In Greece, football is an integral part of culture. In Thessaloniki, Greece’s second largest city, two emblematic sports clubs, PAOK and ARIS, pit generations and neighbourhoods against each other in a historic rivalry that extends beyond the pitch.
Their stadiums, Toumba for PAOK and Kléantis-Vikelidis for ARIS, are separated by just 1.54 kilometres.
Their rivalry has its origins in the inter-war period, when social distinctions played a key role: Aris was supported by upper-class Greeks, while PAOK brought together Greek refugees, mainly workers from Asia Minor and Constantinople. PAOK (whose full name is Panthessalonikios Athilitikos Omilos Konstantinoupoliton) was founded in 1926 by Greek refugees from Constantinople following the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922).
Nowadays, the two clubs’ orientations have evolved, and it is difficult to categorise the preferences of each team’s supporters according to their financial status.
The team is made up of some of Europe’s most fanatical supporters, known the world over.
ARIS (full name Podosfairiki Anonymi Etaireia Aris Thessalonikis) was founded on 25 March 1914 by 22 young people in a bar. Its name refers to Ares, the Greek god of war, whose image is on the club’s logo.
As well as being social, their rivalry takes place on the football field. Their first meeting dates back to 12 June 1927, when PAOK won 2-1. Until 1959, the two teams competed for the title of local champions of the Association of Football Clubs of Macedonia (EPSM) and also met on a number of occasions in the final phase of the Panhellenic championship. The rivalry between the two clubs has only intensified over the years. Today, they rank among the 5 most popular clubs in Greece.
The two teams have met 208 times, with 73 wins for PAOK, 66 wins for ARIS and 69 draws.
PAOK and ARIS both compete for the Greek League championship, won three times by ARIS (in 1928, 1932 and 1946) and four times by PAOK (1976, 1985, 2019 and 2024), as well as the Greek Cup, won once by ARIS (1970) and eight times by PAOK (1972, 1974, 2001, 2003, 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2021).
Both clubs illustrate the difficulties of Greek football. Indeed, ARIS went through major financial problems, leading to its relegation to the 2ᵉ division in 1997, 2005 and 2014, and then to the 3ᵉ division between 2014 and 2016, due to the debts accumulated by the club. To overcome this crisis, a system was set up allowing supporters to buy shares in the club. This system also gives them the opportunity to elect the president or even stand for election.
PAOK, on the other hand, have been spared money problems for a number of years thanks to the arrival of Ivan Savvidi at the club’s helm in 2012. This Russian multimillionaire and former member of parliament is close to Vladimir Putin. He has cleaned up the club’s books by buying out its debt. The club’s difficulties are linked to the sanctions it regularly receives. Between the 2016-2017 and 2019-2020 seasons, he was punished every season for violence and embezzlement. In 2018, the Greco-Russian club’s president was given a 25-month suspended prison sentence, a three-year stadium ban and a hefty fine for his club after disrupting a match against AEK Athens by entering the pitch with a weapon.
In the past, clashes between the two Thessalonian teams have been marked by violence, including stabbings. As a result, supporters of the opposing team are now banned from travelling to derbies. However, the ultras continue to express their rivalry by hanging various objects in the colours of the enemy team (t-shirts, flags, scarves, etc.) on the fences, before burning them.
The rivalry between the two teams is such that it has led to murder. On Tuesday 1 February 2022, 19-year-old Alkis Kampanos, an Aris supporter, was stopped by radical PAOK supporters who asked him which team he supported. When he replied ‘ARIS’, the group of assailants stabbed him in the thigh. The fatal attack took place near Aris FC’s Kleánthis-Vikelídis stadium.
In January 2020, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Misotakis announced that he wanted to overhaul Greek football and put it back on a sound footing.
The teams have a few accomplishments to their name. ARIS, for example, held an impressive record between 1968 and 2020, remaining unbeaten at home at the Kleánthis-Vikelídis stadium for 28 matches and 52 years, even against prestigious clubs such as Chelsea, AS Roma, Atlético de Madrid and Manchester City. PAOK, for their part, have also put in some remarkable performances, including a victory over Barcelona in the UEFA Cup in 1975-1976, a draw with Maradona’s Napoli in 1988-1989, qualification against Arsenal in 1997-1998, a win over Tottenham in 2011-2012 and a victory over Dortmund in 2015-2016.
In conclusion, the rivalry between PAOK and ARIS goes beyond football. While the two clubs have left their mark on the history of Thessaloniki and Greek sport, their rivalry has also led to regrettable violence. Today, it is crucial to find a balance to preserve the integrity of Greek football, transform this rivalry into mutual respect and prevent passion from becoming destructive.
