3 DF Léo Matos (Vice-captain) 4 DF Marin Leovac 5 DF Fernando Varela 6 DF Dorian Lévêque 7 MF Omar El Kaddouri 9 FW Aleksandar Prijović (Vice-captain) 10 FW Djalma Campos 11 MF Pedro Henrique 13 DF Stelios Malezas (Vice-captain) 15 DF José Ángel Crespo (Vice-captain) 16 MF Gojko Cimirot 18 FW Dimitris Limnios 20 FW Efthimis Koulouris 21 MF Diego Biseswar

No. Position Player 22 DF Dimitris Konstantinidis 26 MF Ergys Kaçe 27 FW Giannis Mystakidis 28 MF Yevhen Shakhov 29 MF Róbert Mak (on loan from Zenit) 31 GK Alexandros Paschalakis 33 FW Stefanos Athanasiadis (Captain) 41 MF Panagiotis Deligiannidis 44 DF Achilleas Poungouras 61 DF Konstantinos Dimitriou 71 GK Panagiotis Glykos (Vice-captain) 77 MF Dimitris Pelkas (Vice-captain) 87 MF José Cañas 99 GK Marios Siampanis

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. Position Player 23 GK Željko Brkić DF Timotheos Tselepidis MF Aristotelis Panagiotidis DF Savvas Topalidis DF Fotis Pantekidis

No. Position Player FW Bogdan Rangelov FW Aleksandr Bataev FW Vasilis Papadopoulos MF Giannis Tsolakidis

Out on loan

As of 30 July 2017^{[131][132][133][134][135][136]}

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

No. Position Player FW Lazaros Lamprou (on loan at Panionios) FW Kristian Kushta (on loan at Zemplín Michalovce) MF Giorgos Ktistopoulos (on loan at Pierikos) FW Anastasios Dimitriadis (on loan at Nea Salamina) MF Giorgos Kakko (on loan at Nea Salamina) DF Stergios Dodontsakis (on loan at Zemplín Michalovce) MF Nikolas Mattheou (on loan at Anorthosis) MF Manolis Patralis (on loan at Platanias)

No. Position Player MF Stelios Pozoglou (on loan at Juventus Bucuresti) DF Dimitris Giannoulis (on loan at Atromitos) DF Dimitris Chatziisaias (on loan at Atromitos) DF Stelios Kitsiou (on loan at Sint-Truidense) MF Charis Charisis (on loan at Sint-Truidense) FW Jairo (on loan at Sheriff) MF Amr Warda (on loan at Feirense) GK Nikos Melissas (on loan at PAS Lamia)

Academy and teams

PAOK FC Sport Center is the training ground of PAOK and Academy base, located in Nea Mesimvria area. The construction started under the presidency of Theodoros Zagorakis.^[137][138]

Retired PAOK FC Numbers

• 12 – in honour of the fans, considered the "12th player" of the team in the pitch. The only player who had the number 12 in his shirt was Joe Nagbe. The last time was on 28 May 2000. ^[139]
• 17 – in honour of Panagiotis Katsouris, a PAOK player that died in 1998 in a car accident.^[140]

Affiliated clubs

Since 2013, PAOK maintains a cooperation with Juventus on the academies sector.^[141]

National team players

A number of PAOK players have represented the Greece national team, the first official international being Nikos Sotiriadis. The record number of PAOK players for Greece was six, which happened on two occasions in 1981. The first PAOK player to captain Greece was Stavros Sarafis.^[142]

• 
  Christodoulopoulos, Katsouranis, Tzavellas & Salpingidis were players of PAOK
• 
  Kostas Katsouranis

Management

Board of Directors

^{[143][144][145]}

Position Name Ownership Dimera Group Limited President Ivan Savvidis Vice–President & CEO Chrisostomos Gagatsis Director of Football Ľuboš Micheľ Member of the Board Giorgos Savvidis Member of the Board Maria Goncharova Member of the Board Artur Davidyan Member of the Board Dimokratis Papadopoulos Member of the Board Ilias Gerontidis Consultant of Football Giorgos Koudas[146] Consultant of Αrbitration Malamas Tevekelis[147] Legal Department Manager Achilleas Mavromatis Marketing Department Manager Lazaros Bachtsevanos Press Officer Kyriakos Kyriakos[148]

Technical and Medical Staff

^[149][150]

Position Name Head Coach Răzvan Lucescu Assistant Coach Diego Longo Assistant Coach Cristiano Bacci Team Manager Pantelis Konstantinidis[151] Data Analyst (Vis-Track) Kyriakos Tsitsiridis Opponent Analysis Ioannis Thomaidis Head Gymnast Rehabilitation Georgios Tsonakas Gymnast Rehabilitation Vasilios Kanaras Fitness Coach Matteo Spatafora Goalkeeping Coach Giorgos Skiatitis

Position Name Head of Medical Services Emmanouil Papakostas[152] Club's Doctor Kostas Tziantzis Exercise Physiology Giorgos Ziogas[153] Nutritionist Ioanna Paspala[154]

Notable managers

^[68][155] The following managers won at least one trophy when in charge of PAOK:

Name	Period	Trophies
Nikolaos Aggelakis	1947–1948	EPSM Championship
Nikos Pagkalos	1949–1950	EPSM Championship
Hermao Koffmann	1955–1956	EPSM Championship
Niko Polty	1956–1957	EPSM Championship
Les Shannon	1971–1974	2 Greek Cup, Greater Greece Cup
Gyula Lóránt	1975–1976	Superleague Greece
Walter Skocik	1984–1985	Superleague Greece
Dušan Bajević	2000–2001	Greek Cup
Angelos Anastasiadis	2002–2003	Greek Cup
Vladimir Ivic	2016–2017	Greek Cup

• Les Shannon is the longest-serving manager (3 years and 8 months), while Mario Beretta is the shortest (38 days).^[51]

Records and Statistics

Most league appearances and top scorer

Giorgos Koudas holds the record for most PAOK league appearances, having played 504 matches (607 overall),^[156] between 1963 and 1984.^[157]

Stavros Sarafis is the club's top goalscorer with 170 goals overall (136 in league matches), being at PAOK between 1967 and 1981.^[156][158]

A list of the ten highest appearances and scorers for PAOK (as of 2004) is listed below:^[159]

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 Giorgos Skartados 265 8 Dimitris Salpingidis 262 9 Giorgos Toursounidis 261 10 Giannis Giakoumis 250

League top scorers: Rank Name Goals 1 Stavros Sarafis 136 2 Giorgos Koudas 133 3 Dimitris Salpingidis 90 4 Giorgos Skartados 84 5 Giorgos Kostikos 79 6 Stefanos Athanasiadis 71 7 Neto Guerino 66 8 Panagiotis Kermanidis 60 9 Achilleas Aslanidis 55 10 Koulis Apostolidis 51

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to PAOK football.

• Official site
• List of PAOK footballers who have played for Greece
• Players who have competed in the cup final for PAOK - gazetta.gr (in Greek)
• PAOK FC at UEFA

Media

• Official YouTube channel