Panionios - From Asia Minor, a club with History

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When one talks of the big clubs in Greece, the “Big 4” are invariably mentioned. Olympiakos, Panathinaikos, AEK, PAOK and depending on your view, you might throw Aris in there to make a Big 5. 

Panionios is not a name you generally hear of when this type of discussion takes place, but they are right up there if you want to talk of history, players, its contribution to Greek Football and its importance to Greece.

Founded in 1890 as (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης) in the historic Greek city of Smyrna, Ionia (modern-day Izmir, now part of Turkey). The club had a strong tradition in all sports: athletics, gymnastics, cycling, tennis, football, swimming, shooting, fencing and were one of the first clubs to create volleyball & basketball divisions.

Panionios was one of the biggest sporting institutions in all of Hellenism. By the 1920’s, it boasted great new facilities, a first-class gymnasium, a full-length running track, football fields, the future looked bright. Unfortunately, in September 1922 the club would suffer a tremendous blow.

The Turkish Army entered the city and began raping and massacring the Greek population, while a Turkish mob lynched the Archbishop of Smyrna Chrysostomos, who was a patron and great supporter of Panionios.

Thousands of Greeks were killed while thousands more fled for their lives. The exodus brought to an end the Greek presence in Smyrna and was the culmination of a 10-year Turkish program of Genocide against the Greeks of Anatolia and Asia Minor.

Panionios was uprooted from its home leaving everything behind and its very existence was under threat. Officials and athletes who survived the catastrophe somehow managed to regroup in Athens, cobbled together an organisation and kept the club alive. During the mid-1920’s, Panionios was based out of an office at the Panathenian Stadium, the venue of the first Modern Olympic Games in 1896.

After an agreement reached with the Municipality, in 1939 Panionios moved its operations to Nea Smyrni which was home to many of the survivors of the catastrophe of 1922. But by this time, the club was no longer the power it once was and now being based in Athens, it merely became one of the many sporting clubs of the city.

Nevertheless, Panionios began to grow and quickly became a force in the then Pan-Hellenic Championship, narrowly missing out on the League Title in 1946/47, finishing 3^rd, just 2 points behind eventual Champions Olympiakos. The closest Panionios would ever come to claiming the League Championship were in seasons 1950/51 and 1970/71, finishing 2^nd behind Olympiakos and AEK respectively.

Panionios has saved its greatest Domestic successes for the Cup, making 6 Finals to date, losing in 1952, 1961, 1967 before breaking through to win their 1^st Greek Cup in 1979 against AEK, Panionios finished on the losing side once again 1989 before claiming their 2^nd Greek Cup in 1998 after getting the better of Panathiniakos.

Panionios has also experienced playing several seasons in Europe, its best effort was reaching the Quarter-Final stage of the UEFA Cup Winners Cup in 1998/99. Panionios have had other Continental success, taking out the now defunct Balkans Cup in 1970/71.

In terms of development, 3 of the greatest Greek Footballers of all time came through and started their careers at Panionios:

- The Greek Championship’s all-time leading goal scorer, Thomas Mavros, was a Panionios product. His 6 seasons saw some outstanding performances for Panionios and saw many clubs fight for his services. After a bitter and drawn-out transfer saga, AEK eventually secured Mavros’ services in 1976. Mavros would return for a 2nd stint at the club in 1987.

- While the Ethniki’s all-time leading goal-scorer, Nikos Anastopoulos, also started his career at Panionios spending 4 seasons at the club, before Olympiakos swooped in to sign him in 1980.

- Dimitris Saravakos, regarded by many as the finest Greek footballer ever to lace on a pair of boots, was also a Panionios product. “The Kid” debuted in 1977 at just 16, showing everyone the player he would become. After 7 seasons at Panionios, he was transferred to Panathinaikos in 1984.

It has been a process repeated over and over to the disappointment of Panionios fans. A trend which would continuously occur and a trend which continues to this day. It is almost a yearly ritual for Panionios to lose many of its best players to the so-called bigger clubs.

In the last few years they have lost the likes of:
- Giannis Anestis, Vasilis Lambropoulos, Christos Aravidis, Tasos Bakasetas to AEK.
- Tasos Avlonitis, Karim Ansarifard, Spyros Risvanis to Olympiakos.
- Nikos Giannakopoulos, Stefanos Evangelou, Olivier Boumal to Panathinaikos.

Just in this January transfer window alone Panionios sold Shojaei Masoud to AEK, Vangelis Oikonomou to Panathinaikos and Ehsan Hajsafi to Olympiakos, so it is a trend that doesn’t look like stopping any time soon.

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Despite all this, in 2016/17 Panionios was right in the hunt for the League Championship for the first time in many years, sitting in 2^nd place with 4 rounds to go, before the team ran out of puff to finish 5^th.

In the current 2017/18 season, they continue to defy the odds, currently sitting in 5^th place.

The story of Panionios is the story of Greece and the Greeks as a people, occupation, tragedy, survival, rebirth, the search for greener pastures, but through it all we are still here, and Panionios will be here for many more years to come.

By MaikLeventis for Hellas Football