Loukas Panourgias ( el, Λουκάς Πανουργιάς, 4 September 1899 –

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 a ...

, 17 January 1981) was a

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 ...

athlete and footballer. At the age of 12 he went to

and a year later he formed an unofficial team called ''Niki''. Soon he found himself in Panathinaikos, that was still then called Panellinios Podosfairikos Omilos (PPO). Also a track and field champion, Panourgias chose football. He was part of the Olympic team for the

1920 Summer Olympics The 1920 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1920; nl, Olympische Zomerspelen van 1920; german: Olympische Sommerspiele 1920), officially known as the Games of the VII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIe olympiade; nl, Spelen van ...

, but he broke his leg and consequently did not participate in the Olympic Games. However, he overcame his injury and helped Panathinaikos in the following five years. Panourgias fought for the acquisition of the Stadium of Panathinaikos at Alexandras Avenue. Together with athletes and friends of the team he transformed the area of Perivola to a football field, which was offered to the team by the Municipality of

in 1922. After he retired from football, he made a successful career as a

lawyer A lawyer is a person who practices law. The role of a lawyer varies greatly across different legal jurisdictions. A lawyer can be classified as an advocate, attorney, barrister, canon lawyer, civil law notary, counsel, counselor, solicit ...

. He became also president of Panathinaikos A.C. from 1962 to 1966 (one of the most successful in the club's history with titles in many sports), and of the Hellenic Football Federation. He died on 17 January 1981, aged 81.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Panourgias, Loukas 1899 births 1981 deaths Footballers from Athens Greek footballers Panathinaikos F.C. players Panathinaikos Athletics Panathinaikos F.C. presidents People from Livadeia 20th-century Greek lawyers Association footballers not categorized by position Greece national football team managers Footballers from Livadeia Sportspeople from Livadeia Athletes from Athens Lawyers from Athens