Ground Capacity 11,321 Technical Director Kostas Katsouranis League Football League Founded 1891 | Owner Panachaiki Alliance Head coach Sokratis Ofrydopoulos Chairman Kostas Katsouranis Ground Kostas Davourlis Stadium | |
Full name ΠΑΕ Παναχαϊκή Γυμναστική Ένωση
(Panachaean Gymnastic Union) Nickname(s) Μεγάλη Κυρία της Πελοποννήσου (Old Lady of the Peloponnese) | ||
panachaiki f c 1891
Panachaiki F.C. (Greek: ΠΑΕ Παναχαϊκή) is a football club based in Patras, Greece. Founded in 1891, they play the 2015–16 season in the Greek second division. They have reached the Greek Cup semi-finals twice (1979, 1997) as well as the quarter-finals on ten occasions. Moreover, they were the first Greek club outside Athens (including Piraeus) and Thessaloniki to represent Greece in a European competition, the 1973–74 UEFA Cup.
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Panachaiki F.C. is the football department of Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi (P.G.E.), a multi-sport club. In 1979, the department became professional and independent. They have played their home games in various grounds since their first official game in 1899, mainly the Kostas Davourlis Stadium, their traditional home ground, and the Pampeloponnisiako Stadium.
History
The history of Panachaiki began in 1891, when Panachaikos Gymnastikos Syllogos (Pan-Achaean Gymnastic Club) was founded. In 1894, a rival sports club, Gymnastiki Eteria Patron (Gymnastic Company of Patras), was founded in Patras by former Panachaikos' members. It was only in 1923 that both clubs came to an agreement and decided to merge, forming Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi.
The football department was founded in 1899 by the Brit Arthur Morphy and the same year the football team of Panachaiki played its first friendly game against a team of British sailors, winning 4–2. During the next years, the first players of the football team were athletes from the Club's other departments, members of the British community of Patras and Italian emigrates.
Panachaiki lived its greatest football glory in the early and mid 1970s, when a team led by Kostas Davourlis impressed Greece and took part in the 1973–74 UEFA Cup, eliminating Austrians Grazer AK before losing to Dutch team Twente. Former Manchester United manager Wilf McGuinness took over as head coach for the 1974–75 season before he returned to England 18 months later.
Stadium
The team's privately owned arena is the Kostas Davourlis Stadium, holding a capacity of 11,321 speactators. Panachaiki has also been using the municipality-operated Pampeloponnisiako Stadium, which has a capacity of 23,588.
National competitions
European competitions
Current squad
As of 21 August 2016
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.