Kallithea F.C.

Athens Kallithea FC

Full name	Π.Α.Ε. Athens Kallithea FC
Founded	18 August 1966
Ground	Grigoris Lambrakis Stadium
Capacity	6,300
Owner	Andrew Barroway
Chairman	Ted Philipakos
Manager	Leonidas Vokolos
League	Super League Greece 2
2021–22	Super League Greece 2, 2nd
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Athens Kallithea Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Kallithea, Athens, Greece, which competes in the Super League 2, the second tier of the Greek football league system.

The club has finished as high as ninth in the Greek top flight (2004-05) and has reached as far as the quarterfinal stage of the Greek Cup on five occasions (1969–70, 1978–79, 1986–87, 2001–02, 2009–10). ^[1]

History

Founding and Early History

The club was founded on 18 August 1966, from the merger of five local clubs: Esperos, Iraklis, AE Kallitheas, Kallithaikos, and Pyrsos. ^[2]

In 1970, Kallithea’s Grigoris Lambrakis Stadium, named after the Greek liberal politician and peace activist Grigoris Lambrakis, was opened to the public.

Early 2000s in First Division

In 2002, Kallithea achieved promotion to Greece’s top division for the first time. The club’s first match in the top flight was a 1–0 loss to Olympiacos at Georgios Kamaras Stadium on 25 August 2002, and their first win in the competition was a 3–2 upset of PAOK F.C. at Toumba Stadium, thanks to two goals from Theofanis Gekas, on 14 September 2002.

After finishing ninth in 2004–05, Kallithea was relegated from the top division in 2005-06.

Recent History

In the 2021-22 season, Kallithea finished second in Super League 2, finishing seven points back of league winners Levadiakos for promotion to Super League 1, the club’s best finish since it last appeared in the top division in 2005-06.

In September 2022, the club rebranded as Athens Kallithea FC. ^[3]

Stadium

Main article: Grigoris Lambrakis Stadium

Athens Kallithea FC play at Grigoris Lambrakis Stadium in the Athenian district of Kallithea, located 2 km south of the Acropolis and 1 km west of Andrea Syngrou Avenue, the main road linking the Athens city center to Poseidonos Avenue and the Athens Riviera.

Built in 1970, and named after the Greek liberal politician and peace activist Grigoris Lambrakis, it is a multi-use public stadium with a seating capacity of 6,300.

The stadium is commonly referred to by its nickname “El Paso,” a reference to Clint Eastwood’s 1965 Spaghetti Western film  For a Few Dollars More  (which had the Greek title Duel in El Paso), as the stadium was built on the site of a quarry and features a tall rock along the north side of the pitch.

Crest and Colors

Historical

The first crest of Kallithea consisted of four circles representing the four groups of the merger of 1966, then becoming five circles with the addition of Pyrsos in 1967, which caused an issue with the Hellenic Olympic Committee. As a result, the club introduced a new crest with five stars in a diagonal line. The club’s colors were blue and white, which were the colors of the two main groups of the merger, Esperos Kallitheas and Iraklis Kallitheas.

Current

In September 2022, the club rebranded as Athens Kallithea FC, with a visual identity consisting of a stylized “AK” crest, the club’s founding year 1966, the five stars representing the founding merger of the club, and a modernized representation of the mythical figure Theseus as he appears on the flag of the Kallithea. The club’s colors became blue, white, and gold from the original blue and white. ^{[4] [5] [6]}

Honours

Domestic

Third Division: 3

• 1976, 1993, 2010

Fourth Division: 1

• 2020

Players

Current squad

As of 23 September 2022

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   GRE Thanasis Pantos 2 MF   GRE Georgios Manthatis 3 DF   GRE Leonidas Rossi 4 DF   GRE Ilias Evangelou 5 MF   GRE Orestis Tsintonis 6 MF   GRE Konstantinos Bouloulis 7 FW   ESP Nili 8 MF   GRE Theocharis Natsis 10 FW   ALB Flosard Malçi 11 FW   GRE Georgios Doumtsis 12 MF   GRE Constantine Edlund 13 GK   GRE Panagiotis Vosniadis 14 DF   GRE Michalis Kyrgias 15 MF   GRE Pavlos Laskaris

No. Pos. Nation Player 16 GK   GRE Georgios Strezos 17 FW   FRA Anthony Mounier 19 DF   GRE Vasilios Rentzas 20 DF   GRE Christos Kontochristos 21 MF   ESP Omar Santana 23 MF   GRE Stathis Vasiloudis 25 FW   GRE Giannis Loukinas 26 FW   GRE Panagiotis Kynigopoulos 31 GK   GRE Vasilios Kravaritis 33 DF   GRE Nikos Kenourgios 44 DF   GRE Konstantinos Koltsidas 77 MF   GRE Athanasios Kostanasios 88 MF   GRE Konstantinos Chatzidimpas 99 MF   BRA Demethryus

Season to season

1966 – 69: Division 3 1969 – 82: Division 2 1982 – 87: Division 3 1987 – 90: Division 2 1990 – 93: Division 3 1993 – 94: Division 2 1994 – 97: Division 3 1997 – 02: Division 2 2002 – 06: Division 1 2006 – 09: Division 2 2009 – 10: Division 3 2010 – 18: Football League 2018 – 20: Gamma Ethniki 2020 – 21: Football League 2021 – : Super League 2

Sources: ^{[7] [8] [9]}

References

1. "Greece – Cup data (from Quarterfinals on)". RSSSF.
2. "Greece – Mergers and name changes". RSSSF.
3. "Introducing Athens Kallithea: Your new second team". Goal.com.
4. "Athens Kallithea FC Instagram post". Athens Kallithea FC.
5. "Athens Kallithea FC Instagram post". Athens Kallithea FC.
6. "Athens Kallithea FC Instagram post". Athens Kallithea FC.
7. Abbink, Dinant; Mastrogiannopoulos, Alexander (2003-08-07). "Greece – Final Tables 1959–1999". RSSSF.
8. Abbink, Dinant; Mastrogiannopoulos, Alexander (2005-05-18). "Greece – List of Second Level Final Tables". RSSSF.
9. Mastrogiannopoulos, Alexander (2005-05-18). "Greece – List of Third Level Final Tables". RSSSF.

External links

• Official Website (in Greek)
• Gregoris Lambrakis Stadium (in Greek)