AEL Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ ΑΕΛ), also known by its full name Athlitiki Enosi Larissas ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λάρισας, translation=Athletic Union of Larissa), simply called AEL or Larissa, is a Greek professional
football club based in the city of
Larissa, capital of Greece's
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...
region.
Founded in 1964, it is directly associated with the city of
Larissa and its representation. The club's emblem, is a rising
horse
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
and its colors are
crimson 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 o ...
. It is the only team outside the two major Greek cities (
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 ...
and
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
) to have won the
Greek Championship, which happened in the 1987–88 season. AEL has also won 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 ...
twice (1984–85 and 2006–07) and came runners-up in the Cup finals of 1982 and 1984. This record places the club among the top teams in the history of
Greek football.
They play their home games at
Alcazar Stadium
Alcazar Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Larissa, 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 crossr ...
, the club's initial homeground that was renovated in the summer of 2020, with a capacity of 13,108 seats. The team competed in the
Greek Super League
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 ...
, the first tier of the Greek football league system, until its relegation in May 2021.
History
Athletic Union of
Larissa, The "Queen of
Thessaly
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...
", the "Queen of the lowlands". AEL, is the club that represents one of the greatest
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
football prefectures. One Championship, two cups, four finals and many important successes at European level compose the temporal profile of the top team of the Greek region.
Creation and first years (1964–79)
AEL was created from a vision of a powerful team that will represent a city like
Larissa in the top category. The 17 May 1964, is referred to as the exact date of its establishment, and then—after a barrage of meetings and discussions held at the Municipal Conservatory of
Larissa and a catalytic last meeting of the local county clubs—it was decided the merger of
Iraklis Larissa, "Aris", "Toxotis" and "Larissaikos". The Athletic Union of Larissa was now a reality, designed on the background of the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
, in shades of crimson and white, (not black and white, as initially decided). Typically, the conversion of the statute of
Iraklis Larissa just a few days later—on 22 May—and its adoption on 8 June, gave AEL status, while teams "Dimitra", "Doxa Emporoipalilon" (based on "Aris Larissas" and "Doxa"), "Pelasgiotida" (by "Larissaikos" and "Pelasgikos") and "Olympos" (based on "Toxotis" and "Panthessalikos") completed this football family. On 7 June,
Alcazar Stadium
Alcazar Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Larissa, 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 crossr ...
, the team's first homeground, recorded the initial friendly game, against
Panionios which, by that time, was a very strong team, winning 2–1.
Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia (; sh-Latn-Cyrl, separator=" / ", Jugoslavija, Југославија ; sl, Jugoslavija ; mk, Југославија ;; rup, Iugoslavia; hu, Jugoszlávia; rue, label=Pannonian Rusyn, Югославия, translit=Juhoslavija ...
n ''Alexander Petrovic'', was the first foreign coach that was hired to ensure the impartiality of the team lineup. Thus, names of players like ''Zampas'', ''Karelias'', ''Kyriakos'', ''Lellis'', ''Papazoglou'', ''Kassas'', ''Saltapidas'', ''Delfos'', ''Katsianis'' and many others, passed into the history of
Thessalian
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thess ...
football. Everything was ready to start, under the administrative umbrella of a 15-member ecumenical council, composed of representatives of clubs and organizations of the city, in which the property was held by the former president of
Iraklis Larissa, ''K. Tzovaridis''.
Examples of other Greek areas where mergers and establishment of strong teams brought direct impact and a promotion in the
1st Division, has created in advance an optimism which did not materialize. The team ended the 1964–65 season in fifth place. The next year, the team improved by two seats in the final table. The promotion was lost in a game on 8 May 1966 at
Megara with the home side
Vyzas opponent. During the entry of the team on the field, player Dimitrios Zambas was hit in the head by a ladder thrown from the stands and was taken to the hospital. The team with 10 players due to the elimination of Kyriakidis from the first quarter, and with three of the 10 remaining players injured, had formal presence, and was defeated 6–0). As well-known coaches like ''Dionysis Minardos'', ''Giannis Helmis'' and ''Giourkas Seitaridis'' the first turned down the opportunity to steer the team, the downturn seemed certain and in 1969 their position fell even further. Relegation would be inevitable if the political conditions of the time—
Greek military junta of 1967–1974—and the fact that teams headed by powerful men were in the same predicament, brought changes in the status of Greek football. Therefore,
Kostas Aslanidis, Lieutenant Colonel and the Secretary General of Athletics, increased the two groups of the Second Division to three and thus
AEL,
Chania
Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion.
The muni ...
and
Ionikos continued in the B' National. There was a rationalization of the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
, by creating three groups of 16 teams, of which 15 would be relegated (five of each group) into the 3rd Division. Relegation did not happen and it was decided the next season that each group have 18 teams. Otherwise, like the previous season, the winners of groups (three this time) went to the final phase, which claimed the promotion in the
1st Division. The team indeed, with the entrance to the 1970s, the emergence of the administrative forefront of ''Kantonias'' family (the owner of BIOKARPET Group) and a dramatic changing at liveware, managed to change the status. The coming of some experienced players such as ''Simantiris'', ''Kyziroglou'', ''Charitidis'' and ''Nikiforakis'' framed the talented ''Lakis Pagkarliotas'' and the others.
25–06–1972 : It was the last game of the championship of the Second Division. AEL needed the victory to celebrate the promotion in the First National (the team had 95 points while opponent
Panserraikos
Panserraikos Football Club ( el, Πανσερραϊκός 1964), the ''All-Serres Football Club'', is a Greece, Greek Association football, football club based in Serres in Central Macedonia, Greece. Panserraikos is one of the most important and ...
had 96 and only the first of the group would promote). In the
Serres Municipal Stadium
The Serres Municipal Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Serres, Greece.It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Panserraikos and Ethnikos Gazoros.The stadium holds 9,500, was built in 1926 and renovated num ...
that day (which holds the all-time attendance record with 14,200 tickets) except the locals, also existed around 5000 guest fans from
Larissa.
Nevertheless, AEL managed to precede with 0–1 but
Panserraikos
Panserraikos Football Club ( el, Πανσερραϊκός 1964), the ''All-Serres Football Club'', is a Greece, Greek Association football, football club based in Serres in Central Macedonia, Greece. Panserraikos is one of the most important and ...
equalized with a disputed penalty.
Soon riots appeared between the players on the court and generalized at the end of the match between the fans (final result 1–1). The next day, thousands citizens of
Larissa were gathered and resentful of the injustice marched to the central square of the city. The demonstration took the character of an ''anti-junta'' movement. One of the few mass events that were made in Greece before the events of
Athens Polytechnic
The National (Metsovian) Technical University of Athens (NTUA; el, Εθνικό Μετσόβιο Πολυτεχνείο, ''National Metsovian Polytechnic''), sometimes known as Athens Polytechnic, is among the oldest higher education institution ...
. Two days later AEL submitted an objection for the improper use of the player of
Panserraikos
Panserraikos Football Club ( el, Πανσερραϊκός 1964), the ''All-Serres Football Club'', is a Greece, Greek Association football, football club based in Serres in Central Macedonia, Greece. Panserraikos is one of the most important and ...
''Stefanidis''. The Regulations Committee
EPO upheld the complaint because
Panserraikos
Panserraikos Football Club ( el, Πανσερραϊκός 1964), the ''All-Serres Football Club'', is a Greece, Greek Association football, football club based in Serres in Central Macedonia, Greece. Panserraikos is one of the most important and ...
did not pay the fine of 250
Drachmas
The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history:
# An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fro ...
for the penalty. On 30 June, the same committee in another meeting and after the intervention of Colonel
Aslanidis (himself originating from
Serres
Sérres ( el, Σέρρες ) is a city in Macedonia, Greece, capital of the Serres regional unit and second largest city in the region of Central Macedonia, after Thessaloniki.
Serres is one of the administrative and economic centers of Northe ...
), dismissed the objection of AEL and promoted Panserraikos to the 1st National.
AEL lineup in that match:
''Siavalas'', ''Buttos'', ''Simantiris'', ''Kyziroglou'', ''Lellis'', (63' ''Makris''), ''Nikiforakis'', (50' ''Zachos''), ''Charitidis'', ''Argiroulis'', ''Stergiadis'', ''Seitaridis'', ''Gkountelitsas''..Εventually, what failed then to fulfil the team of
Kostas Polychroniou, became reality one year later by the team of ''Stefan Karamfilovic''.
The first promotion
A season that was started with President ''Antonios Kantonias'', continued with ''Michalis Kittas'' and ended up headed by Mayor ''Messinis'', was to be the top—until then—for the "crimsons" who rejoiced in the finale closing, the coveted promotion. It was the year that ''Horacio Morales'' (
†), ''Daniel Hill'', ''Giorgio Vajeho'', ''Guillermo Daus'' and ''Enrique Cavoli'' flew from
Argentina
Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...
and "landed" at Alcazar. Just months earlier they had played with the colors of
Independiente against
AC Milan
Associazione Calcio Milan (), commonly referred to as AC Milan or simply Milan, is a professional football club in Milan, Italy, founded in 1899. The club has spent its entire history, with the exception of the 1980–81 and 1982–83 seaso ...
in the
Intercontinental Cup. On 23 June 1973, AEL wins
Kallithea
Kallithea (Greek: Καλλιθέα, meaning "beautiful view") is a district of Athens and a municipality in south Athens regional unit. It is the eighth largest municipality in Greece (96,118 inhabitants, 2021 census) and the fourth biggest i ...
3–0 and seal typically the promotion in the First National, finishing first with 98 points, ahead of the second renaissance
Karditsa
Karditsa ( el, Καρδίτσα ) is a city in western Thessaly in mainland Greece. The city of Karditsa is the capital of Karditsa regional unit of region of Thessaly.
Inhabitation is attested from 9000 BC. Karditsa ls linked with GR-30, the ...
who finished with 89 points. The goals for AEL succeed by ''Pagkarliotas'' at 16', ''D. Seitaridis'' at 38' and ''Charitidis'' at 80'. AEL lined up on the field with the following players: ''Siavalas'', ''Simantiris'', ''Seitaridis M.'', ''Hill'', ''Kyziroglou'', ''Boutos'', ''Charitidis'', ''Cavoli'', ''Rakintzoglou'', ''Seitaridis'' and ''Pagkarliotas''.. The team started the season 1973–74 at the First National, with the enthusiasm of a rookie, but clearly capable of material, grafted by the talent and quality players like ''Kyriakidis'',
Matzourakis and ''Dramalis'' in order to stay in the category. The course was based on the overall strength of the home ground and the final 9th position was considered highly successful. ''Karamfilovic'' was replaced (due to expired residence to the country that was not renewed for political reasons), by the
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
n coach ''Ivan Kochev''. However, a team built on legionnaires without first having obtained the financial strength and solid basis, couldn't have long term evolution. So, the very next year problems started, which led to hasty choices, judgments and frequent upheavals in all levels. Inevitably therefore, the team didn't avoided the relegation and on summer of '75 returned to the Second Division. Since an immediate return was considered impossible, the rebuilding of the team began slowly, mainly based in local Larissa's area players. More experienced ''Siavalas'', ''Boutos'', ''Lellis'', ''Stergiadis'', and ''Argiroulis'' formed the backbone on which, as time went on, had positive impact for the team. Of course, the great breakthrough was made a year later by President ''Elias Kelesidis'' and his colleagues in the administration, when they decided to promote to the first team all of the youth squad of AEL, and collect all the talents that admittedly stood well in the
Thessalian
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thess ...
prefecture. Thus, on 26 May 1977, in a friendly match against
AEK (the first under spotlights in Alcazar stadium), AEL lined up with ''Anagnostou'', ''
Giannis Mousouris'' and nine native players from
Larissa's region. Among them, unknown then,
Takis Parafestas,
Giannis Valaoras,
Dimitris Koukoulitsios and ''Christos Andreoudis''. That summer of 77, rookies including
Dimitris Mousiaris and
Giannis Valaoras signed a professional contract. These two, along with
Koukoulitsios and ''Ilias Selionis'', became members of the youth National teams.
On 18 June 1978 AEL traveled in
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
, and celebrated on the pitch of
Nea Efkarpia a great victory against
Macedonikos (4–1), finishing first with 59 points ahead of
Olympiakos Volos, who eventually collected 57 points, while ensured the return in the major league of Greek football as the champion of the Northern Group of Second Division.
Koukoulitsios scored the goals for AEL at 17' and 60',
Valaoras at 31' and ''Liapis'' at 87'. AEL lined up on the field with the following players: ''Bountolos'',
Parafestas, ''Selionis'', ''Dramalis'', ''Argiroulis'', ''Koumarias'' (63'
Koukoulitsios), ''Andreoudis'', ''Liapis'',
Mousiaris,
Valaoras (61' ''Rammos'').. The period 1977–78, completed the work of the previous season when AEL had finished in third place with 46 points. The balanced combination of experienced and talented players managed to create a strong team that succeeded in gaining the promotion. AEL returned to the First National and now, the solid foundations on which founded this football building, guaranteed a 15-year establishment and recognition that followed.
1980s: the Golden Decade
The successful policy of carefully selected few experienced and many talented young players continued and AEL not only threatened, but started slowly building a bright future, often achieving results that showed that something big was coming up. However, the same policy maintained by all administrations in the 80s, with proper and prudent management of its human material, gradually cultivated by coaches like
Yugoslavian ''Milan Ribar'', and later
Kostas Polychroniou and
Antonis Georgiadis. Even though some players selectively exited the team, it was certain that there was an equal replacement. So while the team has changed almost everything from the beginning to the end of the decade, in the conscience of the fans it has remained as one and single season. It was the era of AEL or better AEL FC, since in the summer of 1979 it was decided the organization of Greek football on a professional basis. The late ''Antonios Kantonias'', raising the prestige and power of the group "BIOKARPET" was the one who managed to secure the independence of the club, with exemplary organization and a very clear strategy : The aim to reach to the top. Healthy reasons did not allowed him to continue as President of the Interim Committee and the chair of the first administration, and was finally replaced by ''Simos Palaiochorlidis''. But he had already managed to complete his mission.
Grieving for young talents
On 6 September 1979,
Dimitris Koukoulitsios and
Dimitris Mousiaris, were killed in a car crash near
Thiva, on their way to
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 ...
for a training with the
U-21 National team.
Giannis Valaoras, who had survived the accident and overcame the shock, has been one of the greatest members of the team of the 80s.
The "Small Hamburg": 1981–82 Greek Cup finalists, 1982–83 Greek League runners-up
With a stable administration, new faces on the roster,
Maloumidis,
Galitsios, ''Golandas'' and gradually
Voutyritsas and
Mitsibonas and with the advent of the technical leadership of
Antonis Georgiadis, AEL was beginning to show its "teeth".
Best Regional team for the
1980–81 season, AEL claimed the European exit in the final league game. Participation in the
Greek Cup final in the summer of
'82, for the first time in its history, and a 1–0 defeat by
Panathinaikos in the
Nea Philadelfeia stadium. The "greens" succeeded to the finals before the end of the championship and the barrage against
Olympiakos, in the neutral
Volos
Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...
, having the certainty that it would provide them in advance the Cup. On that historic first final that was held on 19 June 1982, AEL lined up with the following players:
Plitsis,
Parafestas,
Patsiavouras,
Galitsios, ''Argiroulis'', ''Dramalis'' (82'
Voutyritsas)
Maloumidis, ''Golantas'', ''Koutas'' (82'
Mitsibonas) ''Andreoudis'',
Valaoras. The next season (
1982–83) they came to claim the title after a great victory in the second round at the
Karaiskaki 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 ...
derby against
Olympiakos. Eventually, the second place constituted the ultimate fulfillment for
Jacek Gmoch's players, who had been under strong denial because of the modest beginning of the team in the first round of the championship.
1983–84 Greek Cup finalists
The legacy left by that season in living material, was a defender named
Giorgos Mitsibonas, one forward in the person of
Michalis Ziogas, (a player who knew as much as anyone else to be at the right time and in the right place) and of course a "coach on the field", which was none other than the
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
international,
Kazimierz Kmiecik.
The team of
'82–83 season yielded modern, fast and sophisticated football and fairly won the nickname
"Small Hamburg", taken by the great German team of the 80s. The first exit in Europe was a rewarding and meaningful vindication of an effort that lasted several years, even though AEL ultimately failed to overcome the obstacle of the very strong
Hungarian Honvéd.
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n coach
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 ...
had found a good, technical but somewhat tired team. And even if they didn't show steady progress in the league, they managed to be in another
Cup Final. Opponent on 6 June 1984,
Panathinaikos again, this time in the
Athens Olympic Stadium
The Olympic Stadium of Athens " Spyros Louis" ( el, Ολυμπιακό Στάδιο Αθηνών "Σπύρος Λούης", ''Olympiakó Stádio Athinon "Spyros Louis"'') is a sports stadium in Athens, Greece. It is a part of the Athens Olympic ...
, which was also used by the "greens" as home ground. This fact, coupled with the modest appearance of AEL, apparently justified by the intensity of the semi-final battle against
Iraklis, (which took place just three days earlier) and the loss of the suspended
Valaoras, brought normal, y a 2–0 defeat, leaving AEL bitterness, which diminished by the ticket for the
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...
, once
Panathinaikos had won the double.
The next season, president ''Kostas Samaras'' and coach
Andrzej Strejlau
Andrzej Michał Strejlau (born February 19, 1940) is a retired Polish football and handball player.
In 1989–1993 he was a coach of Poland national football team. He also coached many teams from different parts of the world ( China, Iceland ...
(who brought with him from
Poland
Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...
another great player, named
Krzysztof Adamczyk), were very optimistic about the team's course. Indeed, its participation in the
Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
for the period
1984–85 was impressive and established the name of the
Thessalian
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thess ...
team in the European football map. The "crimsons" came up to the "8", where they have been excluded after two sensational quarter-finals by the
Soviets
Soviet people ( rus, сове́тский наро́д, r=sovyétsky naród), or citizens of the USSR ( rus, гра́ждане СССР, grázhdanye SSSR), was an umbrella demonym for the population of the Soviet Union.
Nationality policy in ...
of
Dynamo Moscow
MGO VFSO "Dynamo" (russian: МГО ВФСО «Динамо»), commonly known as Dynamo Moscow (russian: Динамо Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. Founded by Felix Dzerzhinsky on 18 April 1923, Dynamo Moscow was the first ...
. The unique, however, distinguish in the institution of the
Cup Winners Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tournam ...
that season, made a big impression and showed how great this team was and capable for even bigger achievements. This team however—that many believed was playing the best football in
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 ...
by that time—was unstoppable and determined to finally overcome and get to a title. This title was not the championship, (although succeeded a record for best offensive productivity in the season), but 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 ...
, the final of which AEL qualified for the third time.
1984–85 Greek Cup winners
The final against the 1985 champion
PAOK, has been recorded as one of the top performances in the history of AEL. The "crimsons" played "total" football, smashed with
4–1 their opponents and eventually came to their first title. However, in the pregame of that fight a common point united the two teams...AEL and PAOK lined up before the referee Makis Germanakos without their two key players (left back
Nikos Patsiavouras and top scorer
Christos Dimopoulos), since they both had already agreed to sign for
Panathinaikos! As for the actual game, on 22 June 1985, on the
Athens Olympic Stadium
The Olympic Stadium of Athens " Spyros Louis" ( el, Ολυμπιακό Στάδιο Αθηνών "Σπύρος Λούης", ''Olympiakó Stádio Athinon "Spyros Louis"'') is a sports stadium in Athens, Greece. It is a part of the Athens Olympic ...
before 30,000 shared fans, AEL seemed to have the upper hand from the start, but completely dominated from the 19', when Vassilakos was expelled by direct red card (hit
Adamczyk off-phase) and reached its first goal at 39' with
Ziogas, after an incredible attempt of the Polish striker. After the second half κick-off
Kmiecik wrote with perfect shot the 2–0 and although
PAOK reduced to 55' with
Skartados,
Andrzej Strejlau
Andrzej Michał Strejlau (born February 19, 1940) is a retired Polish football and handball player.
In 1989–1993 he was a coach of Poland national football team. He also coached many teams from different parts of the world ( China, Iceland ...
's players finished the game at 73' with
Ziogas and 75' with
Valaoras, teaching modern football while creating a host of missed opportunities. The players who led AEL in its first title in its history were:
Plitsis,
Parafestas,
Kolomitrousis,
Galitsios,
Mitsibonas,
Voutiritsas,
Ziogas,
Kmiecik,
Adamczyk, Andreoudis (87'
Tsiolis)
Valaoras.
The first trophy that was raised to the sky 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 ...
the previous evening by the team captain
Takis Parafestas entered the city the next day escorted by hundreds of cars.
Ambitious battles were waiting for AEL in Europe, but failed to proceed, against the famous Italian
Sampdoria
Unione Calcio Sampdoria, commonly referred to as Sampdoria (), is an Italian professional football club based in Genoa.
The club was formed in 1946 from the merger of two existing sports clubs whose roots can be traced back to the 1890s, ...
. Maybe tired, perhaps it still cost them so much the leaving of their "conductor", the beloved
Kazio for the
Stuttgart Kickers... His compatriot
Janusz Kupcewicz
Janusz Bogdan Kupcewicz (9 December 1955 – 4 July 2022) was a Polish professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Widely regarded as one of the best Polish players of his era, he most notably won the bronze with the national team at 1 ...
, who replaced him, although came right from the best lineup of the
1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain, had injury problems and did not help as much as he could..At that time, the culmination of a transfer thriller, a player who was acquired by Toxotis Larissa and dressed in crimson, making his first professional steps and later called "the magician",
Vassilis Karapialis
Vassilis Karapialis ( el, Βασίλης Καραπιάλης; born 13 June 1965) is a Greek retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder for Larissa, Olympiacos Piraeus and the Greece national football team. He is considered as one ...
. His own introduction, along with two to three other important events, painted the following year, the most indifferent season for AEL that decade. The assumption of command by Stelios Kantonias and the return of
Jacek Gmoch in the technical leadership, were guarantees for the great offensive of the new season. No paint, but it was stronger than the black of mourning, which darkened the sky of
Larissa. 19 years old Vasilis Theodoridis, a
PAOK supporter, an hour before the match hurled a fishing flare against the local fans stands which hit the unsuspecting Charalambos Blionas in the carotid arteries. The unfortunate professor died seconds later. That day, on 26 October 1986, a grievous page was written in the history of Greek football and as though nothing is more important than the loss of a life, unequivocally just one year later, the city of
Larissa has experienced glorious times. The only team in the Greek region who ever sat on the throne.
The "Miracle of 1988": Greek champions
he non-renewal of contracts of
Parafestas and ''Andreoudis'' in the summer and the transfer of
Plitsis to
Olympiakos in December, were options that were not accepted by the fans, but the success of the team in conjunction with the "rising star" of
Karapialis, minimized any opposition disposal. Especially when on 16 March 1988 the sports court announced the decision to remove 4 points from AEL because of the famous "doping case" of the
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...
n striker (with very little participation in the championship), Georgi Tsingov. He was tested positive on the use of the substance
Codeine, which is not likely to improve the performance of an athlete at all.. Conspiracy theories quoted around about what really happened, the player claimed that had a flu, others that it was a sabotage. Nevertheless, the whole city of
Larissa rose up and in no time created road blocks that cut
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 ...
in two, claiming the right of what the team had won over the football field. The barricades on the national highway lasted 5 whole days until an intervention by the political leadership of sports. They took the decision to restore order, and change the article in question. From 21 March 1988, teams ceased to be considered responsible for each possible doping athlete. AEL however, was largely responsible for the... psychological doping of the fans, which then helped to overcome doubt and anxiety and get proudly in the 87th minute of the penultimate game of the season against
Iraklis, when that incredible shot of
Mitsibonas hurled into space the enthusiasm of the crowd. So far, AEL is the first and only regional team that won the Greek championship.
Countdown and "Stone Years" (1996–2003)
Somewhere there the countdown began ...AEL was knocked hill, reached the top and had to start to go downhill...The circle of a large team had closed. Maybe if
Xamax had not turned the match at
Neuchâtel and not sent by 2–1 in the overtime and the unlucky for the "crimsons" penalty shootout,
Champions League would held the name of AEL in its ledger, where reigns the amazing goal of
Karapialis which opened the score on the second leg of
Switzerland. This was the last presence for AEL in the most prestigious club competition in European football. The fans still believed that the team could stay in the spotlight. The accident was for those who were blurred by the excitement of the moment, and believed that the team could climb even higher and soon demanded the change of ownership. From there, players leaving and coming, administrations changed without programming, independently on the intentions of everyone.. The fact is that AEL gradually lost its credibility inside and outside stadiums and inevitably led eight years later, in May 1996, to the relegation which was spared in 1991, thanks to the amazing second round course. More generally, although great players such as late
Lefter Millos, also unjustly shed,
Ştefan Stoica, Paulo Da Silva,
David Embé and Vangelis Tsoukalis, wore the shirt and tried to give the team its lost glory, failed nothing more than some effects—flickering, in a prescribed downward spiral that culminated with the painful return to the
Second Division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
after 18 years.
Worst of all, however, occurred on 13 September 1997, when the "eagle stopped flying".
Giorgos Mitsibonas, the player-symbol of the team, the gifted and talented figure that marked a glorious era, was killed in a car accident, near the village of
Giannouli
Giannouli ( el, Γιάννουλη) is a town and a former municipality in the Larissa regional unit, Thessaly, Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the s ...
, 2 km outside of
Larissa. He was 35 and left behind his wife and two young daughters. Even if he was not by that time an active player of the team, (he was playing in
Tirnavos
Tyrnavos ( el, Τύρναβος) is a municipality in the Larissa regional unit, of the Thessaly region of Greece. It is the second-largest town of the Larissa regional unit, after Larissa. The town is near the mountains and the Thessalian Plain. ...
), the whole city said farewell along with him, to a large part of its passion for distinction and victory. The conscientious efforts of local factors to keep the club standing were unsuccessful, the debts piled in between, and no one was able by this time, in the summer of 2001, to save the team... AEL fell for the first time in its history in the
Third Division, and even threatened with disintegration, with relegation to the Regional Championship, and had to get to the bottom to lift its head again, taking advantage of the beneficial law of special clearance...
Flirting with the 4th national
Summer of 2002 : AEL arrives at the worst point in its history. Playing again in the third national, almost without administration and money. The team's preparation for the new season was held in the local Alcazar Park (a place with rustic picnic areas, benches and trails, totally unsuitable for professional football training), near the city of
Larissa. The first game was held on 25 August 2002 in
Kalochori, Thessaloniki
Kalochori ( el, Καλοχώρι) is a village and a Communities and Municipalities of Greece, community of the Delta, Thessaloniki, Delta municipality. Before the 2011 local government reform it was part of the municipality of Echedoros, of which ...
, against the local side
ILTEX Lykoi. It was the 84th minute of the match, when the 2nd
Assistant referee fell down after he was hit in the back, by an object that was thrown from the stands of the guest fans and was taken to the hospital. He claimed that he was unable to continue and the game never finished (The result was 1–1). The team was penalized with −3 points in the league table.. Amateur players and volunteers were called to offer their services.. The course was naturally very poor and the team risked with the relegation to the 4th National.. Halfway through the season appeared on the scene the name of Nikos Sotiroulis, a local businessman who by that time was the club's one and only sponsor. Along with the unforgettable friend, the late Giorgos Katsogiannis and supporting factors of Amateur AEL predominantly Elias Fasoulas and Zissis Helidonis, he fought the first negative judgments and vindicated, when on 8 March 2003 he became the owner of the team with a cost of 116,000 euros in an auction that was held the previous day and in which he was the only candidate! The club a year later, was renamed to AEL 1964 FC (under the special conditions imposed by the law of special clearance) and celebrated its return to the second division. Some months before, on 1 June 2003, the team survived the relegation in the Fourth National and thereby dissolve, in the last game of the championship against
Niki Volos
Niki Volou Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Νίκη Βόλου) is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Volos, in the region of Magnesia, Greece. The club currently competes in the Super League 2, the second tier of Greek football ...
, winning 1–0. Although the most crucial and exciting match in the team's history was the one before, that was held in
Chania
Chania ( el, Χανιά ; vec, La Canea), also spelled Hania, is a city in Greece and the capital of the Chania regional unit. It lies along the north west coast of the island Crete, about west of Rethymno and west of Heraklion.
The muni ...
, where the "crimsons" tie 3–3 and stayed alive, condemning the
hosts. The new period started then vigorously and with one and only target, the promotion, which was achieved after an exhausting marathon of 38 games...On 30 May 2004, at
Alcazar, AEL sealed the second place and the ticket to the higher category (which was virtually and "ironically" ensured by the victory from 1–0 at
ILTEX Lykoi just a week before, in the same ground and almost two years after the incident with the
Assistant referee), crashing with 5–1 the already "doomed" Pontiakos Nea Santa, while the chant "We are coming back" was rocking the crowded stadium... Coached by
Takis Parafestas, with players such as ''Katsaras'', ''Ziagkas'',
Kyparissis,
Kehagias, ''
Theodosiadis'',
Kontodimos,
Lazorik,
Paleologos, and a new upsurge of the fans that followed everywhere, the team persuaded that was really coming back . The one who left, and was the initiator and founder of this effort was ''Nikos Sotiroulis'', who after a few days in mid-June 2004, gave way to the new owner and chairman
Kostas Piladakis. A new era had begun.
New Age (2004–13): Piladakis years
And because a "good day seems from the morning", new management, technical leadership headed by
Giorgos Donis
Georgios Donis ( el, Γεώργιος Δώνης; born 22 October 1969) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and currently a manager. He is the current manager of Saudi Arabian club Al-Fateh. He was the first ev ...
, players like the effective striker
Thomas Kyparissis and the presence of supporters that caused admiration through Greece, led AEL back again in the
Super League, after nine years of absence. The 19 transfers that were made in the summer of 2004 radically changed the composition of the workforce and the equally young and ambitious coach had time to give the team the required homogeneity. The moderate so start treated by all with patience and maturity, and the proper corrections that were made in January, found AEL "galloping" from success to success. The conquest of the first place with 58 points was the natural consequence of this team effort and the fans celebrated the return in the
Super League after 9 "stone" years, for almost 10 days! Starting from Sunday 15, of May 2005, in
Kastoria
Kastoria ( el, Καστοριά, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the region of Western Macedonia. It is the capital of Kastoria regional unit, in the geographic region of Macedonia. It is situated on a promontory on the weste ...
, (1–1) in front of 4000 fans who accompanied the team's bus when returning, a car convoy of 5 km in length and a midnight party at Alcazar, to Wednesday 25, and the fiesta that was set up to the stadium for winning the title after beating
Proodeftiki (3–1). Except
Kyparissis, ''Papakostas'', ''Ziagkas'',
Paleologos, ''Floros'' and ''Grigoriou'', who continued from the previous season, players such as
Christopoulos,
Kipouros, the late
Bahramis, ''Gikas'', ''Stournaras'',
Föerster,
Katsiaros,
Digozis, ''Tsiatsios'', ''Makris'',
Abouna,
Nedeljković Nedeljković (Cyrillic script: Недељковић) is a Serbian patronymic surname derived from a masculine given name Nedeljko. It may refer to:
* Aleksandar Nedeljković (born 1982), footballer
*Alex Nedeljkovic (born 1996), American professio ...
,
Sisic, ''Passios'', ''Chatziliontas'',
Galitsios and others, came to add their names to important pages in the team's history. Indeed, beside them, stood from summer until December 2004 the first Greek active scorer
Alexis Alexandris
Alexis Alexandris (Greek: Αλέξης Αλεξανδρής, sometimes wrongly called ''Alekos Alexandris'' born 21 October 1968) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Club career
Alexis Alexandris began his career ...
and a well-known name in European football, the
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Moldova to the east, and ...
n international midfielder
Dennis Şerban, who played in many major teams, top of which was the Spanish
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...
. That same season, while in the 2nd Division, AEL reached to the "8" of 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 ...
, having ruled in turn
Acharnaikos,
Apollon Athens
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 o ...
, and
Chalkidona
Chalkidona ( gr, Χαλκηδόνα) is a municipality in the Thessaloniki regional unit, Greece. The seat of the municipality is Koufalia. The town is a hub for trucking traffic around the Thessaloniki area.
Municipality
The municipality Chalk ...
of the First Division, before being excluded from the "European"
Skoda Xanthi
Xanthi Football Club ( el, Α.Ο. Ξάνθη Π.Α.Ε.) is a Greek professional football club based in Xanthi, Western Thrace and plays at Xanthi FC Arena. The club resigned from the Super League 2 due to financial issues.
Founded in 1967, Xa ...
, which nevertheless beat 1–0 in the first match of Alcazar, turning the rematch in real derby. It was the forerunner of the great return.
In the elite: Greek Cup winners and European competition
In the first year after its return to the big category AEL did the "bang" bringing in the summer of 2005 directly from the English courts the
UEFA Euro 2004
The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. The ...
champion and former captain 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 ...
,
Nikos Dabizas. A move that was made to shield the defense while sending the message that AEL did not return to
Super League just to remain, but to star. Along with AEL returned also its supporters, giving impressive "presence" with tours admired throughout
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 ...
.
Toumba,
Kaftanzoglio,
Pankritio,
Kleanthis Vikelidis
Kleanthis Vikelides ( el, Κλεάνθης Βικελίδης; 23 October 1916 – 4 November 1988) was a Greek footballer who played for Aris Thessaloniki and the Greece national football team. He was also a manager, taking charge of Aris Thess ...
,
Zosimades...Comfortably stayed 8th, and a European opportunity occurred through
Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup (from la, Inter, 'between' + german: toto, 'betting pool'),Most precisely, from ( football pool); cf. often abbreviated and more known in the German-speaking world as UI Cup and originally called the International Foo ...
, exploiting the weakness of
PAOK to fulfill the criteria of
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 ...
. A European return, with two games against the
Turkish Kayserispor
Kayseri Spor Kulübü, commonly known as Kayserispor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Kayseri. They play their home matches at the Kadir Has Stadium in red and yellow kits.
The team has won one Turkish Cup in 2008 and also fi ...
did not bring the coveted Cup Qualification to
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 solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
(within 0–0 draw, and a 2–0 defeat in
Kayseri), but it was clearly an omen of a great European return, which was meant to be completed one year later. The
2006–07 season was one of its most successful, but also one of the most controversial in the club's modern history. On the one AEL rose again to the throne of
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 ...
Winners, and on the other flirted with relegation, eventually managing to secure salvation in the last matchday.
=2006–07 Greek Cup winners
=
5 May 2007 is now a new landmark in the history of
AEL 1964
Athlitiki Enosi Larissas ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λάρισας,e-ael.gr
''Athletic Union of Larissa''), foun ...
.
Giorgos Donis
Georgios Donis ( el, Γεώργιος Δώνης; born 22 October 1969) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and currently a manager. He is the current manager of Saudi Arabian club Al-Fateh. He was the first ev ...
and his players brought the Cup "again in
Pineios" after 22 years, creating a new benchmark in the glorious march of the team. This is the final certificate that AEL returned to the elite of Greek football. Cup in 1985, the 1988 Championship, and a Cup again in 2007 in
Volos
Volos ( el, Βόλος ) is a coastal port city in Thessaly situated midway on the Greek mainland, about north of Athens and south of Thessaloniki. It is the sixth most populous city of Greece, and the capital of the Magnesia regional unit ...
where the game's
MVP
In team sports, a most valuable player award, abbreviated 'MVP award', is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particu ...
Nikos Dabizas and the vice captain, ''Zissis Ziagkas'' lifted together the third major trophy in the team's history. Opponents again
Panathinaikos for the third time in a cup final where the "crimsons" prevailed with 1–2. The match was held in the
Panthessaliko Stadium
The Panthessaliko Stadium is a stadium located at Volos, Greece. The stadium was the site of football (soccer) matches during the 2004 Summer Olympics. It was officially opened on July 30, 2004 and has a capacity of 22,700 seats, though only 21, ...
, inside
Thessalian
Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, Thess ...
"territory". AEL secured beside all other the European participation for the second consecutive year, this time in 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 solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
.
Jozef Kožlej
Jozef Kožlej (born 8 July 1973) is a Slovak retired professional footballer who played as a forward. He played in Czechoslovakia, Germany, Greece and Cyprus.
Club career
Born in Stropkov, Kožlej began playing youth football for Tesla Stropko ...
and
Henry Antchouet, took the baton from
Ziogas,
Kmiecik and
Valaoras, signing with their own goals (who had the stamp of
Giorgos Fotakis) this new "golden" page. The
Slovakia
Slovakia (; sk, Slovensko ), officially the Slovak Republic ( sk, Slovenská republika, links=no ), is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the s ...
n striker opened the scoring in just the third minute with a perfect header following a free kick from
Fotakis,
Papadopoulos Papadopoulos ( el, Παπαδόπουλος, ; meaning "son of a priest") is the most common Greek surname. It is used in Greece, Cyprus and countries of the Greek diaspora as well, such as the USA, United Kingdom, Australia and Scandinavian countri ...
equalized with a penalty won by
Föerster and masterfully executed in the 44th, however,
Antchouet was the player who held the final. In the 83rd minute the "Gabonese Arrow" poured on the offensive after the exemplary deep ball of
Fotakis and "thundered" the goalkeeper
Ebéde, writing the 1–2 that was meant to be the final score. The final whistle of
Kyros Vassaras found over 10,000 fans of the team ecstatically singing "because we have lost our minds, this Cup is ours", giving rise to frantic celebration. The celebration began at
Panthessaliko from the awarding of the trophy, continued to
Alcazar which opened its gates to welcome the winners and ended in the Central Square of
Larissa shortly after midnight.
AEL 1964
Athlitiki Enosi Larissas ( el, Αθλητική Ένωση Λάρισας,e-ael.gr
''Athletic Union of Larissa''), foun ...
(
Donis):
Kotsolis,
Galitsios,
Venetidis,
Dabizas,
Föerster,
Bassila
Bassila is a town, arrondissement, and commune located in the Donga Department of Benin. The commune covers an area of 120 square kilometres and as of 2013 had a population of 130,770 people.
The RNIE 3 highway of Benin passes through the town ...
,
Silva Cleyton (85 '
Vallas)
Digozis,
Aloneftis (74 '
Kalantzis),
Fotakis,
Kožlej, (60 '
Antchouet).
Panathinaikos (
Muñoz):
Ebéde,
Vyntra,
Nilsson, (84 '
Šerić),
Goumas,
Morris
Morris may refer to:
Places
Australia
*St Morris, South Australia, place in South Australia
Canada
* Morris Township, Ontario, now part of the municipality of Morris-Turnberry
* Rural Municipality of Morris, Manitoba
** Morris, Manitob ...
,
Leontiou,
Tziolis (85 '
Bišćan),
Ninis (73 '
Romero
The name Romero is a nickname type of surname for a Roman or an Italian. The name was originally derived from the Latin word Romaeus and the Greek word Romaios, which mean Roman.
#A person on a religious journey or pilgrimage from Rome (possibly t ...
),
Ivanschitz,
Papadopoulos Papadopoulos ( el, Παπαδόπουλος, ; meaning "son of a priest") is the most common Greek surname. It is used in Greece, Cyprus and countries of the Greek diaspora as well, such as the USA, United Kingdom, Australia and Scandinavian countri ...
,
Mantzios.
A week later the "crimsons" made the trip from Heaven to Hell and Heaven again within a 90-minute to ensure in the 81st minute with an
Own goal
An own goal, also called a self goal, is where a player performs actions that result in them or their team scoring a goal on themselves, often resulting in a point for the opposing team, such as when a football player kicks a ball into their own ...
the victory in
Kalamaria
Kalamariá ( el, Καλαμαριά, ''Port Side'') is among the most densely populated suburbs in Greece, located about southeast of downtown Thessaloniki, with a population of92.238 inhabitat History
The area was first settled by humans in pre ...
with 2–1 against the local
Apollon, having at their side to support over 3000 fans and putting "happy endings" in a difficult and successful year.
=European dream
=
The new season started with the best omens. AEL as the Cup Winner, represented
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 ...
in 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 solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...
and the draw brought its technical leader,
Giorgos Donis
Georgios Donis ( el, Γεώργιος Δώνης; born 22 October 1969) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and currently a manager. He is the current manager of Saudi Arabian club Al-Fateh. He was the first ev ...
, faced with the club in which he started his international football career, English
Blackburn Rovers
Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. Th ...
. AEL entered the first qualifying round as the clear underdog, but on the afternoon of 20 September 2007 at the
Panthessaliko Stadium
The Panthessaliko Stadium is a stadium located at Volos, Greece. The stadium was the site of football (soccer) matches during the 2004 Summer Olympics. It was officially opened on July 30, 2004 and has a capacity of 22,700 seats, though only 21, ...
—after
Alcazar did not comply to 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 ...
specifications—radically subverted the data: won 2–0 in the first match and lost 2–1 in the second game of
Ewood Park and took a proud qualification to the group stage. In the "32" AEL faced powerful teams like
Everton with a long tradition in the
Premier League
The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
, rising Dutch
AZ Alkmaar
Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and host ...
, German
Nürnberg and the subsequent
2008 UEFA Cup winners mighty Russian
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...
. The team failed to pick a point in the four games, but won the respect that was confirmed by great European coaches, which AEL found opposite in this journey as
Louis van Gaal
Aloysius Paulus Maria "Louis" van Gaal (; born 8 August 1951) is a Dutch former football player and manager. At club level, he served as manager of Ajax, Barcelona, AZ Alkmaar, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, as well as having three spe ...
and
Dick Advocaat
Dirk Nicolaas Advocaat (; born 27 September 1947) is a Dutch former football player and coach who is currently the head coach of Eerste Divisie side ADO Den Haag.
Advocaat was successful as a football player and as a coach, including three stint ...
. Liberated from the burden of European obligations and with the assistance of world class players like
Maciej Żurawski
Maciej Stanisław Żurawski (; born 12 September 1976) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Żurawski appeared 72 times and scored 17 goals for Poland, representing them at two World Cups and Euro 2008. He also ...
and
Tümer Metin—AEL made an excellent championship course in the second round of the Super League and lost by one goal tie with
Panionios the 5th position that led to the playoffs. A bittersweet epilogue to one of the most successful season in the team's history. Confirming the ever upward steps at all levels AEL recorded in
2008–09 one of the most successful years in its modern history. Stayed for 13 consecutive undefeated matches, finished fifth in the Super League and ensured its entry into the play-offs and a European output (in the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
) for the third time in the last four years and for just the third time in its history through the championship. It is a year in which AEL—among other things—broke two traditions winning in
Kaftanzoglio Iraklis for the first time since 1982 and
Olympiacos
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
in
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 ...
after 26 years.
=New bending
=
From that point the countdown started again, which two years later brought back AEL in the
second division
In sport, the Second Division, also called Division 2 or Division II is usually the second highest division of a league, and will often have promotion and relegation with divisions above and below. Following the rise of Premier League style compet ...
. Wrong assessments and decisions regarding the completion of the team roster, and the leaving of the players who provided the guarantee of a remarkable and steady racing body, but much more decisive was the relentless chase of the team on the part of arbitration.
The European exclusion from the weak
Iceland
Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
ic
KR Reykjavík
KR is the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 and WMO country code for South Korea.
KR or Kr may also refer to:
Sports
* KR (basketball club), associated with Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur
* Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, an Icelandic football club
* Kickoff ...
because of, mainly, the poor squad and preparation in the summer of 2009 brought the first clouds. The unexpected death of the late
Mexican striker
Antonio de Nigris on 16 November marked with indelible black lettering that period, in which AEL has managed to keep its position in the penultimate game of the season, changing coach (
Giannis Papakostas
Giannis Papakostas ( gr, Γιάννης Παπακώστας) is a Greek football manager. Papakostas began his coaching career at Eleusina and Chalkidona and PAS Giannina that he brought into the semi-final of Greek Cup
The Greek Football Cu ...
in place of
Marinos Ouzounidis) and achieving 5 wins in the last 7 games of the season. The prospect of the entry into the new stadium (the
AEL FC Arena) and the feeling that the near-mishap last season had taught a lesson, created expectations of great things for the 2010–11 season, accompanied by large investments in player transfers. The transition from the historic
Alcazar Stadium
Alcazar Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Larissa, 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 crossr ...
into the newly built
AEL FC Arena in late November—early December 2010, was not made in the way that every fan had hoped and dreamed of. Two defeats by
Panionios, (0–1) and
PAOK (1–2), spoiled the festive atmosphere, but above all it was the shadow of arbitration that created a bleak future again. Grossly injusticed over the first half of the season (for nearly 13 games!) with catalytic decisions that shaped scores and results, AEL had an unequal fight until the end—changing coaching and trying to strengthen the squad but finally relented. Even the most pessimistic would hardly imagine at the beginning of that year that AEL in a new stadium and with star-players (
Dabizas,
Venetidis,
Cousin
Most generally, in the lineal kinship system used in the English-speaking world, a cousin is a type of familial relationship in which two relatives are two or more familial generations away from their most recent common ancestor. Commonly, ...
,
Canobbio
Canobbio is a municipality in the circolo Vezia of the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.
History
Roman era inscription and cremation graves from the 3rd Century AD indicate that there was an earlier settlement near the ...
,
Metin,
Tavlaridis Čontofalský,
Pancrate) would finish in the penultimate position and eventually relegate. But the harsh reality was obliging the "crimsons" in a new Calvary, for which they were not themselves responsible, at least not entirely. The revelation of the
match fixing scandal that occurred in the early summer of 2011 was only moral justification for the club and nothing more. After a barrage of outright decisions and scandalous implementation of sports legislation by the "Professional Sports Committee" and 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 football ...
, with selective application of regulations that was completed after almost six months(!) in October, the club remained in the
Football League.
Today
After the club's relegation and a final attempt to vindicate without much effort,
Piladakis began building the team that would return immediately in the
Super League. He hired the experienced and reputable coach in the English grounds
Chris Coleman and along with him players of International range like
Zequinha, the famous
Portuguese
Portuguese may refer to:
* anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal
** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods
** Portuguese language, a Romance language
*** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language
** Portu ...
midfielder
Luís Boa Morte, the
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
ian winger
Césinha and many others. The course of the team in the 2011–12 season started with the best omens, but soon all would be reversed. Financial problems that piled, appeared again and eventually led the coach and many of the players to the exit. Rupture between the owner and the organized fans substantially undermined the future of the team.
Piladakis resigned and the club without any administration and financial support, deliberately relegated in the 3rd Division. A move that is used by many football teams in
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 ...
and was based in a financial law (special clearance), made to ensure the deletion of the previous debts, as teams that competing in the 3rd Category are considered amateur. In the summer of 2013, Evangelos Plexidas, a local businessman from
Trikala
Trikala ( el, Τρίκαλα; rup, Trikolj) is a city in northwestern Thessaly, Greece, and the capital of the Trikala regional unit. The city straddles the Lithaios river, which is a tributary of Pineios. According to the Greek National Stati ...
took over and promised immediate return. Although the team indeed promoted relatively easily from the 3rd category and also won the
Greek 3rd Category Cup, and the
2013–14 Amateurs' Super Cup many incorrect choices about the team's administration and management were not accepted by the fans. The changing of 6 coaches in a single season (2014–15) and the leaving of almost 15 players (although the team managed to participate in the Football League Play-Offs but failed to promote), created again a poor situation that led the major shareholder in the decision to sell the majority stake of his shares to
Alexis Kougias, a well-known
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
lawyer and football administrator in July 2015. A year later, on 15 May 2016, the team finally gained the promotion into the
Super League. In clear contrast with the last time, however, there was little enthusiasm among the fans, as Kougias had longtime conflicts with them as well as the local community and veterans of the team. The first season back in top flight was a difficult one, with 3 managers employed :
Sakis Tsiolis
Sakis Tsiolis ( el, Σάκης Tσιώλης; born 30 June 1959) is a Greek professional football manager and former player.
Playing career
As a professional footballer, he played for Anagennisi Karditsa, AEL, Ionikos and Paniliakos.
Tsioli ...
left almost immediately after the club's promotion on June 2, 2016 only to return five months later and replace
Angelos Anastasiadis who took over after him the previous summer. He managed to keep his place on the bench until March 21, 2017 when he resigned for personal reasons. Thus, despite relative financial stability the team struggled on and off the pitch, yet managed to keep its top flight status by finishing 13th, just above the relegation places. After one match coached by caretaker
Theodoros Voutiritsas,
Alexis Kougias hired the
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
André Paus, that managed to stay for seven games in the club's bench. On September 14, 2017,
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
manager
Jacky Mathijssen
Jacky Mathijssen () (born 20 July 1963 in Dilsen-Stokkem) is a Belgian former football player and manager who is currently managing the Belgium U21 squad.
Managerial statistics
''As of 19 November 2019''
Honours
*2003 Runners-up Belgian Cup
...
was announced and signed for the rest of the season. Despite that, 11 Days later and after only three games (0–0 home draw with
Atromitos a 4–1 away loss against
Panionios and a 2–0 loss against
Panathinaikos for 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 ...
) he was fired.
Ilias Fyntanis, the club's previous assistant coach returned as a caretaker and
Kougias hired the 3rd manager for the ongoing season,
Apostolos Mantzios. A day later,
Mantzios announced that due to serious personal reasons he cannot take over.
Ilias Fyntanis took over as the club's manager, and succeeded to make the team showing a more stable performance. Despite that, on February 20, 2018, he was fired once again and was replaced by the
Serbian Ratko Dostanić
Ratko Dostanić (; born 25 October 1959) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a defender and current manager of Zeta.
Playing career
After coming through the youth system of Partizan, Dostanić went on to play for Timok and ...
that had coached the team in the season 2015–16 in the Football League. Ηowever, this new deal did not last for long. In Fact, only three games later,
Dostanić resigned after a serious disagreement with the club's owner.
Kougias hired the 42-year-old
Sotiris Antoniou
Sotiris Antoniou ( el, Σωτήρης Αντωνίου; born 10 September 1975) is a Greek professional football manager and former player.
Playing career
He began his career as a footballer from his hometown team Apollon Larissa in 1995. He p ...
, himself originating from
Agia, Larissa
Agia ( el, Αγιά, also written ''Ayia'') is a village and a municipality in the Larissa regional unit, Thessaly, Greece. Agia is located east of Larissa and south of Melivoia. The Mavrovouni mountains dominate the south and the Aegean Sea lies ...
. He made his
Super League managerial debut on April 1, 2018 on a 3–0 away defeat against
Apollon Smyrnis. The team showed little improvement in the league but still avoided relegation relatively easily. They were also very close to qualification for the club's fifth cup final, but a last-minute goal for semifinal opponents
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 Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadel ...
send them through instead on the
away goals rule.
Honours
Domestic
*
Super League (ex–Alpha Ethniki)
**Winners (1):
1987–88
**Runners-Up (1):
1982–83
*
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 ...
**Winners (2):
1984–85,
2006–07
**Runners-Up (2):
1981–82,
1983–84
*
Greek Super Cup
The Greek Super Cup ( el, Σούπερ Καπ Ελλάδος), officially known as the Cup of Friendship and Solidarity ( el, Κύπελλο Φιλίας και Αλληλεγγύης) was a Greek association football one-match competition which w ...
**Runners-Up (2): 1988, 2007
*
Football League (ex–Beta Ethniki)
**Winners (4): 1972–73, 1977–78,
2004–05,
2015–16
**Runners-Up (2): 1971–72,
2014–15
*
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 ...
**Winners (1):
2013–14
**Runners-Up (1):
2003–04
*
Gamma Ethniki Cup
**Winners (1):
2013–14
*
Amateurs' Super Cup
**Winners (1):
2013–14
International
*
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a European football club competition contested annually by the winners of domestic cup competitions. The cup was, chronologically, the second seasonal inter-European club competition organised by UEFA. The tourn ...
** Quarter-finals (1):
1984–85
Crest and colours
Crest evolution
The emblem of the club is a wild rising horse (same as the symbol of the city), believed to be an ancient thessalian-breed horse like
Alexander the Great
Alexander III of Macedon ( grc, Ἀλέξανδρος, Alexandros; 20/21 July 356 BC – 10/11 June 323 BC), commonly known as Alexander the Great, was a king of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. He succeeded his father Philip II to ...
's
Bucephalus
Bucephalus or Bucephalas (; grc, Βουκεφάλας, ; – June 326 BC) was the horse of Alexander the Great, and one of the most famous horses of classical antiquity.
Ancient historical accounts state that Bucephalus' breed was tha ...
.
AEL FC old.png, 1964–1970
AEL 1970-73.jpg, 1970–1973
AEL1964-Crest.svg, 1990–2016
Colours and kit evolution
The team's colours have been crimson and white since the formation of the club in 1964.
First
Alternative
Facilities
Stadium
AEL FC Arena was the home ground of AEL until July 2020. It is a
UEFA 3-star rated stadium and has a
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
of 16,118 all covered. As well as functioning as a football stadium, Arena also operates as a conference centre and music venue. Actual construction of the stadium lasted 14 months, beginning in September 2009 and ended in late November 2010. From May 2013 until September 2015, the team played its home games in the old
Alcazar Stadium
Alcazar Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Larissa, 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 crossr ...
, due to economic disputes concerning the rent of the stadium between the owning company (''Gipedo Larissa AE'') and the precedent chairman, ''Evangelos Plexidas''. On 22 July 2015, the club's new major shareholder
Alexis Kougias promised in an interview that the team will return and compete for the season 2015–16 in the
Arena
An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...
. Indeed, on 26 August 2015, there was an agreement and an official announcement of the new season's tickets for the stadium. The team competed in
AEL FC Arena for five years, (until July 2020) when new financial disagreements and tensions arose, this time between
Kougias and the owning company of the stadium. This led to the team leaving
AEL FC Arena once again and returning to a fully renovated
Alkazar that is scheduled to host the club's games for the next two seasons.
Training facilities
AEL has its own training facilities in the area of the village Dendra, near to the town of
Tyrnavos
Tyrnavos ( el, Τύρναβος) is a municipality in the Larissa regional unit, of the Thessaly region of Greece. It is the second-largest town of the Larissa regional unit, after Larissa. The town is near the mountains and the Thessalian Plain ...
. Those facilities cover over 30,000 square meters, have multisport purposes for all of the team's athletes and among the others include:
*Three football fields (one used by the first team, with 1,500 seats capacity and one for the U21 team's official matches)
*One football field with
artificial turf
*Hosting area for the First and Reserves teams
*Gym
*Saunas
*Rooms for tactical purposes
*Press room
*Changing rooms
*Offices
*Parking services
Supporters
File:AEL Fans In Kalamata 2005.jpg, AEL fans in Kalamata
Kalamáta ( el, Καλαμάτα ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula, after Patras, in southern Greece and the largest city of the homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regi ...
during a game in February 2005
File:AE Larissa fans.jpg, AEL fans in Veria
Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of ...
during a game in January 2008
File:Monsters Fan Club in Alkazar Stadium.jpg, ''Monsters'' supporters Club in Alcazar Stadium
Alcazar Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Larissa, 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 crossr ...
File:AEL Fans.jpg, AEL fans in AFAS Stadion
AFAS Stadion is a stadium in Alkmaar, Netherlands. It is used for football matches and is the home stadium of AZ Alkmaar. The stadium is able to hold 19.478 people and bears the name of a Dutch software company. Due to UEFA's sponsorship regulatio ...
in a European game against AZ Alkmaar
Alkmaar Zaanstreek (), better known as AZ Alkmaar or simply AZ (), is a Dutch professional football club from Alkmaar and the Zaan district. The club plays in the Eredivisie, the highest professional football league in the Netherlands, and host ...
Monsters is the largest AEL FC supporters club. The first attempt to organise the team's supporters was made on 31 March 1982 during the game against
Diagoras 30 fans that belonged to the older but old-fashioned club Ierolochites gathered in the Gate D of the old
Alcazar Stadium
Alcazar Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Larissa, 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 crossr ...
that was meant to be the legendary ''Gate-1'' afterwards. Monsters club was formed as an idea of having a true and passionate support to the team without restrictions or boundaries.
The fans tend to use various styles and sizes of banners and flags bearing the name and symbols of their club and have been following the team since the first day everywhere in Greece and Europe.
Monsters have a strong relationship with German team
1. FC Nürnberg's supporter's club called Ultras Nürnberg 1994 or just UN-94. Fans of both clubs often lift banners and create choreography in support of the fellow teams.
''S.F. Alkazar'' (Greek: Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Αλκαζάρ) is the second biggest club of
AEL supporters.
Records
* Most Appearances:
Giannis Galitsios (399)
* Most Goals:
Giannis Valaoras (73)
* Biggest Home Win: AEL 8–2
Kavala
Kavala ( el, Καβάλα, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia and the capital of Kavala (regional unit), Kavala regional unit.
It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across ...
(
1981–82)
* Biggest Away Win:
Veria
Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of ...
2–5 AEL (
1987–88)
* Most Wins in a Season: 18 (
1982–83,
1987–88)
* Most Points in a Season: 50 (
2008–09)
* Record Home Attendance: AEL 2–1
Panathinaikos (18,493,
Alcazar Stadium
Alcazar Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Larissa, 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 crossr ...
, 27 December 1987)
''All records, counted for the
Super League and former Alpha Ethniki championships.''
Players
Historical squads
The 1988 Championship line-up and the 1985, 2007 Cup winning line-ups:
Current squad
Reserves squad
*(Players of the youth squad under professional contract)
Other players under contract
Out on loan
Youth squad
Foreign players
International players
Notable former players
File:Teofanis Gekas'13.JPG, Fanis Gekas
File:Fotakis.JPG, Giorgos Fotakis
File:Stelios Giannakopoulos 2008.jpg, Stelios Giannakopoulos
Stylianos "Stelios" Giannakopoulos ( el, Στυλιανός "Στέλιος" Γιαννακόπουλος; born 12 July 1974), popularly known as Stelios, is a Greek football manager and former player. During his playing career, Giannakopoulos p ...
File:Dimitris Salpingidis.jpg, Dimitris Salpingidis
Dimitris Salpingidis ( el, Δημήτρης Σαλπιγγίδης ; born 18 August 1981) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a winger or a striker. He was known to be "a very quick and useful tool on the counter attack."
...
File:Daniel Cousin Hull City v. Aberdeen 1.png, Daniel Cousin
File:Geremi 2.jpg, Geremi
Geremi Sorele Njitap Fotso (born 20 December 1978), known simply as Geremi, is a Cameroonian former footballer. He was a versatile player able to play at right back, right midfield or defensive midfielder, known for his power, pace, combative ...
File:Laurent Robert.jpeg, Laurent Robert
Pierre Laurent Robert (born 21 May 1975) is a French former professional footballer. He played as a left winger, and represented the France national team.
Robert began his professional career in his native France before making a move to English ...
File:Solano.JPG, Nolberto Solano
File:Sasa Ilic and Fan.JPG, Saša Ilić
File:Aleksandar Radosavljevic.jpg, Aleksandar Radosavljević
File:Mirnes Šišić.jpg, Mirnes Šišić
File:Helder Cristovao 290515.jpg, Hélder Hélder is a given name in Portuguese. The unrelated German-Jewish surname "Helder" is also given the accent in Portuguese, such as the Portuguese poet Herberto Hélder (1930-).
The name is sometimes confused with Heitor. People named Hélder incl ...
File:BoaMorte0510.jpg, Luís Boa Morte
File: ÄNISBEN HATIRA.JPG, Änis Ben-Hatira
File:12-06-05-aut-rom-freundschaftsspiel-223.jpg, Gabriel Torje
File:Sparv.JPG, Tim Sparv
Tim Sparv (born 20 February 1987) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Sparv was born in Oravais, and started his football career in Norrvalla FF youth team before moving to Southampton's junior org ...
;Albania
*
Lefteris Milos (
†)
*
Blerim Kotobelli
*
Erind Prifti
*
Bledi Muca
*
Fatjon Andoni
*
Gertin Hoxhalli
*
Ergys Kaçe
*
Fiorin Durmishaj
;Algeria
*
Samy Frioui
*
Aymen Tahar
;Argentina
*
Jonathan Bustos
Jonathan Ezequiel Bustos (born 29 June 1994) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Liga 1 club PSS Sleman.
Career
Bustos started his career with Huracán. He made his senior debut in Primera B Nacion ...
*
Gastón Casas
* Enrique Alberto Cavoli
* Guillermo Oscar Daus (
†)
*
Matías Degra
* Mauricio Ferrari
*
Emmanuel Francou
* Daniel Roberto Gil
*
Matias Iglesias
* Horacio Oscar Morales (
†)
*
Milton Müller
*
Sebastián Nayar
*
Facundo Parra
*
Emanuel Perrone
*
Fabricio Poci
*
Daniel Ponce
*
Marcelo Sarmiento
;Australia
*
Leon Gardikiotis
* Michael Valkanis
*
Mitchell Whalley
;;Austria
*
Sanel Kuljić
;;Azerbaijan
*
Amit Guluzade
;Belarus
*
Yevgeniy Shikavka
;Belgium
*
Mbo Mpenza
Mbo Jérôme Mpenza (born 4 December 1976) is a Belgian former professional football player and coach, who played as a striker. He was capped by Belgium at international level, scoring three goals in 56 appearances. His younger brother, Émil ...
* Roddy Kambala
* José Barroso
*
Georgios Galitsios
*
Ziguy Badibanga
;Bolivia
*
Adrián Jusino
Adrián Johnny Jusino Cerruto (born 9 July 1992) is an American born Bolivian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Bolivian club The Strongest and the Bolivia national team.
With Bolivia he has earned 24 caps and has played a ...
;Bosnia and Herzegovina
*
Enver Hadžiabdić
Enver Hadžiabdić (born 6 November 1945) is a Bosnian retired professional football manager and former player.
He is so far the only person in Željezničar history to have won league titles both as a player and as a manager. As a player he w ...
*
Simo Krunić
*
Petar Kunić
*
Adnan Šećerović
;Brazil
*
Césinha
*
Silva Cleyton
*
Delson
*
Dodô
*
Eliomar Silva
*
Marcello Troisi
Marcello Troisi Moreira (born 9 March 1976) is a Brazilian retired footballer who played as a striker, and the current coach of Turbina in the Kategoria e Parë.
Career
After playing for Santos, Corinthians and Remo in his home country, Tro ...
* João Leonardo
*
Flávio Pinto
*
Guga
* Marco de Oliveira
* Marcel Issa
* Paulo da Silva
*
Piá
*
Jone
*
Ricardo Jesus
*
Romeu
*
Silva Júnior
*
Vela Júnior
*
Vinícius Silva
* Caio Vinicius
*
Leozinho
*
Bruno Chalkiadakis
;Bulgaria
*
Diyan Bozhilov
* Ivan Dangovski
*
Vasil Dragolov
Vasil Dragolov ( bg, Васил Драголов; born 17 March 1962) is a former Bulgarian footballer, who played as a forward.
For the Bulgarian national team, he amassed 5 appearances, netting 1 goal.
Honours
; Beroe:
*A PFG
The First ...
*
Hristofor Hubchev
*
Ekrem Genç
* Mariyan Gerasimov
* Gosho Petkov
* Georgi Tsingov
;Burundi
* Noureddine Ndikumana
*
Madjidi Ndikumana
;Cameroon
*
Thierry Modo Abouna
*
Augustin Billa
*
David Embé
*
Salomon Olembé
René Salomon Olembé-Olembé (born 8 December 1980) is a Cameroonian former professional footballer who played as a left midfielder.
Club career
Olembé started his career with Nantes, where he contributed 30 appearances as his side won 2000 ...
*
Jean-Pierre Fiala
*
Geremi
Geremi Sorele Njitap Fotso (born 20 December 1978), known simply as Geremi, is a Cameroonian former footballer. He was a versatile player able to play at right back, right midfield or defensive midfielder, known for his power, pace, combative ...
*
Serge Honi
Serge Honi (born 11 September 1973, in Douala) is a retired Cameroonian footballer who played as a forward.
He spent most of his 11-year professional career in Greece, representing eight different clubs.
Club career
Honi began playing footba ...
*
Jules Goda
*
Benjamin Moukandjo
;Croatia
*
Adnan Aganović
*
Slavko Bralić
*
Sandi Križman
Sandi Križman (; born 17 August 1989) is a Croatian professional footballer who plays as a forward.
Club career
Born in Pula, he started his career in his hometown club NK Žminj, where he scored seven goals in 22 matches, aged 17. In the s ...
*
Mateo Mužek
*
Tomislav Vranjić
*
Nikola Žižić
;Cyprus
*
Andreas Avraam
*
Nektarios Alexandrou
*
Stathis Aloneftis
*
Ioannis Kosti
*
Antonis Makris
;Czech Republic
*
Jan Blažek
*
Rudolf Skácel
;DR Congo
* Kanieba Malouma
* Ricky Lokela
*
Joël Tshibamba
*
Déo Kanda
;Egypt
*
Ali Ghazal
Ali Ahmed Ali Mohamed Ghazal ( ar, علي أحمد علي محمد غزال; born 1 February 1992) is an Egyptian professional footballer who last played as a defensive midfielder or as a centre back for Egyptian Premier League side Smouha and ...
*
Basem Morsy
*
Amr Warda
;England
* Michalis Banias
;Estonia
*
Sander Puri
;Finland
*
Tim Sparv
Tim Sparv (born 20 February 1987) is a Finnish former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Sparv was born in Oravais, and started his football career in Norrvalla FF youth team before moving to Southampton's junior org ...
;France
*
Christian Bassila
*
Alexandre Coeff
*
Geoffrey Dernis
*
David Fleurival
*
Cyril Kali
Cyril Kali (born 21 January 1984) is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Panserraikos F.C., Panserraikos in the Football League Greece, Greek Professional League. Born in France, Kali represe ...
*
Ibrahim Keita
*
Yohann Lasimant
*
Dany N'Guessan
*
Fabrice Pancrate
Fabrice Dimitri Pancrate (; born 2 May 1980) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Club career Career in France
Pancrate started his professional career in Louhans-Cuiseaux in 1999, where he played two matches. ...
*
Laurent Robert
Pierre Laurent Robert (born 21 May 1975) is a French former professional footballer. He played as a left winger, and represented the France national team.
Robert began his professional career in his native France before making a move to English ...
*
Steven Thicot
;Gabon
*
Henry Antchouet
*
Daniel Cousin
;Georgia
*
Gennadios Xenodochof
Gennadios Xenodochof ( el, Γεννάδιος Ξενοδόχοφ; born 30 May 1988) is a Georgian-born Greek professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.
Club career
He started his career from the youth teams of OFI Crete. He was sent on l ...
;Germany
*
Marco Förster
*
Giorgos S. Georgiadis
*
Christian Weber
*
Christos Agrodimos
*
Antonis Kablionis
*
Manuel Stiefler
;Ghana
*
Mohammed Abubakari
*
Owusu-Ansah Kontor
;Greece
*
Giorgos Abaris
*
Giorgos Agorogiannis
*
Alexis Alexandris
Alexis Alexandris (Greek: Αλέξης Αλεξανδρής, sometimes wrongly called ''Alekos Alexandris'' born 21 October 1968) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker.
Club career
Alexis Alexandris began his career ...
*
Ilias Anastasakos
*
Nikos Anastasopoulos
*
Panagiotis Bahramis
Panagiotis Bachramis ( el, Παναγιώτης Μπαχράμης; 12 March 1976, in Kalamata – 13 August 2010, in Kyparissia) was a Greek professional footballer who played as midfielder. On August 13, 2010, he was killed when a speedboat st ...
(
†)
*
Kenan Bargan
*
Manolis Bertos
*
Stathis Chaitas
*
Giannis Chloros
*
Spyros Christopoulos
*
Nikos Dabizas
*
Giorgos Delizisis
*
Angelos Digozis
*
Giorgos Fotakis
*
Giannis Galitsios
*
Fanis Gekas
*
Evripidis Giakos
*
Stelios Giannakopoulos
Stylianos "Stelios" Giannakopoulos ( el, Στυλιανός "Στέλιος" Γιαννακόπουλος; born 12 July 1974), popularly known as Stelios, is a Greek football manager and former player. During his playing career, Giannakopoulos p ...
*
Christos Kalantzis
*
Vaggelis Kaounos
Vangelis Kaounos (Greek: Βαγγέλης Καούνος; born 29 October 1977) is a Greek former professional footballer.
Career
Born in Arta, Kaounos previously played for Skoda Xanthi F.C. and Kallithea F.C. in the Alpha Ethniki. He also ...
*
Nikos Karanikas
Nikos Karanikas ( el, Νίκος Καρανίκας; born 4 March 1992) is a Greek professional footballer who last played as a right-back for Moldovan Super Liga club Zimbru Chișinău.
Career
Karanikas started his career from his hometown t ...
*
Vassilis Karapialis
Vassilis Karapialis ( el, Βασίλης Καραπιάλης; born 13 June 1965) is a Greek retired footballer who played as an attacking midfielder for Larissa, Olympiacos Piraeus and the Greece national football team. He is considered as one ...
*
Paschalis Kassos
*
Panagiotis Katsiaros
*
Nikos Kehagias
*
Fotis Kipouros
*
Dimitris Kolovetsios
*
Kostas Kolomitrousis
*
Dimitris Komesidis
*
Dimitris Kontodimos
*
Ilias Kotsios
*
Stefanos Kotsolis
*
Dimitris Koukoulitsios (
†)
*
Giorgos Kousas
*
Vasilios Koutsianikoulis
Vasilios Koutsianikoulis ( gr, Βασίλειος Κουτσιανικούλης; born 9 August 1988) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a left winger or an attacking midfielder for Gamma Ethniki club Trikala.
Club career Early yea ...
*
Thomas Kyparissis
*
Ilias Kyriakidis
*
Tasos Kyriakos
*
Andreas Labropoulos
*
Tasos Lagos
*
Manolis Liapakis
*
Kostas Maloumidis
*
Mattheos Maroukakis
*
Paschalis Melissas
*
Christos Melissis
*
Alexios Michail
*
Christos Michail
*
Chrisostomos Michailidis
*
Giorgos Mitsibonas(
†)
*
Manolis Moniakis
*
Dimitris Mousiaris (
†)
*
Vangelis Nastos
*
Thomas Nazlidis
*
Kostas Nebegleras
*
Sakis Paleologos
*
Theologis Papadopoulos
*
Thanasis Papazoglou
Athanasios Papazoglou ( el, Αθανάσιος Παπάζογλου; born 30 March 1988), commonly known as Thanasis Papazoglou, is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a striker for Gamma Ethniki club Thermaikos.
Club career
Aris
Pa ...
*
Takis Parafestas
*
Nikos Patsiavouras
*
Dimitris Pinakas
*
Vangelis Platellas
*
Giorgos Plitsis
*
Manolis Psomas
Manolis Psomas ( el, Μανώλης Ψωμάς; born 11 November 1978) is a football player who plays for Cretan club based in Rethymno, Episkopi
Psomas began his career with Panelefsiniakos F.C. and made 15 Alpha Ethniki appearances for the ...
*
Vasilios Rentzas
*
Giorgos Saitiotis
*
Dimitris Salpingidis
Dimitris Salpingidis ( el, Δημήτρης Σαλπιγγίδης ; born 18 August 1981) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a winger or a striker. He was known to be "a very quick and useful tool on the counter attack."
...
*
Achilleas Sarakatsanos
*
Savvas Siatravanis
Savvas Siatravanis ( el, Σάββας Σιατραβάνης; born 24 November 1992) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a forward for Super League 2 club Makedonikos.
Career AEL
Siatravanis signed for AEL in 2008. After one y ...
*
Stathis Tavlaridis
*
Thanasis Tsigas
*
Sakis Tsiolis
Sakis Tsiolis ( el, Σάκης Tσιώλης; born 30 June 1959) is a Greek professional football manager and former player.
Playing career
As a professional footballer, he played for Anagennisi Karditsa, AEL, Ionikos and Paniliakos.
Tsioli ...
*
Giannis Valaoras
*
Spyros Vallas
Spyros Vallas ( gr, Σπύρος Βάλλας; born 26 August 1981) is a Greek former professional footballer. Vallas, a defender, started his career at Skoda Xanthi, and transferred to Olympiacos in July 2003. He played for Larissa on loan ...
*
Tasos Venetis
*
Stelios Venetidis
*
Angelos Vertzos
*
Thodoris Voutiritsas
*
Michalis Ziogas
* Petros Zouroudis
;Guinea
* Ousmane Barry, Pato
;Honduras
* Diego Reyes Sandoval, Diego Reyes
;Hungary
* Gergely Nagy (footballer), Gergely Nagy
;Iceland
* Ögmundur Kristinsson (footballer, born 1989), Ögmundur Kristinsson
;Iran
* Gholamhossein Hashempour
;Ireland
* Paul Bannon (
†)
;Israel
* Shimon Abuhatzira
* Salim Tuama
;Ivory Coast
* Jean Luc Gbayara Assoubre, Jean Luc Assoubre
* Ibrahima Bakayoko
* Franck Manga Guela, Franck Guela
;Kenya
* Aboud Omar
;Kosovo
* Suad Sahiti
;Latvia
* Jānis Ikaunieks (footballer), Jānis Ikaunieks
;Moldova
* Dinu Graur
;Mexico
*
Antonio de Nigris (
†)
;Moldova
* Dinu Graur
;Morocco
* Naïm Aarab
;Montenegro
* Mladen Božović
* Žarko Dragaš
* Goran Perišić
* Denis Tonković
;Netherlands
* James Efmorfidis
; North Macedonia
* Davor Taleski
* Nikola Jakimovski
;Nigeria
* Stephen Makinwa
* Abiola Dauda
* Henry Okorocha
;Peru
*
Nolberto Solano
;Poland
*
Krzysztof Adamczyk
* Patryk Aleksandrowicz
* Krzysztof Baran (footballer, born 1960), Krzysztof Baran
* Józef Dankowski
* Dawid Jarka
* Jan Karaś
* Jacek Kacprzak
*
Kazimierz Kmiecik
*
Janusz Kupcewicz
Janusz Bogdan Kupcewicz (9 December 1955 – 4 July 2022) was a Polish professional footballer who played as a midfielder.
Widely regarded as one of the best Polish players of his era, he most notably won the bronze with the national team at 1 ...
* Arkadiusz Malarz
* Dariusz Marzec
* Blazej Jankowski
* Jaroslaw Kasperczak
*
Maciej Żurawski
Maciej Stanisław Żurawski (; born 12 September 1976) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a forward.
Żurawski appeared 72 times and scored 17 goals for Poland, representing them at two World Cups and Euro 2008. He also ...
;Portugal
* Filipe da Costa
*
Hélder Hélder is a given name in Portuguese. The unrelated German-Jewish surname "Helder" is also given the accent in Portuguese, such as the Portuguese poet Herberto Hélder (1930-).
The name is sometimes confused with Heitor. People named Hélder incl ...
*
Luís Boa Morte
* Sérgio Dias Ribeiro, Serginho
*
Zequinha
;Romania
* Ioannis Matzourakis, Giannis Matzourakis
*
Gabriel Torje
*
Dennis Şerban
*
Ştefan Stoica
* Steliano Filip
;Senegal
* Ibrahim Tall
;Serbia
* Siniša Babić
* Vladimir Bajić
* Milan Bojović
* Uroš Ćosić
* Miloš Deletić
* Miloš Filipović
* Aleksandar Gojković
* Nikola Grubješić
* Saša Ilić (footballer born 1977), Saša Ilić
* Velimir Ivanović
* Borislav Jovanović (footballer), Boki Jovanović
* Marko Jovanović (footballer, born 1988), Marko Jovanović
* Dragan Knežević
* Nemanja Mladenović (footballer, born 1993), Nemanja Mladenović
* Slobodan Miletić
* Radomir Milosavljević
* Svetozar Marković (footballer), Svetozar Marković
* Ivan Nedeljković
* Dejan Radojković
* Borivoje Ristić
* Risto Ristović
* Zoran Riznić
* Aleksandar Simić (footballer), Aleksandar Simić
* Slađan Spasić, Sladjan Spasić
* Nikola Stanković
* Thanasis Stojnović
* Denis Tonković
* Nikola Trujić
* Stefan Živković
;Slovakia
* Kamil Čontofalský
* Pavol Farkaš
* Igor Klejch
* Ján Kozák (footballer, born 1980), Ján Kozák
*
Jozef Kožlej
Jozef Kožlej (born 8 July 1973) is a Slovak retired professional footballer who played as a forward. He played in Czechoslovakia, Germany, Greece and Cyprus.
Club career
Born in Stropkov, Kožlej began playing youth football for Tesla Stropko ...
* Rastislav Jan Lazorik, Ján Lazorík
;Slovenia
* Marko Nunić
* Janez Pate
* Aleksandar Radosavljevič
* Dino Seremet
*
Mirnes Šišić
;South Africa
* Lehlogonolo Masalesa
;Spain
* Pablo Gállego
* José Antonio Espín
* Antonio González Rodríguez, Toni González
* Toni Muñoz (footballer, born 1982), Toni Muñoz
* Ximo Navarro
* Ximo Forner
* Perico (Spanish footballer), Perico
* Jorge Pina Roldán, Jorge Pina
* Piti (footballer), Piti
* Alejandro Chacopino
* Juan Velasco Damas, Juan Velasco
* David Verdú
* David Mainz
* Noé Acosta
;Sweden
* Mikael Rönnberg
* Ivo Vazgeč
;Tunisia
* Hamza Younés
*
Änis Ben-Hatira
;Turkey
*
Tümer Metin
;Ukraine
* Viktor Dvirnyk
;Uruguay
* Mathías Acuña
* Fabián Canobbio
* Alexander Castillo
* Adrián Colombino
* Nico Varela
* Sebastian Viera
;Venezuela
* Francisco Pol Hurtado, Pol Hurtado
Managerial history
* Aleksandar Petrović (footballer, born 1914), Aleksandar Petrović (1 July 1964 – 30 June 1965)
* Dionysis Minardos (1 July 1965 – 30 June 1966)
* Alexandros Vogas (1 July 1966 – 30 June 1967)
* Giourkas Seitaridis (1 July 1967 – 30 June 1968)
* Lefteris Papadakis (1 July 1968 – 1969)
* Theodoros Sirganis (1969)
* Giannis Helmis (1969)
* Theodoros Sirganis (1969–70)
* Apostolos Chabibis (1970)
* Christos Kletsas (1970)
* Kostas Ziogas (1970)
* Giorgos Tsalopoulos (1970)
*
Kostas Polychroniou (1970 – 30 June 1972)
* Stevan Karanfilović (1 July 1972 – 30 June 1973)
* Ivan Kochev (1 July 1973 – 30 June 1974)
* Dan Georgiadis (1 July 1974 – 1975)
* Ivan Kochev (1975)
* Lakis Progios (1975)
* Horacio Morales (
†) (1975)
* Nikos Alefantos (1975)
* Horacio Morales (
†) (1975–76)
* Giorgos Petridis (1976)
* Giorgos Tsalopoulos (1976)
*
Antonis Georgiadis (1976–77)
* Vangelis Balopoulos (1977)
* Pavlos Grigoriadis (1977)
* Giannis Zafiropoulos (1977 – 30 June 1978)
* Milan Ribar (1 July 1978 – 30 June 1979)
*
Kostas Polychroniou (1 July 1979 – 30 June 1980)
*
Antonis Georgiadis (1 July 1980 – 30 June 1982)
*
Jacek Gmoch (1 July 1982 – 30 June 1983)
*
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 ...
(1 July 1983 – 30 June 1984)
*
Andrzej Strejlau
Andrzej Michał Strejlau (born February 19, 1940) is a retired Polish football and handball player.
In 1989–1993 he was a coach of Poland national football team. He also coached many teams from different parts of the world ( China, Iceland ...
(1 July 1984 – 31 March 1986)
* Nikolaos Tsiakos (1 April 1986 – 30 June 1986)
*
Jacek Gmoch (1 July 1986 – 2 May 1988)
* Horacio Morales (
†) (3 May 1988 – 30 June 1988)
* Vladimír Táborský (1 July 1988 – 30 June 1989)
* Marcin Bochynek (1 July 1989 – 18 October 1990)
* Nikos Alefantos (25 October 1990 – 3 December 1990)
* Hristo Bonev (6 December 1990 – 30 June 1993)
*
Jacek Gmoch (1 July 1993 – 1 November 1993)
* Sotiris Koukouthakis (2 November 1993 – 8 November 1993)
* Christos Archontidis (9 November 1993 – 30 June 1994)
* Vassilis Daniil (1 July 1994 – 30 June 1995)
* Ioannis Matzourakis (1 July 1995 – 5 October 1995)
* Kostas Siavalas & Leonidas Efstathiou (6 October 1995 – 17 October 1995)
* Andreas Michalopoulos (18 October 1995 – 30 June 1996)
* Giorgos Foiros (1 July 1996 – 27 January 1997)
* Kostas Siavalas & Dimitris Simeonidis (28 January 1997 – 13 February 1997)
* Christos Archontidis (14 February 1997 – 3 March 1997)
* Kostas Siavalas & Dimitris Simeonidis (4 March 1997 – 30 June 1997)
*
Kazimierz Kmiecik (1 July 1997 – 10 November 1997)
* Zoran Babović (13 November 1997 – 21 December 1998)
* Nikos Argyroulis (24 December 1998 – 26 April 1999)
* Paris Meintanis (27 April 1999 – 11 May 1999)
* Leonidas Efstathiou (12 May 1999 – 30 June 1999)
* Stavros Diamantopoulos (1 July 1999 – 29 August 1999)
* Nebojša Ličanin (30 August 1999 – 7 February 2000)
*
Takis Parafestas (8 February 2000 – 30 June 2000)
* Nikos Argyroulis (1 July 2000 – 26 November 2000)
* Giannis Alexoulis (27 November 2000 – 12 February 2001)
*
Michalis Ziogas (13 February 2001 – 30 June 2001)
* Vangelis Vouroukos (1 July 2001 – 7 March 2002)
* Kostas Siavalas (8 March 2002 – 30 June 2002)
* Takis Sourlatzis (1 July 2002 – 8 September 2002)
* Christos Gkatas (9 September 2002 – 23 February 2003)
* Horacio Morales (
†) (24 February 2003 – 31 March 2003)
*
Takis Parafestas (1 April 2003 – 30 June 2004)
*
Giorgos Donis
Georgios Donis ( el, Γεώργιος Δώνης; born 22 October 1969) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder and currently a manager. He is the current manager of Saudi Arabian club Al-Fateh. He was the first ev ...
(1 July 2004 – 24 April 2008)
*
Marinos Ouzounidis (1 July 2008 – 22 February 2010)
*
Giannis Papakostas
Giannis Papakostas ( gr, Γιάννης Παπακώστας) is a Greek football manager. Papakostas began his coaching career at Eleusina and Chalkidona and PAS Giannina that he brought into the semi-final of Greek Cup
The Greek Football Cu ...
(23 February 2010 – 29 November 2010)
* Kostas Katsaras (caretaker) (30 November 2010 – 16 December 2010)
* Jørn Andersen (17 December 2010 – 9 January 2011)
* Nikos Kostenoglou (10 January 2011 – 30 June 2011)
*
Chris Coleman (1 July 2011 – 9 January 2012)
* Nikos Kotsovos (caretaker) (10 January 2012 – 16 January 2012)
* Božidar Bandović (17 January 2012 – 30 January 2012)
*
Nikos Kehagias (31 January 2012 – 20 March 2012)
*
Michalis Ziogas (21 March 2012 – 8 January 2013)
* Timos Kavakas (9 January 2013 – 30 June 2013)
* Kostas Panagopoulos (12 August 2013 – 10 November 2013)
* Giorgos Strantzalis (12 November 2013 – 8 March 2014)
* Panagiotis Tzanavaras (9 March 2014 – 30 June 2014)
* Alekos Vosniadis (1 July 2014 – 5 September 2014)
* Kostas Panagopoulos (6 September 2014 – 1 November 2014)
* Thomas Grafas (2 November 2014 – 23 December 2014)
* Sakis Anastasiadis (caretaker) (24 December 2014 – 5 January 2015)
* Panagiotis Tzanavaras (6 January 2015 – 7 March 2015)
* Soulis Papadopoulos (8 March 2015 – 30 June 2015)
*
Ratko Dostanić
Ratko Dostanić (; born 25 October 1959) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a defender and current manager of Zeta.
Playing career
After coming through the youth system of Partizan, Dostanić went on to play for Timok and ...
(10 July 2015 – 22 February 2016)
*
Sakis Tsiolis
Sakis Tsiolis ( el, Σάκης Tσιώλης; born 30 June 1959) is a Greek professional football manager and former player.
Playing career
As a professional footballer, he played for Anagennisi Karditsa, AEL, Ionikos and Paniliakos.
Tsioli ...
(23 February 2016 – 2 June 2016)
*
Angelos Anastasiadis (8 June 2016 – 31 October 2016)
*
Sakis Tsiolis
Sakis Tsiolis ( el, Σάκης Tσιώλης; born 30 June 1959) is a Greek professional football manager and former player.
Playing career
As a professional footballer, he played for Anagennisi Karditsa, AEL, Ionikos and Paniliakos.
Tsioli ...
(1 November 2016 – 21 March 2017)
*
Thodoris Voutiritsas (caretaker) (22 March 2017 – 2 April 2017)
*
André Paus (3 April 2017 – 12 September 2017)
*
Jacky Mathijssen
Jacky Mathijssen () (born 20 July 1963 in Dilsen-Stokkem) is a Belgian former football player and manager who is currently managing the Belgium U21 squad.
Managerial statistics
''As of 19 November 2019''
Honours
*2003 Runners-up Belgian Cup
...
(14 September 2017 – 25 September 2017)
*
Ilias Fyntanis (26 September 2017 – 19 February 2018)
*
Ratko Dostanić
Ratko Dostanić (; born 25 October 1959) is a Serbian former professional footballer who played as a defender and current manager of Zeta.
Playing career
After coming through the youth system of Partizan, Dostanić went on to play for Timok and ...
(20 February 2018 – 10 March 2018)
*
Sotiris Antoniou
Sotiris Antoniou ( el, Σωτήρης Αντωνίου; born 10 September 1975) is a Greek professional football manager and former player.
Playing career
He began his career as a footballer from his hometown team Apollon Larissa in 1995. He p ...
(12 March 2018 – 22 September 2018)
* Gianluca Festa (24 September 2018 – 30 June 2019)
* Gordan Petrić (1 July 2019 – 8 August 2019)
* Michalis Grigoriou (9 August 2019 – 22 November 2020)
* Giannis Tatsis (23 November 2020 – 20 January 2021)
* Gianluca Festa (21 January 2021 – 9 May 2021)
*
Michalis Ziogas (caretaker) (10 May 2021 – 23 May 2021)
* Kostas Frantzeskos (24 May 2021 – 13 October 2021)
*
Ilias Fyntanis (14 October 2021 – 22 December 2021)
* Panagiotis Goutsidis (23 December 2021 – 28 April 2022)
*
Sotiris Antoniou
Sotiris Antoniou ( el, Σωτήρης Αντωνίου; born 10 September 1975) is a Greek professional football manager and former player.
Playing career
He began his career as a footballer from his hometown team Apollon Larissa in 1995. He p ...
(3 May 2022 – 18 July 2022)
* Panagiotis Goutsidis (18 July 2022 – 23 December 2022)
* Giannis Taousianis (23 December 2022 – Present)
*
Competition history
European competitions
UEFA Champions League all-time club ranking
''As of 26 May 2021''
League and cup history
''As of May 2022''
Key: 1R = First Round, 2R = Second Round, 3R = Third Round, 4R = Fourth Round, 5R = Fifth Round, 6R = Sixth Round, GS = Group Stage, QF = Quarter-finals, SF = Semi-finals, RU = Runner-up, W = Winner.
*''Point system: 1959–60 to 1972–73: 3–2–1. 1973–74 to 1991–92: 2–1–0. 1992–93 onwards: 3–1–0''.
*''In the season 2012–13 the team gained 63 points but was penalized due to financial problems (−18 points in the final table) and finished 13th''.
League total
''As of May 2022''
European competitions
''As of July 2009''
Club staff
Presidents
At the founding of the club and under the administration of a 15-member council, composed of club representatives and organizations of the city, Konstantinos Tzovaridis was appointed as the first president. The current president, Achilleas Ntavelis, is AEL's 31st president with several presidents having multiple spells in office (counted separately.)
Kit manufacturers and sponsorship
Current sponsorships
*Main Shirt Sponsor:
*Back Shirt Sponsor:
*Shorts Sponsor: GTC ΛΕΥΚΑΔΙΤΗΣ RAIDER
*Official Sport Clothing Manufacturer: Acerbis
*Great Sponsor:
References
External links
Official websites
Official websiteAELat
Super League AELat
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 ...
AELat FIFA
News sites
* AEL o
aelole.gr
AEL newsfrom ArenaLarissa
Media
AELon Facebook
AELon YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ael 1964 Fc
Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C.,
Football clubs in Thessaly
Association football clubs established in 1964
1964 establishments in Greece
Super League Greece 2 clubs