It was February 3rd, 1908, when the track and field athlete Giorgos Kalafatis found a new Club that was to become the most glorious football team of Greece.
Panathinaikos is the Football Club of Athens that was established by distinguished members of the Athenian society and it represents up to this day the traditions and the morals of the city which “enlightened the world”.
In the beginning of 1910, the Club was gaining support by large numbers of sports fans and after the end of World War I, football activity resumed and the Club adopted the green colour jersey and the emblem with the shamrock. The shamrock became synonymous to the history of the team and has been adored by millions of fans.
In 1919, Panathinaikos won the 1st post-war championship organized by the Football Club Association of Athens and Piraeus. Since then Panathinaikos never stop to win domestic titles such as the Championship in 1929/30, with the outstanding player Angelos Messaris in the epic victory 8-2 against Olympiacos and the INVINCIBLE Champion 1963/64 witht the “architect” coach Stefan Bobek and his fabulous players. At that period, even during training, the fans were coming by thousands at the ground to watch Panathinaikos.
The name and history of Panathinaikos are also interwoven with European distinctions such as the final of the European Cup against Ajax in Wembley in June 2nd 1971, or the “triumph of Amsterdam” when Panathinaikos reached the Champions League semi-final in the 1995/96 season. Since the autumn of 1960, when the “shamrock” faced Spartak Hradec Kralove, until today, Panathinaikos has been the most reliable representative of our country in international competitions.
