Panathinaikos 1970-71: Green is the colour
- Graham Dunn
- Jan 30, 2025
- 5 min read
Updated: Dec 3, 2025
Few underdog stories in European football shine brighter than Panathinaikos 1970–71 European Cup campaign. Under the legendary Ferenc Puskas, the Greek champions defied politics, part-time status and expectation to reach the final at Wembley. Led by captain Mimis Domazos and prolific striker Antonis Antoniadis, the Greens toppled giants across Europe before falling to Johan Cruyff’s Ajax in a defining clash of eras.
While it is not news to anyone aside from Cardiff City owners that fans identify with their team colours, the relatively small number of teams that play in green means it seems to comprise a bigger part in their DNA.
Liverpool maybe the Reds, but they are also multiple other things with global stars and achievements to get excited about. Plymouth Argyle on the other hand.
Historically, teams tend not to play in green. Forest Green Rovers relegation to the Conference in 2024-25 means Plymouth are back as the sole green representative in the English football league. You have to go back more than a century to Bradford Park Avenue for the last team in green to grace the top tier in England.
While better embraced in the Bundesliga – full-on by Wolfsburg and Werder Bremen, and at the fringes by Borussia Monchengladbach – green is also lessor-spotted more widely.
Perhaps it has to do with perceptions in some quarters of green being unlucky or fears of a colour clash with the grass. It was concerns over the latter that prompted the Italian FA to in 2022 ban green kits from Serie A. The ban only applied to away kits, but Sassuola, who were carrying the torch for green kits in Serie A, were taking no chances, and got themselves relegated just in case.
Unsurprisingly, the smaller number of teams to pick from translates into less green silverware overall. Much of the heavy lifting in terms of green honours has been done by the hoops of Celtic and Sporting Lisbon. Notably both have done it in Europe, Celtic winning the European Cup in 1967 three years after Sporting lifted the UEFA Cup. Werder Bremen too have won the Cup Winners Cup in 1992 and, the less heralded but far more confusing Intertoto Cup six years later. But it was two other green teams that catch the eye as they came so close to making their mark on Europe’s premier club competition.
Back in the 1970s St Etienne was better known for its football team rather than indie-dance tunes, as the French side won 10 titles during an incredible 25 year purple-patch (note to editor: why is a purple-patch good when no team in purple has ever won the European Cup?). Towards the end of this glory period in 1976 Les Verts became the first French side to reach the European Cup final since Reims in 1959, only to fall to a narrow 1-0 defeat to Bayern Munich at Hampden Park.
More incredibly five years earlier, the green shirts of Greek side Panathinaikos had adorned the European Cup final. This was all the more remarkable given the amateur standing of Greek football at the time. Prior to1971 Greek teams had made little impact on European cup competitions before – nor indeed a huge amount subsequently either (rivals Olympiacos last year became the first Greek side to win a European competition after winning the Europa Conference League).
The country too was in the dark days of a military regime, which had seized power four years earlier.
That had brought an abrupt end to Yugoslav Stjepan Bobek’s reign as manager, under whom the foundations were built that would bring Panathinaikos a run of titles – including an undefeated season in 1964.
But it was the unlikely arrival of a genuine star of the game as manager in June 1970 that was the catalyst for their European run. Given the standing of Greek football at the time, it seems incredible now that three-times European Cup winner and all-round legend Ferenc Puskas should roll-up as manager of the Greek part-timers.
He took over a team led by their long-serving inspiration ‘The General’ Mimos Domazos – captain for an extraordinary 15 of his 19 years at the club – and the goals of ‘The Tall’ Antonis Antoniadis, who stood out for, well, standing tall and scoring.
Prior to 1971 Greek teams had made little impact on European cup competitions before – nor indeed a huge amount subsequently either
Antoniadis opened his account five minutes into the first game – away at Luxembourg’s Juenesse Esch. Four more followed in the home leg and two more in disposing of Slovan Bratislava in the next round.
Antoniadis’ 81st minute strike at Goodison Park in the quarter-final first leg so nearly gave Panathinaikos an unlikely win at English champions Everton. But despite the Toffees grabbing a late equaliser from their 17th corner, Antoniadis’ Goodison goal was to prove extra special thanks to one of two UEFA rule changes that year.
Everton had benefitted from the first of these in the previous round, becoming the first team to progress in the European Cup via a penalty shoot-out. But when Everton were held to a goalless draw in Athens, they became the first team to be knocked out at the quarter final stage on away goals after UEFA extended their application beyond the first two rounds.
Normal service looked to be restored in the semi-finals when Panathinaikos lost the first leg 4-1 to Partisan Belgrade. But Antoniades’ strike after just two minutes set the tone for an incredible comeback, which was completed when Antoniades made it three-nil with his second of the night – and 10th goal of the tournament. Benefitting from the expanded away goals rule for a second time, the Athens part-timers became the first – and thus far only – Greek side to reach the European Cup final.
The final pitted Puskas’ Panathinaikos against Johan Cruyff’s Ajax at Wembley. Shorn of the talismanic home advantage, Panathinaikos fell behind after just five minutes – and stayed in the game until conceding a late second.
In some ways it was a fitting handing over of the European Cup baton, as Cruyff too would win three European Cups – and outdo Puskas by later winning the cup as a manager with Barcelona.
For Puskas it was a to prove the high point of his managerial career, and likewise for Panathinaikos – though they have since twice reached the semi-final stage.
As so often for green teams, it remained a case of what could have been.
But maybe the biggest what could have been of them all is how things could have been so different had Brazil embraced the large among of green on their flag rather than yellow when they disposed of the white home kit after failing to win the 1950 World Cup on home territory.
RANKING
We have five categories of greatness from our five-star All-Time Greats category at the top to our one-star Blinkered Greats category at the bottom. While falling short at the final hurdle would seem the very definition of Edge of Greatness, we got a bit a carried away with the romance of the underdog story and ranked them
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TOUCH OF GREATNESS
Listen to the full podcast:
Join hosts Graham Dunn and Jamie Rooney — with Panathinaikos superfan Gus Krasonis for a deep dive into Greek football and the Greens incredible run, shortly before Mimos ‘The General’ Damazos passed away later in January. — as they revisit Panathinaikos 1970–71, the Puskas-led miracle that took the Greens from Athens to Wembley.
FROM THE ARCHIVES
We’ve done podcasts on a few teams in green now -- but perhaps most notable is our podcast Les Verts, the serial French title-winners of the 60s and 70s, St Etienne. Listen to it here
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