Greek Football Teams in European Competitions: Season Outlook

Since the 1960s, Greek clubs have participated in European championships, with some outstanding performances in the early years. Although they have a rich history of competing in championships, the Greeks have been unable to maintain consistent success. Despite all the challenges clubs like Olympiacos, PAOK, AEK Athens, and Aris Thessaloniki faced in the past couple of decades, they managed to stay one of the key players in European football over the decades. In total, twenty clubs have made appearances in European competitions thus far.

Alpha Ethniki was formed in 1959 and was replaced with the Super League Greece 1 in 2006. It consists of 14 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 26 games each followed by 6-game Championship play-offs to decide the champions. As of December of 2024, based on the last five years of performance in European championships, Super League was ranked 12th in the UEFA putting them high on the list at Stake.com.

Olympiacos

Olympiacos has been the most successful Greek club in European competitions. Founded in 1925, the club has been a dominant force in Greek football and has had considerable success in Europe, particularly in the UEFA Champions League. Having won 171 titles in total, the most significant one, and the most recent one is the number one place in UEFA Europa Conference League 2023-2024 by winning against Italian side Fiorentina 1–0 in the Final. In its hundred-year existence, the club has won a total of 171 titles - 79 national, 27 regional, 37 others, and three international. However, Olympiacos went through some dark days in the past, the so-called “Stone Years” that began in the late 1980s and ended in 1996. During that period the famous team went into debt and was on the verge of being wiped out from the championships when it was saved by Sokratis Kokkalis who became the president of the club. For the next 15 years, Olympiacos progressed into one of the best clubs in the old continent.

In addition to their success in the Champions League, Olympiacos has won multiple Greek league titles and has been a consistent presence in European football. The club’s strong domestic record has earned them a spot in the competition year after year, coupled with one of the hottest clubs in online sports betting, providing them with regular European experience, even if they have rarely gone beyond the group stage in recent years.

Panathinaikos

One of the best clubs in the Super League Greece 1 with the rare consistency of always being in the top three teams. In its history, Panathinaikos, or PAO, won 20 Greek championships, with being one of the clubs winning without defeat. Since it was founded in 1908, the team has proven to be one of the most dependable clubs in the Greek football league. Sure, there were some ups and downs throughout its rich history, but it managed to always come through for its fans. Most recently, in the 2023-24 Greek football cup, Panathinaikos won against Aris in the finals snatching their 20th Greek cup title which earned them a place in the 2024-2025 UEFA Europa League second qualifying round.

Panathinaikos was founded by middle-class football players who wanted to spread the beauty of the sport across Greece. Being a family-owned club, they relied heavily on their fans for support. This brought many financial difficulties that escalated in the early 2010s. In debt, and close to financial ruin, the club sold many of its talented prospects in order to pull itself out of bankruptcy. Today, Panathinaikos is the only football club in Greece that is partially owned by supporters. The majority shareholder is Giannis Alafouzos, a Greek businessman and shipowner.

AEK Athens F.C.

AEK, founded in 1924, is another well-known Greek football team that took part in many European championships. Riddled with inconsistency, the club coped with some hard times in the past. The highlight of its century-long history came in 1977 when it reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. In the early 2000s, AEK proved that it could still compete at the highest level, but the recent years have not been very successful. Plagued by the financial affairs in the mid-2010s, AEK decides to become an amateur football club until fiscal problems can be sorted out. After a series of mishaps and bad decisions, the club returned to professional sport in the season 2018-19. Initially, AEK failed to make any notable impact in the UEFA Champions League causing the owner Dimitris Melissanidis to sell his shares and leave the club for good. In his last interview, the former major shareholder said that he is proud to leave the team with zero debt. Last year AEK started the season poorly again with an early elimination from the Conference Cup. The latest addition came in September of 2024 when the club signed ex-Manchester United player Anthony Martial. The new owner is Marios Iliopoulos who bought the team for 90 million euros.

PAOK Thessaloniki F.C.

PAOK, one of the top Greek football clubs, was founded by the refugees from the Greek-Turkish war in 1926. Even today, the majority of the fanbase is located in the northern parts of the country with the main center being Thessaloniki. Like every other professional football club in the past, PAOK was faced with some major instability and financial uncertainties. Its golden age occurred in the 1970s when the team managed to reach the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup. More recently, PAOK had some memorable moments both in domestic and international championships. In the 2020-21 and 2023-24 seasons, the team reached UEFA Conference League quarter-final paving the way for some possible future favorable outcomes. Also, in 2021 PAOK won the Greek Cup, and in 2024 snatched the Greek Championship title. PAOK supporters are known to be fierce and a force to reckon with. Toumba Stadium was nicknamed “The Black Hell” with AC/DC Hells Bells blasting every time the players stepped on the field. The fans also have a decades-long rivalry with Olympiacos fans. The grudge between the two teams began in 1969, when Olympiacos went behind the PAOK’s management backs offering the transfer to one of its players. A major strife also exists between supporters of PAOK and Panathinaikos.

Aris Thessaloniki F.C.

Aris, although not as famous as the previous Greek teams, is one of the most popular football clubs in the country. It was founded in Thessaloniki in 1914 where its fans are still mostly based to this day. It did not have some major success in the European competitions, but there were some bright moments to be proud of. The best result ever achieved by the club happened in 1982 when they reached the second round of the UEFA Cup. Since then, no significant outcomes have been recorded in the international scene, but Aris did make their mark in the Greek championships. In Super League Greece 1 they were three times champions and runner-up. The latest achievement took place in the season 2023-24 when Aris lost to Panathinaikos in the finals 0:1.

Greek Football in Europe in Recent Years

Lately, the excellence of the Greek football teams has somewhat subsided mostly due to the rise of the more financially powerful clubs in Europe. When the whole national league is struggling with unpaid financial commitments, it’s difficult to keep up with some powerful leagues and clubs like the English Premier League, La Liga, and Serie A. Still, occasionally, Greek teams find their way to international competitions.

For instance, Olympiacos was one of the teams who regularly made it to the knockout stages of the European championships while recently, more specifically in the last decade or so, they were struggling to make it past the group stage. In a similar manner, AEK and PAOK have not been able to make any significant mark in European football.

Reasons for the decline are numerous, but one always stands out – financial disparity. While big clubs in Europe like Real Madrid or Bayern Munich have large financial means at their disposal, Greek clubs have been struggling to fulfill some basic conditions for a successful season. Olympiacos is the wealthiest club in Greece, with a huge fan base and pretty decent financial means, but it’s still not sufficient to compete against top teams from England, Italy, Spain, and Germany. Putting up a reasonable effort even against some average European clubs has caused strife among Greek teams.

The whole Greek league has been mercilessly criticized over the past decades for failing to invest more in infrastructure, young players, and scouting for new talents. Whether it’s a lack of interest or money, Greeks have been struggling to progress further than the group stage. The overall quality and competitiveness, as well as the underdevelopment of the domestic clubs, have been decreasing gradually as the whole league was suffocating in debt.

Without a massive income from sponsors and broadcasting deals, Super League Greece 1 faces a grim future. Financial support from the fans is great, but it’s just a drop in the nearly empty bucket of Greek football. National clubs need a big influx of revenue if they are to stay competitive on the international stage. For now, Greeks operate on tight budgets struggling to attract better players and build the team necessary to compete at the top level.

The rift between major European leagues and Greek national teams is evident on the UEFA rankings. More powerful clubs consistently top the chart, while less financially fortunate tend to stick to the middle without any prospects for better results. Top-tier players gravitate towards better paying clubs which leaves Greeks outside of the field when it comes to reinforcing their teams with some of the best footballers today.

Domestic League and Youth Development

The Greek Super League is not considered one of Europe’s top leagues for many reasons. Its historic value is undeniable, but the past cannot reinforce the bright future, it can only take the clubs so far. The overall quality of the league is not on par with major European leagues, which leaves Greek footballers with a lack of essential experience of playing on top level. This affects them, and subsequently the club and the clubs quickly lose championships without even passing lower stages of the competition.

Another big problem in Greek sports is insufficient investment in young players. Due to financial problems, developing young players into future superstars of football has been put on the back burner. In the past, Greeks have had some great talents hit the international stage, but in recent years, lack of revenue and sponsorships have taken its toll on the advancement of the youth league. Despite all the troubles, Olympiacos became the first club from Greece to win a UEFA trophy as they defeated AC Milan in the UEFA Youth League final in Nyon in April 2024. This certainly should catch scouts’ attention if not from Greece, then definitely from some major leagues.

Without new young bloods to revive Greek football, national clubs are forced to import talent from other countries. This is not only costly, but it rarely surpasses the expectations of the club since the new players are having problems adapting to the Greek footballing culture.

Infrastructural Challenges

Lack of funding resulted in outdated facilities of Greek clubs. This potentially has numerous effects on players, fans and the clubs’ incomes. With old stadiums, the morale of everyone involved in playing and supporting the club can be very low, thus leaving the teams without much-needed revenue from the tickets, sponsors and sales. Big European clubs have mastered the skill of selling the audience the ultimate experience packages which, in return, boosts their bottom lines.

The Future of Greek Football in Europe

Regardless of everything said, there is hope for the Greek football league. First, focusing on the next generation of players might be their ticket to reaching higher places in the UEFA rankings. Younger generations proved themselves last year as UEFA champions, so it’s a good place to start rebuilding the teams.

There is a chance for a domestic reform of the sport by improving the quality of coaching, better support for clubs’ infrastructure, and financial fair play regulations to help smaller clubs compete more evenly. In any case, there’s a lot to be done, but when it comes to the 2025 season, the future of Greek football remains uncertain.