Gianluca Saraceni

Panathinaikos V.C. (Greek: ΤΑΑ Παναθηναϊκός Α.Ο.), also known simply as Panathinaikos, or with its full name Panathinaikos A.O. (Greek: Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, transliterated "Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos", Panathenaic Athletic Club) is the professional volleyball team of the major Athens based multi-sport club Panathinaikos A.O.. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest and most successful volleyball clubs in Greece. They have won 18 Greek Championships finishing 6 times undefeated (1962–63, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1974–75), 6 Greek Cups and 1 Greek Super Cup. They have reached also twice the CEV Cup final (1979–80, 2008–09).

Notable Greek player have played for the team, while foreign world-class players that have played with the club include Dante Amaral, Marcelo Elgarten, André Nascimento, Frank Depestele, Liberman Agamez, Peter Pláteník, Jakub Novotný, Plamen Konstantinov, Boyan Yordanov, Björn Andrae, Andrija Gerić, Clayton Stanley, Ernardo Gómez, Renaud Herpe, Guillaume Samica, Dawid Murek, Paweł Zagumny and Łukasz Żygadło.

History

The volleyball department of Panathinaikos was founded in 1919 and is one of the first in Greece. With the participation of Giorgos Kalafatis in the Inter-Allied Games of Paris in 1919, and the informations he collected, the sport became more known in Greece. The same year the officials of the club decided the creation of a volleyball team.

The first dynamic presence of the team is dated back in the years 1927–29 with many popular players of the time such as the founder Giorgos Kalafatis, the historical member of the board Apostolos Nikolaidis, as well as players such as Athanasios Aravositas, Goumas, Arg. Nikolaidis, Papageorgiou and Papastefanou. In the following years the interest for volleyball became less until before World War II when Panathinaikos presented a powerful team with leader players such as Lambrou, Vallidis, Momferatos, Tzoumanis, Proselentis, Lykouris, Kakridis and more.

During the 60’s and 70’s, Panathinaikos' volleyball club won many titles and honors due to the fact that the team roster has always included some of the leading volleyball players and coaches in Greece. 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. Notable coaches of this era was the leading figure of the department Gerasimos Theodoratos, the Yugoslavian Sava Grozdanović and later the ex-player of the team Andreas Bergeles.

The most important achievement of the team was the participation in the final of the European Cup in 1980 with Grozdanović as coach and players such as Georgantis, Agrapidakis, Iliopoulos, Papadopoulos, Malousaris, Gountakos, Astras, Kokkinaras and Koliopoulos. In the following years, Panathinaikos team continued to dominate the Greek championship with Janusz Badora as coach and players such as Kazazis, Tentzeris, Gontikas, Galakos, Dimitriadis, Margaronis, Karamaroudis and Andreopoulos.

Two of the most successful periods have been 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons, when Panathinaikos won 2 consecutive championships with Stelios Prosalikas as head coach and Andreopoulos, Triantafillidis, Filippov, Spanos, Hatziantoniou, Ouzounov, A. Kovacev, S. Kovacev, Karamaroudis, Mavrakis, Konstantinidis, Zakynthinos, Koutouleas, Tonev as players.

In 2001 the department became professional under the presidency and financial support of Vlassis Stathokostopoulos and later Thanasis Giannakopoulos.

In 2004 the team won the Championship with the ex-player Stelios Kazazis as coach. WIth the Brazilian star-player Dante Amaral and Marcelo Elgarten, they made a strong team and finished again first in 2006, while they reached again the final of the European Cup in 2009.

Honours

Domestic

• Greek Championship: (18)
  • 1963, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1995, 1996, 2004, 2006
• Greek Cup: (6)
  • 1982, 1984, 1985, 2007, 2008, 2010
• Greek Super Cup: (1)
  • 2006

European

• CEV Cup
  • Runners-up (2): 1980, 2009

Current men's volleyball squad

As of 14 October 2016

Technical and managerial staff

Selected former players

Selected former coaches

• Gerasimos Theodoratos
• Sava Grozdanović
• Andreas Bergeles
• Nikos Bergeles
• Aurel Constantinescu
• Janusz Badora
• Stelios Prosalikas
• Carlos Xavier Weber
• Francisco dos Santos
• Mauro Berruto
• Alekos Leonis
• Stelios Kazazis

International record

Historical performance in the league

Sponsorships

• Official Sport Clothing Manufacturer: Erreà
• Great Shirt Sponsor: Counterpain
• Official Sponsor: OPAP, Blue Star Ferries, Hygeia Medical Center
• Official Broadcaster: Nova Sports

Historical uniforms

Presidents

• 2001-08: Vlassis Stathokostopoulos
• 2008-09: Thanasis Giannakopoulos
• 2009-11: Thodoris Liakopoulos
• 2011: Stratos Sopilis
• 2011-13: Chronis Akritidis
• 2013-16: Manolis Ladoukakis
• 2016-: Dimitris Kassaris