Panathinaikos Athletic Club was established by George Kalafatis in 1908. At
first, Panathinaikos comprised of only one department, the football team.
Before it took the name P.A.O., in 1908 it was called P.O.A. (Football Club
of Athens), in 1909 it changed to P.P.O. (Panhellenic Football Club), in
1918 to P.P.A.O. (Panhellenic Football and Athletic Club) and finally, in
1924 to the well known name of P.A.O. (Panathenian Athletic Club). As the
years went by, Panathinaikos established many others sport departments (21
in total).
Panathinaikos is by far the most distinguished Greek football club so far,
having participated once in the European Champions Cup final (1971 at
Wembley Stadium, London, lost 2-0 to Ajax Amsterdaam) and having reached
twice to the semifinal of the same competition (later renamed Champions
League) (1985 against Liverpool, lost 4-0 and 0-1, and 1996 beating Ajax 0-1
in Amsterdaam but losing 0-3 in the second game).
Several famous players, such as Velimir Zajec have played for the club over
the years.
The basketball department of Panathinaikos has also been most successful in
international competitions, with three European Champions Cups in its
collection. |
