Panathinaikos had a generally favorable draw in League Phase of Conference Leaguebut will play a match with one of the biggest clubs in European football, namely Chelsea.
The London team began a series of tributes for its upcoming opponents in the event, and did the same for the “greens”, with an extensive text concerning both the present as well as the past of the club.
Specifically, reference is made to his epic Wembley in 1971in the “legendary” battles of Panathinaikos with Jose Mourinho’s Porto, to Michael Essien, who “unites” the two teams, but also to other players from the “now” and “before” of the Greek team.
At the same time, the tribute talks about the players currently playing in the Panathinaikos and have passed through Premier Leaguebut also for some of the “legends” who have worn the green jersey in the past.
Read the tribute in detail:
“We continue our detailed look at each of our opponents in the Conference League, focusing our attention on Panathinaikos, one of the most historic teams in the competition.
Chelsea have a glorious history in Athens, beating Real Madrid in the Cup Winners’ Cup final there in 1971, after a replay. We also met Panathinaikos’ arch-rivals Olympiakos during our Champions League run in the 2007/08 season.
European course
“Champions League/Champions League: Panathinaikos reached the final of the Champions Cup in 1971. While we beat Real Madrid in their city, Athens, they lost 2-0 to Ajax in our city, London, with the match to be held at Wembley. They have lost twice more in the semi-finals, including against Ajax again in 1996.
UEFA Cup/Europa League: Have reached the quarter-finals twice, losing to Jose Mourinho’s Porto in extra time in 2002/03 after winning the first leg 1-0 in Portugal.
Conference League: This is their first appearance in the group stage after being knocked out by Slavia Prague in the third qualifying round in the 2022/23 season.
2024/25 so far…
Like Chelsea, Panathinaikos has one win, one draw and one loss in the first three games of the {league. And like Chelsea, they qualified through the Conference League play-offs 3-2 on aggregate after being knocked out of the Europa League on penalties by their old nightmare Ajax. Overturning the 2-1 first leg against Lance, they won the second leg 2-0 in Athens.
Current roster
Their roster includes players from 16 different countries. Brazilian Tete, who scored the winning goal against Lance, had been on loan from Leicester for the first half of 2023.
Dutch defender Bart Senkefeld is their experienced captain, Facundo Pellistri joined in the summer from Manchester United, while George Baldock moved from Sheffield United and is a Greece international.
Notable former players
Five Panathinaikos players were part of Greece’s triumphant Euro 2004 squad, with defensive midfielder Angelos Basinas and right-back Jurkas Seitaridis being the best known. The latter was part of the strong defense and was included in the best team of the tournament.
Mikael Essien spent the 2015/16 season at Panathinaikos, scoring once in 16 appearances, following his spell at Milan after leaving Chelsea in 2014. Other names familiar to Premier League fans include Gilberto Silva, Chris Saba, Djibril Cisse and Giorgos Karagounis”.
Source: Sport Fm
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