PAOK FC

PAOK FC

Full name	(Greek: Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινουπολιτών) (Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans)
Nickname(s)	Two-Headed Eagle of the North White-Blacks
Founded	12 April 1926 (1926-04-12)
Ground	Toumba Stadium Thessaloniki, Greece
Ground Capacity	28.703
Owner	Ivan Savvidis
Chairman	Iakovos Angelides
Manager	Igor Tudor
League	Superleague Greece
2014–15	Superleague Greece, 5th
Website	Club home page
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	Hockey

PAOK F.C. (Greek: ΠΑΕ ΠΑΟΚ), or with its full name Panthessalonikios Athlitikos Omilos Constantinoupoliton (Greek: Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινουπολιτών, transliterated Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans), and commonly known as PAOK (Greek: ΠΑΟΚ, pronounced [ˈPAOK]), is a Greek association football club, a part of A.C. PAOK, based in Thessaloniki, Greece. They play their home games at Toumba Stadium, with a capacity of 28.703 seats.

PAOK was established in 12 April 1926 in Thessaloniki, by Greek Constantinopolitans who fled to Thessaloniki from the city of Constantinople in the wake of the Greco-Turkish War. Emblem of the team is a Byzantine-style double-headed eagle.

PAOK currently plays in the top-flight Superleague Greece, which they have won twice (1975–76 and 1984–85). They have won also four times the Greek Football Cup (in 1971–72, 1973–74, 2000–01 and 2002–03 seasons). 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. PAOK is an ordinary member of the European Club Association.

PAOK's traditional rivalries are against Olympiakos and the "Thessaloniki's derby" against Aris.

History

Foundation and the early years (1926–1953)

PAOK in 1926

The team of 1937

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.

The football club was founded in 1926. It was created by Constantinopolitans who fled to Thessaloniki after the Greek defeat in the Greco-Turkish War.

Created by Constantinopolitans, the new club nevertheless 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.

Finally the two teams were merged in one in 1929. The current symbol since 1929 is 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.

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 (PAOK chairman) and Mr. Sakellaropoulos (Hon. Secretary).

The first foreign coach in the history of the team was the German Rudolph Ganser, who served with PAOK for the 1931–32 season.

Willi Sevcik, an Austrian coach (1950–1952) who had worn the PAOK jersey in 1931–32, established a young talent academy within the club which gave rise to leading names who later left their mark, such as Leandros Symeonidis, Giannelos, Margaritis, Giorgos Havanidis and more.

Era of successes (1955–1985): Koudas years

Giorgos Koudas, a powerful attacking midfielder and emblematic captain of PAOK. Appearances recordman and second all-time top scorer.

In the 1950s the club won the Thessaloniki Championship for four successive seasons. In 1959 their new Toumba stadium opened.

Giorgos Koudas, the great star of the team made his firat appearance in 1963. With him PAOK won their first national titles, the Greek Football Cup, in 1972 and 1974.

They won also for the first time the Greek Championship in 1975–76, something that they would repeat in 1984–85 season.

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

1985–1996

Since 1985 a period of decline will start for the club. In 1992 they lost in the Greek Cup final to Olympiakos.

1996–2004

Yiannakis Okkas

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 F.C..

However, the new team did not prove equally successful in the domestic league, again finishing fourth in 1997–98. The club's continuing inability to break the dominance of the "big three" in the league resulted in several manager changes over the following three years. By the end of the 1997–98 season Anastasiadis was sacked and Oleg Blokhin reprised his position as PAOK's manager after five years. Blokhin himself only stayed for a few months, and was again replaced by Anastasiadis in late 1998. He himself stayed only till February 1999, and was again replaced in favor of Arie Haan, who, like Blokhin, returned after a four-year gap. By December 1999, Haan was himself sacked, to be replaced by Dušan Bajević.

In 2001 the first success after many years came, when they won the Greek Cup final against Olympiakos with a 4–2 score. In 2003 they won the Greek Cup again, defeating Aris 1–0.

2004–2007

The 2003–04 season was an unexpected success. Batatoudis was no more the major shareholder, and under the management of Anastasiadis they managed to finish third and to secure participation in the qualifying rounds of the following year's UEFA Champions League. Unfortunately the team failed to qualify for the group stages, as they were knocked out by Maccabi Tel Aviv in the third qualifying round.

Rolf Fringer was appointed as new coach in September 2004, replacing 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 UEFA Cup qualification.

The 2005–06 season started with better omens, yet proved to be the most turbulent. Apart from the return of former captain Theodoros Zagorakis in the summer of 2005 from Bologna FC, signings of key players like Marcin Mieciel, Fatih Akyel and Shikabala took place.

By the end of May 2006, the club's dramatic situation started to emerge, with players openly declaring they are unpaid for months, plus a shocking decision by UEFA to ban the club from participating in the upcoming UEFA Cup, 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, 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, constant allegations of embezzlement, and especially his decision to sell star-player Dimitris Salpingidis to Panathinaikos.

The club appointed Momcilo Vukotic as coach in October 2006, replacing Dumitrescu, who had earlier resigned.

The Zagorakis plan (2007–2010)

Theodoros Zagorakis, captain of the 2004 champion Greek national football team

PAOK – Olympiakos 1–0 (2009), close view of the pitch.

In the summer of 2007, Theodoros Zagorakis assumed presidency of the club, replacing the Vezyrtzis-Oikonomidis administration and thus ushered in a new era. One of the new management's first actions was to lay down a three-year plan: the first year priority would be to take action the club's debts, beginning in 2007–08, the second would be to qualify for the UEFA Cup again, and the third would be to become a major league title contender once again.

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, the worst performance by the club in 11 years.

Zisis Vryzas

Pablo Gabriel García

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

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

The end of the 2008–09 season found PAOK in second place, eight points behind champions Olympiakos, the best place the club had taken since 1985. This success however was short-lived, as the club failed to retain their place in the recently introduced league playoffs, finishing fourth and missing out on the second UEFA Champions League berth to Panathinaikos. Nevertheless, PAOK secured a spot in the 2009–10 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round.

The 2009–10 season saw the transfer of former Racing de Santander player Vitolo, experienced defender Bruno Cirillo and Vasilios Koutsianikoulis, the club's costliest transfer in many years. Key players' contracts, like Olivier Sorlin and Vieirinha, were also renewed.

The new squad saw UEFA Cup elimination by Dutch club Heerenveen. To make matters worse, the first few games of 2009 found the club struggling, but then managed a 13-game unbeaten streak, including memorable wins against Panathinaikos and Olympiaκos, solidifying the club as one of the main league title contenders. This run was not without setbacks, as the club suffered another elimination in the Greek Cup, by the recently promoted PAS Giannina.

The unbeaten streak ended in late March, when successive derby defeats by Aris and AEK effectively ended any hope of winning the championship. However, the club redeemed itself in the league play-offs by finishing first, with impressive consecutive wins against Aris Thessaloniki F.C., AEK F.C. and twice against Olympiakos. Thus, PAOK was eligible to compete in the 2010–11 UEFA Champions League third qualifying round.

The years after Fernando Santos (2010–12)

Vieirinha

PAOK vs Tottenham (2011)

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

As the squad made several awful appearances in its pre-season friendly matches (notably losing to Kickers Offenbach by 3–1), alarming fans and management alike, Theodoros Zagorakis finally decided to fire Beretta and his staff on 22 July, just one week prior to the club's away match in Amsterdam. Beretta was quickly replaced with Pavlos Dermitzakis, veteran PAOK player and Zagorakis' initial choice before reverting to Beretta. Beretta also became the shortest-lived PAOK coach ever, sitting on the bench for just 38 days.

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

Unfortunately, such excellent performances did not continue in the first fixtures of the Greek league. Unsuccessful results included a 0–1 home loss to arch-rival Aris FC

Kostas Katsouranis

Another defeat against Panathinaikos, under Dermitzakis, led to his removal on 17 October. His assistant, Makis Chavos replaced him as caretaker coach. At first, fans were asking for a quick replace of Chavos by a European-range coach, but after a streak of four wins in the Greek Superleague and a home 1–0 win against Villarreal CF in the UEFA Europe League group stage, it was decided to remain.

In 2010/11 PAOK reached the knockout phase in the Europa League, losing 2–1 on aggregate to CSKA Moskva.

In the 2010–11 season, PAOK finished 4th in the regular season and secured a place in the 2011–12 UEFA Europa League third qualifying round by finishing 2nd in the playoff round. PAOK board appointed the experienced Romanian coach László Bölöni. Under the leadership of Bölöni PAOK passed the UEFA Europa League playoff round and entered the group stage once again despide the many injured players the club had. In 30 November 2011, PAOK achieved a historic victory against English club Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane, with a 2–1 scoreline. With this victory, the club quilified for the round of 32 of the Europa League for a second consecutive year. There they faced Udinese and after a 0–0 draw in Udine they suffered a 0–3 loss in Toumba.

Ivan Savvidis era (2012–present)

In the summer of 2012, and after several months of negotiations, Ivan Savvidis became the new major shareholder of PAOK. The PAOK board appointed the Greek coach Giorgos Donis in the summer of 2012.

PAOK entered the Europa League 3rd 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 was eliminated after a 2–1 home win and a 3–0 away defeat. PAOK finished the season in 2nd 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 UEFA Champions League in the playoffs after a last game win against PAS Giannina.

In June 2013 PAOK appointed Huub Stevens as their new coach, but he was dismissed in March 2014 after not good results.

In 2014 the team reached the Greek Cup final, but lost to Panathinaikos F.C..

In 2015, the club owner Ivan Savvidis paid all of the club's debts to the Greek State, an amount that totalled at €10,886,811. 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.

Facilities

Stadium

Main article: Toumba Stadium

Toumba Stadium

Toumba Stadium (Greek: Στάδιο Τούμπας) is a football stadium in Thessaloniki, Greece. It is property of amateur P.A.O.K.. It is a family donation from Ioannis Dedeoglou, such as was also later the donation of the P.A.O.K. Sports Arena. The construction started in 1958 and completed in 1959. Patrons on the project were the Ministry of Culture and Sport (Greece) (paid the amount of 1.100.000 drachmas) and the Hellenic National Defence General Staff. Architect of the project was Minas Trempelas and engineer Antonis Triglianos. Important for its construction was the contribution and of its own group of fans, who were invited twice to assist financially through the "Special Fund for the erection of the new ground of PAOK" adopted by the administration of the club, while some friends of the team worked selflessly personal work during the process of the construction. The stadium is located in the district of Toumba (Thessaloniki) in eastern Thessaloniki. Its original capacity was 45,000, until the installation of seating on all stands in 1998. This reduced the capacity to 32,000 (seated). The introduction of security zones in 2000, reduced the capacity to the current capacity 28,703 seats.

The stadium's official name is simply "PAOK Stadium", however it is commonly referred to as "Toumba" after the name of the district. The stadium has hosted several games of the Greece national football team and was selected as one of the training venues for the football tournaments of the 2004 Olympic Games and due to this it was heavily upgraded. The relevant works commenced in 2003 and the stadium was again ready to be used in the summer of 2004 boasting a brand new look. The most important modification was the construction of a new four-storey building behind the main west stand (gates 1,2 and 3). The new building of the stadium houses a number of VIP boxes and VIP lounges, service areas for TV and the Press, such as new club's offices. A new roof was also installed over the west stand, while other works included new seats, upgrading of the dressing rooms, a new pitch and re-enforcement of the concrete pillars below the north curved stand (Gate 4 and Gate 4A). After the advent of the new major shareholder Ivan Savvidis in 2012, began a gradual renovation. The big changes began in 2012–13, but the main changes were made in 2014–15 for the European obligations of the team in the UEFA Europa League.

Training ground

PAOK Sports Center is the current training ground of PAOK, located in Nea Mesimvria area.

Supporters

PAOK fans

PAOK fans in Gate 4

Gate 4 is where the largest PAOK supporters clubs assemble. They generally support all clubs within the PAOK Sports Society, and mostly wear black and white symbols, which are the club's colors. The group as a whole traditionally maintains good relations with the Serbian FK Partizan football club supporters Grobari, as well as with the fans of OFI Crete, a friendship that is supported by annual exchange of tickets and always excellent atmosphere on their matches.

Gate 4 members are known to be fanatic supporters of their team, using firecrackers and fireworks to generate a supportive atmosphere for their team. On the other hand, Toumba Stadium is notorious for its hostility to opposing teams, which has earned it the moniker of "black hell".

Rivalries

Main articles: Olympiacos and PAOK rivalry, Aris and PAOK rivalry and Double-headed eagles derby

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 took place. The rivalry is also fueled by the rivalry that exists between Piraeus and Thessaloniki.

A long-time rivalry also exists between PAOK and local rivals Aris Thessaloniki, which has culminated in two memorable Greek Cup finals between them, each club winning one. On an annual basis, fierce derbies are contested for the Greek League, sometimes accompanied by violent outbreaks on and off the pitch.

Panathinaikos and AEK Athens are also considered major rivals due to the bitter rivalry of citizens between Thessaloniki of Macedonia and Athens dating to Ancient Greece.

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. 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. Under the leadership of Ivan Savvidis a gold stripe was added to the crest, as a symbol of glory and renaissance of the club.

Kit evolution

First

1925–26

1936–37

1997–03

2009–11

2013–14

2014–15

2015–16

Alternative

1997–03

2000–01

2009–11

2013–14

2014–15

Manufacturers and shirt sponsors

Big shirt inside the Toumba Stadium

Flag used by PAOK FC

Period	Kit manufacturer	Shirt sponsor
1972–75	Umbro	—
1975–77	Adidas
1977–80	Umbro
1980–81	Asics Tiger
1981–83	Puma
1983–84		Suzuki
1984–85		Persica Carpets
1985–86	Asics Tiger	Doperman Fashion
1986–87		Persica Carpets
1987–88		OPAP
1988–89	Asics	Coplam Building Prod.
1989–90	Adidas
1990–91		Agno Dairy Company
1991–92	Diadora
1992–93		Nissan
1993–95	ABM Diffusion	—
1995–96	Puma	Astir Insurance
1996–97		National Insurance Company
1997–2002	Adidas	Geniki Bank
2002–03		—
2003–05		Hellenic Petroleum
2005–06		Egnatia Insurance
2006–07	Puma	—
2007–10		DEPA
2010–12		Pame Stoixima
2012–13	Umbro
2013–15	Nike
2015–18	Macron	Sportingbet

Current sponsorships:

• Great Shirt Sponsor: Sportingbet
• Official Sport Clothing Manufacturer: Macron
• Official Sponsor: OPAP, Vodafone, Astra Airlines, CYTA

Honours

• Total Titles: (6)

Domestic

• Superleague Greece
  • Winners (2): 1975–76, 1984–85
  • Runners-up (6): 1936–37, 1939–40, 1972–73, 1977–78, 2009–10, 2012–13
• Greek Football Cup
  • Winners (4): 1971–72, 1973–74, 2000–01, 2002–03
  • 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

International Regional

• Greater Greece Cup
  • Winners: 1973

Regional

• EPSM Championship
  • Winners: 1936–37, 1947–48, 1949–50, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1955–56, 1956–57,

European

• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
  • Quarter-finals (1): 1973–74

International record

Main article: PAOK F.C. in European football

UEFA competitions

PAOK F.C. in 2010–11 UEFA Europa League round of 32 match against PFC CSKA Moscow.

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

PAOK played also in the group stages of the UEFA Cup in 2005/06.

Notable wins Season Match Score Cup Winners' Cup 1973–74 PAOK – Legia Warsaw 1 – 0 1973–74 PAOK – Olympique Lyonnais 4 – 0 1974–75 PAOK – Red Star Belgrade 1 – 0 Europa League / UEFA Cup 1975–76 PAOK – FC Barcelona 1 – 0 1982–83 PAOK – Sochaux 1 – 0 1982–83 PAOK – Sevilla FC 2 – 0 1997–98 PAOK – Arsenal 1 – 0 2000–01 PAOK – Udinese Calcio 3 – 0 2001–02 PAOK – PSV Eindhoven 3 – 2 2010–11 PAOK – Fenerbahçe 1 – 0 2010–11 PAOK – Villarreal CF 1 – 0 2011–12 Tottenham – PAOK 1 – 2

Biggest wins Season Match Score Cup Winners' Cup 1973–74 PAOK – Olympique Lyonnais 4 – 0 Europa League / UEFA Cup 1999–00 FC Lokomotivi Tbilisi – PAOK 0 – 7 2000–01 PAOK – Udinese Calcio 3 – 0 2001–02 PAOK – Kärnten 4 – 0 2001–02 PAOK – 1. FK Příbram 6 – 1 2002–03 PAOK – Leixões 4 – 1 2005–06 PAOK – Rennais 5 – 1 2014–15 PAOK – FC Dinamo Minsk 6 – 1 2015–16 PAOK – Lokomotiva 6 – 0 2015–16 PAOK – Brøndby 5 – 0

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 2 DF Giannis Skondras 4 DF Marin Leovac 6 MF Alexandros Tziolis (vice-captain) 7 MF Eyal Golasa 9 FW Jairo 10 FW Dimitar Berbatov 11 MF Róbert Mak 13 DF Stelios Malezas 15 DF Miguel Vítor 16 MF Gojko Cimirot 20 DF Ricardo Costa (vice-captain) 21 MF Charis Charisis 22 DF Dimitris Konstantinidis 23 MF Panagiotis Deligiannidis 24 MF Garry Rodrigues

No. Position Player 25 GK Robin Olsen 26 MF Ergys Kaçe 27 FW Giannis Mystakidis 30 GK Nikos Melissas 31 DF Georgios Tzavellas 33 FW Stefanos Athanasiadis (captain) 34 MF Nikos Korovesis 52 MF Erik Sabo 70 DF Stelios Kitsiou 71 GK Panagiotis Glykos 77 MF Dimitris Pelkas 88 MF Kyriakos Savvidis 93 MF Terry Antonis 96 MF Stelios Pozoglou 99 GK Marios Siampanis

Out on loan

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

No. Position Player DF Kristi Qose (on loan to Panserraikos) DF Achilleas Poungouras (on loan to Veria) DF Nikos Vasaitis (on loan to APE Lagada) MF Dimitris Giannoulis (on loan to Veria) MF Savvas Toumanidis (on loan to Kavala) MF Stefanos Polyzos (on loan to Olympiacos Volou)

No. Position Player MF Kostas Panagiotoudis (on loan to APE Lagada) MF Giannis Tsolakidis (on loan to Panelefsiniakos) MF Dimitris Popovic (on loan to Panserraikos) FW Vasilis Papadopoulos (on loan to Enosis Neon Paralimni) FW Efthimis Koulouris (on loan to Anorthosis) FW Facundo Pereyra (on loan to Gabala)

PAOK U20 squad

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

No. Position Player GK Apostolos Koutoglidis GK Asterios Totolidis GK Jorgo Muça DF Stergios Dodontsakis DF Fotis Pantekidis DF Polykarpos Liaptsis DF Savvas Topalidis DF Nikos Paspalas DF Timotheos Tselepidis DF Vasilios Chatzidimpas DF Mehmet Suleymanoglu DF Panagiotis Tsiampazis DF Rafail Gialamoudis DF Arbi Ranxha MF Meletios Miskovic MF Gjergji Kako MF Anastasios Dimitriadis

No. Position Player MF Nikolas Mattheou MF Emmanouil Patralis MF Sokratis Kyrillidis MF Alexandros Koutousis MF Kleon Pouflis MF Aristidis Panagiotidis MF Nikos Karaiskos MF Giorgos Ktistopoulos MF Dimitris Kligopoulos MF Emmanouil Kragiopoulos FW Fotios Konstantinou FW Kristian Kushta FW Nikolaos Syrakos FW Bogdan Rangelov FW Alexandros Kapretsos FW Alexander Bataev

Retired PAOK FC Numbers

• 12 – in honour of the fans, considered the "12th player" of the team in the pitch.
• 17 – in honour of Panagiotis Katsouris, a PAOK player that died in 1998 in a car accident.

Affiliated clubs

• Juventus F.C.

Since 2013, PAOK maintains a cooperation with Juventus on the academies sector.

Contribution to the Greek national team

PAOK, through its history, has highlighted some of the greatest Greek players in the history of Greek football, who contributed also to the Greek national team (Koudas, Sarafis, Terzanidis, Zagorakis etc).

Six players of the club were members of the first appearance of the national team in a UEFA European Championship (1980): Giorgos Koudas, Konstantinos Iosifidis, Christos Terzanidis, Ioannis Gounaris, Ioannis Damanakis, Georgios Kostikos

Management

Board of directors

Frank Arnesen, Sports Director

Position Name Owner Ivan Savvidis President and CEO Iakovos Angelides Vice–President & Director-General Chrisostomos Gagatsis Sports Director Frank Arnesen Member of the Board Georgios Savvidis Member of the Board Nikolaos Savvidis Member of the Board Maria Goncharova Member of the Board Ilias Gerontidis Member of the Board Dimokratis Papadopoulos Responsible for Arbitration Matters Malamas Tevekelis Legal Department Manager Achilleas Mavromatis Marketing Department Manager Lazaros Bachtsevanos Press Officer Kyriakos Kyriakos Security Officer Stadium Spyros Mylioridis

Technical staff

Igor Tudor, head coach since 2015

Position Name Head Coach Igor Tudor Assistant-Coach Ivan Leko Assistant-Coach (Match Analyst) Jurica Vučko Head Physical Condition Trainer Paolo Artico Physical Condition Trainer Dimitrios Daniilidis Goalkeeping-Coach Silvije Čavlina Team Manager Epameinontas Papaepameinontas Head of Medical Services Ioannis Rallis Doctor Kostas Tziantzis Exercise Physiology Giorgos Ziogas Head Physiotherapist Nikos Papadimitriou Physiotherapist Petros Nikolakoudis Physiotherapist Nikos Tsirelas Physiotherapist Thanasis kapoulas Vis Track Analysis Kyriakos Tsitiridis Head of Scouting Department Giorgos Kostikos Scout Kyriakos Alexandridis Scout Lino Scout Neto Guerino

Administration and scientific team of youth departments

Position	Name
General Director Youth Departments	Vangelis Pourliotopoulos
Technical Director Youth Departments	Kyriakos Alexandridis
Head Scout & Programming and Head Technical Training Center	Giannis Avramidis
Scout Youth Departments	Kostas Malioufas
Scout Youth Departments	Kostas Lagonidis
Scout Youth Departments	Alexandros Theodoridis
Head Network (Football-Prints)	Vangelis Pourliotopoulos
Head Network (Football-Prints)	Kyriakos Alexandridis
Responsible Hostels	Grigoris Karavelis
Pediatrician – Developer	Ioannis Osatzopoulos
Exercise Physiology	Giorgos Ziogas
Nutritionist	Ioanna Paspala
Psychologist	Irini Riera
Responsible Schooling	Ioanna Charalampous

PAOK U-20

Position	Name
U-20 Coach	Vladimir Ivić
U-20 Assistant-Coach	Mirosław Sznaucner
U-20 Fitness-Coach	Grigoris Kavalieratos
U-20 Goalkeeping-Coach	Christos Kelpekis
U-20 Team Manager	Stavros Sarafis

PAOK U-17

U-17 Coach	Aggelos Zazopoulos
U-17 Assistant-Coach	Pablo Gabriel García
U-17 Fitness-Coach	Konstantinos Kazanas
U-17 Goalkeeping-Coach	Dimitris Kryonas
U-17 Team Manager	Kostas Iosifidis

PAOK U-16

U-16 Coach	Vassilis Kanaras
U-16 Assistant-Coach	Konstantinos Vourtsis
U-16 Goalkeeping-Coach	Vassilis Petropoulos
U-16 Team Manager	Stavros Sarafis

PAOK U-15

Position	Name
U-15 Coach	Alexandros Alexiadis
U-15 Assistant-Coach	Ioannis Ampatzidis
U-15 Goalkeeping-Coach	Dimitris Kryonas
U-15 Team Manager	Kostas Iosifidis

Academies Infrastructure

Position	Name
U-14 Coach	Alexandros Tasoulis
U-14 Assistant-Coach	Ilias Galanopoulos
U-14 Goalkeeper-Coach	Vassilis Petropoulos
U-13 Coach	Vassilis Kanaras
U-13 Assistant-Coach	Savas konstantinidis
U-12 Coach	Apostolos Papavasiliou
U-12 Assistant-Coach	Dimitris Taxidis
U-11 Coach	Andreas Balabanis
U-11 Assistant-Coach	Antonis Krinitsas
U-10 Coach	Giorgos Gourtsas
U-10 Assistant-Coach	Nikos Papageorgiou
U-9 Coach	Nikos Nikolaidis
U-9 Assistant-Coach	Anestis Aslanidis
U-8 Coach	Alexandros Foropoulos
U-7 and U-6 Coach	Maria Exadaktilou
U-7 and U-6 Coach	Magda Tsoukala

ΑC PAOK Presidents

Name Nationality Years Triantafillos Triantafillidis 1926–1927 Vyzantios Fanourios 1927–1928 Konstantinos Meletiou 1928–1929 Athinodoros Athinodorou 1929–1930 Pantelis Kalpatsoglou 1930–1931 Petros Levantis 1931–1933 Savas Tsantas 1933–1935 Filaretos Tsompetsoglou 1935–1936 Savas Tsantas 1936–1938 Ioannis Tsakiroglou 1938–1939 Dimitrios Kamaras 1939–1940 Pantelis Kalpatsoglou 1940–1944 Filaretos Tsompetsoglou 1944–1946 Pantelis Kalpatsoglou 1946–1948 Mirodis Dimitrakopoulos 1948–1949 Georgios Haralampidis 1949–63 Ippokratis Iordanoglou 1963–64 Dimitrios Dimadis 1964–66 Vassilios Zervas 1966–69 Evaggelos Mylonas 1969 Stavros Georgiadis 1969–1971

Name Nationality Years Ioannis Arvanitakis 1971–1972 Stavros Simitzis 1972–1973 Ioannis Arvanitakis 1973–1974 Georgios Zografos 1974 Arthouros Merdikian 1974–1975 Georgios Pantelakis 1975–1981 Ioannis Vranialis 1981–1983 Dimosthenis Fintanidis 1983–1984 Nikolaos Vezyrtzis 1984–1993 Apostolos Oikonomidis 1993–1995 Harris Lazaridis-A Alexopoulos 1995–1997 Apostolos Αlexopoulos 1997–1998 Athanasios Katsaris 1998–

PAOK FC presidents

Name Nationality Years Giorgos Pantelakis 1979–84 Petros Kalafatis 1984–85 Charis Savvidis 1985–88 Giannis Dedeoglou 1988–89 Thomas Voulinos 1989–95 Giorgos Kalyvas 1996 Giorgos Batatoudis 1996–03 Petros Kalafatis 1998–2001 Giannis Goumenos 2000–06 Vasilis Pagonis 2003 Apostolos Oikonomidis 2006–07 Thodoris Zagorakis 2007–09 Zisis Vryzas 2009–10 Thodoris Zagorakis 2010–11 Zisis Vryzas 2011–14 Iakovos Angelides 2014–

Managerial history

Miroslav Blažević

Arie Haan

Huub Stevens

PAOK F.C. managers from 1970 onwards:

Season	Manager	Season	Manager	Season	Manager	Season	Manager
1970–71	Ivica Horvat Les Shannon	1985–86	Walter Skocik Michalis Bellis	2000–01	Dušan Bajević	2015–16	Igor Tudor (2015–)
1971–72	Les Shannon	1986–87	Thijs Libregts	2001–02
1972–73		1987–88	Thijs Libregts Michalis Bellis	2002–03	Angelos Anastasiadis (Aug 2002 – Sept 2004)
1973–74		1988–89	Rinus Israël Nikos Alefantos Stavros Sarafis	2003–04
1974–75	Les Shannon Apostolos Progios Gyula Lóránt	1989–90	Rob Jacobs	2004–05	Angelos Anastasiadis Rolf Fringer (Sept 2004 – Feb 2005) Nikos Karageorgiou (Feb 2005 – Sept 2005)
1975–76	Gyula Lóránt	1990–91	Rob Jacobs Christos Terzanidis	2005–06	Nikos Karageorgiou Giorgos Kostikos (Sept 2005 – Feb 2006) Ilie Dumitrescu (Feb 2006 – Oct 2006)
1976–77	Branko Stanković Billy Bingham	1991–92	Miroslav Blažević (Sept 1991 – March 1992) Giannis Gounaris	2006–07	Ilie Dumitrescu Momčilo Vukotić (Oct 2006 – Jan 2007) Giorgos Paraschos (Jan 2007 – Sept 2007)
1977–78	Billy Bingham Dimitris Kalogiannis Lakis Petropoulos	1992–93	Ljupko Petrović (Sept 1992 – Jan 1993) Nikos Zalikas Oleg Blokhin	2007–08	Giorgos Paraschos Fernando Santos (Sept 2007 – June 2010)
1978–79	Egon Piechaczek	1993–94	Oleg Blokhin (Feb 1993 – Feb 1994) Stavros Sarafis	2008–09	Fernando Santos
1979–80	Egon Piechaczek Gyula Lóránt	1994–95	Arie Haan	2009–10
1980–81	Gyula Lóránt Aristarchos Fountoukidis	1995–96	Arie Haan (Aug 1994 – Oct 1995) Stavros Sarafis Dragan Kokotovic (Nov 1995 – Feb 1996) Michalis Bellis Gunder Bengtsson	2010–11	Mario Beretta (June 2010 – July 2010) Pavlos Dermitzakis (July 2010 – Oct 2010) Makis Chavos (Oct 2010 – June 2011)
1981–82	Heinz Höher	1996–97	Gunder Bengtsson Christos Archontidis (Dec 1996 – Feb 1997) Angelos Anastasiadis	2011–12	László Bölöni (June 2011 – June 2012)
1982–83		1997–98	Angelos Anastasiadis	2012–13	Giorgos Donis (June 2012 – April 2013) Georgios Georgiadis (April 2013 – June 2013)
1983–84	Pál Csernai	1998–99	Oleg Blokhin (Aug 1998 – Sept 1998) Angelos Anastasiadis (Sept 1998 – Feb 1999) Arie Haan (Feb 1999 – Nov 1999)	2013–14	Huub Stevens (June 2013 – Mar 2014) Georgios Georgiadis (Mar 2014 – May 2014)
1984–85	Walter Skocik	1999–00	Arie Haan Stavros Sarafis Dušan Bajević (Jan 2000 – 2 May)	2014–15	Angelos Anastasiadis (June 2014 – March 2015) Georgios Georgiadis (Mar 2015–30 Jun 2015)

• Fernando Santos is the longest serving manager (2 years and 10 months) and Mario Beretta is the shortest (38 days).
• Angelos Anastasiadis is the overall longest serving manager (4 years an 2 months), in three distinct terms.

Records

Superleague top scorers

Rank.	Nationality	Player	Times	Seasons
1		Dimitris Salpingidis	1	2005-06
2		Dimitris Nalitzis	1	1999-00
3		Lampis Kouiroukidis	1	1955-56
4		Christoforos Jientzis	1	1953-54

Most league appearances and top scorers

Rank Name Apps 1 Giorgos Koudas 504 2 Kostas Iosifidis 397 3 Giannis Gounaris 376 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 Damanakis 242

Rank Name Goals 1 Stavros Sarafis 136 2 Giorgos Koudas 134 3 Dimitris Salpingidis 90 4 Giorgos Skartados 84 5 Giorgos Kostikos 78 6 Neto Guerino 66 7 Panagiotis Kermanidis 59 = Stefanos Athanasiadis 59 9 Koulis Apostolidis 51 10 Dimitris Paridis 49

League performance and statistics

Season	Pos.	W. – D. – L.	Goals	Points	Season	Pos.	W. – D. – L.	Goals	Points	Season	Pos.	W. – D. – L.	Goals	Points	Season	Pos.	W. – D. – L.	Goals	Points
1959–60	7	10 – 9 – 11	32–32	59	1976–77	3	21 – 10 – 3	63–27	52	1993–94	5	14 – 9 – 11	45–38	51	2010–11	3	14 – 6 – 10	32–29	48
1960–61	10	7 – 15 – 8	31–33	59	1977–78	2	16 – 14 – 4	48–24	46	1994–95	3	20 – 5 – 9	55–29	65	2011–12	5	14 – 8 – 8	45–27	50
1961–62	6	12 – 6 – 12	32–43	60	1978–79	4	18 – 9 – 7	73–23	45	1995–96	14	10 – 11 – 13	42–46	38 (−3 p.)	2012–13	2	18 – 8 – 4	46–19	62
1962–63	4	13 – 8 – 9	44–34	64	1979–80	5	17 – 7 – 10	53–33	41	1996–97	4	19 – 9 – 6	53–28	66	2013–14	3	21 – 6 – 7	68–37	69
1963–64	8	10 – 7 – 13	22–30	56 (−1 p.)	1980–81	4	15 – 12 – 7	52–31	42	1997–98	4	21 – 7 – 6	74–41	70	2014–15	5	20 – 5 – 9	57–42	65
1964–65	8	9 – 10 – 11	29–33	58	1981–82	3	18 – 10 – 6	55–22	46	1998–99	4	19 – 5 – 10	52–31	62	2015–16
1965–66	6	10 – 9 – 11	43–49	59	1982–83	4	18 – 6 – 10	49–28	42	1999–00	5	15 – 10 – 9	64–44	55
1966–67	4	13 – 11 – 6	36–20	67	1983–84	5	11 – 13 – 6	33–29	45	2000–01	4	14 – 9 – 7	66–48	51
1967–68	9	13 – 7 – 14	45–40	67	1984–85	1	19 – 8 – 3	54–26	46	2001–02	4	14 – 6 – 6	55–45	48
1968–69	5	16 – 10 – 8	58–37	76	1985–86	10	10 – 7 – 13	33–38	27	2002–03	4	16 – 5 – 9	59–38	53
1969–70	5	12 – 17 – 5	52–25	75	1986–87	5	13 – 9 – 8	39–23	29 (−6 p.)	2003–04	3	18 – 6 – 6	47–27	60
1970–71	8	12 – 10 – 12	38–32	68	1987–88	3	17 – 5 – 8	60–27	39	2004–05	5	13 – 7 – 10	43–39	46
1971–72	5	18 – 10 – 6	53–27	80	1988–89	8	11 – 10 – 9	34–30	32	2005–06	6	13 – 7 – 10	44–31	46
1972–73	2	27 – 4 – 3	75–24	92	1989–90	3	19 – 8 – 7	49–26	46	2006–07	6	13 – 6 – 11	32–29	45
1973–74	4	16 – 11 – 7	62–32	43	1990–91	4	16 – 9 – 9	56–39	38 (−3 p.)	2007–08	9	10 – 5 – 15	29–35	35
1974–75	3	19 – 8 – 7	73–28	46	1991–92	4	13 – 13 – 8	44–44	39	2008–09	4	18 – 9 – 3	39–16	63
1975–76	1	21 – 7 – 2	60–17	49	1992–93	5	17 – 6 – 11	52–38	57	2009–10	2	19 – 5 – 6	41–16	62

• At 1986–87: had 3 nullified matches, resulting in −6 points.
• Point system: 1959–60 to 1972–73: 3–2–1. 1973–74 to 1991–92: 2–1–0. 1992–93 onwards: 3–1–0.

See also

• PAOK (The Amateur Sports Club)
• P.A.O.K. Thessaloniki B.C. – Basketball
• P.A.O.K. Thessaloniki H.C. – Handball
• P.A.O.K. Thessaloniki V.C. – Volleyball

External links

• Official site
• PAOK Thessaloniki History – PAOK Thessaloniki History provided on behalf of Melbourne Club PAOK
• PAOK FC at UEFA
• PAOK FC at UEFA.com (season 2015–16)

Press

• PAOK24 (Greek)

Media

• Official YouTube channel