Aris Thessaloniki

Where Aris rank among Greece's clubs is argued more than settled: the count of three championships — 1928, 1932 and 1946 — rests on play-off finals rather than a single continuous table, and rival supporters still dispute what should count as an official title. Aris were founded in Thessaloniki on 25 March 1914, and the 1928 final, in which they saw off Atromitos and Ethnikos Piraeus, made them the first officially recognised champions of Greece. The 1932 title followed heavy wins over Panathinaikos and Iraklis; in 1946 both Olympiacos and AEK were beaten in the deciding round.

Their single Cup came in 1970, against local rivals PAOK. A decade later Aris became the first Greek club to win away in both Italy and Portugal in the same European campaign, knocking out Perugia and Benfica.

The yellow and black kit gives the club its everyday nickname, the Yellow-Blacks; older supporters also call the side the God of War, after Ares, the club's namesake. Kleanthis Vikelidis, the 22,800-seat home ground, is named for a forward who was the club's leading scorer through the 1920s and 30s, and is still known to fans as Harilaou, after a former owner. One product of the academy, Angelos Charisteas, went on to score the winning goal for Greece at Euro 2004 and further winners in the Champions League for Werder Bremen.

The low point came in 2014, when financial collapse sent Aris down to the third tier, a fall with no precedent for a club of its size. Worse followed in February 2020, when supporter Alkis Kampanos was beaten to death by a group of PAOK fans in Thessaloniki, a killing that forced tighter policing of the derby and prompted charity matches against violence; a stadium in the Efkarpia district was later named after him. The Cup win over PAOK, now more than fifty years back, remains the only major trophy Aris have added since 1946.