Panathinaikos V.C.

Panathinaikos
NicknameThe Trifolium
The Greens
Founded1919 (1919)
GroundMets Indoor Hall
(Capacity: 1,200)
ChairmanDimitris Vranopoulos
ManagerDimitris Andreopoulos
CaptainAthanasios Protopsaltis
LeagueGreek Volleyleague
2025–261st (Champions)
WebsiteClub home page
Championships22
Uniforms
Home
Away

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 22 Greek Championships finishing 6 times undefeated (1962–63, 1965–66, 1966–67, 1969–70, 1970–71, 1974–75), 7 Greek Cups, 3 Greek League Cups and 2 Greek Super Cups. 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

Georgios Kalafatis

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

Current men's volleyball squad

Team roster – season 2026/2027[4]

No. Name Date of birth Position
1Greece Stavros KasampalisJune 1, 1995setter
2Greece Giorgos PapalexiouAugust 28, 1999middle blocker
6United States Patrick GasmanJanuary 2, 1997middle blocker
7Ukraine Dmytro YanchukMay 19, 1999outside hitter
8Denmark Rasmus Breuning NielsenMay 22, 1994opposite
12Greece Theodoros VoulkidisMarch 30, 1996middle blocker
13Greece Charalampos AndreopoulosJanuary 23, 2001outside hitter
19Greece Angelos MandilarisNovember 7, 1998opposite
31Italy Luca SpiritoOctober 30, 1993setter
70Greece Aristeidis ChandrinosNovember 20, 2002libero
77Greece Athanasios Protopsaltis (c)September 12, 1993outside hitter
--France Timothée CarleNovember 30, 1995outside hitter
--Bulgaria Nikolay KolevDecember 16, 1997middle blocker
--Greece Anastasios GrillasMarch 31, 2007libero
Head coach: Greece Dimitris Andreopoulos

Technical and managerial staff

Staff
Head coach Greece Dimitris Andreopoulos
Assistant coach Greece Pavlos Karamaroudis
Assistant coach / Trainer Greece Christos Mpelos
Statistician Greece Alkiviadis Mpelos
Physiotherapist Greece Napoleon Charisis
Physiotherapist Greece Panagiotis Vlachas
Kit assistant Greece Alexandros Makos
Team manager Greece Roulis Agrapidakis

Retired numbers

Panathinaikos men's volleyball retired numbers
N° Nat. Player Position Tenure
14GreeceSotiris PantaleonMiddle Blocker1996–2012, 2014–2021

Selected former players

Albania
  • AlbaniaGreece Albano Qualiu
  • AlbaniaGreece Alvi Shurdhi
Argentina
Belgium
Bosnia-Herzegovina
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina Milorad Kovać
Brazil
Bulgaria
Canada
  • Canada Keith Sanheim
  • Canada Michael Amoroso
  • Canada Derrick Epp
  • Canada Cameron Kern
  • Canada Maxwell Elgert
Colombia
Croatia
  • Croatia Danijel Galić
Cuba
Cyprus
Czech Republic
  • Czech Republic Jakub Novotný
  • Czech Republic Petr Pešl
  • Czech Republic Peter Pláteník
  • Czech Republic Dalibor Polak
  • Czech Republic Petr Zapletal
Denmark
  • DenmarkArgentina Axel Jacobsen
  • Denmark Rasmus Breuning Nielsen
Egypt
  • EgyptGreece Ionas Rezk
France
Germany
Greece
Italy
Montenegro
Netherlands
North Macedonia
  • North Macedonia Filip Savovski
Norway
  • Norway Jonas Kvalen
Poland
Russia
Serbia
Slovenia
Spain
  • Spain Jordi Gens
Ukraine
  • UkraineRussia Yuri Filippov
  • Ukraine Dmytro Yanchuk
United States
Venezuela

Selected former coaches

Mauro Berruto
  • Greece Gerasimos Theodoratos
  • Serbia Sava Grozdanović
  • Greece Andreas Bergeles
  • Greece Nikos Bergeles
  • Romania Aurel Constantinescu
  • Poland Janusz Badora
  • Greece Stelios Prosalikas
  • Argentina Carlos Xavier Weber
  • Brazil Francisco dos Santos
  • Italy Mauro Berruto
  • Greece Alekos Leonis
  • Greece Stelios Kazazis

International record

Season Achievement Notes
CEV Champions League
1982–83 Quarter–final
1995–96 7th place
1996–97 5th place
2007–08 Play–off 6
Cup Winners Cup
1976–77 Quarter–final
1979–80 Final defeated by Panini Modena, 2–3 sets in Athens
1981–82 Quarter–final
1983–84 Quarter–final
1987–88 Quarter–final
1988–89 Final four 3rd place
1989–90 Quarter–final
1990–91 Quarter–final
1991–92 Quarter–final
Top Teams Cup
2005–06 Final four 3rd place
CEV Cup
2001–02 Quarter–final eliminated by Asystel Milano
2002–03 Quarter–final eliminated by Tourcoing Lille Metropole
2003–04 Final four 4th place
2008–09 Final 2nd place
CEV Challenge Cup
2021–22 Semi–final eliminated by Halkbank Ankara
2022–23 Semi–final eliminated by Olympiacos

Season by season

Sponsorships

Period Kit manufacturer Shirt main sponsor
2000–2001[5][6] Asics Warsteiner
2001–2002[6][7] Nike —
2002–2004 Caan EVGA
2004–2008 Adidas Subaru
2009–2012 Asics —
2012–2015 Fila —
2015–2017 Erreà Counterpain
2017–2018 —
2018–2019 Athlos Sport Pame Stoixima
2019–2023 Macron
2024–2026 Adidas

Arenas

Arena Capacity Years
Leoforos Indoor Hall1,5001960s–2004
Glyfada Indoor Hall2,2702004–2009
2010–2011
Mets Indoor Hall1,2002009–2010
2011–2013
2023–present
Panellinios Indoor Hall1,1002013–2019
Maroussi Saint Thomas Indoor Hall1,7002019–2023

Presidents

  • 2001–08: Vlassis Stathokostopoulos
  • 2008–09: Thanasis Giannakopoulos
  • 2009–11: Thodoris Liakopoulos
  • 2011: Stratos Sopilis
  • 2011–13: Chronis Akritidis
  • 2013–16: Manolis Ladoukakis
  • 2016–18: Dimitris Kassaris
  • 2018–20: Alexandros Ellinas
  • 2020–25: Panagiotis Malakates
  • 2025–: Dimitris Vranopoulos

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Volley League: Η επίσημη λίστα των πρωταθλημάτων, 22 τίτλους ο Παναθηναϊκός". sport24.gr. 20 May 2025.
  2. ↑ "Χρυσή Βίβλος - Ελληνικη Ομοσπονδια Πετοσφαιρισησ". Archived from the original on 2017-01-08. Retrieved 2017-01-07.
  3. ↑ "Η Χρυσή Βίβλος του Super Cup". Contra.gr. Retrieved 24 February 2019.
  4. ↑ Παναθηναϊκός Α.Ο. (in Greek). Retrieved 20 September 2024.
  5. ↑ "Νίκος Σαμαράς: Πέντε χρόνια χωρίς τον "αετό" του ελληνικού βόλεϊ (pics, vid)". Panathinaikos24.gr (in Greek). 2018-01-04. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  6. 1 2 "Ο Νίκος Σαμαράς εν δράσει (photos)". www.volleyball.gr. 2017-12-23. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  7. ↑ "rizospastis.gr - Να τιμωρηθούν οι υπεύθυνοι". rizospastis.gr. 2001-11-04. Retrieved 2022-12-04.
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