Apollon Smyrnis Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Απόλλων Σμύρνης), or in its full name Gymnasticos Syllogos Apollon Smyrnis ( el, links=no, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Απόλλων Σμύρνης, ''Gymnastics Club Apollon of Smyrna'') is a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

club based in

Rizoupoli Rizoupoli ( el, Ριζούπολη ) is a neighborhood of Nea Filadelfeia-Chalkidona, Greece. It is the northernmost neighborhood of municipality along with the small district Probonas. The district is located between Patissia and Nea Philadelphia ...

in the city of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

. It participates in the Greek

Super League 2 Stones Bitter Super League II was the official name for the year 1997's Super League championship season, the 103rd season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the second to be played in summer. Teams Twelve teams were ...

. It was founded in

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; grc, Σμύρνη, Smýrnē, or , ) was a Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to promi ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, by

Anatolian Greeks The Anatolian Greeks, also known as Asiatic Greeks or Asia Minor Greeks, make up the ethnic Greek populations who lived in Anatolia from 1200s BCE as a result of Greek colonization until the forceful population exchange between Greece and Turkey ...

in 1891 and is one of the oldest Hellenic sports clubs. Following the compulsory

population exchange between Greece and Turkey The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey ( el, Ἡ Ἀνταλλαγή, I Antallagí, ota, مبادله, Mübâdele, tr, Mübadele) stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at ...

the club was re-established in

in 1923 and is also known as Apollon Athens. Apollon Smyrnis has also departments basketball, volleyball, water polo and other sports.

History

Smyrna era (1891–1922)

Apollon Smyrnis was founded in 1891 by former members of club Orpheus. Orpheus (subsequently

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

) had been founded one year earlier in 1890. Among the founders of Apollon were prominent residents of Smyrna such as

Chrysostomos of Smyrna Chrysostomos Kalafatis ( el, Χρυσόστομος Καλαφάτης; 8 January 1867 – 10 September 1922) known as Saint Chrysostomos of Smyrna, Chrysostomos of Smyrna and Metropolitan Chrysostom, was the Greek Orthodox metropolitan bishop o ...

and Vasilis Samios. Roughly in the year 1893, the athletic department was organised. The first games of

took place in 1894, organized by the English sports fans of

Bornova Bornova is a metropolitan district of İzmir in İzmir Province in Turkey. It is the third largest district in İzmir's Greater Metropolitan Area of and is almost fully urbanized at the rate of 98.6 percent, with corresponding high levels of devel ...

, a district in İzmir nowadays. In these games the athletes of Apollon achieved a lot of first victories. The person with the most wins was Theologos Anastasoglou, a glorious athlete who later became Olympic champion; he was most likely the best athlete from Apollon. The Games were always organized by English sports fans until 1903, with the attendance of the Gymnastic Association Apollon Smyrnis. The third anniversary of the foundation of Apollon was celebrated joyously. Chairman N. Koulmasis gave the speech of the day, while the famous S. Pittakis spoke of Delphi and recited the anthem to the god

Apollo Apollo, grc, Ἀπόλλωνος, Apóllōnos, label=genitive , ; , grc-dor, Ἀπέλλων, Apéllōn, ; grc, Ἀπείλων, Apeílōn, label=Arcadocypriot Greek, ; grc-aeo, Ἄπλουν, Áploun, la, Apollō, la, Apollinis, label= ...

. There was a special pedestal on which had been set up an altar to praise the god Apollo, while eight youths dressed in chlamydes sang the Pindariko anthem to Apollo. In 1894, with the election of its new presiding board, Apollon adopted as its emblem three runners and at the same time it established an excursion department. Of the first excursions that were organized, one was to

Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...

and another to

Aydın Aydın ( ''EYE-din''; ; formerly named ''Güzelhisar'', Ancient and Modern Greek: Τράλλεις /''Tralleis''/) is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of B ...

, in which the Russian scholar and historical Frigkol took part. In 1894, the council of the Gymnastic Association of Apollon (Apollon Sports Club) was composed of chairman Mathaios Provatopoulos and Th. Vatidi, Jakovos Koulampidis, Grig. Sofianopoulos, G. Oikonomidis, A. Koulampidis and C. Papadimitriou. During this season the team acquired a privately owned ground. Initially, only its members fought on these. Later, however, it organized games in which other associations could also take part.

Apollon Smyrna's stadium

Apollon acquired its own stadium in 1894. At this point we should examine a little the background of the foundation of the first ground of Apollon. Fourteen years before, in 1880, Ioannis Damvergis with Apostolos Psaltof, Stefanos Papamihalis and I. Makroulidis, all students of the Evangelic Faculty of Smyrna, created an off-hand gym in some open space, known with the name "love arena". After they opened the ground, they set up a perimeter using ropes because of a lack of money. Then, with hard economising, they bought a horizontal bar and other gymnastic equipment. The youth of Smyrna exercised there paying a symbolic price. Makroulidis was made cashier. This primitive gym constituted the precursor of the gym of Apollo, but was also the fountain for the later great athletes of the association. For this reason, the creator of this gym, Apostolos Psaltof, was called the "grandfather'" of Apollon. Later the gymnastic association "Apollon Smyrnis" moved to a space opposite the Greek Orphanage where was then built a big and modern gym in the district of Saint Tryfon, near the famous theatre "Terpsithea". In 1901 Apollon organized the first boat races in Smyrna, with the attendance of the other big Smyrna association, "Panionios", which was founded in 1898 and came forth from the union of associations "Orpheus" and "Gymnasium".

Apollonian Games

On 6 and 8 May 1904, the Apollon Stadium of Bornova organised the first

Apollonian Games The Apollonian and the Dionysian are philosophical and literary concepts represented by a duality between the figures of Apollo and Dionysus from Greek mythology. Its popularization is widely attributed to the work ''The Birth of Tragedy'' by Fri ...

with the attendance, not only of the organizers, the "Gymnastic Association Apollo Smyrnis" and the "Athletic Organization of Bornova", but also the "Athletic Union of Smyrni" as well. Remarkably, the making of these games was all under the supervision of prefect of Smyrni, Kiamil pasa, a measure of the huge scope and power of this association. The committee of the athletic games consisted of: Sokratis Solomonidis, Xristos Athanasoulas, Xenophon Dimas, Kostas Kotzias, Petros Mposkovik, A. Vanterze and Richard Whittes. The committee of ellanodikes was composed of Nikos Stavridis (chairman of Apollon), E. Fintao and D. Whittes. The opening ceremony for the first

started with a parade of all athletes under the sounds of music that was played by the orchestra of Apollon with director I. Magglis. The gymnastic association "Apollon Smyrnis" took part with 54 athletes. The biggest attraction was the 10 km run, won by L. Venizelos with a time of 34'43. Another popular game attraction was the ''sakodromies'' (small jumps), a race of 60 m, in which the runners were fully surrounded with cloth sacks up to their necks. Afterwards, at the end of the games, there was the handing-over of prizes and the athletes, followed by thousands of spectators and escorted by the orchestra of Apollo, walked to the railway station of Bornova, from where they took off to Smyrni by special train. From the railway station of Mpasmahane to the offices of the Apollon Gymnastic Association in the Bella Vista, a ''lampadidodromia'' (running with torches) took place. The "Apollonia" aka Apollonian Games were held in Smyrna, with exceptional success, ten times in total. In these games took part almost all athletic associations of Smyrna, Greek and foreign, except the Turkish clubs.

Rivalry between Apollon and Panionios

This period is also the beginning of the great rivalry between Apollon and

, which has continued until modern times, although without any extremes. The point of contention was the claim of supremacy in the capital of

Ionia Ionia () was an ancient region on the western coast of Anatolia, to the south of present-day Izmir. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionian ...

. However, this antagonism was progressively blunted, since the men of Apollon were active mainly in football and went on to create one of the most powerful teams of

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

and one of the three most important teams in Greek lands, whereas Panionios was focused on the track, producing some very important athletes. In 1904, Apollon took part in the Pan-Hellenic athletics that were organized in Athens. The city of Smyrna was represented by athletes from Panionios and Apollon. The athletes of the Gymnastic Association Apollon Smyrnis gained a lot of victories: Theologos Anastasoglou, Mathaios Despotopoulos, Kiros Alexiou, Dimitrios Mouratis and X. Lohner. Athenian man of letters, I. Damvergis, who represented Apollon in Athens, announced the news of the victories to Smyrna via telegraph. The chairman of Apollon answered: "We are grateful to you, give our congratulations to the champions." On May 1, 1905, the Apollon club celebrated with magnificence. With the music orchestra of Apollon at its head, the association organised a parade of all of the club athletes in the major streets of Smyrna. In 1906, common games were organized in Smyrna for the athletes of Apollon and Panionios. In these games victors for Apollon were the following athletes: Gounaris, Patestidis and K. Alexiou. In the same season, the Gymnastic Association Apollon Smyrnis suggested replacing the Apollonian and the Panionian Games of Smyrni with Pan Minor-Asian games. This effort, however, was not realised due to strong opposition from Panionios. In the same year (1906) Apollon took part in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

of Athens (Middle Olympics). Its athletes Theologos Anastasoglou and Mathaios Despotopoulos were winners in pentathlon, writing yet another brilliant page in the history of the club.

The football team

1910 was a very important year in the history of Apollon. During this year the

team of the club was founded, with swastika as its emblem – a cross which is an ancient Greek symbol. Apollon fans loved this sport in particular, giving it the first place in their hearts. To this contributed, of course, the club's soccer players with their fighting spirit and their high morals. The club competed in football matches with all the teams of

, as well as with teams of sailors on foreign navy ships that were harboured in the Ionian capital. In 1911, Apollon accomplished a victory over the most powerful soccer team of the season, the team of the Austrian warship "Wirintous"! It is notable that the Austrian admiral sent a congratulations telegram to the presiding board of Apollon. Important also is the victory achieved in 1918 against the almighty team of English warship "Minitor 19", the first warship that had sailed into the harbour of Smyrna, after the defeat of Turkey in the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. Successes began to come one after the other and before long Apollon became the leading football association of

. Characteristically, it won the Championship of football games held in

continuously on the years between 1917 and 1922. In the Olympic Games of Antwerp (1920) the footballers of Apollon, A. Gkillis, D. Gottis, I. Zaloumis and Fotiadis, took part in the Greece national football team. The final accomplishment of Apollon in Smyrna was in 1922 when it gained the title of champion. Thousands of Apollon fans celebrated this huge success, that was to be the last before the destruction of Smyrna. In the football team of Apollon that year were: Kajsaris, Koygjoyntogloy, Tsarls, Taloymis, Mayromma'tis (Haralampakis), Hrysoylis, Kampoyropoylos, Samjos, Papagjannis, Gottis, Gkjlis, Alevizakis, Domeniko, Viglatsis, Zaloumis, Kimitsopoulos, Magoulas, Marselos and the goalkeepers Fotiadis (main) and Zeimpekis (substitute). Two of them, Marselos and Hrysoulis, were captured and remained forever on Ionian soil. Also, in Smyrna remained as captives, A. and G. Kyrou, members of the council of Apollon, as well as champion of track Kr. Persis, the traces of whom were lost from then on. The council of Gymnastic Association Apollon Smyrnis, on the last year at Smyrna was composed of: D. Marselos (chairman), J. Garyfalos (general secretary), A. Kyrou (special secretary), and Hatzithomas (cashier).

Apollon in Athens (1922–)

After the Greco-Turkish War and the expulsion of the Greeks from

, Apollon moved to

. The club's first home ground was located at a place near the

Greek Parliament The Hellenic Parliament ( el, Ελληνικό Κοινοβούλιο, Elliniko Kinovoulio; formally titled el, Βουλή των Ελλήνων, Voulí ton Ellínon, Boule of the Hellenes, label=none), also known as the Parliament of the Hel ...

called "Stiles Olympiou Dios" ( Pillars of Olympian Zeus). Apollon stayed there for about 25 years, and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the club's house was again transferred to an

neighbourhood called "Rizoupoli" and a stadium was built there,

Georgios Kamaras Stadium Georgios Kamaras Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Γεώργιος Καμάρας) is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Apollon Smyrnis. The stadium holds 14,200 ...

, named after club legend

Georgios Kamaras Giorgos Kamaras born Georgios Katrodavlis ( el, Γιώργος Καμάρας;5 May 1929 - 2000) was a Greek footballer. His name has been joined with the history of Apollon Athens. The stadium of Apollon Athens, in the Athenian district of Rizou ...

. The club has four departments: the football department called "Apollon Smyrnis FC", a basketball club called "Apollon BC", a volleyball club and a fighting department. The best known (and probably the most successful) department is the football club. Apollon FC participated in the

Alpha Ethniki The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

championship for many years, with the exception of seasons 1969–70, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1986–87. The team won the local Athens Championship five times, on 1924, 1928, 1938, 1948 and 1958. Seasons 1994–95 and 1995–96 are the club's most successful seasons: In 1994–95, Apollon qualified for the

1995–96 UEFA Cup The 1995–96 UEFA Cup was the 25th season of Europe's then-tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. It was won by German club Bayern Munich on aggregate over Bordeaux of France. Girondins de Bordeaux went to the finals all the way f ...

(preliminary round) where they played against Olimpija Ljubljana.

was not suitable for the game, so Apollon played in

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...

' home ground,

Nikos Goumas Stadium Nikos Goumas Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Νίκος Γκούμας) was a multi-purpose stadium in Nea Filadelfeia, a northwestern suburb of Athens, Greece. It was used mostly for football matches and was the home stadium of AEK Athens F.C. It is ...

. Apollon won 1–0 in

in front of 10,000 fans but lost 3–1 in

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

and was eliminated (Olimpia scored 2 goals in the last 15 minutes). In those matches, many people noticed a young striker (just 21 years old at the time) who would become European football Champion almost ten years after; his name was

Demis Nikolaidis Themistoklis "Demis" Nikolaidis ( el, Ντέμης Νικολαΐδης; born 17 September 1973) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was the forty second president of AEK Athens, and is considered one of the fi ...

. The following season, 1995–96, Apollon under the coaching of Giannis Pathiakakis and thanks to

' capital scoring performances, reached the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most im ...

final after an excellent season, where they lost 7–1 to

. In the same season, Apollon made one of the biggest victories in his history, defeating Olympiacos at

Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Γεώργιος Καραϊσκάκης), commonly referred to as the Karaiskakis Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Καραϊσκάκη, ), is a football stadium in Piraeus, Attica, Greece, and the ...

with 0–3, with an amazing goal of Demis Nikolaidis. After these great seasons, Apollon's glory started to fade and as a result, in the 1999–00 season Apollon was relegated to

Beta Ethniki The Football League ( el, Φούτμπολ Λιγκ) was the second highest professional football league in Greece since its inception in 1962 as ''Beta Ethniki'' and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super Lea ...

. Then, in 2005 it was relegated to

Gamma Ethniki The Gamma Ethniki ( el, Γ΄ Εθνική Ερασιτεχνική Κατηγορία, C National Amateur Division) is the third highest football league in Greece. History The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 198 ...

(South Group) and finally, in 2007, to

Delta Ethniki Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also r ...

(Group 8). Apollon have gone since the 1930s under the nickname "The Light Brigade" (Greek: Ελαφρά Ταξιαρχία), named after the 1936 Hollywood movie

The Charge of the Light Brigade The Charge of the Light Brigade was a failed military action involving the British light cavalry led by Lord Cardigan against Russian forces during the Battle of Balaclava on 25 October 1854 in the Crimean War. Lord Raglan had intended to s ...

, after winning the 1938 regional Athens championship.

Alamanos era (1979–2005)

In 1979, with the Greek football turning professional, Kostas Alamanos became the major shareholder and president of the team and remained so until 2005. He helped Apollon reach the

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...

preliminary round in 1995 and the

Greek Cup final The Greek Cup Final, commonly referred to in Greece as just The Cup Final is the last match in the Greek Cup. Teams in yellow background won both Panhellenic Championship (up to 1959) or Alpha Ethniki (up to 2006) or the Super League Greece (kn ...

in 1996, but after the departure of many of the team's best footballers, Apollon were unable to recover and in 2000 they were relegated.

Today

Apollon managed to return to the First Division in the 2012–13 season, with Stamatis Vellis, a business

shipping Freight transport, also referred as ''Freight Forwarding'', is the physical process of transporting Commodity, commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it h ...

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

, as the new owner. On November 11, 2013, Apollon Smyrnis announced the signing of Northern Irish

Lawrie Sanchez Lawrence Philip Sanchez (born 22 October 1959) is a Northern Irish football manager and former international footballer. The defining moment of his playing career came in the 1988 FA Cup Final, when he scored the winning goal for Wimbledon ag ...

as head coach and as assistant coach

Stephen Constantine Stephen Constantine (born 16 October 1962) is an English professional football coach and former player who is head coach of Indian Super League club East Bengal. Early and personal life Constantine was born on 16 October 1962 in London. He is ...

. Their presence contributed to a significant harvesting of points in the second round of the championship, but it was not enough to keep Apollon in the Super League as it finished the penultimate and relegated. In 2014, Vellis resigned from the presidency of Apollon. He testified to the district attorney that the fate of the team depended on the actions of corrupt members of the

Hellenic Football Federation The Hellenic Football Federation (HFF), also known as the Greek Football Federation ( el, Ελληνική Ποδοσφαιρική Ομοσπονδία; ΕΠΟ, translit=Ellinikí Podosferikí Omospondía; EPO) is the governing body of associat ...

, naming a number of officials currently accused in the

2015 Greek football scandal The 2015 Greek football scandal emerged on 6 April 2015 when prosecutor Aristidis Korreas' 173-page work was revealed. Telephone tapping operated by the National Intelligence Service of Greece since 2011 has played a significant role in the case ...

. From 2015, Apollon Smyrnis is making a new effort with the Monemvasiotis family at the rudder. On 4 June 2017, Apollon Smyrnis were promoted to

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

alongside 2nd placed

Lamia LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...

Stadium

In 1880, Ioannis Dammergis, along with Apostolos Psaltoff, Stefanos Papamichalis and I. Makroulidis, created a snapshot in an open space, known as the "love of talani". In this stadium, young people from all over Smyrna were hired paying a penny. Makroulidis was appointed a treasurer. This primitive gym (fenced with a cloth rope) was the precursor of Apollon's gymnasium, as well as the hive for the later great athletes of the club. That's why the creator of this gymnasium, I. Psalof, called him "grandfather" of Apollon. Later, Apollon Smyrnis gymnasium moved to a place in front of the Greek Orphanage and then built a large and modern gym in the area of Tryfonas, near the famous theater "Terpsithea". In 1904, Apollon Smyrnis took over the organization of the Bornova Sports Games. For sports needs, Apollon renovates the Bornova stadium under the architect B. Liti and acquires a 400-meter track and capacity for 6,000 spectators. With the destruction of Smyrna, Apollon Smyrnis was uprooted and came to

. The first station of his Odyssey, the Columns of Olympian Zeus. In an existing stadium, the team first moved into the new home. There they were first seat. There they took the first EPSA champion. But it remained only until 1924. The second station is Rouf. The seat of the team is transferred and stays there until 1946. The current municipal stadium testifies about the location of the then facilities. Though then the stadium was adjacent to the church of St. Vasilios, which stands out in the background of photography. At this headquarters they once again took an EPSA champion. In 1946 the club's installations were expropriated by the Railway Company and Apollon moved to

, next to Columbia's facilities. The stadium is inaugurated on October 17, 1948. Initially, the stadium of the current officials was built. In 1962 the opposite stand with the gates 8,9 and 10 was "found". And in 1971–72, the horseshoe of the stadium was constructed. Today, the capacity of the Rizoupoli Stadium is 14,200 seated spectators. And it now bears the name "Georgios Kamaras Stadium" in memory of one of the top footballers that the club has made.

Trivia

*Apollon have gone since the 1930s under the nickname "The Light Brigade" (Greek: Ελαφρά Ταξιαρχία), named after the 1938 Hollywood movie ''The Charge of the Light Brigade'', after winning the 1938 regional Athens championship. *Since 1910 the team's badge was a swastika-like cross. But after the Nazi invasion of Europe it was changed to

's head for obvious reasons. *The last time an Apollon FC player was an active member of the

Greece national football team The Greece national football team ( el, Εθνική Ελλάδας, ) represents Greece in men's international football matches and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece play most ...

was on May 8, 1996 (

, Greece–Georgia 2–1). Since then, no Apollon FC player has been a member of the national team. *

was in bad shape during the 1990s, but it was renovated in 2002 by

Olympiacos FC Olympiacos Club of Fans of Piraeus ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σ.Φ.Π. ), known simply as Olympiacos or Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in Piraeus, Piraeus, Attica. Part of the major Sports ...

. Olympiacos used this stadium as their home ground until

was constructed in 2004. *Kostas Alamanos was shareholder and team president from the late 1970s until 2005. He helped Apollon reach the UEFA Cup preliminary round and the Greek Cup final and for many years, was beloved by Apollon fans. But after these successful seasons, Alamanos became

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (Latin: "person not welcome", plural: ') is a status applied by a host country to foreign diplomats to remove their protection of diplomatic immunity from arrest and other types of prosecution. Diplomacy Under Article 9 of the ...

for the fans, mainly because he sold many of the team's best footballers (

, Blendar Kola and Theofilos Karasavvidis) and released most of the remaining team as free agents. The team was unable to recover from these losses, and in 2000 were relegated. That's why Apollon fans are calling Alamanos "The Unmentionable". *Still today Apollon is the 9th team with respect to number of appearances in the top league of Greece (37/53).

Crest and colours

The first emblem of the club, since 1894, was the three runners. In 1910, the football club's emblem becomes the ancient Greek conveyor, which will be removed even before

, given its already negative identification with National Socialism and Adolf Hitler. In the first post-war years, club jerseys simply write GSA (Gymnastics Association of Apollon). Later, the club's emblem is adopted with the bust of the god

. The current crest depicts the head of

Apollo Citharoedus An Apollo Citharoedus, or Apollo Citharede, is a statue or other image of Apollo with a cithara (lyre). Among the best-known examples is the ''Apollo Citharoedus'' of the Vatican Museums, a 2nd-century AD colossal marble statue by an unknown (pro ...

(or ''Musagetes''). The colours of the club are

cyan Cyan () is the color between green and blue on the visible spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a predominant wavelength between 490 and 520 nm, between the wavelengths of green and blue. In the subtractive color system, or CMYK color ...

(light blue) and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...

. First Current sponsorships: *Official Sponsor: Venetis Bakery *Official Sport Clothing Manufacturer: Hummel

Honours

**Runners-up (2):

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

**Runners-up (1):

1996 File:1996 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: A Centennial Olympic Park bombing, bomb explodes at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, set off by a radical Anti-abortion violence, anti-abortionist; The center fuel tank explodes on TWA Flight 8 ...

Athens FCA Championship **Winners (4): 1924, 1938, 1948, 1958 *

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

**Winners (5): 1970, 1973, 1975, 2013, 2017 *

**Winners (1): 2012 *

Fourth Division Fourth or the fourth may refer to: * the ordinal form of the number 4 * ''Fourth'' (album), by Soft Machine, 1971 * Fourth (angle), an ancient astronomical subdivision * Fourth (music), a musical interval * ''The Fourth'' (1972 film), a Sovie ...

**Winners (1): 2010

Players

Current squad

Notable former players

File:Rene van de Kerkhof 1978c.jpg,

René van de Kerkhof Reinier Lambertus van de Kerkhof (; born 16 September 1951) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger for FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national team. Career Van de Kerkhof and his twin brother Wil ...

File:Georgios Karagounis 2010.jpg,

Giorgos Karagounis Georgios Karagkounis ( el, Γεώργιος Καραγκούνης; born 6 March 1977), known as Giorgos Karagounis ( el, Γιώργος Καραγκούνης), is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. In his club ...

File:Alexandros Tzorvas.jpg,

Alexandros Tzorvas Alexandros Tzorvas ( el, Αλέξανδρος Τζόρβας; born 12 August 1982) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Early career Ηe began his career as a member of the renowned (domazos academy) ...

;Greece * Kostas Antoniou * Christos Ardizoglou * Giorgos Athanasiadis * Kostas Batsinilas *

Kostas Chalkias Konstantinos "Kostas" Chalkias ( el, Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Χαλκιάς; born 30 May 1974) is a retired Greek footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Previously he had played for Panathinaikos, Apollon Smyrni, Iraklis, Portsm ...

* Filipos Darlas * Giannis Dontas *

Takis Ikonomopoulos Panagiotis "Takis" Ikonomopoulos ( gr, Παναγιώτης "Τάκης" Οικονομόπουλος; born 19 October 1943) is a Greek former international football player who played as a goalkeeper. He was nicknamed ''"The Bird"'' ''( gr, "Τ� ...

Giorgos Kamaras Giorgos Kamaras born Georgios Katrodavlis ( el, Γιώργος Καμάρας;5 May 1929 - 2000) was a Greek footballer. His name has been joined with the history of Apollon Athens. The stadium of Apollon Athens, in the Athenian district of Rizou ...

* Dimitris Kalogerakos * Charis Karpozilos * Theofilos Karasavvidis * Dimos Kavouras *

Lefteris Velentzas Lefteris Velentzas ( el, Λευτέρης Βελέντζας; born 10 October 1970) is a Greek professional football manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organizat ...

* Thanasis Kolitsidakis *

Pantelis Konstantinidis Pantelis Konstantinidis (Greek: Παντελής Κωνσταντινίδης; born 16 August 1975) is a Greek former footballer. He was born in Florina. Konstantinidis played as a left winger for most of his career, earning the nickname ''Svour ...

* Michalis Koronis * Vasilis Kyriakou *

Panagiotis Lagos Panagiotis Lagos ( el, Παναγιώτης Λαγός; born 18 July 1985) is a Greek former professional footballer. Lagos had the ability to play in various positions as much as on the wings as on the center, due to the combination of the speed ...

* Kostas Mavridis *

Antonis Minou Antonis Minou ( el, Αντώνης Μήνου, born 4 May 1958) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Minou took his first football steps in Almopos Aridea and to Kastoria in 1980 and two years later ...

* Tasos Mitropoulos *

Antonis Petropoulos Antonis Petropoulos ( el, Αντώνης Πετρόπουλος; born 28 January 1986) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was also part of Greece youth national teams. Career Egaleo Petropoulos was born on ...

Eleftherios Poupakis Eleftherios "Lefteris" Poupakis (Greek: Ελευθέριος "Λευτέρης" Πουπάκης; born 28 February 1946) is a retired Greek footballer who played as a goalkeeper. During his career he played for Egaleo F.C., Olympiacos F.C., OFI ...

Michalis Vlachos Michalis Vlachos ( gr, Μιχάλης Βλάχος; born 20 September 1967) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a defender. Vlachos began his career with Apollon Smyrnis, where he was called up for a debut with the Greece n ...

;Albania * Arjan Bellaj *

Bledar Kola Bledar Kola (born 1 August 1972) is an Albanian retired football player and later manager. Early life Kola comes from Mirditë, but grew up in the city of Lezhë. He was an exemplary student. He started his career at Besëlidhja Lezhë, and ...

;Argentina * Nestor Errea ;Bulgaria * Ivan Rusev ;Cameroon * Nicolas Dikoume ;England *

Darren Ambrose Darren Paul Francis Ambrose (born 29 February 1984) is an English retired footballer who played as a midfielder. Ambrose began his career with Ipswich Town when he joined the club's Academy at the age of eleven. He broke through to the first-te ...

;Germany *

Walter Kelsch Walter Kelsch (born 3 September 1955) is a German former footballer who played as a forward. Club career Kelsch started his career with TSV Büsnau. Then he played for Stuttgarter Kickers and later on for VfB Stuttgart. In 246 Bundesliga matc ...

;Holland *

;Iran *

Alireza Mansourian Alireza Mansourian ( fa, علیرضا منصوريان; born 2 December 1971) is an Iranian football coach and retired player. Club career Mansourian was born in Tehran. During his career, he played for Singapore S.League clubs: Balestier Khals ...

;Ivory Coast * Franck Manga Guela * Emmanuel Koné ;Nigeria * Jerry Ugen *

Christian Obodo Christian Obodo (born 11 May 1984 in Warri, Nigeria) is a Nigerian former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Football career He was plucked from relative obscurity in the Nigerian league, playing for Plateau United before he bec ...

;Poland * Zygmunt Kukla * Józef Wandzik ;Portugal *

Bruno Alves Bruno Eduardo Regufe Alves (; born 27 November 1981) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a central defender, currently being sporting director of Super League Greece club AEK Athens. He began and spent most of his professional ...

;Serbia *

Zoran Ćirić (footballer) Zoran Ćirić (; born 27 June 1973) is a Serbian football manager and former player. Playing career After spending three seasons at Bečej, Ćirić was signed by Partizan Partizan may refer to: Sport * JSD Partizan, a sports society from Belg ...

Miloje Petković Miloje Petković ( sr-Cyrl, Милоје Петковић; born 31 January 1967) is a retired Serbian footballer, who played as a midfielder. Club career Petković played football with FK Vojvodina in the Yugoslav First League. Petković moved t ...

;Slovakia * Frantisek Stambacher ;Spain *

Igor Angulo Igor Angulo Alboniga (born 26 January 1984) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward. Formed at Athletic Bilbao, he appeared in only five competitive matches during his spell at the club. He went on to make a name for himsel ...

;Sweden * Björn Enqvist * Goran Trpevski ;Ukraine *

Mykhaylo Mykhaylov Mykhaylo Leonidovych Mykhaylov (born 6 July 1959 in Kirovohrad) is a Ukrainian professional football coach and a former player. Honours * European Cup Winners' Cup: 1985–86. * Soviet Top League: 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986. * Soviet Cup: 1982, 19 ...

;USA *

Frank Klopas Fotios "Frank" Klopas ( el, Φώτιος «Φρανκ» Κλόπας; born September 1, 1966) is an American former Association football, football player who played as a Forward (association football), forward. Following his retirement, he ser ...

Managers

Manol Manolov Manol Manolov ( bg, Манол Манолов) (4 August 1925 – 16 December 2008) was a Bulgarian football defender and manager. He was born in Sofia. Manolov featured in 57 games for the Bulgaria national football team and won a bronze ...

(July 1, 1979 – June 30, 1980) *

Tomislav Kaloperović Tomislav Kaloperović (; 31 January 1932 – 15 January 2002) was a Yugoslav and Serbian footballer and coach. External links * Tomislav Kaloperovićat the Serbia national football team The Serbia national football team ( sr, Фудба� ...

(July 1, 1988 – June 30, 1989) *

Gerhard Prokop Gerhard "Gerd" Prokop (18 May 1939 – 23 January 2002) was a German football player and manager. He played for SV Zweckel (1957–61), Sportfreunde Gladbeck (1961–63), Alemannia Aachen (1963–70 and 1974–76) and K.A.S. Eupen (1970–7 ...

(July 1, 1989 – June 30, 1990) *

Walter Skocik Walter Skocik (born 6 September 1940 in Schwechat) is a former Austrian international footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are associatio ...

(July 1, 1990 – June 30, 1991) *

Christos Archontidis Christos Archontidis ( el, Χρήστος Αρχοντίδης) (26 June 1938 – 22 October 2019) was a Greek football manager. He managed Korinthos, Greece, Doxa Drama, PAS Giannina, Iraklis, Diagoras, Panachaiki, PAOK, Apollon Smyrnis, ...

(July 1, 1998 – Sept 3, 1999) * Stathis Stathopoulos (July 1, 2011 – March 20, 2012) * Giannis Georgaras (March 19, 2012 – June 30, 2012) *

(July 21, 2012 – Aug 7, 2012) * Alexandros Vosniadis (Aug 7, 2012 – Oct 8, 2013) *

Babis Tennes Babis Tennes ( gr, Μπάμπης Τεννές; born 17 November 1953) is a Greek professional football manager. Managerial career Tennes began his professional coaching career with Kallithea in 1993 in Gamma Ethniki. After that he built up his ...

(Oct 10, 2013 – Nov 11, 2013) *

(Nov 17, 2013 – June 16, 2014) * Nikos Kostenoglou (July 1, 2014 – December 8, 2014) * Alexandros Vosniadis (December 12, 2014 – November 2, 2015) *

(Nov 3, 2015 – March 29, 2016) * Konstantinos Panagopoulos (Apr 2, 2016 – Apr 18, 2016) * Georgios Vazakas (Apr 18, 2016 – Jun 6, 2016) * Dimitrios Spanos (Jun 9, 2016 – Dec 24, 2016) * Apostolos Mantzios (Dec 29, 2016 – June 20, 2018) *

Valérien Ismaël Valérien Alexandre Ismaël (born 28 September 1975) is a professional football coach and a former professional player who most recently managed Turkish club Beşiktaş. During his playing career, Ismaël played for Racing Strasbourg, Crystal ...

(June 22, 2018 – August 27, 2018) * Alberto Monteagudo (August 31, 2018 – October 3, 2018) *

Giannis Matzourakis Giannis Mantzourakis ( gr, Γιάννης Μαντζουράκης; born 6 June 1949) is a Greek professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. Early life Born in Romania to a Greek father ...

(October 3, 2018 – November 26, 2018) *

(November 27, 2018 – March 9, 2019) *

(March 9, 2019 – May 23, 2019) * Nikolaos Papadopoulos (July 1, 2019 – January 8, 2020) *

(January 8, 2020 – September 2, 2020) *

Georgios Paraschos Georgios Paraschos ( el, Γεώργιος Παράσχος; born 23 August 1952) is a Greek professional football manager and former player. Playing career As a football player, he began his career from the youth academy of PAOK in 1967. He b ...

(September 10, 2020 – March 16, 2021) *

Makis Chavos Makis Chavos ( el, Μάκης Χάβος; born 5 September 1969) is a Greek professional football manager and former player. Chavos is best remembered for his four-and-a-half-year spell with PAOK. During the later stages of his career, he pla ...

(March 17, 2021 – May 28, 2021) *

Giannis Petrakis Giannis Petrakis ( gr, Γιάννης Πετράκης; born 20 May 1959) is a Greek professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Super League club Levadiakos. Playing career Petrakis began his football career w ...

(June 1, 2021 – September 22, 2021)

Club personnel

Management

League statistics

Positioning in Greek league

European matches

References

External links

;Official websites
Official website

Apollon Smyrnis
at the

Apollon Smyrnis
at the

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

;News sites *Apollon Smyrnis o
a-sports.gr

Apollon Smyrnis news
from

Nova Sports Nova Sports is a Greek sports pay television network owned by Nova, a subsidiary of Greek telecommunications company of the same name. It was launched in 1994 as ''SuperSport'' and at the time was the first premium sports service in Greece. It i ...

;Other
Apollon Smyrnis Fans website
{{Football in Greece Association football clubs established in 1891 Football clubs in Athens Sports teams in İzmir Ottoman İzmir/Smyrna Diaspora sports clubs 1891 establishments in the Ottoman Empire