Asteras Tripolis F.C.

Asteras Tripolis line-up in Beta Ethniki 1962–63

Asteras Tripolis was founded in 1931, in the area near Tripoli's railway station and was formally recognised forthwith. However, the club stayed inactive and during 1932 all football clubs in Tripoli were temporarily dissolved. At the same time, Minas Tsavdaris founded a football club and named it "Keramikos" after his home area.[1] Despite his efforts, Keramikos was never formally recognised, and in 1938 Tsavdaris decided to transfer all of the club's players to Asteras Tripolis, which was still legally recognised.[1] This signified the revival of the club and Asteras Tripolis managed to compete in the inaugural season (1939–40) of the regional Arcadian League. However, the subsequent German occupation of Greece ended all league competitions abruptly and the club was dissolved once again.

After World War II, Asteras Tripolis was reformed under the name "Neos Asteras" and was accordingly recognised by Tripoli's courts on 23 June 1947.[1] Asteras Tripolis won five consecutive titles in the Arcadian League (1957–62). The team won consecutive promotions and managed to play for two seasons in Second National Division (1961–63), thus becoming the first team from Tripoli to ever participate in such a high division.[1] In the summer of 1963, Asteras Tripolis merged with Aris–Atromitos and the new team was named "Athlitikos Omilos Tripolis" (Athletic Club of Tripoli, AOT). AOT's function was based in Asteras Tripolis' statute and the new club continued its activities until 1968, when it was dissolved once again and was subsequently merged with Arkadikos to form Panarkadikos.

Asteras Tripolis was reformed again in 1978.[1] The club participated in the regional Arcadian League until 2003. At 2001 the club entered a new era and led an outstanding streak of performances under the leadership of Dimitris Bakos and Giannis Kaimenakis. They remained unbeaten at home for over 5 years (from 2001 to November 2006) and they managed to move up four divisions, earning the promotion for the Super League Greece as Second Division champions on 12 May 2007.

Asteras Tripolis made a spectacular start in their first season in Super League, under the technical leadership of Paulo Campos. Their first ever win was against Panathinaikos (1–0[2] in Tripoli) and their first away win against OFI in Crete (3–0).[3] The season was marked by some outstanding performances with the most memorable being the 1–0 home victory against champions Olympiacos. They also managed to win 2–1 against AEK Athens and 2–0 against PAOK at home. Asteras Tripolis became the first and only newly promoted Super League team that managed to beat Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, PAOK (home and away) and AEK Athens in its first ever appearance in the top division. It is remarkable that the team of that season made Asteras Tripolis popular in Greek fans as "Greek Boca" because of its Argentinian players (Lucio Filomeno, Horacio Cardozo, Mauro Milano, Israel Damonte etc.) and the mutual colours of the club with the famous Boca Juniors.

Coach Paulo Campos left Asteras Tripolis on 24 February 2008[4] with assistant manager Panagiotis Tzanavaras taking over for the rest of the 2007–08 season. Asteras Tripolis finally ended 7th, missing the European spot in the last games. In the summer of 2008, Asteras Tripolis announced Carlos Carvalhal as their new manager.[5] He was sacked in mid-season due to poor results which led the team near the relegation zone.[6] He was succeeded by former AEK Athens caretaker manager, Nikos Kostenoglou.[7] Despite the unfortunate results in Super League, the team managed to remain focused on the goal of the Greek Cup, reaching the semi-finals for the first time in its history, where finally eliminated by Olympiacos. In 2009, Asteras Tripolis signed the Argentine former Internazionale assistant Mario Gómez as their new coach.

Fülöp

Kourbelis

Sankaré

Tsabouris

Pipinis

Usero

Kontoes

Rayos (c)

Navarro

De Blasis

Perrone

2013 Greek Cup Final starting lineup vs. Olympiacos (4-5-1)

After a season with moderate results that led Asteras Tripolis to 12th place finish in Super League, the next season was coming to get worse the status of the club. In the 2010–11 season, after some wrong player choices and a disappointing 2nd round, Asteras Tripolis dealt relegation hammer blow. However, on 19 May 2011, the Disciplinary Committee of the competition found Iraklis guilty of forgery during the winter transfer window. Therefore the club was automatically put at the end of the league table and demoted to the Football League. This development resulted in Asteras Tripolis remaining in Super League.

In the 2011–12 season, Asteras Tripolis reached the 6th place and failed to qualify for the Play-offs. However, AEK Athens was not licensed to play in the 2012–13 Europa League and therefore replaced by the 6th placed team in the league table, Asteras Tripolis. That was the first participation of the club in UEFA competitions. The season completed with another participation of the club in Greek Cup semi-finals, in which the team eliminated after an exciting 2nd leg match against Atromitos in Tripoli.

Staikos Vergetis managed the team through the UEFA Europa League of 2014–15 and 2015–16 season.

The 2012–13 season was one of the most memorable in Asteras Tripolis' history. The club competed in the UEFA Europa League second qualifying round and won its first qualification to a next round in European level, eliminating the Azerbaijani, Inter Baku.[8] In Super League, the club took a step ahead, finishing third(and fourth in the play-offs) and secured a place for the 2013–14 Europa League.[9] However, the highlight of the season was the outstanding road of the team, under the technical leadership of Sakis Tsiolis, to the first Greek Cup final in club's history. The "Arcadians" lost 1–3 against Olympiacos after extra time and as 13,000 supporters of the yellow-blues were at the Olympic Stadium of Athens.[10]

In the 2014–15 season, Asteras Tripolis took another step ahead in European level, reaching the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League group stage for the first time in club's history, after a streak of qualifications against RoPS, Mainz 05 and Maccabi Tel Aviv. In the Group C, Asteras Tripolis won six points and finished third against Tottenham Hotspur, Beşiktaş and Partizan. In Super league, Asteras Tripolis finished in 3rd place, its highest place in the league table until these days. Also, the main striker of the squad, Jerónimo Barrales, emerged top goalscorer in 2014-15 Super League Greece.

In the next season, 2015–16, Asteras Tripolis secured his direct participation in the Europa League group stage as finished third in the 2014-15 Super League. In the Group K, the club won four points and finished third again, with rivals Schalke 04, Sparta Prague and APOEL. Although during the 2016-17 Super League season, Asteras Tripolis finished 12th, in the next season, the club finished fifth, securing a place in the second qualifying round of 2018–19 Europa League.

The crest of the club is inspired by the statue of Theodoros Kolokotronis

• 
  Original
• 
  2000s
• 
  2006–2020
• 
  Current

The original crest of the club is the star symbol in the traditional colors of the team, yellow and blue. Over the following decades, different versions of the crest were introduced with minor changes. In 2006 first appeared the version that was coming to connect with the most recent glorious days of the club, until the summer of 2020. With the motto "The story has no end", the club presented the new crest on July 21, 2020. The star symbol is maintained in the highest position, as the symbol with which the club traveled through time, since 1931. Also, the new crest connects the club with the most special monument of its city, the statue of Theodoros Kolokotronis, the Greek general and pre-eminent leader of the Greek War of Independence. The statue, located in Areos Square since September 1971, was made to present Theodoros Kolokotronis in battle and his bones are kept there. At the same time, with the phrase "ET IN ARCADIA EGO" written on it, the new crest seals the relationship of the club with the whole of Arcadia.

First

2005–06[11]

2006–08[12][13]

2007–08[14]

2008–09

2009–12

2012–13

2013–14[15]

2014–15

2015–16

2016–17

2017–18

2018–19

2019–20

2020–21

Alternative

1978[16]

2005–06[17]

2009–10

2010–12[18]

2012–13[19][20]

2013–14

2014–15[21]

2016–17

2017–18

2018–19

2019–20

2020–21

• 16 seasons in Super League.
• 3 seasons in Second Division.
• 1 season in Third Division.
• 5 seasons in Fourth Division.

As of the end of the 2021–22 season

Rank	Team	Points
213	Connah's Quay Nomads	5.750
214	Aris Thessaloniki	5.640
215	OFI Crete	5.640
216	Atromitos	5.640
217	Asteras Tripolis	5.640
218	Panathinaikos	5.640
219	Panionios	5.640
220	1. FC Slovácko	5.560

Source:

Last update: As of the end of the 2021–22 season

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away	Aggregate
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Inter Baku	1–1	1–1	2–2 (4–2 p)
		3Q	Marítimo	1–1	0–0	1–1 (a)
2013–14	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Rapid Wien	1–1	1–3	2–4
2014–15	UEFA Europa League	2Q	RoPS	4–2	1–1	5–3
		3Q	Mainz 05	3–1	0–1	3–2
		PO	Maccabi Tel Aviv	2–0	1–3	3–3 (a)
		Group C	Tottenham Hotspur	1–2	1–5	3rd place
			Beşiktaş	2–2	1–1
			Partizan	2–0	0–0
2015–16	UEFA Europa League	Group K	Schalke 04	0–4	0–4	3rd place
			APOEL	2–0	1–2
			Sparta Prague	1–1	0–1
2018–19	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Hibernian	1–1	2–3	3–4

Notes

• 1R: First round
• 2Q: Second qualifying round
• 3Q: Third qualifying round
• PO: Play-off round

• Greek Cup
  • Runners-up: 2012–13
• Beta Ethniki (Second Division)
  • Winners: 2006–07
• Gamma Ethniki (Third Division)
  • Winners: 2005–06
• Delta Ethniki (Fourth Division)
  • Winners: 2004–05

• Arcadian Championship
  • Winners (8): 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1987–88, 1989–90, 2002–03
• Arcadian Cup
  • Winners (4): 1988–89, 1989–90, 2003–04, 2004–05
• Arcadian Double
  • Winners (1): 1989–90

As of 22 September 2023[26]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 1 GK  GRE Nikos Papadopoulos (vice-captain) 2 DF  ESP Rubén García 3 DF  GRE Diamantis Chouchoumis 4 MF  NIR Sean Goss 6 MF  ESP José Luis Valiente (third-captain) 7 MF  ARG Julián Bartolo 8 MF  ARG Juan Munafo (captain) 9 FW  ARG Juan Miritello (on loan from Defensa y Justicia) 10 MF  ESP Fede Vico 11 FW  ESP Xesc Regis 12 DF  ESP David Carmona 14 FW  GRE Vasilios Mantzis 18 DF  ESP Pichu Atienza 19 DF  ESP Pepe Castaño

No. Pos. Nation Player 20 MF  GRE Nikos Kaltsas 21 MF  GRE Vasilios Sourlis 24 MF  MLI Youba Diarra (on loan from Cádiz) 29 DF  ARG Federico Álvarez 30 DF  CRO Dino Grozdanić 33 GK  GRE Fotis Sgouris 40 MF  ESP Sito 45 DF  GRE Giannis Christopoulos 69 DF  NGA Oluwatobiloba Alagbe 70 GK  GRE Nikos Grammatikakis 77 MF  GRE Nikos Zouglis 87 DF  BIH Ervin Zukanović 97 FW  GRE Georgios Kosteas

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 39 DF  GRE Ilias Christopoulos 51 DF  GRE Athanasios Christopoulos 64 MF  GRE Georgios Prountzos 66 MF  GRE Thomas Papadimitriou 74 DF  GRE Dimitrios Laskaris 78 FW  GRE Marios Dervishi

No. Pos. Nation Player 79 DF  GRE Vasilios Kaperdas 80 MF  GRE Angelos Papadopoulos 90 MF  GRE Alexandros Kedikoglou 91 GK  GRE Theofilos Kakadiaris 92 MF  GRE Denis Kala 95 MF  GRE Charalampos Kallanxhi

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — GK  GRE Antonis Tsiftsis (at Raków Częstochowa until 30 June 2024) — MF  NGA Mubaraq Adeshina (at Diagoras until 30 June 2024)