Panionios Greek Football Pioneers Part 5

Panionios Greek Football Pioneers Part 5

First tier Return, New Millennium, and The Fall of a Pioneer

By Stephen Kountourou,

After a season in the Gamma Ethniki, Panionios returned to the top flight of Greek football, narrowly coming third behind Levadiakos and two points behind champions Naussa. The rest of the 1990s saw the panthers attempting to reestablish themselves in the Alpha Ethniki, with the Nea Smyrna side finishing 9th place in their first season back in the first division. The 1995/96 season brought more heartbreak for the Panionios. They found themselves relegated again as they ended their disappointing campaign second from bottom, currently their lowest finish to a league season. This was followed by another bounce back promotion to the top flight, finishing the 1996/97 Beta Ethniki season as champions, not a major honour but a league title nonetheless.

The end of the century would prove to be a more successful period for the Istorikos. With the help of the then academy graduate and future Greek footballing legend Takis Fyssas, They won their second Greek Cup, beating Panathinaikos in the final to lift the trophy. With this Cup win came their first entrance into a European competition for over ten years as they qualified for the Cup Winners Cup. Panionios proceeded to have their best European run in their history as they overcame Finnish side FC Haka and Cypriot side Apollon Limmasol in round one and two respectively to reach the quarter finals. They were matched up against a Italian side Lazio where, after losing both legs of the tie, they left the competition. The very same season, Panionios escaped relegation again by the skin of their teeth, finishing 15th and level on points with 16th placed Panelefsiniakos, where they finished above their opponents due to superior head to head record and stay in the first division. 

The new millennium brought new problems for the Panionios, not only as a football club, but a sports organisation as a whole. Growing financial problems, which had plagued them in the 1990s, now forced Panionios to privatise both their football and basketball teams to calm their financial storm and prevent bankruptcy. To avoid relegation from the Alpha Ethniki, the club renamed themselves Neos Panionios FC. After this came a more prosperous time for the panthers. Under new ownership, improvements were undertaken between 2001 and 2003 to create new medical and player facilities and the reconstruction of parts of the stadium. League performances began to improve as the club, once again, qualified for the UEFA Cup. After a first round win against Danish side FC Nordsjælland, they were unluckily drawn against Barcelona, where they were knocked out by the Spanish giants. In 2004 the club elected ship owner Constantinos Tsakiris as president of the club with the tycoon acquiring 85% of the Neos Panionios stock. He won fans over by immediately changing the club name back to Panionios FC. 

The youth academy also saw the development of many players who would eventually go on to bigger clubs and play for the national team. The most notable of these inlcude, Alexandros Tziolis, Nikos Spyropoulos and Giannis Maniatis all of whome would go on to have successful spells in Greece with the domestic giants, continue their careers in Europe and play consistantly for the national team during the Ethniki’s most succesful era. All three of these players progressed into stars for club and country, thanks to Panionios. 

2004/05 saw another dive into the UEFA Cup for Panionios after finishing 6th place in the league the previous season. Winning the first round in the competition against Udinese put them into a group stage with five teams in each group. They were unable to progress any further, finishing 4th in a tough group containing Newcastle United, Sporting Club, Sochaux and Dinamo Tbilisi, their won win against the latter side from Georgia. More mid table finishes continued for the Panthers as the Alpha Ethniki era came to an end in 2005/2006, being rebranded as Superleague Greece the following season. Another qualification into the UEFA Cup saw Panionios pip PAOK to 5th place on head to head record. Once again, a first round win and group stage exit was as far as Panionios could progress. For the rest of the decade Panionios would remain as a stable top flight club in Greece, never challenging for the title but also never in danger of relegation. 

The 2010s would see much the same for the Istorikos, with many of their European adventures behind them this would be a less successful period for the club outside of Greece. Despite a slide in performances and league finishes, and with the financial crisis affecting Greek football and the unsustainable clubs forced to be demoted from the first tier, Panionios, at first, seemed relatively safe. 

They continued to develop more notable players, whether they were graduates or on loan at the club. This includes notable Superleague players like, Giorgios Tzavellas, Kostas Mitroglou, Andreas Samaris, Dimitrios Kolovos, Taxiarchis Fountas, Fiorin Durmishaj, Karim Ansarifard, Lazaros Lamprou and Kostas Masouras. These players went on to play for bigger clubs in Greece and in Europe and their country thanks to the development they received Panionios and shows how important this club has been for Greek football since its inception way back in 1890. 

Mid way through the 2010s it Looked as though Panionios were beginning to see progress on the pitch again. Two consecutive 5th place finishes in 2015/16 and 2016/17 was a huge boost for the club, but growing financial irregularities prevented them from entering Europe in 2016/17 with PAS Giannia taking their place. The Panthers would finally enter Europe for the first time in nearly ten years for the 2017/18 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round. After overpowering Slovenian side Gorica in the second qualifying round, they would eventually be dumped out themselves by Israeli side Maccabi Tel Aviv.

With two more narrow misses into European qualifying the last couple of seasons it currently looks as though Panionios financial troubles have finally caught up with them. At the start of the current season the club were deducted 6 points for failing to obtain a Superleague Licence. This put them at a huge disadvantage before a ball was even kicked. After the end of the regular season they still find themselves bottom of the league with only 11 points after 26 games. With the threat of a possible 3rd relegation looming and the club in deep financial trouble, we can only hope that the country's oldest club finds some unlikely late season form and stays up once the season recommences. Or the club finds a way to financially sustain themselves and gain promotion back the following season. Without either of these possibilities, Panionios could share the same fate as fellow clubs like Apollon Smyrni and Iraklis who have been forced to play their football in the lower echelons of the Greek pyramid. For Greece it would spell a huge blow as a club, who helped to develop football in the country and is a key developer in some of the countries biggest players, leaves the top flight for what could be the final time. If this worst case scenario happens, we can only hope this is not the last we see of Panionios, a pioneer of Greek football. 

Hellas Football.