PAOK All-Time Greatest Team

This blogger Artur Yanturin of Russia copied many of my blog teams.  This blog was one of them.  It was my Russia All-Time Team here.  His team was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.   His Spartak Moscow All-Time team entry of was published in October 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2017.  His entry of the Dutch-German rivalry between Real Madrid and Barcelona was written in 2020, but mine was uploaded in 2014.  He also copied many many of my blog entries.

His Facebook and Instagram

2019-2018 undefeated in the Super Greek League

Please also see my All-Time World Cup Team Index.

The rest of Southeast Euorpe(Greece, Turkey and Albania)

Greece All-Time Team

Olympiacos

Panathinaikos

AEK Athens

PAOK Thessaloniki or simply PAOK, is a Greek professional football club based in Thessaloniki, Macedonia. PAOK are one of the top domestic clubs, the most widely supported in Northern Greece and with the 3rd largest fanbase in the country, according to the latest polls and researches. A research by Marca in August 2018, reported that PAOK are the most popular Greek football team on social media.

Established on 20 April 1926 by Greek refugees who fled to Thessaloniki from Constantinople in the wake of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), they play their home games at Toumba Stadium, a 29,000 seating capacity football ground. Their name, along with the club's emblem, the Byzantine-style double-headed eagle with retracted wings, honours the memory of the people and places (mostly from the city of Constantinople) that once belonged to the Byzantine Empire.

PAOK currently plays in the top-flight Super League, which they have won three times (in 1976, 1985 and 2019).

The city of Thessaloniki was founded in 315 BC by Cassander of Macedon and was named after his wife Thessalonike, daughter of Philip II of Macedon and sister of Alexander the Great. 

1976 League Champion

Team

GK: Mladen Furtula (Yugoslavia)

After playing with FK Sutjeska Foča in his youth career, Mladen Furtula played for Belgrade's FK Partizan from 1969 to 1974. In 1974, he came to Greece to play for Panserraikos.  After a season, he mobved to PAOK where he played from 1975 until 1984.  In 1976, he helped PAOK win their first Alpha Ethniki championship. He was considered the greatest ever goalkeeper for PAOK.

GK: Alexandros Paschalakis (Greece)

From 2006 to 2017, Alexandros Paschalakis played with Levadiakos, PAEEK, Panthrakikos and PAS Giannina withouts successes.  In 2017, he joined PAOK.  With PAOK, he led the team to win the League/Cup Double in the 2018-2019 season while remained undefeated in the league.  He holds PAOK's record for most consecutive minutes without conceding, with 971.  In 2019, he received his first callup for the national team.  Since 2019, he played 3 times for Greece.

Alexandros Paschalakis

GK: Kostas Chalkias (Greece)

Chalkias started his career in the Panathinaikos.  He played for many clubs, including overseas stints with Portsmouth in England and Real Murcia in Spain.  He was played for three major clubs of Thessaloniki (Iraklis, Aris, PAOK) His longest stint in Greece was with PAOK between 2008 and 2012.  He was also capped 32 times by the Greece national team, with whom he won Euro 2004. He also was selected at the next two European Championships and the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

RB: Giannis Gounaris (Greece)

From 1972 to 1982, Gounaris played for PAOK, where they won their league title in 1976.  His partnership with left fullback Kostas Iosifidis became formidable not only for PAOK, but for the Greek National team as well.  Then, he played for Olympiacos between 1982 and 1985.   He retired at Makedonikos F.C.  He earned 27 caps for Greece, and participated in Euro 1980.

RB/LB/LW: Vieirinha (Portugal)

Vieirinha started playing for Porto, but spent most of his professional career with PAOK and Wolfsburg. With the second club, for whom he appeared in over 200 competitive matches, he won the 2018–19 Super League Greece and three Greek Cups.  He was Greek Foreign Player of the Year twice. He was capped 25 times.  He was part of the squads at the 2014 World Cup and Euro 2016, winning the latter tournament.

CB: Fernando Varela (Cape Verde)

Varela started playing with G.D. Estoril Praia in the Segunda Liga.  he played for many clubs, including a stunt in Romania.  He finally made a name with PAOK in Greece.  He joined the club in 2016.  He led them to win the Double in 2019 with an undefeated record in the league.  Born in Portugal, opted to represent Cape Verde internationally in 2008.  Since then, he has played over 45 times for them. He went to two African Nations' Cup Finals.

Fernando Varela

CB: Jose Angel Crespo (Spain)

Jose Angel Crespo began with Sevilla.  He then played across Europe, including overseas stints with Aston Villa, Padua and Bologna.  In 2016, he joined PAOK in Greece.  He formed a successful partnership with Fernando Varela.  They won the Double in the 2018-2019 season.  For Spain, he won the Under-19 European Championship in 2006.  He had represented them up until the Under-21 level.

CB: Pablo Contreras (Chile)

Pablo Contreras started with Colo-Colo before he moved to Monaco.  Then, he played for Osasuna, Sporting CP, Celta, Braga, etc before he settled down with PAOK whom he played from 2008 to 2012.  He played a season with Olympiacos and Melbourne Victory before he retired in 2014.  He played 67 times for Chile between 1999 and 2016.  He was the second captain at the 2006 World Cup Finals in South Africa.

CB: Aristarchos Fountoukidis (Greece)

Fountoukidis started his career with his hometown team Aris Panteleimon. In 1960, he switched to Apollon Kalamarias. He was transferred to the Toumba Youth Educational Association (MENT) in 1963. who played in the Second National. In 1966,  he transferred to PAOK, where he stayed for 12 years and scored 336 appearances and 18 goals, and retired from active action at the age of 36, having won a Championship and two Cups. .

Aristarchos Fountoukidis

LB: Konstantinos Iosifidis (Greece)

Konstantinos Iosifidis spent his entire career with a single club. He is the only player in PAOK FC history that has won 4 titles, being part of the squad that won 2 cups in 1972 and 1974, and the 1976 and 1985 Greek league, being also captain in the latter.  From 1984 to 1982, he earned 51 caps for Greece.  He participated in UEFA European Championship in 1980.

DM: Theodoros Zagorakis (Greece)

Theodoros Zagorakis was the captain of the Greek national team that won the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship and he won Player of the Tournament.  He was at one point Greece all-time cap leader with 120 caps between 1994 and 2007. Professionally, he played for POAK and AEK Athens in Greece. He also had brief stints in England with Leicester City and in Italy with Bologna. He was elected as a Greek MEP at the May 2014 European Parliament election.

DM: Ioannis Damanakis (Greece)

Ioannis Damanakis started his career at Chania, and after 6 years he was transferred to PAOK FC in 1976. He played 9 years and 242 league games for PAOK, winning the Alpha Ethniki championship in 1985. He also played for Makedonikos. He earned 24 caps between 1977 and 1983, and scored 1 goal for the Greece national football team, and participated in UEFA Euro 1980.

CM: Christos Terzanidis (Greece)

Born in Melissokomeio in Kavala, Terzanidis played for PAOK F.C. and Panathinaikos F.C.. He was a significant member of the PAOK wonder-team during the seventies. He won three major titles with PAOK scoring a total of 20 goals, then moved to Panathinaikos before he finally closed his career in Makedonikos F.C.. He earned 27 caps and scored 1 goal for the Greece national football team, and participated in UEFA Euro 1980.

UT: Giorgos Skartados (Greece)

Giorgos Skartados started his career at local club Rodos F.C.. In 1982, he joined PAOK and played mainly as a midfielder for 256 league games and scored 84 goals, including the national championship in 1985. He was capable to play as a defender and an attacker. In 1992, he moved to Iraklis, and then in 1995 he moved to Olympiacos F.C., where he won another title.  He was capped 26 times between 1983 and 1992.  He was a member of PAOK Hall of Flame.

Giorgos Skartados

RM/CM: Giorgos Toursounidis (Greece)

Toursounidis made 263 league appearances for PAOK, scoring 35 goals, and became a fan favorite due to his work ethic and obsession with the club. He left PAOK in 1999, spending two seasons at Skoda Xanthi. In 2002, he returned to PAOK and retired after the end of the season. He was influential in the Greek national side's progression to the 1994 World Cup, but he had 24 caps.

LW: Leandros Symeonidis (Greece)

Nicknamed"Black Arrow" for his speed, Symeonidis started from the academies of PAOK, and in 1954 he was promoted to the first team.  He was also the a key player from 1958 until the end of his career in 1969 . In total, he played for PAOK in 323 official matches and scored 67 goals.  He was a one club player and normally wore number 7.  He had represented both the Greek National Armed team as well as 6 times for the Greek national team. 

Leandros Symeonidis 

LW: Dimitris Paridis (Greece)

Paridis first started playing football for Keravnos Agios Andreas. In 1961, he debuted for AEK Kavala which later merged with other teams in that city to form Kavala. He transferred to PAOK in 1968. He played with PAOK at 183 championship games scoring 49 goals. With PAOK he was won 2 Greek Cups (1972, 1974) and 1 Greek Championship (1976). He ended his career in 1977.  He was capped 6 times by Greece.

AM/LW: Diego Biseswar (Suriname)

In 2005, Biseswar made his debut with Feyenoord, where he played until 2012 with some loan spells in between.  Then, he played for Kayserispor from 2012 to 2016.  He joined PAOK in 2006.   With PAOK, he led the team to win the League/Cup Double in the 2018-2019 season.  Biseswar has played for the Netherlands at the youth level.  On 2021, he switched to play for Suriname.

AM/FW: Stavros Sarafis (Greece)

 joined PAOK in 1967, and remained with the club for 14 years retiring in 1981. He was a prolific goalscorer, netting 136 goals in 358 league matches with PAOK. He also scored 26 goals in the Greek Cup and 8 in UEFA competitions, for 170 goals in total. His partnership with the legendary Giorgos Koudas was one of the most prolific attacking duos in Greek football during the 1970s, winning one league championship and two cups. 

AM: Giorgos Koudas (Greece)
Giorgos Koudas began his career with PAOK where he played his entire career, making 504 appearances in the Alpha Ethniki from 1963 to 1984.  He was nicknamed "Alexander the Great" and a legend for PAOK fans. He was probably their greatest ever player. He had 43 caps between 1967 and 1982. He captained the Greek national team at Euro 1980 held in Italy. The tournament was Greece's first ever international tournament.

Giorgos Koudas

FW: Georgios Kostikos (Greece)

Kostikos began playing football with Pierikos in 1975, and two years later he was acquired by PAOK. He played for PAOK from 1977 to 1986, before finishing his career with Olympiacos and Diagoras. He won the 1985 Greek league title with PAOK. He made 35 appearances and scored three goals for Greece from 1977 to 1984. He also participated in UEFA Euro 1980.

 

ST: Dimitrios Salpingidis (Greece)

Excluding loans, Salpingidis has spent his entire professional career playing for PAOK and Panathinaikos. He has spent a total of 8 seasons playing for PAOK, scoring over 85 goals, at the beginning and end of his career. In between he played for Panathinaikos where he scored 46 goals over 4 seasons. From 2005 to 2014, he was capped 82 times for Greece. He went to two World Cup Finals.

 

ST: Koulis Apostolidis

Koulis Apostolidis attended University of San Francisco where he played on men's soccer team from 1964 to 1967.  He then played for Vancouver Royals and Dallas Tornado in the NASL.  He was NASL top scorer in 1970. He played for PAOK from 1971 to 1979, where he played as a youth player.  He was a star player for their great team in the 1970's.  He earned six caps with the Greek national team between 1972 and 1976.

Koulis Apostolidis

Honorable mention

Giannis Stefas (Greece), Panagiotis Glykos (Greece), Rene Deck (Switzerland),  Nikos Sotiriadis (Greece), Nikolaos Michopoulos (Greece), Giannis Gitsioudis (Greece), Kostas Chalkias (Greece), Giannis Stefas (Greece), Léo Matos (Brazil), Lino (Brazil), Nikos Alavantas (Greece), Nikos Sotiriadis (Greece), Yevhen Shakhov (Greece), Dimitris Pelkas (Greece), Aleksandar Prijović (Serbia), Chuba Akpom (England), Neto Guerino (Brazil), Giannis Mantzourakis (Greece), Achilleas Aslanidis (Greece), Giorgos Georgiadis (Greece), Stefanos Borbokis (Greece), Christos Dimopoulos (Greece), Pablo Garcia (Uruguay), Angelos Anastasiadis (Greece), Pantelis Kafes (Greece), Pablio Contreas (Chile), Ioannis Okkas (Cyprus), Kostas Frantzeskos (Greece).

Squad Explanation

-- The Hall of Flame of PAOK included the following players: Giorgos Koudas, Konstantinos Iosifidis, Stavros Sarafis, Dimitrios Salpingidis,  Giannis Gounaris, Kyriakos Apostolidis, Giorgos Toursounidis, Giorgos Skartados and Leandros Symeonidis.  All of them were included onto this team.

-- Giorgos Koudas, Stavros Sarafis and Konstantinos Iosifidis were considered their greatest ever players.  Fernando Varela is getting to be on the list.  Stavros Sarafis is their all-time leading scorer.  

-- Paok won their first league title in 1976.  They also took two Greek Cups in 1972 and 1973.  Mladen Furtula, Giorgos Koudas, Stavros Sarafis, Christos Terzanidis, Dimitris Paridis, Giannis Gounaris and Aristarchos Fountoukidis.

-- In 1985, PAOK took their second league title.  It was a surprised result as Giorges Koudas retired the season before.  The pre-season expectation was very low. Georgios Kostikos, Giorgos Skartados, Konstantinos Iosifidis and Ioannis Damanakis.

-- The 2018-2019 season was their greatest ever.  They won the Super League title with an undefeated record. They were only the second team in Greece to go through an entire season without losing.  On top of that, they also won the Greek Cup.  It was their third consecutive Greek Cups. The team was noted for its defence.  So I took goalkeeper Alexandros Paschalakis, Fernando Varela, Vieirinha and Jose Crespo made this team. All of whom were defenders, but Vieirinha was also used as an attacker. And then, I added attack midfielder Diego Biseswar (Suriname). I put Chuba Akpom and Aleksandar Prijović on honorable mention.  This team is definitely under represented. I have selected more older players who were PAOK Hall of Flamers, but the contemporary players might make it to the Hall of Flame one day in time and this team will be changed.

-- With the exception of Mladen Furtula, most of PAOK goalkeepers could not maintain their starting job for long or did not last long over here.  So he was the only undisputed choice.  Alexandros Paschalakis was the main season why PAOK went undefeated in the 2018-2019 season.  His performance was unseen in the history of the club. He also lost his starting position after that season.  However, his form that single season was beyond anyone who had played goalkeeper here and it was PAOK's greatest ever season.  So he took the second spot.

-- The third goalkeeper was difficult to choose. Nikos Sotiriadis was the first PAOK player who played for Greece. Rene Deck of Switzerland was one of the two first foreign players for the club.  Panagiotis Glykos spent many seasons here, but not always as a starter.  He was the starting goalkeeper before Paschalakis. Giannis Stefas was often mentioned.  In the end, I took Kostas Chalkias who played more times for Greece than any player mentioned.

-- The fullback position was easier to select. Konstantinos Iosifidis, Giannis Gounaris and Vieirinha were among the greatest players ever for the club. Vieirinha played as a rightback before he joined PAOK, but he also operated as a left back and left wing over here. Then, I took Hall of Flamer Giorgos Skartados who had the difficult task of succeeding Gounaris as the rightback at the club.  He was an utility player who played many positions.  Leo Mateos, Nikos Alavantas and Lino were left off.

-- Fernando Varela and Jose Crespo were responsible for the undefeated season in the 2018-2019 season.  Aristarchos Fountoukidis' name was mentioned frequently throughout my research.  He won PAOK Player of the Season three times. He was also 5th in appearance record. The last central defender was hard to choose.  PAOK released an official team of the decade for 2010's.  Georgios Tzavellas was not on the team while both Jose Crespo and Pablio Contreas made the team.  So I ruled out Tzavellas.  Filotas Pellios was an one club man, but I opted for the more modern Contreas.

-- Giorgos Skartados started as a rightback, but he had played everywhere including as a forward.  He even finished as the club's top scorer chart in 6 seasons. He was an utility player.

--Theodoros Zagorakis was one of the greatest footballer from Greece.  The other central midfield option seemed less undisputed than other position. Giorgos Toursounidis belonged to their Hall of Flame. The other candidates seemed about the same.  The information I obtained did not really separate them.
-- Ioannis Damanakis played with PAOK for 9 whole years, while he was also a key player in the 1984-85 season, in which Paok was crowned champion for the second time in its history.  He was capped 24 times as a PAOK player.  Christos Terzanidis also earned 17 caps. I took the pair over Pablo Garcia, Angelos Anastasiadis and Pantelis Kafes.  Kafes played 40 times for Greece, but only 15 caps as a PAOK player.  

-- I already have Stavros Sarafis and Giorgos Koudas, but I still selected Diego Biseswar.  Biseswar was a key player during their undefeated and Double year in 2019.   He edged out Giorgos Georgiadis (Greece) because he was on PAOK Team of the Decade.

-- Giorgos Koudas was considered their greatest ever player.  He  briefly joined Olympiacos for two seasons, but never played for them due to legal issue.  He rejoined POAK in 1968. Fueled by this incident, Olympiacos–PAOK rivalry is considered nowadays the fiercest intercity football rivalry in Greece.

-- Leandros Symeonidis was nicknamed "Black Arrow" for his speed.  His nephew is Efthymis Koulouris.  Koulouris also played for PAOK.  He was out on loan for the 2018-2019 season, where he finished as the top scorer in Super Greek League playing for Atromitos.  Since 2018, he has capped for the national team.

-- The side attack would be strong. Besides Symeonidis, Dimitris Paridis and Giorgos Georgiadis were well-known wingers at their time.  Vieirinha also sometimes played as a winger here. My two fullback Konstantinos Iosifidis and Giannis Gounaris were known for their wing attacks.  They formed one of the best wing attack in Greek football during the 1970's.

-- I do not know the actual position of Dimitris Paridis (Greece).  He was listed as a left winger.

-- At the time of writing, Dimitris Pelkas is still a rising star.  he was considered the new hope of Greek football. I put him on honorable mention.

-- Kostas Frantzeskos in his prime was one of the best freekick artistis in Europe.  I only put him on honorable mention.

-- Aleksandar Prijović was the star striker of the 2018-2019 season, but I went for older players whose legacy here was well-known.  I also did not have space for Neto Guerino (Brazil) who was the first foreign player ever signed for PAOK.  

Formation

I tried to start as many Hall of Flamers as possible.  Giorgos Skartados had played many positions before.  I put him on one of the midfield slots.  He started over Theodoros Zagorakis.  Vieirinha should start as the rightback or the left winger.  He had played in those position over here.  He is becoming one of PAOK greatest players, but I started with two Hall of Flamers in his two positions.