Xanthi F.C.

Xanthi

Full name	Α.Ο. Ξάνθη Π.Α.Ε. (AO Xanthi Football Club)
Nickname(s)	Akrítes (Frontiersmen)
Short name	AOX
Founded	4 June 1967; 54 years ago (4 June 1967)
Ground	Xanthi FC Arena
Capacity	7,244
Chairman	Bill Papas
Manager	vacant
League	Super League Greece 2
2020–21	Super League Greece 2, 2nd
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours

Xanthi Football Club (Greek: Α.Ο. Ξάνθη Π.Α.Ε.) is a Greek professional football club based in Xanthi, Western Thrace. The club competes in the Super League 2, and plays at Xanthi FC Arena.

Founded in 1967, Xanthi is well set up in terms of their financial support and youth setup. Xanthi participated in the UEFA Cup / Europa League in 2001–02, 2005–06, 2006–07 and 2013–14 seasons. In the 2004–05 season, Xanthi finished fourth in the Alpha Ethinki (first division, today Super League), the club's all-time best performance.

Xanthi's first appearance in the first division was in 1989, and the club remained in the top flight until its relegation in 2020.

History[]

The club was formed in 1967 from the merger of two local clubs: Aspida Xanthi, who was founded in 1922 and was the club of the most popular layers of the region. The "blues" in 1961 had become champions in the Northern League of Beta Ethniki, losing the accession from Panelefsiniakos in the barrage game) and Orfeas Xanthi, who was founded in 1903 and was the bourgeoisie of the city. From 1957 to 1964, Orfeas competed in the Northern Group of the Beta Ethniki (which held in 3 groups).^[1] The derby of the two teams was the most characteristic, with the city divided into two in each encounter.

In June 1967, with the Greek military junta in government, the movements in Xanthi were also made to create a team that would unite the dynamics of the two clubs, while the national championships were reorganized. The strengthening of the region in sport at that time had also taken place in other parts of the country and at the same time AO Xanthi (among other clubs) participated directly in the single second national category. Not long ago, from 1967 until 1985, the club remained in the Beta Ethniki, with all the restructuring that had suffered the class and benefited in the early years. The difficulties were great, the revenues were few, but Xanthi's stadium was always filled. The yellow and black beads of Orfeas Xanthi and the shades of Aspida Xanthi, have brought the red of AO Xanthi, which has joined and united the city for many years. Those years were different, difficult, but "sweet". Without the abundance of images, the imagination was rampant, transforming footballers into "holy monsters" of the sport. Something that apply for all teams. 18 years stays Xanthi Football Club on the stadiums of the Beta Ethniki. In this timeframe, the club generally completed the racing season under the 10th place of the scoreboard, while only in 1969–70 they had reached the 7th and the 1974–75 season in the 9th place. When they started to show how they were preparing for the jump in the top division, the 1982–83 season ended 5th, the next 4th and the 1984–85 season which was ambitious for something bigger, they were downgraded.

In 1985–86, with this new administration of Mr. Kokkalas, Xanthi was reformed and returned stronger. First title in the Gamma Ethniki in 1985–86, followed by another three seasons in the Beta Ethniki until the big dream came true. From the 8th and 11th places of '87 and '88 respectively, in the summer of 1989 the city and the club lived unforgettable moments by conquering the title of the Beta Ethniki and at the same time the historic rise in the big lounges. In one year, Xanthi had first goal scorer Achilleas Adamopoulos with 30 goals.

First years in the top division[]

The first experiences in the Alpha Ethniki were unique, difficult and unforgettable. With enthusiasm, passion and a "hot" atmosphere at the stadium, the basic goal of staying in the early years was achieved with a lot of stress. Mr Kokkala's administration first brought foreign footballers, with the Brazilians Marcelo Veridiano and Sandro making the start and following others. Especially Marcelo, he has a special place in the heart of the fans, as he still continues to be the top scorer of the club. Despite the anxiety and the end result justifying the efforts, Xanthi remained until October 1991 in the Alpha Ethniki and with the same profile.^[2]

In the chairmanship of Theodoros Kokkalas, Xanthi had already managed to win two championships in the Gamma and Beta Ethniki, the rise and the renewal of the team stay for two consecutive season in the top division, the Alpha Ethniki. But the top achievement of then Xanthi's administration was to find the ideal choice for the next day of the team, the city and the wider area in the football world. Even randomly, as the original agreement was a sponsorship of Skoda vehicles company in Greece for which the responsible importer in Greece was the company Viamar S.A. by . Everything was done very quickly, but not too quickly, and timing was such a legal one that allowed the clubs to have a "sign" sponsor in their original name. That's how Xanthi was renamed "Skoda Xanthi".^[3] The signatures that fell on 10 October 1991 between Kokkalas and Panopoulos at Ledra Marriott hotel in Athens, really took off the shares of the club and kept alive, in time, the names of all those who had been abused for the club.^[4]

Panopoulos era[]

The modern history of Xanthi brings broadly the signature of the great shareholder of the club, ,^[5] who is already the most long-lasting owner in Greek football, keeping the club to the same high standards that he has set since his first days at the leading peak of Xanthi, as he is called since 2016, when the cooperation with Skoda was ended and the club's name returned to its original.

Also, while several companies perceive marketing as a feature of impressions, Xanthi has been successful since Christos Panopoulos took over this business. In 1991, Xanthi giving its solutions in the economic field and at the same time becoming a rising-initially-and constant force afterwards. They were the first club that established for many years in the 1990s the award of its best Player of the Year, with a donation of a sponsor car. It was the first provincial club that in 1994 had organized an international tournament at the Xanthi Ground with the participation of Coventry City, Portsmouth and AEK Athens. That same year he had brought coach Howard Kendall,^[6] who a few months earlier was a coach in Everton. In 2005, the world's top football player, Pelé, launched its sports center and its new stadium Xanthi FC Arena, giving the world glamor to the event.^[7] In the same year, on 7 July, Xanthi announced one of the biggest transfers in its history, the Brazilian defensive midfielder Emerson.^[8]

Crest and colours[]

Crest[]

In the early years, the team's emblem consisted exclusively of Democritus. A new emblem with small changes was introduced in 1985. The emblem was retained in this form until 1991 when elements of VIAMAR SA, a new owner of the club, were added. In 1996, Skoda's brand was added. A further change in the emblem took place in 2001, with the addition of the soccer ball, while in 2007 a different version of the particular emblem was presented. In 2012 a new emblem was presented, in which the bust of Democritus was now in the middle.^[9][10]

The year 2016 is a new reference point in the history of Xanthi.^[11][12] Many and radical changes to issues that were not racing. At the end of the 2015–16 season, and more specifically from 1 June 2016, Skoda Xanthi SA returned to its roots and is now called AO Xanthi Football Club. The cooperation of the "mother" of the football club VIAMAR SA ended with the well-known automotive industry and therefore the association that has linked its name for 25 consecutive years with its sponsor, goes back with its own forces and of course, under the auspices of VIAMAR, the company of the major shareholder Mr. Christos Panopoulos. This has led to many changes. From the name and logo, to the field and the philosophy.^[13][14]

Colours[]

The yellow and black kits of Orfeas^[15] and the shades of Aspida,^[16] have brought the red of AO Xanthi, which has joined and united the city for many years.

Stadium[]

Xanthi left their old stadium, the Xanthi Ground (capacity 9,500), located near the centre of the city, for the Xanthi FC Arena in 2004.^[17] Their new stadium sited 8 km outside the city, near Pigadia village, has a capacity of 7,244, however has only 3 stands. When the final stand is finally built, the new capacity will be around 9,000 seats. The stadium is located in the same place as the sports center of the Thracian Club, a real jewel for Greek football.^[18] The sports center includes, among other things, seven stadiums, as well as the hotel "Le Chalet". The construction of the stadium itself, costing €6,500,000.

The first game at the Xanthi FC Arena took place on 18 September 2004, with the team of Xanthi being imposed 3–1 on Aris for the 1st match of Alpha Ethniki Championship for the 2004–05 season.^[19]

The stadium was officially inaugurated by the Brazilian legend Pelé on 12 May 2005.^[20][21]

On 16 January 2005, and before the game with Ionian a fan of Xanthi, Stamatis Georgoudakis lost his life.^[22] Since then the Gate B-C has been named after the stadium. The ticket record was played with Panathinaikos on 20 January 2007 with 6,642 spectators. In the summer of 2016, the stadium was renamed "Xanthi FC Arena".^[23]

Facilities[]

Right next to Xanthi FC Arena, there is the club's athletic center, which, in addition to the two courts, has all the necessary spaces for coaches, players and staff to work on their field.^[24][25] In a huge area almost adjacent to the stadium, it is located in the sports center of Xanthi, with the "despotic" presence of the hotel Le Chalet.^[26] A hotel that after its complete destruction on 7 March 2003 by fire,^[27] was not the few who supported, that would leave everything and would be away from the team and generally from football. This has not been done, and to this day, Le Chalet overlooking the 7 football fields, the pool, the pool bar, the basketball court, the tennis court and the changing rooms, has all the specifications for an excellent sporting preparation. For the team of Xanthi and all the departments of its Academy and many other clubs that have preferred the athletic center of Xanthi to preparation before the start of the season. In 2017, it was also characteristic that the coach of Greece, Michael Skibbe, in one of his first statements as a federal coach, referring to the sports center of Xanthi with the best words.

Honours[]

Domestic[]

League[]

• Football League Greece

Winners: 1988–89

• Gamma Ethniki

Winners: 1985–86

Cups[]

• Greek Cup

Runners-up: 2014–15

League history[]

1967–85: Division 2 1985–86: Division 3 1986–89: Division 2 1989–2020: Division 1 / Super League since 2020: Super League 2

Sources:^[28][29]

Seasons in the 21st century[]

Season	Category	Position	Cup
2000–01	Alpha Ethniki	8th	QF
2001–02	Alpha Ethniki	5th	SF
2002–03	Alpha Ethniki	9th	2R
2003–04	Alpha Ethniki	10th	R16
2004–05	Alpha Ethniki	4th	SF
2005–06	Alpha Ethniki	5th	QF
2006–07	Super League	11th	SF
2007–08	Super League	8th	QF
2008–09	Super League	7th	QF
2009–10	Super League	13th	QF
2010–11	Super League	9th	4R
2011–12	Super League	11th	5R
2012–13	Super League	7th	4R
2013–14	Super League	16th	2R
2014–15	Super League	8th	RU
2015–16	Super League	13th	GS
2016–17	Super League	6th	QF
2017–18	Super League	6th	R16
2018–19	Super League	12th	R16
2019–20	Super League	13th (R)	R16
2020–21	Super League 2	2nd	–

Best position in bold.

Key: 2R = Second Round, 3R = Third Round, 4R = Fourth Round, 5R = Fifth Round, GS = Group Stage, R16 = Round of 16, QF = Quarter-finals, SF = Semi-finals.

European matches[]

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
2002–03	UEFA Cup	First round	Lazio	0–0	0–4	0–4
2005–06	UEFA Cup	First round	Middlesbrough	0–0	0–2	0–2
2006–07	UEFA Cup	First round	Dinamo București	3–4	1–4	4–8
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	Second qualifying round	Linfield	0–1	2–1 (aet)	2–2 (a)
		Third qualifying round	Standard Liège	1–2	1–2	2–4

Players[]

Current squad[]

As of 23 December 2021^[30]

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 Alexandros Tsompanidis 2 DF  GRE Ilias Polimos 4 DF  GRE Christos Batzios 5 DF  GRE Alexios Michail 6 DF  GRE Konstantinos Thymianis (third-captain) 7 FW  GRE Tasos Kritikos 9 FW  MKD Besart Ibraimi 11 MF  MDA Radu Gînsari 12 DF  GRE Anastasios Papazoglou (captain) 16 MF  GRE Sarantis Tselempakis 17 FW  GRE Ibram Tanjou Halil 18 FW  GRE Nektarios Kotopoulos 19 FW  GRE Dimitris Diamantopoulos 20 GK  AUS Paul Izzo (vice-captain) 21 GK  GRE Asterios Giakoumis 22 FW  SRB Nenad Gavrić

No. Pos. Nation Player 23 FW  NGA Sudais Ali Baba (on loan from Asteras Tripolis) 24 MF  ALG Rachid Aït-Atmane 25 MF  ESP Vicente Gómez 27 DF  GRE Manolis Tzanakakis 28 FW  FRA Steeven Joseph-Monrose 29 GK  GRE Lazaros Iliopoulos 31 DF  GRE Filippos Dimitriadis 33 DF  GRE Manolis Fazos 38 MF  GRE Ilias Tselios 44 MF  GRE Alexandros Doris 47 MF  GRE Georgios Tsilingiris 63 DF  GRE Dimitris Oungialidis 64 DF  GRE Panagiotis Deligiannidis 70 FW  GRE Ali Ertouroul 72 DF  GRE Giannis Stathis

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 — DF  GRE Ilias Tsitsekidis (at Enosi Alexandroupoli until 30 June 2022)

Squad U19[]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  GRE Charalampos Tasidis — GK  GRE Dimitrios Kotsakis — GK  GRE Athanasios Chatzis — GK  GRE Alexandros Tsompanidis — DF  GRE Lefteris Tsiengelidis — DF  GRE Ilias Markou — DF  GRE Anastasios Papadopoulos — DF  GRE Konstantinos Karatlidis — DF  GRE Dimitrios Kalaitzis — DF  GRE Konstantinos Tsagalidis

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  GRE Panagiotis Bakos — MF  GRE Alexandros Ioakimidis — MF  GRE Antonis Pitsolis — MF  GRE Panagiotis Papadimitriou — MF  GRE Anastasios Magafinis — MF  GRE Stratos Amanatidis — MF  GRE Emre Chotska — MF  AUS Matthew Scarcella — FW  GRE Valsamis Arabatzis

Squad U17[]

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

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  GRE Vasilios Nikolakoulis — GK  GRE Konstantinos Tyriakis — GK  GRE Giannis Ignatiadis — MF  GRE Dimitrios Bazoidis

No. Pos. Nation Player — MF  GRE Konstantinos Zipidis — MF  GRE Giannis Iosifidis — MF  GRE Lefteris Anastasiadis — FW  GRE Anastasios Anthoulakis

Retired numbers[]

• 13 Olubayo Adefemi, Defender (2010–11) – posthumous honour
• 56 Steve Gohouri, Defender (2013) – posthumous honour

Notable former players[]

Personnel[]

Executive
Owner	Bill Papas
Chairman	Bill Papas
Vice-Chairman	Giorgos K. Stratos
Chief executive officer	Nikolaos Epitropou
Board Member	Giorgos Berberoglou
Board Member	Nikos Damkalis
First team staff
Sport director	Ieroklis Stoltidis
Head coach	Nikos Kehagias
Assistant coach	Todol Virgili Salvador
Assistant coach	Guido Hoffmann
Goalkeeper coach	Alekos Maladenis
Sports science & medicine manager	Christos Bikos
Strength & conditioning coach	Das Neves Soao Miguel
Physiotherapist	Valantis Chatzigiannis
Caretaker	Chousein Tsitak
Under-20s & academy coaching staff
Academy manager	Periklis Kalogiannis
Academy goalkeeping coach	Nikos Kalaitzis
Under 20s lead coach	Kostas Prodromitis
Under 17s lead coach	Kostas Bedrelis
Under 15s lead coach	Vacant

Former personnel[]

Co-trainer

• Giannis Ispyrlidis (2000–04)
• Marinos Ouzounidis (2004–08)

Director of Sport

• Hans Bongartz (2006–07)

Current sponsorships[]

• Great Shirt Sponsor: thefoodballer
• Official Sport Clothing Manufacturer: Joma
• Golden Sponsor: Goldair tourism

Managerial history[]

References[]

External links[]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Xanthi FC.

Official websites

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

News sites

• Xanthi on xanthi-sport.gr (in Greek)
• Xanthi news from Nova Sports

Other

• Le Chalet official website