Athenian derby


The Athenian derby is the football local derby in the Athens urban area, Greece, between AEK Athens, based in Nea Filadelfeia, a suburban town in the urban area and Athens-based Panathinaikos.

History

Early years

The matches between AEK Athens and Panathinaikos are considered the major derby of Athens and one of the most notable rivalries in Greece. Their rivalry dates back to the establishment of the AFCA League, where both clubs were among its main contenders. From the 1920s to the 1950s, AEK used Leoforos Alexandras Stadium as their home ground as well, hosting Panathinaikos as the home team on 17 occasions.
In the spring of 1942 during the Axis occupation of Greece, a friendly match between the two clubs was arranged at Leoforos Alexandras Stadium. The captains, Anastasios Kritikos and Kleanthis Maropoulos, requested that part of the match proceeds be allocated to footballers suffering from tuberculosis who were being treated at the "Sotiria" hospital. Following the refusal of then Panathinaikos president Apostolos Nikolaidis, and the announcement that a German-appointed Austrian officer would referee the match, the players decided not to take part. Both teams entered the pitch together and informed the spectators of the developments. The crowd, enraged, invaded the pitch, causing severe damages. The incidents escalated into an anti-fascist demonstration that reached Omonia Square, before being dispersed by Nazi forces.

Post-war period

During the 1960s, encounters between the two sides featured several prominent players of the era, including Kostas Nestoridis, Mimis Papaioannou and Kostas Nikolaidis for the "yellow-blacks" and Mimis Domazos, Vangelis Panakis and Andreas Papaemmanouil for the "greens". On 8 October 1960 at Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, the score was 2–2 shortly before the end. Andreou violently tackled Nestoridis. The referee did not award a foul, and amid protests from AEK players, Panakis scored to give Panathinaikos a 3–2 lead. Incidents followed, during which Mimis Anastasiadis was sent-off but refused to leave the pitch, leading to the referee abandoning the match. Panathinaikos were subsequently awarded a 2–0 victory by default. On 3 April 1966, in a league match at Nea Filadelfeia the match was at 1–1 and while there had been previous violent incidents between the players in the first half, Takis Loukanidis scored at the 88th minute for Panathinaikos from an offside position. The referee awarded the goal and wild incidents occurred with the participation of fans entering the pitch, which resulted in the match permanently stopped at the expense of AEK, who were penalized and the game was awarded to Panathinaikos. On 29 September 1963, one of the greatest games in Greek football took place, where Panathinaikos prevailed over AEK 5–4, even though they found themselves losing 0–2 and 1–3. On 19 December 1965, AEK won for the first time at Leoforos Alexandras Stadium in the Alpha Ethniki. Papaioannou, after the management of AEK refused to sell him to Real Madrid, resulting in his departure to become a singer, returned and scored a goal, while a brace by Nikolaidis shaped the final 2–3 for AEK. That match initiated a 6-year unbeaten streak for AEK at Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, which lasted until 23 June 1971.
Antonis Antoniadis delivered great performances for Panathinaikos by scoring a hat-trick on 17 December 1972 in a 3–1 win and a brace on 15 May 1977, which sealed the league title. Maik Galakos also scored three goals against AEK in September 1981 in his first season with the "greens", in the last match between the two teams before Panathinaikos moved the Olympic Stadium. For AEK Athens, Thomas Mavros scored a hat-trick on 3 April 1983 in a 4–1 at AEK Stadium. Οn 15 April 1984, the goalkeeper of AEK, Christos Arvanitis saved a penalty taken by Charalampidis, keeping the score at 0–0 and postponing league title celebration of Panathinaikos by a week.

Modern era

From 2001, after the return of Panathinaikos to Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, they achieved a remarkable 12-game unbeaten streak against AEK until 9 May 2021, when AEK won by 0–1 with a goal by Petros Mantalos. In the 2025–26 season Luka Jović made a historical performance becoming the first player of AEK to score a hat-trick at Leoforos Alexandras Stadium in a 2–3 win of the "yellow-blacks", while about fifty days later became the first player to score 4 goals in an Athenian derby, after the 4–0 win at Agia Sophia Stadium.

Statistics

Honours

Matches summary

Head-to-head ranking in Super League Greece



  • Total: Panathinaikos with 39 higher finishes, AEK Athens with 27 higher finishes.

    Matches list

Athens FCA League

Super League Greece

Play-off match

Greek Cup

• Series won: AEK Athens 11, Panathinaikos 7.

Greek Super Cup

Top scorers

Personnel at both clubs

Players

;From Panathinaikos to AEK Athens
;From AEK Athens to Panathinaikos