Athens Kallithea F.C.

Athens Kallithea Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ "Athens Kallithea FC", ΠΑΕ Άθενς Καλλιθέα) 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.

Athens Kallithea
Full nameAthens Kallithea Football Club
Founded18 August 1966
GroundGrigoris Lambrakis Stadium
Capacity6,300
OwnerAndrew Barroway
ChairmanTed Philipakos
ManagerGeorgios Simos
LeagueSuper League Greece 2
2021–22Super League Greece 2, 2nd
WebsiteClub website

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 win in the competition was a 3–2 upset of PAOK 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, seven points back of league winners Levadiakos for promotion to Super League 1, which was the club's most successful season since it last appeared in the top division in 2005–06.

In September 2022, the club rebranded as Athens Kallithea FC. The presentation of the club's rebranding and 22/23 home and away shirts was met with widespread acclaim in Greece[3][4][5][6][7][8][9] and abroad,[10][11][12][13][14][15] with Milan-based Rivista Undici calling it "the most beautiful restyling of the year" and London-based Versus calling it "one of the cleanest football rebrands ever."

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 and presented a new visual identity. The club's founding year 1966 and traditional five stars representing the founding merger of the club have been maintained as part of the identity, while the new Athens Kallithea FC crest is a stylized AK monogram with five points that reference the five stars. The club's traditional blue and white have been maintained but with an updated blue, and gold has been introduced as a complementary color. The design work was executed by German studio Bureau Borsche, which also handled the rebranding of Inter Milan and Venezia FC.[16]

Players

Men's squad

As of 1 February 2023[17]

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
3 DF  GRE Leonidas Rossi
4 DF  GRE Ilias Evangelou
5 MF  GRE Orestis Tsintonis
6 MF  GRE Konstantinos Bouloulis
7 DF  ESP Nili
8 MF  ESP Javier Matilla
9 FW  GRE Nikolaos Ioannidis
10 FW  ALB Flosard Malçi
12 MF  USA Constantine Edlund
13 GK  GRE Panagiotis Vosniadis
14 DF  GRE Michalis Kyrgias
15 MF  GRE Pavlos Laskaris
16 GK  GRE Georgios Strezos
17 FW  FRA Anthony Mounier
No. Pos. Nation Player
19 DF  GRE Vasilios Rentzas
20 MF  ENG Adil Nabi
21 MF  ESP Omar Santana
22 DF  ARG Elías Pereyra (on loan from Godoy Cruz)
23 MF  GRE Stathis Vasiloudis
25 FW  GRE Giannis Loukinas
26 FW  GRE Panagiotis Kynigopoulos
29 DF  SYR Abdul Rahman Weiss
31 GK  GRE Vasilios Kravaritis
32 MF  GRE Paris Babis
33 DF  GRE Nikos Kenourgios
35 MF  GRE Lampros Kakakios
44 DF  GRE Konstantinos Koltsidas
96 DF  GRE Spyros Vlachos
99 MF  BRA Demethryus

Out on loan

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

No. Pos. Nation Player
2 DF  GRE Georgios Manthatis (at Kotkan Työväen Palloilijat until December 2023)
No. Pos. Nation Player
77 MF  GRE Athanasios Kostanasios (at Egaleo until June 2023)

Honours

Third Division: 3

  • 1976, 1993, 2010

Fourth Division: 1

  • 2020

References

  1. "Greece – Cup data (from Quarterfinals on)". RSSSF.
  2. "Greece – Mergers and name changes". RSSSF.
  3. "Η Athens Kallithea FC έχει μια αποστολή για το ελληνικό ποδόσφαιρο". Kathimerini.
  4. "Athens Kallithea FC: Οι νέες ποδοσφαιρικές εμφανίσεις συνάντησαν τη μόδα και είναι εντυπωσιακά stylish". Lifo.
  5. "Η Καλλιθέα ξανασυστήνεται με μοντέλο και παρουσίαση φανέλας αλά Βενέτσια!". Gazzetta.gr.
  6. "Καλλιθέα: Στη νέα εποχή με φανέλες αλά Βενέτσια, νέο όνομα και έμβλημα". Sport24.
  7. "Με άρωμα... Βενέτσια οι νέες φανέλες της Καλλιθέας!". Spor FM.
  8. "Athens Kallithea FC: Η πιο μοδάτη ελληνική ομάδα". Sportday.
  9. "Οι φανέλες της Καλλιθέας είναι ό,τι πιο ωραίο έχουμε δει στο ελληνικό ποδόσφαιρο φέτος". Oneman.gr.
  10. "Introducing Athens Kallithea: Your new second team". Goal.com.
  11. "Athens Kallithea Follow Venezia FC's Path With New Home & Away Shirts". Soccerbible.
  12. "Athens Kallithea FC and Kappa Team up for one of the Cleanest Football Rebrands Ever". Versus.
  13. "Il restyling più bello dell'anno è quello dell'Athens Kallithea FC, in Grecia". Rivista Undici.
  14. "Il vostro prossimo club preferito si trova in Grecia e si chiama Athens Kallithea FC". NSS.
  15. "Nace el hermano pequeño del Venezia: Athens Kallithea". 25 Gramos.
  16. "Athens Kallithea FC present new visual identity and 22/23 home and away shirts". Athens Kallithea FC.
  17. "Roster". Athens Kallithea FC.
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