Club History, ΠΑΣ Γιάννινα Options

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PAS Giannena History




The rise of the 'Ajax of Epirus'

PAS was formed in 1966 as a result of the union of the two local teams - Atromitos and Averof. During its 1970s and early 1980s prime, the provincial club was bolstered by the acquisition of six Argentine players of Greek descent (Oscar Alvarez, Edouardo Rigani, Juan Montez, Jose Pasternac, Alfredo Glasman and Edouardo Lisa, with De Faria as coach) and procured several finishes near the top of the National Division table, often earning victories over Greece’s more established big city teams such as Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, AEK and PAOK. The club’s effective and spirited play during the 1970s drew flattering comparisons with that of the renowned Dutch club Ajax Amsterdam, and the moniker ?Ajax of Epirus? has stuck with the team ever since. In 1980 former Poland national team coach Jacek Gmoch took the helm of the Epirote club for what was a brief but reasonably successful tenure.


In the doldrums: Mid-1980s and 90s

The period following the club's aforementioned peak years generally marked a sharp decline in the club's fortunes as many of its top stars moved on or retired outright without being satisfactorily replaced. PAS languished in the lower rungs of Greek football from the mid 1980s onwards, having only managed to stubbornly climb back up to the top flight for a single season in 1990 before being immediately demoted. The club would spend the remainder of the 1990s in the lower divisions.


Bumpy ride: 2000 to present

PAS has experienced a fair degree of instability in recent years. Under the stewardship of businessman Manthos Kolempas, the club showed signs of a mild resurgence by managing to be promoted to the National Division twice since 2000. The club was relegated, however, from the top flight after the 2000-1 season following a controversial 3-game playoff with OFI Crete and again after the 2002-3 season following sanctions of 65 points imposed on it by the Greek football association (EPO) after a unique and dubious decision. While there were other teams in the Superleague that owed at least 30 million euros, only PAS Giannina were relegated.

Related administrative and financial issues threatened to cause the club to be stripped of its professional status and relegated to the amateur division indefinitely. This was ultimately averted and the club's control switched over to controversial attorney Alexis Kougias, who oversaw the promotion of the team from the Tertiary Division (Gamma Ethniki) to the Second Division (Beta Ethniki). PAS finished 5th in the Second Division after the 2006-7 season and finished 4th after the 2007-8 season, coming very close to promotion and only losing out on the last match day.

In the summer of 2008 ownership of the club was passed over to Yiorgos Christovasilis, a businessman from Athens whose roots stem from the Epirus region. He brought on Guillermos Ollos as coach for the 2008-09 season,in which they succeeded in promoting the team in Greek Super League for the next season.


Honors and distinctions

Over the years, PAS has competed in the National Division for a total of 15 seasons. The club has never won the National Championship or the Greek Cup, but it has won lower division titles throughout its history and represented the Greek football league in the 1978-9 and 1993-4 Balkans Cup tournaments. During its peak years in the National Division, the club twice finished in the 5th place position (1975-6, 1977-8 seasons) and once in the 6th place spot (1979-80 season). The most famous player to have donned the blue and white PAS jersey in recent years is defender Giourkas Seitaridis, who later played for Panathinaikos, FC Porto, Dynamo Moscow, and Atl?tico Madrid as well as the triumphant Euro 2004 Greece squad. On January 31st, 2007, PAS clinched a spot in the Greek Cup semifinals by virtue of an extra-time goal from Evangelos Kontogoulidis before a hostile crowd in Karaiskaki Stadium. With an aggregate score of 3-2, PAS also became the first ever lower division club to eliminate Olympiacos from the Greek Cup tournament.


National Division
o 1975-76, 5th place: 30 games, 36 points, 15 wins, 6 draws, 9 losses, goals 40-33
o 1977-78, 5th place: 34 games, 38 points, 14 wins, 10 draws, 10 losses, goals 45-39
o 1979-80, 6th place: 34 games, 37 points, 14 wins, 9 draws, 11 losses, goals 50-44

Second division
o 1973-74, second division champion
o 1985-86, second division champion
o 2001-02, second division champion

Courtesy of Wikipedia

History of the club in Greek can be read here