THE GOD OF WAR: A HISTORY

I shall tell you of a myth that I learned as a child. In 1914 Zeus discovered that he was missing a …god! From the mountaintop, where he sat in his throne, there was a god missing: Aris (the Greek name for Mars, the god of war). He soon realized that ARIS preferred Thessaloniki, Votsi district in particular, where he has lived ever since. This might as well be the beginning of the history of our most glorious football club in 1914.

It’s been 86 years since and ARIS walks towards his 87^th birthday. He is still in his prime, full of dreams for the bright future that will surpass his glorious past. In 1914, just a year after the liberation of Salonika, the city had only one Greek team: Hercules (Iraklis). But Hercules was only a demigod and the city of Salonika needed a GOD.

ARIS THE DOMINANT

The semi god could only be tamed by a full-blown deity. The founders of the new team, therefore, decided unanimously to name it ARIS, after the god of war. It should have been expected, then, that the team named after the god of war would leave nothing standing and would conquer everything in the coming years.

There are some people under the impression that this new team was built on footballers who deserted Iraklis, with whom ARIS played his first official match (which, it must be stressed, he won by 1-0, much to the bewilderment of most sporting fans at the time). Neither Mr. Kostas Koumplis nor Mr. Dionysis Kaltekis do not agree with this.  But, these two veteran footballers, from ARIS’ “golden era” agree on this: it was ARIS that “gave birth” to PAOK’s football team, since 7 footballers left ARIS and founded this historic team of Greece’s second largest city in 1926.

ARIS grew larger by the year. Thessaloniki adored him. Northern Greece deified him and all of Greece stood at his feet. And they were right in their praises, since ARIS was a yellow tornado. It was a team that possessed all possible merits: technique, strength and effectiveness. It could not but induce enthusiasm to his supporters and awe to its opponents. ARIS did not only induce these feelings on the playing fields. It induced sympathy and love with his sheer substance and composition. In his classes one could find people from the higher social strata: students, scientists, doctors, people involved in the arts and culture. He was rightly named the “aristocrat”, a title that was underscored but the fact and, in their majority, the athletes playing for ARIS were themselves students or scientists. ARIS was dominant not only in the courts but also in the lounges of Thessaloniki.

A GOLDEN ERA

The leading star of Thessaloniki and untamed in the rest of Greece, ARIS shone in all athletic activities just after the end of World War I. In water sports, in basketball and in track and field ARIS was synonymous to being first, to being the Champion. The local championships he won were countless. Beginning in 1923, when he won his first title, until 1959, when local tournaments ceased, ARIS rarely finished second or third. Only the title of champion was fit for him.

13 years had passed since his foundation when the golden era of his long history came. This was during 1927-28: he won the first official Championship of Greece. It was unfortunate that due to disagreements with the organizing body (EPO, which subsequently wrote them off) Olympiakos, Panathinaikos and AEK did not take part in this championship. Instead they founded what became known as CFA (Center Football Association), an institution that the teams from Salonika and rural Greece paid for dearly. Three teams participated in the first official Greek championship: ARIS, Atromitos from Athens and Ethnikos from Piraeus. ARIS won both matches against Atromitos [1-3 in Athens on 24.5.1928 and again in Thessaloniki on Iraklis’ stadium on the 17.6.1928]. He won against Ethnikos at home with the same score and lost against him away 3-2 in Piraeus, in a stadium known as the Cycling Ring. Amassing 6 points and starring footballers Katranzos, Papas, Lontaridis, Zare, Aggelakis, Ioannidis, Katsaounis, K. Vikelidis, Yiakoumis, Nakopoulos and Oplopios, ARIS was crowned Champion, the first Champion in Greek football history. This success send convulsions of joy and awe across his many supporters in Thessaloniki and other towns and villages and affirmed ARIS as a major football club in the conscience of sports fans across the nation.

During 1931-32 ARIS shone brighter then ever before, and no one could doubt his greatness or power. It is during this period that ARIS became, for the first time, truly dominant in the football circuit of Greece. He became Champion of Greece for the second time and thus begun the period of his reign. This second pan-Hellenic Championship included the teams of CFA (Olympiakos, Panathinaikos and AEK), but they are no matches for the “God of War”. Friends and foes bowed in front of him and nothing seemed to be able to halt his frenzied course. He managed to amass 22 points: 9 victories in 14 matches, 4 draws and only one loss. He sat on the Champions’ throne leaving Panathinaikos to the second place.

1917 to 1932 is a 6-year “golden era” when most of the footballers that were the diamonds in “king ARIS”’ crown signed on the team. Let us take a brief moment to remember these titans of football: N. Katrantzos, D. Oplopios, Giakoumis, K. Vikelidis, Katsaounis, Leondaridis, Zarres, Aggelakis, Bogdanou, Ioannidis, Gikopoulos, Kosmatopoulos, Koloniaris, Kaltekis, Koublis, Oikonomou, N. Vikelidis, Kitsos, Argiriadis, Akritidis and Danelian. It was at this time that ARIS was first called “Yellow Tornado”.

Following this “golden era” there was a brief droop, which ARIS overcame, as is testified by his numerous victories in Greece and abroad. Having won numerous local Championships (1923-24, 1925-26, 1929-30, 1931-32) and two National Championships, he substantially increased his supporters and begun to interest football circles from abroad. In Greece, the great composer Emilios Riadis, sworn supporter of ARIS, composed the Hymn of the “Yellow Tornado”, sung by countless of ARIS’ supporters. It was truly a great honor for ARIS from Macedonia and for his homeland, Thessaloniki.

Before World War II  local championships suffered a lot of breaks, especially in festive seasons. The clubs that belonged to CFA used to organize friendly tournaments, in particular during Easter holidays. The powerful ARIS used to take part in these tournaments, as he was beloved by sports fans in Attica. According to stories told about the era, he won most of these tournaments. It is also recorded that in a tournament held in 1934-35, under the auspices of the Presidency of Greek Democracy, the Champion of inland Europe, Nicholson from Austria, was also invited and she was beaten by ARIS, who went on and won the trophy. The Austrians requested a replay match to be held in Thessaloniki, which they also lost with the same score 2-1.

VICTORIES AND TROPHIES

Before World War II and with an incentive taken by the notable ARIS’ executive and member of the BOD of the International Fair of Thessaloniki Mr. Athinodoros Anastasiadis the International Exhibitions Cup was founded. ARIS participated and rose to prominence in this Cup, both before and after World War II. We shall elsewhere go into more detail as regards ARIS’ successes in this and the UEFA Cup.

But let us review the international matches of the team. ARIS was the first Greek club to invite a team from abroad to play a friendly. Sporting Cub Serbia traveled to Thessaloniki on the 20^th of January 1923 and was beaten by ARIS 3-1. The second team that was invited to Thessaloniki was Perister from Monastiri and following this ARIS began his own trips abroad, to other countries in the Balkan region and the Middle East. Before we move on to comment on the other matches ARIS has played against teams from abroad we must, for historic reasons, point out that the first match ARIS played against PAOK was during the period 1925-6 and the “yellows” won 5-2. PAOK became ARIS’ biggest opponent and from thereon until now the clashes between these two popular and historic teams are considered a unique event for the city and its sports fans.

But the most talked about victory of ARIS abroad was at Sofia, against Bulgarian Champion LEFSKY with score 2-4. In the aftermath of this ARIS toured other countries in the Balkan region, while during 1934-35 he undertook an extensive and successful tour of Turkey, Lebanon and Israel. Two ace players from Iraklis, Tsaganias and Margaropoulos joined the team for this tour. In Turkey, ARIS managed a draw against Fener Bax (2-2) while at Beirut he beat the National Team of Lebanon and in Israel manages to obtain positive results, winning international recognition.

All of these with regard to the period prior to WW II. With regard to a period that gave birth to the big stars that shone in the stadiums of that era. The Vikelidis brothers, like the Andrianopoulos brothers in Olympiakos, are names often remembered. The patriarch of the family, Kostas, the unsurpassed in technique midfielder Nikoforos, the “Human Tornado” as Kleanthis used to be known, and leaving for last, but certainly not least, the “Macedonian Armored Vehicle”, the youngest of the family, Kitsos, also known as the “Terrorist” of opponent goalkeepers and by many other nicknames that were given to him by the press. Let us not forget Aggelakis, whose football shoe was carried around by his admirers, Kaltekis, Papas, the Koloniari brothers, Katrantzos, Danelian, Koublis and so many others, most of who sent their spirits to guard present day ARIS.

But there came a day when all these giants of football that made ARIS such a great team stopped playing. New stars were born and a new era begun for the team. The footballers that composed the greatest team, ARIS, the Greek National Team and Thessaloniki’s own intra-club team resigned and only few were left to help the youngsters who undertook the difficult task of leading the team to yet another triumphant period. Gotsis, Abrachamian, Magras, Sidiropoulos, Stavrakbeis, Siotis, Nikolaidis, Koloniaris and Chatzinikolaou together with the human steam-roller, Kleanthis Vikelidis, would complete the prior to WW II period of the team, as the clouds of war slowly gathered above Greece and Europe. When Greece was under German occupation all athletic activities came to a stop and only on rare occasions could ARIS amass a team to face teams composed of German soldiers. The Greek spirit characterized these matches and in most cases the Greeks, who were also playing against the referee and his favorable treatment of the Germans, beat the German squads. Regarding the referees of the era, we must mention Kostas Gikopoulos, whose fear for his own life forced him to favor overwhelmingly the Germans. But Kostas Gikopoulos committed one further, and most important, villainous deed against ARIS in 1956, when the “yellows” played against the National Team of Hungary in Charilaou. The “yellows” forced their opponents to a draw (3-3), although they were ahead for most of the match. Then, just before the final whistle and from a set position, the Magyars, playing without their big star Pouskas, brought the ball in ARIS’ quarters and managed an equalizer, exploiting the … “tolerance” of the referee.

THE THIRD TITLE

In the first national championship after the war (1946) three teams competed for the title: Thessaloniki Champion ARIS, Athens Champion AEK and Piraeus Champion Olympiakos. It was another moment of glory for the Thessalonikians who were proclaimed national Champions for the third time. They beat Olympiakos twice, scoring two goals and conceding none, they came to a draw with AEK in Athens and ripped it to shreds in PAOK’s stadium in Thessaloniki (score 4-1). A lot of people still remember this, the last of the championship titles of the team, and the frenzied celebrations it generated amongst the people of Thessaloniki. Local newspapers “MACEDONIA”, “THE LIGHT”, “PEOPLE’S VOICE” as well as the Athenian papers wrote triumphant headlines to mark the “yellow’s” major success, a success that was underlined by the titan efforts of Vikelidis, Tsonas, Magras, Abrachamian, Siotis, Nikolaidis, Kaftatzis, Kaftatzis II, Liakopoulos, Vasiliadis, Velliadis and Koloniaris. These semi-gods led the god of war to the Champion’s throne for the third time.

IN THE HEYDAYS…

A lot of local championships took place up until 1949, when ARIS won the title of the Champion of Thessaloniki again and took place in the national championship. An expedition with precedent took place and 2.000 of ARIS’ supporters traveled to Athens by ship. They boarded “TETI” which looked like a yellow carrier. Mr. Nick Kabanis organized the tour. He later undertook a formal, great and historic role in the executive branch of the team. 

In the first match ARIS played against Panathinaikos (PAO), who was rescued from contrition by referee Zapardas, who force the “yellows” to an unjust draw (1-1). ARIS was also “slaughtered” at Karaiskaki stadium and, therefore, deprived of the title. He was also beaten by AEK in the Greek League Cup final in 1950, a title that eluded him for several years. Luck smiled to ARIS, finally, in 1970 at Kaftantzoglio, when he beat PAOK and, thus, came the happy end to a flirt with the League Cup that lasted for 38 years.

That magical evening the goal by Manolis Keramidas broke an almost forty year old tradition and on that magical evening the “yellows” sang as in one voice: “They come back to me, the golden years, one by one”.

But before we discuss this one and only Cup Trophy ARIS won, this team of trophies, this team that had a natural tendency to win, to rip all of his opponents to shreds went through a rock and a hard place. It was a time when he tasted the bitter cup of defeat, a bitter taste apparent only to those who have tasted the sweet cup of success, only to the victorious, to the strong and the great. The small and the weak, which have never tasted the nectar of victory, cannot feel the pain and sorrow brought about by defeat and bad luck. This is a taste only for the mighty ones. And ARIS was and will be a mighty one. For historical reasons let us remember the hero’s that sweat 28 pounds of sweat and won the League Cup in 1970: Christidis, Pallas, Raptopoulos, Spyridon, Nalbantis, Semertzis (60’ Psifidis), Syropoulos, Keramidas, Alexiadis, Papaioanou, Michailidis.

BEING BEST

ARIS was destined to being the best and he was the best. He ranked first in local championships won; he became the first national champion when the institution was established. He was the first national Greek champion in post World War II history. And he would have been the champion of the first professional league in 1978, had it not been for the numerous incidents in the play off match held against Olympiakos, with whom they ranked jointly first during the normal season, in Volos.

ARIS was also first with respect to social activities. The annual galas organized by the team are still remembered. All of Thessaloniki and sports fans around Greece took an interest to the annual meetings of the team. He was the first team to organize field trips and major excursions for its fans. He was the first team to organize a network of supporters and establish official fan clubs. These fan clubs “gave birth” to the new generation of team managers and executives, such as Manolopoulos, Ioannidis, Dedeoglou, Boutovinos, Kechagias and others. As we said before: he was destined to be first, he was born a god. All the matches he played had a spark

As we said before ARIS was destined to be first. He was born a GOD. All of the matches he played can be characterized by grandness. The players knew that the match is over only when the full 90 minutes were played, and fought every game to the end. There are countless times when his footballers overturned an unfavorable result. That is why all of his opponents were so scared of the last counter attack. That is why his supporters knew that regardless of the fact that their team was down on the score until the 89^th minute, Kleanthis, Aggelakis, Kitsos, Koloniaris, Kazantzis and Alexiadis would overturn the result and lead their team to victory. The history of Greek football would have been very poor without ARIS. The same can be said about Thessaloniki. It is a team that knows all about victory and glory, but has experienced declension. Having said this, we must point out that the motto has always been “all is well”.

No other team has ever reached for so many times the doors to heaven. And no other great team has ever felt the sheer fear you feel when, under adverse and sometimes inexplicable circumstances, you face Erebus. Invulnerable as are all warlords, vulnerable and delicate as are all who bear the mark of magnificence he walked the path of glory. He was triumphant and celebrated his triumphs. His characteristics have always been clean-cut, but he was always valiant. He was and always will be great. As a team, ARIS was always intriguing and exciting. As a whole of individual players it always amazed and was applauded. As a club it always set his targets high and fought hard to achieve them. He always aimed for the top and was never taken aback from the height.

He always aimed for the top and could not be satisfied with nothing else but being best. And he succeeded at being best, he was the best. He never let losing and bad luck get him down. His actions, his play was always determined by his high aspirations and fighting spirit. The admiration he generated throughout his long history is not inexplicable.  Men have a tendency: THEY BELIEVE IN GODS. And ARIS, with a bright past and certain future, guaranteed by the top management, athletes and fans is a god. THE GOD OF WAR! Praise him!

GEORGE SERPETZIS

* Mr. George Serpetzis is a veteran reporter, involved, for many years, in the coverage of ARIS.