Atromitos F.C.

For other uses, see Atromitos.

Atromitos

Full name	Π.Α.Ε. Α.Π.Σ. Ατρόμητος Αθηνών (APS Atromitos Athens Football Club)
Nickname(s)	Atrómitos (Fearless)
Founded	31 May 1923;98 years ago (1923-05-31)
Ground	Peristeri Stadium
Capacity	10,050
Owner	Georgios Spanos
President	Vasilis Betsis
Head coach	Ángel López
League	Super League Greece
2020–21	Super League Greece, 8th
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Atromitos Football Club (Greek : Π.Α.Ε. Α.Π.Σ. Ατρόμητος Αθηνών, PAE APS Atromitos Athinon), also simply known as Atromitos (literally meaning "Fearless"), is a Greek professional football club based in Peristeri, Athens that plays in the Super League. It was founded in 1923 and its home ground is Peristeri Stadium.

In recent years, Atromitos has established itself as one of the most competitive and strong clubs in Greece. They were runners-up of the Greek Cup in 2011 and 2012 ^[1] and have had breakthrough runs in the league, finishing 4th in 2011–12, 3rd in 2012–13, 4th in 2013–14 and 4th as well in 2014–15 and 2018–19. Their best performance in the league has been third place, which they have achieved in the 1928 and 2013 seasons of the Greek Championship.

History

Early years

Atromitos was officially founded on 31 May 1923 when Kalomvounis, Petos, Glykofridis, Stathopoulos, Synodinos, Rigopoulos, Stamatopoulos, and other students living in Victoria Square, (which was then called Kyriakou Square) decided to form a football team. ^[2] That same year, Vaggelis Stamatis, a mathematics teacher and member of the Panhellenic football league, joined Atromitos' administration board – because of his prominence in pre-war Greek football history, Stamatis' involvement increased the new team's stature in Athenian football. ^{[2] [3]}

First league steps

In 1924, Atromitos was accepted into the Greek football league. ^[2] At the time, Atromitos played at Aris Park, which was the home ground of Panellinios and Panathinaikos. ^[2] During their first season in the league's first division, they ended in third place behind Panathinaikos and AEK. ^[2] In 1928, they defeated Goudi 4–3 in the final game at Rouf Stadium to become champions of Athens. ^[2] That same year, they took part in the first Panhellenic Championship as Athens champions, which was organised by the HFF. ^[4] On 24 May 1928, they were beaten 3–1 by Aris Thessaloniki (who later became champions) in an away game, and were defeated again on 3 June by Ethnikos Piraeus (5–0). On 10 June, they managed a draw at home against Ethnikos (1–1), before losing again to Aris 3–1 seven days later. ^[2] Overall in the national championship, Atromitos finished third. ^[4]

During the following two years, Atromitos stayed in the upper part of the first division of Athens, and in 1929, they finished third behind Panathinaikos and AEK. ^[5] They repeated the feat in 1930 ^[6] but they were relegated from the first division of Athens in 1931, as they came last with only one point. ^[7]

Move to Peristeri

In 1932, Ioseph Chourouktsoglou and Nikolaos Epioglou decided to move Atromitos to Peristeri. Earlier, it was located in the same area as Panathinaikos, and they had found it hard to establish a large fan base or develop a unique identity. There, they formed a merger with the local team of Astir Peristeriou (meaning "Star"), from which comes the crest of Atromitos, a blue star. ^[8]

Before occupation of Greece, they played again in Panhellenic championship in the season of 1938–39.

Atromitos played in the second division until May 1972 when, under the coaching of Savvas Papazoglou, they were re-promoted to the first level. It proved a change too hard to handle, and they were demoted the following year. In 1975, a better-prepared Atromitos returned to the first division with a large fanbase, and ended the year in 13th place, securing their spot in the top flight. In 1976, they improved to end the season in 9th place, the best in the club's history. But, they were relegated in 1977.

By 1981, Atromitos had succeeded in attracting renowned players such as Stylianopoulos, Álvarez, Toskas and Athanasopoulos. However, despite high expectations, the club finished last in the top flight, and once more returned to the lower divisions. After years of playing in the third division, Atromitos won promotion back to the second division in May 2002 by beating Levadiakos at Patras Stadium. The team played again in the top flight between 2005–2008 by merging with Chalkidona ^[9] and returned to the top flight after playing one season in the second division in 2008–09. ^{[10] [11]}

In the 2010–11 season, Atromitos made a historic run to the Greek Cup Final. However, they lost 3–0 to AEK. ^[12]

Recent years

2012–13 season

Javier Umbides

Atromitos finished the 1st half of the season in 4th place, together with Asteras Tripolis and 14 points from the top, but 4 points from 6th place, that doesn't redirect to the playoffs. On 6 January 2013, at the debut of Nikos Anastopoulos in the coaching position and the Portuguese footballer Fabio, Atromitos beat Kerkyra 2–0, with two headers. From Sokratis Fytanidis at the 26th minute and from Stathis Tavlaridis at the 31st minute. In other words, the win was awarded to the team by the two centre backs. The team stayed in 4th with Asteras Tripolis, but now 6 points from the 6th place. One matchday later, they managed to get the 0–0 from PAOK at Toumba, ^[13] retaining the 6 points difference from PAS Giannina. On Matchday 18, they beat Platanias 1–0, getting to be only 3 points from 2nd place. The goal was scored by Eduardo Brito.

2015–16 season

For the 2015–16 season, Atromitos has achieved an important qualification to the UEFA Europa League playoffs after recording two wins against AIK Stockholm, 3–1 in the first game in Sweden and 1–0 in the rematch at Peristeri Stadium. There they faced highly rated Fenerbahçe S.K. of Turkey. They lost 0–1 in the first match at Peristeri Stadium and 0–3 in the rematch in Turkey and were eliminated.

Damir Canadi's era

At 21 June 2017, Atromitos announced Damir Canadi ^[14] as the new head coach of the club. ^[15] At 23 October 2017, Atromitos won AEK 0–1 in an away game ^[16] and then recognition began. ^{[17] [18]} Atromitos finished 4th at the 2017–18 season. ^[19]

On 20 March 2017, announced that Canadi will manage the club also for the 2018–19 season. ^[20]

Crest and colours

Crest evolution

• 
  Until 2012
• 
  2012–current

Kit evolution

First

1923–24

2006–07

2011–14

2015–16

2018–19

Alternative

2006–07

2006–07

2015–16

2015–16

2018–19

Facilities

Stadium

Peristeri Stadium

The home ground of Atromitos was once well-maintained but has been recently neglected. In its early days, Peristeri had grown to become the fourth largest municipality in Greece. The first club home ground was the grounds of "Bravery", which was located beyond the last shanty town of Evangelistria.

In 1953, Atromitos moved to their present location, which contained only central stands for the spectators; the changing rooms consisted of a small room at the end of the stands. Much later, a larger stand was built with a capacity of 6,000 spectators. It was also used for non-football purposes, such as musical performances.

During the chairmanship of Victor Mitropoulos in EPAE, blue and white plastic seats were installed in the central stand. Before the Athens Olympics, Atromitos installed floodlights and renovated the running track so the ground could be used as a coaching facility during the Olympic Games. Under the football ground there are spaces and facilities for activities such as wrestling, chess and boxing. ^[21]

Repairs to fragile parts of the stadium due to humidity and earthquake damage are expected to be carried out.

Training ground

Since summer of 2007, Atromitos possesses a modern Sports Complex, located in the center of Peristeri. ^[22] During the summer of 2004, this same Sports Complex has been used as the Peristeri Olympic Boxing Hall and includes a 3,000 spectators main pitch, an auxiliary pitch as well as a 5-a-side pitch, such as the club's offices. ^[23]

Plus, Atromitos possess installations situated on NATO Avenue, in the Aspropyrgos area. ^[24] The Aspropyrgos training center includes a football pitch, dressing rooms, a fully equipped gym and a massage area. ^[25] The Aspropyrgos football pitch is also being used by the Atromitos U-21 and U-17 youth teams. ^[26]

Supporters

Atromitos are based in western Athens and their main supporters club is called "Fentagin". ^[27] Founded in 1980, they have a space underneath the stands. They are dedicated to support the local football club and their anti-fascist and anti-racist ideas and actions. ^[28] The younger element of the support are known as the "Little Atoms".

Players

Current squad

As of 8 July 2021

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK   BIH Kenan Pirić 2 DF   GRE Stavros Vasilantonopoulos 3 DF   BRA Lucas Galvão 5 DF   GRE Dimitrios Chatziisaias 6 MF   GRE Charis Charisis 7 MF   GRE Alexandros Kartalis 9 FW   GRE Marios Tzavidas 10 MF   BRA Thomás 11 FW   ARG Matías Pisano 13 GK   GRE Christos Theodorakis 14 MF   ESP Juan Muñiz 16 DF   GRE Spyros Natsos 17 FW   GRE Antonis Trimmatis 18 MF   GRE Giannis Oikonomidis 19 DF   GRE Kyriakos Kivrakidis (captain)

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 FW   GRE Efthymis Koulouris 21 MF   AUT Patrick Salomon 22 FW   BEL Victor Klonaridis 23 FW   GRE Konstantinos Kotsopoulos 24 DF   GRE Fanis Mavrommatis 25 FW   ALB Emiliano Bullari 27 FW   GRE Georgios Daviotis 29 DF   GRE Stefanos Stroungis 30 DF   GRE Nikos Athanasiou 33 DF   ESP Dani Castellano 35 GK   GRE Christos Mandas 40 FW   GRE Ronaldo Shani 42 DF   GRE Fotis Zannis 43 GK   GRE Giannis Saltas 50 DF   CRO Josip Tomašević

Honours and Achievements

Honours

Leagues

• Football League (Second Division)

Winners (3): 1971–72, 1979–80, 2008–09

• Gamma Ethniki (Third Division)

Winners (1): 1988

• Delta Ethniki (Fourth Division)

Winners (1): 1998

• Athens FCA Regional Championship

Winners (2): 1928, 1962

Achievements

Leagues

• Super League

Third place (2): 1927–28, 2012–13

Cups

• Greek Cup

Runners-up (2): 2010–11, 2011–12

Seasons in the 21st century

Season	Category	Position	Cup	Notes
2000–01	Gamma Ethniki	3rd	GS
2001–02	Gamma Ethniki	5th	GS	Promoted to Beta Ethniki
2002–03	Beta Ethniki	9th	1R
2003–04	Beta Ethniki	13th	2R
2004–05	Beta Ethniki	15th	2R	Relegated to Gamma Ethniki, but merged with Chalkidona and took their place in Alpha Ethniki
Atromitos merged with Chalkidona
2005–06	Alpha Ethniki	7th	4R	Qualified to Uefa Cup
2006–07	Super League	8th	4R
2007–08	Super League	14th	SF	Relegated to Beta Ethniki
2008–09	Beta Ethniki	1st	4R	Promoted to Super League
2009–10	Super League	7th	5R
2010–11	Super League	11th	RU
2011–12	Super League	4th	RU	Qualified to Uefa Europa League
2012–13	Super League	3rd	3R	Qualified to Uefa Europa League
2013–14	Super League	4th	QF	Qualified to Uefa Europa League
2014–15	Super League	4th	GS	Qualified to Uefa Europa League
2015–16	Super League	8th	SF
2016–17	Super League	8th	QF
2017–18	Super League	4th	QF	Qualified to Uefa Europa League
2018–19	Super League	4th	R16	Qualified to Uefa Europa League
2019–20	Super League	8th	QF
2020–21	Super League	8th	1R

Best position in bold.

Key: 1R = First Round, 3R = Third Round, 4R = Fourth Round, 5R = Fifth Round, GS = Group Stage, QF = Quarter-finals, SF = Semi-finals, RU = Runner-up.

Personnel

Management

Ownership	Georgios Spanos
President & CEO	Vasilis Betsis
Vice President & CEO	Katia Koxenoglou
General Director	Spyridon Sofianos
Technical Director	Giannis Angelopoulos
Press Director	Christos Galariotis
Marketing Director	Spyridon Boulousis
Security Director	Georgios Petrou
Computing Director	Roberto Panagos
Accountants Director	Vasilios Karakatsanis
Ground Manager	Panagiotis Michaletos
Tickets Director	Roberto Panagos
Legal Department	Argirios Livas

Technical staff

Position	Staff
Head coach	Ángel López
Assistant coach	Daniel Vicioso
Goalkeeper coach	Claudio Rapacioli
Fitness coach	Julio Díaz
Administrative Director	Javier Umbides
Medical Director	Nikolaos Piskopakis
Doctor	Andreas Piskopakis
Physiotherapist	Panagiotis Abeliotis
Physiotherapist	Lefteris Gaitanos
Physiotherapist	Nektarios Koufalis
Exercise Physio	Georgios Ziogas
Team Manager	Eduardo Brito
Scout	Tolis Apostolou
Caregiver	Sarantos Chatzigiannakis

Former managers

Alekos Sofianidis (1999) Vladimir Petrović (1999–2000) Georgios Paraschos (1 Jul 2002 – 9 Jan 2007) Dragan Kokotović (11 Jan 2007 – 9 Jul 2007) Ángel Guillermo Hoyos (10 Jul 2007 – 26 Mar 2008) Paulo Campos (28 Mar 2008) Dragan Kokotović (30 Mar 2008 – 25 Apr 2009) Vasilis Vouzas (2009) Giorgos Donis (1 Jul 2009 – 30 May 2012) Dušan Bajević (2 Jun 2012 – 23 Dec 2012)

Nikos Anastopoulos (30 Dec 2012 – 7 Apr 2013) Georgios Paraschos (8 Apr 2013 – 22 Sep 2014) Ricardo Sá Pinto (23 Sep 2014 – 5 Feb 2015) Nikos Nioplias (6 Feb 2015 – 12 Jun 2015) Michalis Grigoriou (14 Jun 2015 – 3 Nov 2015) Traianos Dellas (8 Nov 2015 – 19 Sept 2016) Georgios Korakakis (19 Sep 2016 – 6 Feb 2017) Ricardo Sá Pinto (6 Feb 2017 – 12 Jun 2017) Damir Canadi (21 Jun 2017 – 5 May 2019) Giannis Anastasiou (24 May 2019 – 16 Nov 2019)

European competitions record

Last update: 14 August 2019

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2006–07	UEFA Cup	1R	Sevilla	1–2	0–4	1–6
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	PO	Newcastle United	1–1	0–1	1–2
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	PO	AZ	1–3	2–0	3–3 (a)
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	3Q	FK Sarajevo	1–3	2–1	3–4
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	3Q	AIK	1–0	3–1	4–1
		PO	Fenerbahçe	0–1	0–3	0–4
2018–19	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Dynamo Brest	1–1	3–4	4–5
2019–20	UEFA Europa League	2Q	DAC Dunajská Streda	3–2	2–1	5–3
		3Q	Legia Warsaw	0–2	0–0	0–2

Notes ^[29]

• 1R: First round
• 2Q: Second qualifying round
• 3Q: Third qualifying round
• PO: Play-off round

Sponsorships

• Great Shirt Sponsor: NetBet
• Official Sport Clothing Manufacturer: Capelli
• Gold Sponsor: Cosmote
• Official Sponsor: Athens Medical Group

References

1. "The two Greek Cup finals" (in Greek). atromitosfc.gr.
2. "Team history". atromitosfc.gr. Archived from the original on 15 August 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
3. "Atromitos' history" (in Greek). sites.google.com.
4. Mastrogiannopoulos, Alexander (11 June 2010). "1927/28 Panhellenic Championship". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
5. Mastrogiannopoulos, Alexander (11 June 2010). "1928/29 Panhellenic Championship". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
6. Mastrogiannopoulos, Alexander (11 June 2010). "1929/30 Panhellenic Championship". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
7. Mastrogiannopoulos, Alexander (11 June 2010). "1930/31 Panhellenic Championship". RSSSF. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
8. "Atromitos' 1940s" (in Greek). sport-retro.gr.
9. "Chalkidona's history" (in Greek). debut.gr.
10. "Merging with Chalkidona" (in Greek). sport-fm.gr. Retrieved 30 May 2005.
11. "Mutually beneficial football merging" (in Greek). tovima.gr.
12. "Greek Cup final in 2011" (in Greek). sport-fm.gr. Retrieved 30 April 2011.
13. ΠΑΟΚ-Ατρόμητος 0-0 (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 13 January 2013.
14. "Damir Khanati: The Immigrant's son who worked as a caretaker and stormed Armani" (in Greek). sport-retro.gr. Retrieved 29 October 2017.
15. "It's official: Damir Canadi is the new head coach of Atromitos" (in Greek). sport24.gr. Retrieved 21 June 2017.
16. "Atromitos won AEK at Athens Olympic Stadium" (in Greek). gazzetta.gr. Retrieved 23 October 2017.
17. "The theme of "A Bola" is the frantic course of Atromitos!" (in Greek). gazzetta.gr. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
18. "Atromitos, the most ... closed club in Europe" (in Greek). gazzetta.gr.
19. "Atromitos finished 4th at the 2017–18 season" (in Greek). superleaguegreece.net.
20. "They continue together, Atromitos-Canadi" (in Greek). naftemporiki.gr. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
21. "Presentation of the Perister Stadium" (in Greek). atromitosfc.gr.
22. "Atromitos' training center" (in Greek). atromitosfc.gr.
23. "Mazaraki's facilities" (in Greek). sport-fm.gr.
24. "Aspropyrgos training center" (in Greek). atromitosfc.gr.
25. "The jewel of Atromitos in the Aspropyrgos area" (in Greek). atromitosfc.gr.
26. "Atromitos FC Sports Complex". Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
27. "Fentagin" (in Greek). fentagin.gr.
28. "Fentagin's special action" (in Greek). gazzetta.gr.
29. "UEFA Europa League format". agonasport.com.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Atromitos FC .

Official websites

• Official website (in English and Greek)
• Atromitos at Super League (in English and Greek)
• Atromitos at UEFA

News sites

• Atromitos on atromitistas.gr (in Greek)
• Atromitos news from Nova Sports

Other

• Atromitos store official website