Alketas Panagoulias
Αλκέτας Παναγούλιας

Panagoulias in 1986
Personal information
Full name	Alketas Panagoulias
Date of birth	(1934-05-30)30 May 1934
Place of birth	Thessaloniki, Greece
Date of death	18 June 2012(2012-06-18) (aged 78)
Place of death	Virginia, United States
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1951–1962	Aris
1962–1967	Greek American AA
Managerial career
1967–1971	Greek American Atlas
1972–1973	Greece (assistant)
1973–1976	Greece
1977–1981	Greece
1981–1983	Olympiacos
1983–1985	United States
1983	Team America
1984	United States Olympic
1985–1987	Olympiacos
1987–1990	Aris
1991–1992	Levadiakos
1992–1994	Greece
1996–1997	Iraklis
1998–1999	Aris
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Alketas 'Alkis' Panagoulias (Greek:Αλκέτας 'Άλκης' Παναγούλιας; 30 May 1934 – 18 June 2012) was a Greekassociation football player and manager. He managed the national teams of bothGreece and theUnited States. He also managed several clubs, includingAris, his birthplace team, andOlympiakos with whom he won threeAlpha Ethniki championships.

Alketas was born inThessaloniki,Greece on 30 May 1934. Alketas started his football career as a player forAris Thessaloniki F.C.^[1] inThessaloniki, Greece.

After finishing his first degree, he moved to the United States, where he attended the university ofNew York City. There he coached theGreek American Atlas (also known as "New York Greek Americans") to three consecutiveNational Challenge Cup titles in1967,1968, and1969.

He returned toAthens as the assistant coach ofGreece, under the famous Northern Ireland coachBilly Bingham, in 1972; the following year, he took over as head coach,^[2] and helmed the team^[2] from 1973 to 1981, including Greece's first Euro appearance in1980, in Italy. (Greece would not qualify for theEuro tournament again for a generation, until2004, when they won the championship.) Panagoulias coached the famousOlympiacos C.F.P.^[3] from 1981 to 1983, earning theAlpha Ethniki title in 1982 and 1983.

He returned to the United States to become the head coach of theUnited States, from 1983 to 1985. A professional version of the USMNT, calledTeam America, played in theNorth American Soccer League in 1983, based out ofRFK Stadium inWashington, D.C. After many American stars refused to leave their NASL clubs to play for them, however, Team America could only manage a 10–20 record (and a last place finish) with a patchwork lineup. The following year, Panagoulias led the USA squad in the1984 Summer Olympics inLos Angeles, with a 1–1–1 record in the group stage, not sufficient to advance to the next round. After failing to qualify for the1986 FIFA World Cup in 1985, Panagoulias resigned as USMNT coach.

Panagoulias subsequently returned to Athens to coachOlympiacos C.F.P., winning another title in 1987. He also ledAris FC from 1987 to 1990 andLevadiakos from 1991 to 1992. He returned as head coach of the Greece national team in 1992^[2] and led the team to its first appearance in aWorld Cup in 1994, played in his adopted country (by now, Panagoulias was an American citizen). Although he was very popular among Greek fans at the time, the team's poor performance in World Cup '94 (losing all three matches by a combined score of 0–10) attracted widespread criticism, and Panagoulias was replaced byKostas Polychroniou. He later coachedIraklis FC in 1997 andAris Thessaloniki F.C. from 1998 to 1999.

Following his retirement from coaching, Panagoulias served as President ofAris Thessaloniki F.C. in 2001.^[4] During the2004 Athens Olympic Games, he served as venue manager for the soccer events held in Athens. His biography, was published in Greece in November 2007.

He was elected member of the city council ofThessaloniki, and was a candidate for theGreek Parliament in 1993. He was aFIFA instructor, a National Faculty member of the US Academy of Sports and a member of the USSF Coaches Council.

In 2014, the side street adjacent toAris Thessaloniki F.C. stadium, (Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium), was named after him following a decision by the City Council of the Municipality ofThessaloniki.^[5]

Panagoulias died at his home in USA, at the age of 78.

Aris

• EPSM Championship:1952–53,1958–59

Greek American AA

• National Challenge Cup: 1967

Greek American AA

• National Challenge Cup: 1968, 1969

Olympiacos

• Alpha Ethniki:1981–82,1982–83,1986–87
• Greek Super Cup:1987

• The Greek,The Washington Post
• The Long, Hard Struggle To Mold An American Team,The New York Times
• Obituary,The Washington Post
• FIFA Obituary
• Team America is Taking Shape,The New York Times
• Obituary,Soccer America
• Explaining The Lack of American Coaches Abroad
• Red, White, Blue and New,Sports IllustratedArchived 27 February 2014 at theWayback Machine

• 1934 births
• 1994 FIFA World Cup managers
• Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players
• Greek American AA players
• Aris Thessaloniki F.C. managers
• Aris Thessaloniki F.C. presidents
• Greek men's footballers
• Greek Macedonians
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• Greek expatriate football managers
• Greece national football team managers
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• Greek emigrants to the United States
• 2012 deaths
• Olympiacos F.C. managers
• Super League Greece managers
• Super League Greece players
• Footballers from Thessaloniki
• UEFA Euro 1980 managers
• North American Soccer League (1968–1984) head coaches
• Expatriate soccer coaches in the United States
• People from Thessaloniki
• United States men's national soccer team managers
• Men's association football full-backs
• American expatriate soccer coaches
• Greek expatriates in the United States
• Olympic coaches for the United States
• 20th-century Greek sportsmen

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