Apollon Smyrnis Football Club () is a professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

club based in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, Greece, which competes in the Athens FCA first division. It is part of GS Apollon Smyrnis (Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Απόλλων Σμύρνης), a sports society that was founded in

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, by

Anatolian Greeks The Asia Minor Greeks (), also known as Asiatic Greeks or Anatolian Greeks, make up the ethnic Greek populations who lived in Asia Minor from the 13th century BC as a result of Greek colonization, up until the forceful population exchange between ...

in 1891 and is one of the oldest Hellenic sports clubs. Following the compulsory

population exchange between Greece and Turkey The 1923 population exchange between Greece and Turkey stemmed from the "Convention Concerning the Exchange of Greek and Turkish Populations" signed at Lausanne, Switzerland, on 30 January 1923, by the governments of Greece and Turkey. It involv ...

the club was re-established in Athens in 1923 and is also known as Apollon Athens. Apollon Smyrnis has also departments basketball, volleyball, water polo and other sports.

History

Smyrna era (1891–1922)

Apollon Smyrnis was founded in 1891 by former members of club Orpheus. Orpheus (subsequently

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

) had been founded one year earlier in 1890. Among the founders of Apollon were prominent residents of Smyrna such as

Chrysostomos of Smyrna Chrysostomos Kalafatis (; 8 January 1867 – 10 September 1922), also known as Saint Chrysostomos of Smyrna, Chrysostomos of Smyrna and Metropolitan Chrysostom, was the Greek Orthodox metropolitan bishop of Smyrna (İzmir) between 1910 and 1914, ...

and Vasilis Samios. Roughly in the year 1893, the athletic department was organised. The first games of

took place in 1894, organized by the English sports fans of

Bornova Bornova is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of İzmir Province, Turkey. Its area is 220 km2, and its population is 454,470 (2022). It is the third largest district in İzmir's metropolitan area and is almost fully urbanized at ...

, a district in İzmir nowadays. In these games the athletes of Apollon achieved a lot of first victories. The person with the most wins was Theologos Anastasoglou, a glorious athlete who later became Olympic champion; he was most likely the best athlete from Apollon. The Games were always organized by English sports fans until 1903, with the attendance of the Gymnastic Association Apollon Smyrnis. The third anniversary of the foundation of Apollon was celebrated joyously. Chairman N. Koulmasis gave the speech of the day, while the famous S. Pittakis spoke of Delphi and recited the anthem to the god

Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...

. There was a special pedestal on which had been set up an altar to praise the god Apollo, while eight youths dressed in chlamydes sang the Pindariko anthem to Apollo. In 1894, with the election of its new presiding board, Apollon adopted as its emblem three runners and at the same time it established an excursion department. Of the first excursions that were organized, one was to

Ephesus Ephesus (; ; ; may ultimately derive from ) was an Ancient Greece, ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital ...

and another to

Aydın Aydın ( ''EYE-din''; ; formerly named ''Güzelhisar; Greek: Τράλλεις)'' is a city in and the seat of Aydın Province in Turkey's Aegean Region. The city is located at the heart of the lower valley of Büyük Menderes River (ancient ...

, in which the Russian scholar and historical Frigkol took part. In 1894, the council of the Gymnastic Association of Apollon (Apollon Sports Club) was composed of chairman Mathaios Provatopoulos and Th. Vatidi, Jakovos Koulampidis, Grig. Sofianopoulos, G. Oikonomidis, A. Koulampidis and C. Papadimitriou. During this season the team acquired a privately owned ground. Initially, only its members fought on these. Later, however, it organized games in which other associations could also take part.

Apollon Smyrna's stadium

Apollon acquired its own stadium in 1894. Fourteen years before, in 1880, Ioannis Damvergis with Apostolos Psaltof, Stefanos Papamihalis and I. Makroulidis, all students of the Evangelic Faculty of Smyrna, created an off-hand gym in some open space, known with the name "love arena". After they opened the ground, they set up a perimeter using ropes because of a lack of money. Then, with hard economising, they bought a horizontal bar and other gymnastic equipment. The youth of Smyrna exercised there paying a symbolic price. Makroulidis was made cashier. This primitive gym constituted the precursor of the gym of Apollo, but was also the fountain for the later great athletes of the association. For this reason, the creator of this gym, Apostolos Psaltof, was called the "grandfather'" of Apollon. Later the gymnastic association "Apollon Smyrnis" moved to a space opposite the Greek Orphanage where was then built a big and modern gym in the district of Saint Tryfon, near the famous theatre "Terpsithea". In 1901 Apollon organized the first boat races in Smyrna, with the attendance of the other big Smyrna association, "Panionios", which was founded in 1898 and came forth from the union of associations "Orpheus" and "Gymnasium".

Apollonian Games

On 6 and 8 May 1904, the Apollon Stadium of Bornova organised the first Apollonian Games with the attendance, not only of the organizers, the "Gymnastic Association Apollo Smyrnis" and the "Athletic Organization of Bornova", but also the "Athletic Union of Smyrni" as well. Remarkably, the making of these games was all under the supervision of prefect of Smyrni, Kiamil pasa, a measure of the huge scope and power of this association. The committee of the athletic games consisted of: Sokratis Solomonidis, Xristos Athanasoulas, Xenophon Dimas, Kostas Kotzias, Petros Mposkovik, A. Vanterze and Richard Whittes. The committee of ellanodikes was composed of Nikos Stavridis (chairman of Apollon), E. Fintao and D. Whittes. The opening ceremony for the first Apollonian Games started with a parade of all athletes under the sounds of music that was played by the orchestra of Apollon with director I. Magglis. The gymnastic association "Apollon Smyrnis" took part with 54 athletes. The biggest attraction was the 10 km run, won by L. Venizelos with a time of 34'43. Another popular game attraction was the ''sakodromies'' (small jumps), a race of 60 m, in which the runners were fully surrounded with cloth sacks up to their necks. Afterwards, at the end of the games, there was the handing-over of prizes and the athletes, followed by thousands of spectators and escorted by the orchestra of Apollo, walked to the railway station of Bornova, from where they took off to Smyrni by special train. From the railway station of Mpasmahane to the offices of the Apollon Gymnastic Association in the Bella Vista, a ''lampadidodromia'' (running with torches) took place. The "Apollonia" aka Apollonian Games were held in Smyrna, with exceptional success, ten times in total. In these games took part almost all athletic associations of Smyrna, Greek and foreign, except the Turkish clubs.

Rivalry between Apollon and Panionios

This period is also the beginning of the great rivalry between Apollon and

, which has continued until modern times, although without any extremes. The point of contention was the claim of supremacy in the capital of

Ionia Ionia ( ) was an ancient region encompassing the central part of the western coast of Anatolia. It consisted of the northernmost territories of the Ionian League of Greek settlements. Never a unified state, it was named after the Ionians who ...

. However, this antagonism was progressively blunted, since the men of Apollon were active mainly in football and went on to create one of the most powerful teams of

Asia Minor Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and one of the three most important teams in Greek lands, whereas Panionios was focused on the track, producing some very important athletes. In 1904, Apollon took part in the Pan-Hellenic athletics that were organized in Athens. The city of Smyrna was represented by athletes from Panionios and Apollon. The athletes of the Gymnastic Association Apollon Smyrnis gained a lot of victories: Theologos Anastasoglou, Mathaios Despotopoulos, Kiros Alexiou, Dimitrios Mouratis and X. Lohner. Athenian man of letters, I. Damvergis, who represented Apollon in Athens, announced the news of the victories to Smyrna via telegraph. The chairman of Apollon answered: "We are grateful to you, give our congratulations to the champions." On May 1, 1905, the Apollon club celebrated with magnificence. With the music orchestra of Apollon at its head, the association organised a parade of all of the club athletes in the major streets of Smyrna. In 1906, common games were organized in Smyrna for the athletes of Apollon and Panionios. In these games victors for Apollon were the following athletes: Gounaris, Patestidis and K. Alexiou. In the same season, the Gymnastic Association Apollon Smyrnis suggested replacing the Apollonian and the Panionian Games of Smyrni with Pan Minor-Asian games. This effort, however, was not realised due to strong opposition from Panionios. In the same year (1906) Apollon took part in the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

of Athens (Middle Olympics). Its athletes Theologos Anastasoglou and Mathaios Despotopoulos were winners in pentathlon, writing yet another brilliant page in the history of the club.

The football team

1910 was a very important year in the history of Apollon. During this year the

team of the club was founded, with swastika as its emblem – a cross which is an ancient Greek symbol. Apollon fans loved this sport in particular, giving it the first place in their hearts. To this contributed, of course, the club's soccer players with their fighting spirit and their high morals. The club competed in football matches with all the teams of

, as well as with teams of sailors on foreign navy ships that were harboured in the Ionian capital. In 1911, Apollon accomplished a victory over the most powerful soccer team of the season, the team of the Austrian warship "Wirintous"! It is notable that the Austrian admiral sent a congratulations telegram to the presiding board of Apollon. Important also is the victory achieved in 1918 against the almighty team of English warship "Minitor 19", the first warship that had sailed into the harbour of Smyrna, after the defeat of Turkey in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Successes began to come one after the other and before long Apollon became the leading football association of

. Characteristically, it won the Championship of football games held in

continuously on the years between 1917 and 1922. In the Olympic Games of Antwerp (1920) the footballers of Apollon, A. Gkillis, D. Gottis, I. Zaloumis and Fotiadis, took part in the Greece national football team. The final accomplishment of Apollon in Smyrna was in 1922 when it gained the title of champion. Thousands of Apollon fans celebrated this huge success, that was to be the last before the destruction of Smyrna. In the football team of Apollon that year were: Kajsaris, Koygjoyntogloy, Tsarls, Taloymis, Mayromma'tis (Haralampakis), Hrysoylis, Kampoyropoylos, Samjos, Papagjannis, Gottis, Gkjlis, Alevizakis, Domeniko, Viglatsis, Zaloumis, Kimitsopoulos, Magoulas, Marselos and the goalkeepers Fotiadis (main) and Zeimpekis (substitute). Two of them, Marselos and Hrysoulis, were captured and remained forever on Ionian soil. Also, in Smyrna remained as captives, A. and G. Kyrou, members of the council of Apollon, as well as champion of track Kr. Persis, the traces of whom were lost from then on. The council of Gymnastic Association Apollon Smyrnis, on the last year at Smyrna was composed of: D. Marselos (chairman), J. Garyfalos (general secretary), A. Kyrou (special secretary), and Hatzithomas (cashier). During the 2005/06 season Samuel Jolley was appointed interim manager, finishing in the top half of the table. Although the club did not continue his employment due to an obvious language barrier.

Apollon in Athens (1922–)

After the Greco-Turkish War and the expulsion of the Greeks from

, Apollon moved to

. The club's first home ground was located at a place near the

Greek Parliament The Parliament of the Hellenes (), commonly known as the Hellenic Parliament (), is the unicameral legislature of Greece, located in the Old Royal Palace, overlooking Syntagma Square in Athens. The parliament is the supreme democratic instit ...

called "Stiles Olympiou Dios" ( Pillars of Olympian Zeus). Apollon stayed there for about 25 years, and after

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

the club's house was again transferred to an

neighbourhood called "Rizoupoli" and a stadium was built there,

Georgios Kamaras Stadium Georgios Kamaras Stadium () is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Apollon Smyrnis. The stadium holds 14,200 and was built in 1948. It was used by Olympiacos ...

, named after club legend Georgios Kamaras. The club has four departments: the football department called "Apollon Smyrnis FC", a basketball club called "Apollon BC", a volleyball club and a fighting department. The best known (and probably the most successful) department is the football club. Apollon FC participated in the

Alpha Ethniki The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

championship for many years, with the exception of seasons 1969–70, 1972–73, 1974–75, 1986–87. The team won the local Athens Championship five times, on 1924, 1928, 1938, 1948 and 1958. Seasons 1994–95 and 1995–96 are the club's most successful seasons: In 1994–95, Apollon qualified for the

1995–96 UEFA Cup The 1995–96 UEFA Cup was the 25th season of Europe's then-tertiary club football tournament organised by UEFA. It was won by German club Bayern Munich on aggregate over Bordeaux of France. Girondins de Bordeaux went to the final all the way ...

(preliminary round) where they played against Olimpija Ljubljana.

was not suitable for the game, so Apollon played in

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

' home ground,

Nikos Goumas Stadium Nikos Goumas Stadium () was a multi-purpose stadium in Nea Filadelfeia, a northwestern suburb of the Athens urban area, Greece. It was used mostly for football matches and was the home stadium of AEK. It is now replaced by Agia Sophia Stadium ...

. Apollon won 1–0 in

in front of 10,000 fans but lost 3–1 in

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

and was eliminated (Olimpia scored 2 goals in the last 15 minutes). In those matches, many people noticed a young striker (just 21 years old at the time) who would become European football Champion almost ten years after; his name was

Demis Nikolaidis Themistoklis "Demis" Nikolaidis (; born 17 September 1973) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker. He was the forty second president of AEK Athens, and is considered one of the greatest forwards Greece has produced. I ...

. The following season, 1995–96, Apollon under the coaching of Giannis Pathiakakis and thanks to

' capital scoring performances, reached the

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

final after an excellent season, where they lost 7–1 to

. In the same season, Apollon made one of the biggest victories in his history, defeating Olympiacos at

Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium (), commonly referred to as the Karaiskakis Stadium (, ), is a football stadium in Piraeus, Attica, Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the souther ...

with 0–3, with an amazing goal of Demis Nikolaidis. After these great seasons, Apollon's glory started to fade and as a result, in the 1999–00 season Apollon was relegated to

Beta Ethniki The Football League () was the second highest professional football league in Greece since its inception in 1962 as ''Beta Ethniki'' and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super League 2 as the new second tier ...

. Then, in 2005 it was relegated to

Gamma Ethniki The Gamma Ethniki (, C National Division) is the Greek football league system, third highest football league in Greece. History The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 1983 it was changed to professional. Although no ...

(South Group) and finally, in 2007, to

Delta Ethniki Delta Ethniki () was the fourth level of Greek football championship. During the period of its existence, it was the lowest national division of the Greek championship. It was founded in the 1982–83 season and abolished in the 2012–13 season, ...

(Group 8). Apollon have gone since the 1930s under the nickname "The Light Brigade" (Greek: Ελαφρά Ταξιαρχία), named after the 1936 Hollywood movie The Charge of the Light Brigade, after winning the 1938 regional Athens championship.

Alamanos era (1979–2005)

In 1979, with the Greek football turning professional, Kostas Alamanos became the major shareholder and president of the team and remained so until 2005. He helped Apollon reach the

UEFA Cup The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...

preliminary round in 1995 and the Greek Cup final in 1996, but after the departure of many of the team's best footballers, Apollon were unable to recover and in 2000 they were relegated.

Today

Apollon managed to return to the First Division in the 2012–13 season, with Stamatis Vellis, a business

shipping Freight transport, also referred to as freight forwarding, is the physical process of transporting commodities and merchandise goods and cargo. The term shipping originally referred to transport by sea but in American English, it has been ...

magnate The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

, as the new owner. On November 11, 2013, Apollon Smyrnis announced the signing of Northern Irish

Lawrie Sanchez Lawrence Sanchez (born 22 October 1959) is a football manager and former international footballer for Northern Ireland. The defining moment of his playing career came in the 1988 FA Cup final, when he scored the winning goal for Wimbledon aga ...

as head coach and as assistant coach

Stephen Constantine Stephen Constantine (born 16 October 1962) is an English professional football coach and former player who is the manager of the Pakistan national football team. Early and personal life Constantine was born on 16 October 1962 in London. He is ...

. Their presence contributed to a significant harvesting of points in the second round of the championship, but it was not enough to keep Apollon in the Super League as it finished the penultimate and relegated. In 2014, Vellis resigned from the presidency of Apollon. He testified to the district attorney that the fate of the team depended on the actions of corrupt members of the

Hellenic Football Federation The Hellenic Football Federation (HFF), (), is the governing body of football in Greece. It contributes in the organisation of Super League Greece 2. It is also responsible for the organization of the Greek Cup, Gamma Ethniki (3rd ranked men's f ...

, naming a number of officials currently accused in the

2015 Greek football scandal The 2015 Greek football scandal was a sports scandal in Greece’s top professional association football league that involved numerous executives from different clubs and from Greek Football Association and referees. The scandal emerged in 2014 ...

. From 2015, Apollon Smyrnis is making a new effort with the Monemvasiotis family at the rudder. On 4 June 2017, Apollon Smyrnis were promoted to

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

alongside 2nd placed

Lamia Lamia (; ), in ancient Greek mythology, was a child-eating monster and, in later tradition, was regarded as a type of night-haunting spirit or "daimon". In the earliest myths, Lamia was a beautiful queen of ancient Libya who had an affair with ...

Stadium

In 1880, Ioannis Dammergis, along with Apostolos Psaltoff, Stefanos Papamichalis and I. Makroulidis, created a snapshot in an open space, known as the "love of talani". In this stadium, young people from all over Smyrna were hired paying a penny. Makroulidis was appointed a treasurer. This primitive gym (fenced with a cloth rope) was the precursor of Apollon's gymnasium, as well as the hive for the later great athletes of the club. That's why the creator of this gymnasium, I. Psalof, called him "grandfather" of Apollon. Later, Apollon Smyrnis gymnasium moved to a place in front of the Greek Orphanage and then built a large and modern gym in the area of Tryfonas, near the famous theater "Terpsithea". In 1904, Apollon Smyrnis took over the organization of the Bornova Sports Games. For sports needs, Apollon renovates the Bornova stadium under the architect B. Liti and acquires a 400-meter track and capacity for 6,000 spectators. With the destruction of Smyrna, Apollon Smyrnis was uprooted and came to

. The first station of his Odyssey, the Columns of Olympian Zeus. In an existing stadium, the team first moved into the new home. There they were first seat. There they took the first EPSA champion. But it remained only until 1924. The second station is Rouf. The seat of the team is transferred and stays there until 1946. The current municipal stadium testifies about the location of the then facilities. Though then the stadium was adjacent to the church of St. Vasilios, which stands out in the background of photography. At this headquarters they once again took an EPSA champion. In 1946 the club's installations were expropriated by the Railway Company and Apollon moved to Rizoupoli, next to Columbia's facilities. The stadium is inaugurated on October 17, 1948. Initially, the stadium of the current officials was built. In 1962 the opposite stand with the gates 8,9 and 10 was "found". And in 1971–72, the horseshoe of the stadium was constructed. Today, the capacity of the Rizoupoli Stadium is 14,200 seated spectators. And it now bears the name "Georgios Kamaras Stadium" in memory of one of the top footballers that the club has made.

Trivia

*Apollon have gone since the 1930s under the nickname "The Light Brigade" (Greek: Ελαφρά Ταξιαρχία), named after the 1938 Hollywood movie ''The Charge of the Light Brigade'', after winning the 1938 regional Athens championship. *Since 1910 the team's badge was a swastika-like cross. But after the Nazi invasion of Europe it was changed to

's head for obvious reasons. *The last time an Apollon FC player was an active member of the

Greece national football team The Greece national football team (, ) represents Greece in men's international Association football, football matches, and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece is one of only ten ...

was on May 8, 1996 (

, Greece–Georgia 2–1). Since then, no Apollon FC player has been a member of the national team. *

was in bad shape during the 1990s, but it was renovated in 2002 by

Olympiacos FC Olympiacos Football Club ( ), known simply as Olympiacos or Olympiacos Piraeus, is a Greek professional football club based in Piraeus. Part of the major multi-sport club Olympiacos CFP (''Olympiakós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós'', "Olymp ...

. Olympiacos used this stadium as their home ground until

was constructed in 2004. *Kostas Alamanos was shareholder and team president from the late 1970s until 2005. He helped Apollon reach the UEFA Cup preliminary round and the Greek Cup final and for many years, was beloved by Apollon fans. But after these successful seasons, Alamanos became

persona non grata In diplomacy, a ' (PNG) is a foreign diplomat that is asked by the host country to be recalled to their home country. If the person is not recalled as requested, the host state may refuse to recognize the person concerned as a member of the diplo ...

for the fans, mainly because he sold many of the team's best footballers (

, Blendar Kola and Theofilos Karasavvidis) and released most of the remaining team as free agents. The team was unable to recover from these losses, and in 2000 were relegated. That's why Apollon fans are calling Alamanos "The Unmentionable". *Still today Apollon is the 9th team with respect to number of appearances in the top league of Greece (37/53).

Crest and colours

The first emblem of the club, since 1894, was the three runners. In 1910, the football club's emblem becomes the ancient Greek conveyor, which will be removed even before

, given its already negative identification with National Socialism and Adolf Hitler. In the first post-war years, club jerseys simply write GSA (Gymnastics Association of Apollon). Later, the club's emblem is adopted with the bust of the god

. The current crest depicts the head of

Apollo Citharoedus An Apollo Citharoedus, or Apollo Citharede, is a statue or other image of Apollo with a cithara (lyre). Notable examples Vatican Among the best-known examples is the ''Apollo Citharoedus'', also known as Apollo Musagetes ("Apollo, Leader of the ...

(or ''Musagetes''). The colours of the club are

cyan Cyan () is the color between blue and green on the visible spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a predominant wavelength between 500 and 520 nm, between the wavelengths of green and blue. In the subtractive color system, or CMYK c ...

(light blue) and

white White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

. First

Honours

**Runners-up (2):

1938 Events January * January 1 – state-owned enterprise, State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France (SNCF) and the Netherlands (Nederlandse Spoorwegen – NS). * January 20 – King Farouk of Egypt marries Saf ...

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The current Constitutions of Constitution of Italy, Italy and of Constitution of New Jersey, New Jersey (both later subject to amendment) ...

**Runners-up (1):

1996 1996 was designated as: * International Year for the Eradication of Poverty Events January * January 8 – A Zairean cargo plane crashes into a crowded market in the center of the capital city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo ...

* Athens FCA Championship **Winners (4): 1924, 1938, 1948, 1958 *

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

**Winners (5): 1970, 1973, 1975, 2013, 2017 *

**Winners (1): 2012 * Fourth Division **Winners (1): 2010

Notable former players

File:Rene van de Kerkhof 1978c.jpg,

René van de Kerkhof Reinier Lambertus "René" van de Kerkhof (; born 16 September 1951) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a right winger for FC Twente, PSV Eindhoven and the Netherlands national team. Career Van de Kerkhof and his twin bro ...

File:Georgios Karagounis 2010.jpg,

Giorgos Karagounis Georgios Karagkounis (; born 6 March 1977), known as Giorgos Karagounis (), is a Greeks, Greek former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. In his club career, Karagounis played for Panathinaikos F.C., Pana ...

File:Alexandros Tzorvas.jpg, Alexandros Tzorvas

1891-1922

;Greece *

Agamenon Gilis Agamemnon Gilis (; born 1891, date of death unknown) was a Greek football player who played for the clubs Apollon in Smyrna, and later for Panionios in Athens, following the Greco-Turkish war between 1919 and 1922. He was a member of the nationa ...

* Vasilis Samios * Pantelis Magoulas *

Dimitris Gotis Dimitrios Gotis (; born 1899, date of death unknown) was a Greek football player who played for the club Apollon Smyrnis. He was member of the national team for the 1920 Olympic Games in Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium ...

* Antonis Fotiadis

1922-present

;Albania *

Arjan Bellaj Arjan Bella (born 1 February 1971) is an Albanian professional football manager and a former midfielder. He is the manager of Vora. Club career Bellaj played for PAS Giannina, Kalamata F.C., Apollon Athens F.C., Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. and Pa ...

* Julian Gjeloshi * Edmond Dalipi *

Indrit Fortuzi Indrit Shaban Fortuzi (born 23 November 1973) is an Albanian retired national football forward who has played almost all his career for Tirana. Club career Nicknamed ''Zogu'' (bird), he has also played for Dinamo Tirana and in Greece for Ir ...

* Ilir Shulku *

Ylli Shehu Ylli Shehu (born 13 March 1966) is an Albanian retired football player. Club career Shehu made his senior debut for Partizani against Naftëtari Qyteti Stalin in 1984 aged only 16 and he won two Albanian championships in 1987 and 1993 with th ...

* Giannis Thomas * Thomas Daflas *

Bledar Kola Bledar Kola (born 1 August 1972) is an Albanian retired football player and later manager. Early life Kola comes from Mirditë, but grew up in the city of Lezhë. He was an exemplary student. He started his career at Besëlidhja Lezhë, and t ...

Alban Bushi Alban Bushi (born 20 August 1973) is an Albanian professional association football, football coach and former player who is the Manager (association football), manager of Albania national under-21 football team, Albania under-21 and Albania nati ...

* Alexandros Retzos *

Simo Rrumbullaku Simo Rrumbullaku (born 30 December 1991) is an Albanian former professional footballer who played as a left-back. Club career Rrumbullaku started his senior club career at Kalamata F.C., playing in Football League 2. In 2012, he moved to PAS ...

* Kristo Minga * Fatjon Andoni *

Aldjon Pashaj Aldjon Pashaj (born 17 July 1994 in Fier, Albania) is an Albanian-Greek footballer who last played for Gamma Ethniki club Kallithea as a goalkeeper. Club career In summer 2013, Pashaj signed his first professional contrast with Glyfada F.C. a ...

Alexandros Kouros Alexandros Kouros (; ; born 21 August 1993) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a left back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is t ...

* Leonidas Rossi * Klodian Gino * Dejvid Janaqi * Dejvid Rusta * Stavro Biraku * Mario Selmanaj * Klevis Lacka * Artion Xhaferi * Antonio Bare * Bledar Kocecu * Eduard Dakaj * Oresti Shparthi * Kevin Broci * Giljem Shkrelaj * Aleksandër Llambi * Paolo Mataj * Alexandros Llambi * Alexandros Bakullati * Alexandros Retzos * Rindi Salla * Serxhio Lamaj * Ardit Mesuli ;Angola * Francisco Zuela ;Argentina * Nestor Errea *

Leandro Álvarez Leandro Miguel Álvarez (born 4 June 1981) is an Argentine footballer. Club career Álvarez previously played for San Lorenzo, Tiro Federal and Talleres de Córdoba in the Primera División de Argentina. Olympiakos Volou 1937 F.C. In 2008, ...

* Adrián Lucero *

Sebastián Bartolini Sebastián Bartolini (born February 1, 1982) is an Argentine footballer who plays as a centre back. Career In July 2009, Bartolini signed for Greek Superleague The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons ...

Sebastián Setti Sebastián "Seba" Andrés Setti Wasilewski (; born 9 February 1984) is an Argentine football manager and former professional player. he is the currently assistant coach of Challenger Pro League club Deinze. Club career Setti used to play for A ...

* Juan Larrea * Diego Romano * Gastón González *

Lucas Nanía Lucas Sebastián Nanía Machain (born January 14, 1984, in Buenos Aires, Argentina), commonly known as Lucas Nanía, is an Argentine former football midfielder. Career He started his career playing for San Lorenzo then he was loaned to Pales ...

* Joel Acosta *

Matías Defederico Matías Adrián Defederico (born 23 August 1989 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine football winger who currently plays for Club Agropecuario Argentino. Defederico is a fast, left-footed player with very good dribbling ability. His surname was u ...

* Matías Orihuela *

Axel Juárez Axel Juárez (born 27 July 1990) is an Argentine footballer who plays for Paraguayan side 12 de Octubre as a midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position ...

Gonzalo Castillejos Gonzalo Rubén Castillejos (born 5 March 1986 in Leones) is an Argentine footballer, who plays as a forward. Club career Rosario Central Castillejos, begun his playing career with Rosario Central of the Argentine Primera División. He made hi ...

* Luis Salces * Germán Rivero *

Javier Iritier Javier Eduardo Iritier (born 20 December 1994) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a left winger for Chaco For Ever. Career Iritier started his senior career in 2016 with Huracán. He made his debut in the Argentine Primera Di ...

* Israel Coll * Nico Martínez *

Braian Lluy Braian Emanuel Lluy (born 25 April 1989) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, right-back for Club Atlético Douglas Haig, Douglas Haig. Career Lluy came through t ...

* Maximiliano Cuadra * Matías Odone * Germán Herrera ;Armenia *

André Calisir André Jack Calisir (; born 13 June 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Swedish club IF Brommapojkarna. Born in Sweden, he represents the Armenia national team. Club career Calisir began playing football in Djurg� ...

;Australia * Tzimis Alexiou * Giorgos Chaniotis * Christos Tomaras * Antonis Tsiaras ;Austria *

Dietmar Berchtold Dietmar Berchtold (born 6 August 1974) is an Austrian football midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfield ...

;Belarus * Mikalay Signevich ;Belgium * Japhet Muanza * Vassilis Mytilinaios * Ritchie Kitoko * Davino Verhulst ;Bosnia-Herzegovina * Davorin Juričić *

Velibor Pudar Velibor Pudar ( sr-Cyrl, Велибор Пудар; born 22 November 1964) is a Bosnian football manager and former goalkeeper. Playing career Born in Mostar, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina of Serb parents, he played with FK Lokomotiva Mostar from wh ...

* Dragan Glogovac * Bernard Barnjak *

Predrag Erak Predrag Erak (; born 1 July 1970) is a Bosnian football manager and former player. Playing career Club Born in Travnik, SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, he started playing with NK Vlašić Turbe. Then he played for Čelik Zenica and Hajduk Split in t ...

;Brazil * Joassis * Rodrigo *

Willie Willy or Willie is a masculine, male given name, often a diminutive form of William or Wilhelm, and occasionally a nickname. It may refer to: People Given name or nickname * Willie Allen (basketball) (born 1949), American basketball player and ...

* Felipe Gomes * Hegon *

Enrico Enrico is both an Italian masculine given name and a surname, Enrico means homeowner, or king, derived from '' Heinrich'' of Germanic origin. It is also a given name in Ladino. Equivalents in other languages are Henry ( English), Henri ( French), ...

Paolo Farinola Paolo Farinola (born 22 February 1984) is a Brazilian-Greek professional footballer who plays as a winger for Football League club Egaleo Aigaleo or Egaleo ( ) is a town and a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens urban are ...

* Dennis Souza * Marcos Bambam * Wanderson *

Alípio Alípio Duarte Brandão (born 7 June 1992), known simply as Alípio, is a Brazilian Association football, footballer who plays as an Midfielder#Attacking midfielder, attacking midfielder. Early years Born in Brasília, Federal District (Brazil ...

* Huanderson * Domingues *

Thomás Bedinelli Thomás Jaguaribe Bedinelli (born 24 February 1993), sometimes known as just Thomás, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for Série B club Chapecoense. Career Thomás' youth football career started wi ...

* Lucas Mazetti ;Bulgaria * Martin Goranov * Tihomir Todorov * Ivan Rusev * Ivan Gyurov ;Burkina Faso * Abdul Diallo ;Cameroon * Nicolas Dikoumé * Guy Bwelle * Michel Pensée ;Canada * Lorik Sadiku ;Colombia * Fabry Castro ;Croatia * Mario Bonić * Stojan Belajić * Andrej Lukić * Karlo Bručić * Ivan Čović ;Cyprus * Lefteris Kouis * Stavros Tsoukalas * Giorgos Papageorgiou ;Czech Republic * Frantisek Stambacher * Jan Blažek ;DR Congo * Jonathan Bijimine ;Egypt *

Shikabala Mahmoud Abdelrazek Hassan Fadlala ( ; born 5 March 1986), nicknamed Shikabala ( ), is an Egyptian professional Association football, footballer who plays for Egyptian Premier League club Zamalek SC, Zamalek as a Forward (association football), fo ...

;England * Darren Ambrose * Lee Cook ;France *

Joël Thomas Joël Fabrice Goho Bah Thomas (born 30 June 1987) is a French footballer who last played for Andorran Primera Divisió side UE Engordany. Club career Thomas joined Bordeaux in 2005, and spent two years with them, before moving to Germany with K ...

* Jonathan Parpeix * Lynel Kitambala * Kevin Tapoko * Anthony Mounier *

Michaël Pereira Michaël Pereira (born 8 December 1987) is a French professional former footballer who played as a winger. Club career Early years Pereira was born in Livry-Gargan, Seine-Saint-Denis of Cape Verdean descent. He finished his development at L ...

;Finland * Alexandros Souflas ;Georgia * Nika Nozadze ;Germany *

Walter Kelsch Walter Kelsch (born 3 September 1955) is a German former footballer who played as a forward. Club career Kelsch started his career with TSV Büsnau. Then he played for Stuttgarter Kickers and later on for VfB Stuttgart. In 246 Bundesliga mat ...

* Kofi Schulz *

Kevin Pezzoni Kevin Pezzoni (born 22 March 1989) is a German former professional footballer who played as a defender. He was capped by various German youth national teams including the Germany U21. His normal position is defense, although he can also play i ...

Christos Agrodimos Christos Agrodimos (Greek language, Greek: Χρήστος Αγρόδημος, born 16 March 1995) is a Greek professional Association football, footballer. Career He started his career with the youth system of Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C., AE ...

* Nikolaos Ioannidis * Ilias Kyritsis *

Panagiotis Triadis Panagiotis Triadis (; born 9 September 1992) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. Youth career 1. FC Naurod 2002–04 Triadis started playing football for 1. FC Naurod, a team from the outskirts of Wiesbad ...

Justin Eilers Justin Mark Eilers (June 28, 1978 – December 25, 2008)Eilers Shot Dead
– Sherdog.com ...

;Ghana *

Raman Chibsah Yussif Raman Chibsah (born 10 March 1993) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. He represented the Ghana national team. Club career On 17 August 2012, Chibsah moved from Juventus to Parma in a co-ownership deal (swap ...

* Sadat Karim ;Greece *

Christos Albanis Christos Albanis may refer to: * Christos Albanis (footballer, born 1994) * Christos Albanis (footballer, born 1999) {{hndis, Albanis, Christos ...

Alexandros Anagnostopoulos Alexandros Anagnostopoulos (; born 18 August 1994) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Super League club Olympiacos. Career Statistics Honours ;Panathinaikos *Greek Football Cup: 2013–14 ;Ionikos *Super Leagu ...

* Ilias Anastasakos * Nikos Anastasopoulos *

Kostas Antoniou Kostas Antoniou (; born 19 April 1962) is a former Greek international footballer, playing as a midfielder. Career Born in Athens, Antoniou started his career at Panathinaikos during the late 1970s. He was recognized for his offensive talent ...

* Leonidas Argyropoulos *

Alexandros Arnarellis Alexandros Arnarellis (; born 1 October 1991) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a winger for Gamma Ethniki club Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnast ...

Lefteris Astras Lefteris Astras (; born 14 February 1997) is a Greek professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Super League Greece 2, Super League 2 club Kavala F.C., Kavala. Career statistic ...

Giorgos Athanasiadis Georgios Athanasiadis (; born 7 April 1993) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Cypriot club AEK Larnaca and the Greece national team. Club career Asteras Tripolis On 29 June 2016, Asteras Tripolis officially ann ...

* Giannis Bastianos * Kostas Batsinilas *

Giorgos Barkoglou Georgios "Giorgos" Barkoglou (; born 8 July 1978) is a Greek football manager for Super League Greece 2 club Egaleo and former midfielder. Career On 29 September 2013 as a member of Super League Greece club Apollon Smyrnis, Barkoglou scored a g ...

Dimos Baxevanidis Dimos Baxevanidis (; born 14 April 1988) is a Greek former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Defender (association football)#Full-back, right-back. He played for Doxa Drama F.C., Doxa Drama, Xanthi F.C., Xanthi and A ...

Kostas Chalkias Konstantinos "Kostas" Chalkias (; born 30 May 1974) is a Greek retired professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played for Panathinaikos, Apollon Athens, Iraklis, Portsmouth, Real Murcia, Aris, PAOK and Panachaiki. He was als ...

* Konstantinos Chatzis * Giorgos Chatzizisis * Stratos Chintzidis *

Diamantis Chouchoumis Diamantis Chouchoumis (; born 17 July 1994) is a Greek professional Association football, footballer who plays as a left-back for Super League Greece, Super League club Asteras Tripolis F.C., Asteras Tripolis. Club career On 29 October 2012, dur ...

* Filipos Darlas * Georgios Dasios * Giorgos Delizisis *

Antonis Dentakis Antonis Dentakis (; born 13 March 1995) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Super League club Lamia. Honours ;Volos *Gamma Ethniki: 2017–18 *Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of ...

Dimitris Diamantis Dimitris Diamantis (; born 11 September 1979) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. Career Born in Filiates, Diamantis began playing professional football with Chaidari F.C. in the Gamma Ethniki in 2004, after he ...

* Dimitris Diamantopoulos * Giannis Dontas * Giannoulis Fakinos *

Iraklis Garoufalias Iraklis Garoufalias (; born 1 May 1993) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders ...

Nikos Giannakopoulos Nikolaos Giannakopoulos (; born 19 February 1993) is a Greek professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for Super League Greece 2, Super League 2 club Panionios F.C., Panionios. C ...

* Giannis Gianniotas *

Vasilis Golias Vasilios Golias (Greek: Βασίλειος Γκόλιας; born 4 June 1985) is a professional footballer who currently plays for Nafpaktiakos Asteras as a left back. Career On 29 January 2019 it was announced, that Golias had joined Nafpaktiako ...

* Vangelis Gotovos * Giorgos Goumagias *

Christos Gromitsaris Christos Gromitsaris (, born 10 February 1991) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Super League 2 club Makedonikos. Career Gromitsaris began his football career with local amateur club Elpides Agrinio, before bein ...

Konstantinos Iasonidis Kostas Iasonidis (; born 1 October 1985) is a Greek footballer, who plays for Tilikratis in Gamma Ethniki. Career Born in Oinoi, Kastoria Kastoria (, ''Kastoriá'' ) is a city in northern Greece in the modern regions of Greece, region of ...

Takis Ikonomopoulos Panagiotis "Takis" Ikonomopoulos (; 19 October 1943 – 10 February 2025) was a Greek professional football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a ...

Andreas Iraklis Andreas Iraklis (; born 16 May 1989) is a Greek footballer, who plays for Aittitos Spata. Club career Iraklis started his career in Ajax Tavros during 2005 before being transferred to Panionios in 2007, he was loaned to Koropi before signin ...

Giorgos Kamaras Giorgos Kamaras born Georgios Katrodavlis (), 5 May 1929 - 2000 was a Greek footballer. His name has been joined with the history of Apollon Athens. The stadium of Apollon Athens, in the Athenian district of Rizoupoli, is named Giorgos Kamara ...

* Thanasis Karagounis * Dimitris Kalogerakos *

Aristidis Kamaras Aristidis "Kamaras" Katrodavlis (; born 2 March 1939) is a retired Greek footballer and lawyer. He started his career at Apollon Athens as a defender. His career at Apollon didn't last long as Panathinaikos picked him up at a young age in the ...

* Theofilos Karasavvidis * Stathis Karamalikis * Nikos Karoulias * Charis Karpozilos * Paschalis Kassos * Giannis Katsikis * Dimos Kavouras * Kostas Kiassos * Vasilios Kinalis * Thanasis Kolitsidakis *

Pantelis Konstantinidis Pantelis Konstantinidis (; born 16 August 1975) is a Greek former footballer who played as a left winger, could also play as a left back. His quick dribbling in his youth earned the nickname "Svouras" (''spinning top''). During 2010 Konstantinid ...

* Giannis Kontoes * Dimitris Kottaras * Konstantinos Kotsaris * Michalis Koronis * Nikos Korovesis * Michalis Kyrgias * Tasos Kyriakos * Vasilis Kyriakou *

Panagiotis Lagos Panagiotis Lagos (; born 18 July 1985) is a Greek former professional footballer. Lagos had the ability to play in various positions as much as on the wings as on the center, due to the combination of the speed and technique of his play. Club ca ...

* Tasos Lagos * Sotiris Leontiou * Christos Lisgaras * Michalis Manias *

Christos Mavridis Christos Mavridis (; born 10 August 1998) is a professional Greek, footballer currently playing for Apollon Smyrnis in the Superleague, as a goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes ...

* Kostas Mavridis * Dinos Mavropanos *

Panagiotis Moraitis Panagiotis Moraitis (; born 1 February 1997) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a forward for Super League 2 club AEL. Club career Budućnost Podgorica On 26 February 2020, Moraitis signed a half-season contract with Montenegrin ...

* Lampros Moustakas * Antonis Minou * Tasos Mitropoulos * Thomas Nazlidis *

Sotiris Ninis Sotiris Ninis (; ; born 3 April 1990) is a Greek professional footballer who most recently played as an attacking midfielder or a right winger for A.E. Kifisia F.C. Ninis was formerly a member of the Greece national team. Early life Ninis wa ...

* Giorgos Pamlidis * Xenofon Panos * Grigoris Papazacharias * Tasos Papazoglou * Thanasis Panteliadis * Tasos Pastos * Manolis Patralis * Antonis Petropoulos * Eleftherios Poupakis * Stergios Psianos * Vasilis Rovas *

Antonis Rigopoulos Antonis Rigopoulos (; born 10 June 2004) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to s ...

* Achilleas Sarakatsanos * Savvas Siatravanis * Giannis Siderakis * Dimitrios Svoronos *

Dimitris Sounas Dimitris Sounas (; born on 12 August 1994) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Italian club Avellino. Club career Aris Sounas started his career in youth teams of Aris. In 2012, new head coach Makis Katsavakis prom ...

* Angelos Stamatopoulos * Savvas Tsabouris * Konstantinos Tsamouris * Alexandros Tseberidis *

Timotheos Tselepidis Timotheos Tselepidis (, born 2 February 1996) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Super League 2 club Kalamata. Career On August 18, 2018 it was announced that Tselepidis had signed for Football League Panachaiki ...

Sotiris Tsiloulis Sotiris Tsiloulis (; born 14 February 1995) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a right winger for Super League club AEK Athens. Career Panionios On 28 April 2018, Tsiloulis signed a four-year contract with top tier club Panionios. ...

* Ilias Tsiligiris * Sokratis Tsoukalas * Adam Tzanetopoulos * Christos Tzioras * Alexandros Tzorvas * Nikos Vafeas * Giorgos Valerianos * Giannis Varkas * Lefteris Velentzas * Vasilis Vitlis *

Michalis Vlachos Michalis Vlachos (; born 20 September 1967) is a Greek football manager and a former professional footballer who played as a defender. Vlachos began his career with Apollon Smyrnis, where he was called up for a debut with Greece in 1989. He la ...

Michalis Zaropoulos Michalis Zaropoulos (; born 12 July 1991) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Football League club Trikala. Career Trikala On 27 June 2019, Zaropoulos joined Trikala Trikala () is a city in northwestern Thessaly, ...

;Hungary *

András Béres András Béres (1924 – 14 November 1993) was a Hungarian football manager and player. He used to coach R.S.C. Anderlecht and Club Brugge (), known simply as Club Brugge (in English also: ''Club Bruges''), is a Belgian professional footba ...

* Imre Katzenbach ;Iran *

Alireza Mansourian Alireza Mansourian (; born 2 December 1971) is an Iranian association football, football coach and retired player. Club career Mansourian was born in Tehran. During his career, he played for Singapore S.League clubs: Balestier Khalsa FC, Balesti ...

;Ireland * Anthony Stokes ;Israel *

Christos Ardizoglou Christos Ardizoglou (; born 25 March 1953) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a wide midfielder. Early life Ardizoglou was born in Jerusalem, where his family had found refuge after the Asia Minor disaster, from a Greek fa ...

* Eli Elbaz ;Italy * Christian D'Urso ;Ivory Coast * Franck Manga Guela *

Emmanuel Koné Kouamatien Emmanuel Koné (born 31 December 1986) is an Ivorian professional footballer who most recently played as a midfielder for Greek Super League 2 club Levadiakos. Club career Koné was born in Abongoua. In the January transfer windo ...

* Patrick Vouho * Ghislain Guessan ;Kazakhstan * Leonidas Kyvelidis ;Kenya * Erick Oduol ;Kosovo *

Besar Halimi Besar Halimi (born 12 December 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club SV Sandhausen. Born in Germany, he plays for the Kosovo national team. Club career Early career Halimi first played for a local clu ...

;Lebanon * Hilal El-Helwe ;Liberia * Lawrence Doe ;Lithuania *

Vykintas Slivka Vykintas Slivka (born 29 April 1995) is a Lithuanian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Japanese club Sagan Tosu and the Lithuania national team. Club career Slivka signed for Italian club Juventus in 2014. He was loaned to Mo ...

;Malta * Sunday Eboh ;Montenegro * Denis Tonkovic ;Morocco *

Adil Rhaili Adil Rhaili (born 25 April 1991) is a Moroccan professional footballer who plays for Al-Khor as a defender. Career Apollon Smyrnis On 8 July 2021, Apollon Smyrnis announced the signing of a new contract with Rhaili, even though he had p ...

;Netherlands *

* Raymond Graanoogst * Nassir Maachi * Darren Maatsen * Jordy Tutuarima * Rajiv van La Parra ;Nicaragua * Armando Goufas ;Nigeria * Jerry Ugen * Ativie Guy Ijiebor Ativie * Dominic Okanu *

Christian Obodo Christian Obodo (born 11 May 1984 in Warri, Nigeria) is a Nigerian former footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Football career He was plucked from relative obscurity in the Nigerian league, playing for Plateau United to Italy wher ...

Abiola Dauda Abiola Adedeji Dauda (born on 3 February 1988) is a Nigerian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Gamma Ethniki club Aris Petroupolis. Early life Dauda has vertical scars under each of his eyes which are family markings that w ...

Jerry Mbakogu Jerry Uche Mbakogu (born 1 October 1992) is a Nigerian professional association football, footballer who plays as a striker (association football), striker or winger (association football), winger for Italian Serie D club Costa d'Amalfi. Club ...

;North Macedonia * Nikola Jakimovski ;Norway *

Arne Dokken Arne Dokken (born 27 August 1955) is a Norwegian former football player and coach. He played as forward for several Norwegian clubs and two Greek clubs and 24 matches for Norway national football team scoring two goals. In eight seasons in the N ...

* Thomas Rogne ;Poland * Zygmunt Kukla * Józef Wandzik * Waldemar Adamczyk * Artur Blazejewski * Marcin Kubsik *

Bartłomiej Babiarz Bartłomiej Babiarz (born 3 February 1989) is a Polish former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. Besides Poland, he has played in Greece. He was most recently a match analyst for Ekstraklasa club Raków Częstochowa. Club ...

;Portugal * Bruno Pinheiro * Hugo Faria * João Pedro *

Bruno Alves Bruno Eduardo Regufe Alves (; born 27 November 1981) is a Portuguese former footballer who played as a central defender, currently sporting director of Super League Greece club AEK Athens. He began and spent most of his professional career a ...

* Manuel Fernandes ;Romania *

Florentin Matei Florentin Matei (; born 15 April 1993) is a Romanian professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder. He began his football career at Steaua București, before leaving his native country in 2011 to play for Cesena. He then had spe ...

;Russia * Yuri Droznt ;Senegal * Henri Camara ;Serbia * Enver Alivodić *

Lazar Arsić Lazar Arsić ( sr-cyr, Лазар Арсић; born 24 September 1991) is a Serbian professional Association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder. Career Born in Belgrade, Arsić began his career in FK Obilić. On 13 August 2010, he ...

* Rajko Banjac * Goran Bošković * Marko Blažić * Zoran Ćirić *

Jovica Damjanović Jovica Damjanović (born 11 December 1975) is a Serbian retired football midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively de ...

Danko Filipović Danko Filipović ( sr-Cyrl, Данко Филиповић; born 3 October 1978) is a Serbian retired football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score ...

* Dejan Đurđević * Petar Gusic * Nebojsa Jemović * Zoran Jevtović * Milenko Kovačević * Milan Majstorović * Radovan Marković * Marko Markovski *

Kristijan Miljević Kristiјan Miljević (born 15 July 1992) is a Swedish-born Serbian footballer. Career His father is from Serbia and his mother is Greek but Miljević grew up in Norrköping, Sweden where he started playing football. Miljević moved to PAOK y ...

Vladan Milojević Vladan Milojević (; born 9 March 1970) is a Serbian professional football manager and former player. He is currently the head coach of Serbian Super League team Red Star Belgrade. Playing career Born in Aranđelovac, Milojević joined the you ...

* Nenad Nikolić * Miloje Petković *

Milorad Rajović Milorad Rajović (; 13 May 1955 – 12 January 2016) was a Serbian footballer. Career Rajović began his career with his home town club FK Crvenka. He also played for BSK Slavonski Brod before becoming a professional with Dinamo Vinkovici in t ...

* Srđan Savičević * Dragan Stevanović * Markos Touroukis *

Vaso Vasić Vaso Vasić ( sr-Cyrl, Васо Васић; born 26 April 1990) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Luzern. Born in Switzerland, he represented Serbia internationally. Club career In the summer of 2021, he returned to Swi ...

;Sierra Leone * John Kamara * Kevin Wright ;Slovakia * Vojtech Kiss ;Slovenia *

Grega Sorčan Grega Sorčan (born 5 March 1996) is a Slovenian professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Triglav Kranj. Club career Sorčan made his professional debut with Triglav Kranj in a 3–0 loss against Rudar Velenje on 3 August 2013. ...

;Spain * Añete *

Igor Angulo Igor Angulo Alboniga (born 26 January 1984) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a forward. Formed at Athletic Bilbao, he appeared in only five competitive matches during his spell at the club. He went on to make a name fo ...

* David López Nadales * Didac Devesa *

Boris Garrós Boris Garrós Torrent (born 22 June 1988) is a Spanish professional association football, footballer who plays for CE Atlètic Lleida, Atlètic Lleida as a Forward (association football), forward. Club career Early career Born in Barcelona, C ...

* Marc Fernández ;Sweden *

Björn Enqvist Bjorn, Bjorne (English, Dutch), Björn (Swedish, Icelandic, Dutch, and German), Bjørn (Danish, Faroese and Norwegian), Beorn (Old English) or, rarely, Bjôrn, Biorn, or Latinized Biornus, Brum (Portuguese), is a Scandinavian male given name, or ...

* Goran Trpevski * Axel Schylström * Mikael Dahlberg * Tom Söderberg ;Switzerland * Joanis Vagias *

Gabriel Lüchinger Gabriel Lüchinger (born 18 December 1992) is a Swiss professional footballer who plays as a midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the ...

;Togo * Paul Adado ;Tunisia * Wajdi Sahli ;Ukraine *

Mykhaylo Mykhaylov Mykhaylo Leonidovych Mykhaylov (born 6 July 1959) is a Ukrainian professional football coach and a former player. Honours * European Cup Winners' Cup: 1985–86. * Soviet Top League: 1980, 1981, 1985, 1986. * Soviet Cup: 1982, 1987. * Soviet ...

Ruslan Fomin Ruslan Fomin (; born 2 March 1986) is a Ukrainian retired footballer who played as a forward. Career He was loaned to Metalist Kharkiv in 2007. Fomin was also a member of the Ukraine national under-21 football team, as well as a former member ...

;United States *

Frank Klopas Fotios "Frank" Klopas (; born September 1, 1966) is an American former soccer player who played as a forward. Following his retirement, he served as a color commentator for the Chicago Fire before later working as a front office executive and ...

* Evangelo Spartiatis ;Uruguay * Miguel Falero * Luis Fernández * Gonzalo González * Joaquín Perdomo ;Uzbekistan * Georgi Georgiev

Managers

Manol Manolov Manol Manolov (; 4 August 1925 – 16 December 2008) was a Bulgarian football defender and manager. Biography Born in Sofia, Manolov featured in 57 games for the Bulgaria national football team and won a bronze medal at the 1956 Sum ...

(July 1, 1979 – June 30, 1980) * Tomislav Kaloperović (July 1, 1988 – June 30, 1989) * Gerhard Prokop (July 1, 1989 – June 30, 1990) * Walter Skocik (July 1, 1990 – June 30, 1991) * Christos Archontidis (July 1, 1998 – Sept 3, 1999) * Stathis Stathopoulos (July 1, 2011 – March 20, 2012) * Giannis Georgaras (March 19, 2012 – June 30, 2012) *

(July 21, 2012 – Aug 7, 2012) * Alexandros Vosniadis (Aug 7, 2012 – Oct 8, 2013) *

Babis Tennes Babis Tennes (; born 17 November 1953) is a Greek professional football manager and former midfielder. He is the current head coach of Super League Greece 2 club Iraklis. Managerial career Babis Tennes began his professional coaching caree ...

(Oct 10, 2013 – Nov 11, 2013) *

(Nov 17, 2013 – June 16, 2014) *

Nikos Kostenoglou Nikos Kostenoglou (; born 3 October 1970) is a Greek football manager and former professional footballer who played as a defender. His nickname was "Father" ''()'', because of his strong devotion to religion. Playing career Club Kostenoglou s ...

(July 1, 2014 – December 8, 2014) * Alexandros Vosniadis (December 12, 2014 – November 2, 2015) *

(Nov 3, 2015 – March 29, 2016) * Konstantinos Panagopoulos (Apr 2, 2016 – Apr 18, 2016) * Georgios Vazakas (Apr 18, 2016 – Jun 6, 2016) * Dimitrios Spanos (Jun 9, 2016 – Dec 24, 2016) * Apostolos Mantzios (Dec 29, 2016 – June 20, 2018) *

Valérien Ismaël Valérien Alexandre Ismaël (born 28 September 1975) is a French professional football manager and former player who is the head coach of EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers. A centre-back, Ismaël played for Strasbourg, Crystal Palace, Len ...

(June 22, 2018 – August 27, 2018) * Alberto Monteagudo (August 31, 2018 – October 3, 2018) *

Giannis Matzourakis Giannis Mantzourakis (; born 6 June 1949) is a Greek professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. Early life Born in Romania to a Greek father and Romanian mother. His father an Greek pe ...

(October 3, 2018 – November 26, 2018) *

(November 27, 2018 – March 9, 2019) * Lefteris Velentzas (March 9, 2019 – May 23, 2019) * Nikolaos Papadopoulos (July 1, 2019 – January 8, 2020) *

(January 8, 2020 – September 2, 2020) *

Georgios Paraschos Georgios Paraschos (; born 23 August 1952) is a Greek professional football manager and former player. Club career Paraschos began his career from the youth academy of PAOK in 1967. He became a professional player in 1971 and played with the Ka ...

(September 10, 2020 – March 16, 2021) * Makis Chavos (March 17, 2021 – May 28, 2021) * Giannis Petrakis (June 1, 2021 – September 22, 2021) * Gianluca Festa (September 22, 2021 - January 6, 2022) *

(February 26, 2022 – June 30, 2022) * Giannis Tatsis (July 13, 2022 – February 6, 2023) * Alekos Vosniadis (February 17, 2023 – May 7, 2023) *

Rónald Gómez Rónald Gómez Gómez (born 24 January 1975) is a Costa Rican former football forward and manager. He is the current manager for Liga Nacional club Achuapa. An important player on the Costa Rica national football team during the 1990s and ...

(August 10, 2023 – February 28, 2024) * Vangelis Stavrakopoulos (February 28, 2024 – April 16, 2024) * Giannis Georgaras (April 17, 2024 – November 3, 2024) *

Sakis Tsiolis Sakis Tsiolis (; born 30 June 1959) is a Greek professional football manager and former player. Playing career As a professional footballer, he played for Anagennisi Karditsa, AEL, Ionikos and Paniliakos. Tsiolis, a great player at his pr ...

(November 5, 2024 – present)

League statistics

Positioning in Greek league

European matches

References

External links

;Official websites *
Apollon Smyrnis
at the

Apollon Smyrnis
at the

UEFA The Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; ; ) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs football, futsal and beach soccer, beach football in Europe and the List of transcontinental countries#A ...

;News sites *Apollon Smyrnis o
a-sports.gr

Apollon Smyrnis news
from

Nova Sports Novasports is a Greek sports pay television network owned by Nova, a subsidiary of Greek telecommunications company of the same name. It is available exclusively on Nova, a DTH satellite service. It is available terrestrially and via satellite o ...

;Other
Apollon Smyrnis Fans website
{{Super League Greece teamlist Association football clubs established in 1910 Football clubs in Athens Sports clubs and teams in İzmir Ottoman İzmir/Smyrna Diaspora association football clubs 1910 establishments in the Ottoman Empire