Ethnikos Water Polo

Ethnikos Piraeus Water Polo

Nickname	‘‘Εmperor’’
Founded	21 November 1923
League	A1 Ethniki Water Polo
Based in	Piraeus, Greece
Arena	Papastrateio Pool, Pireaus
Colors	Blue, White
President	Ioannis Patlakas
Head coach	Men Fanis Kountoudios Women Stefanos Leandros
Championships	Men's team 38 Greek Championships 12 Greek Cups Women's team 2 Women's LEN Trophy 3 Greek Championships
Website	ethnikoswaterpolo.gr

Active departments of Ethnikos Piraeus
Football Basketball Volleyball Water Polo Swimming Field Hockey Canoeing

Ethnikos Piraeus Water Polo Club is the professional water polo team of Ethnikos OFPF (meaning: National Club of Fans of Piraeus and Phalerum, in Greek: Εθνικός Όμιλος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς Φαλήρου).

Ethnikos is one of the most successful and traditional water polo clubs in Greece. They hold (since 1957) the record for the most Greek water polo championships with 38. They have alson won 12 Greek water polo cups (eight of them are consecutive, which is a record) acheiving 9 times the Double and 11 times the Central Greece Championship. Ethnikos has the record of 9 unbeaten doubles and the unique record of winning 18 championships in a row (from 1953 to 1970) and the second most with 14 in a row (from 1972 to 1985). Ethnikos holds the unique record for the most unbeaten championships with 29^[1] (from which 11 are consecutive, which is also a record) and the record for consecutive years staying unbeaten in a match (13 years, from 1951 to 1964). Also, the club holds the record for most championships won exclusively with wins (19, 10 of which are consecutive, also a record).

The dominance of Ethnikos along with his longstanding records led to his given nickname, the “Emperor”.

The men's team was the first Greek club to reach the eight (1966) and four (1980) best teams in Europe. The team has been in the top-8 teams in Europe another eight times (1970, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1995).

The women's team won the LEN Trophy in 2010 and repeated its triumph in 2022 to become the Greek team with the most LEN Trophies.

Many great players have played for Ethnikos throughout the years. The Greece men's national water polo team for many years consisted of Ethnikos players that have participated in the Olympics. The greatest personality in the history of the club is Andreas Garifallos, player, coach and president. In the Kastella neighborhood of Piraeus, the swimming pool bears his name in honour of his contribution to Piraeus and Greece water polo. Other great players that have played for Ethnikos are Ioannis Garifallos, Giannis Karalogos, Thomas Karalogos, Nondas Samartzidis, Kyriakos Iosifidis, Markellos Sitarenios, Sotirios Stathakis, Evangelos Patras, Konstantinos Kokkinakis, Filippos Kaiafas, Theodoros Kalakonas, Dimitrios Mazis, Christos Afroudakis, Antonios Aronis, Dimitrios Konstas, Dimitrios Kougevetopoulos, Antonios Vlontakis, Gerasimos Voltirakis, Anastasios Schizas, Chris Humbert, Wolf Wigo, Ashleigh Johnson, Iefke van Belkum, Stephania Haralabidis, Ioanna Haralabidis, Maria Tsouri, Aikaterini Oikonomopoulou, Sofia Iosifidou, Marina Canetti

Men's team

Summary

Ethnikos dominated in Greek Water Polo championship for decades. Since 1957, it has won the most Greek championships. It has additionally won 11 Central Greece Championships and 12 cups.^[2] During last years its power has been limited, and it has been relegated to the second division (A2 Ethniki) twice. In 1980, Ethnikos became the first Greek team to reach the Final-4 of LEN Champions League (the elite European club competition). Besides that, Ethnikos has reached the final-8 nine times.^[3] In 2003 the team took the third place in LEN Trophy (second tier European club competition). The club has an eternal rivalry with Olympiacos, the other club from Piraeus. The match between the two is dubbed as the “Piraeus derby”. Ethnikos had won six consecutive Greek cups (four of them against Olympiacos in the final) before the competition had a hiatus of 25 years that stopped Ethnikos from winning many more trophies and achieving more doubles.

1925–1940 (Pre WWII years)

The club's first championship was won in 1926 under SEGAS with Ethnikos winning it undefeated with four wins in as many matches against N.O. Kastellas, Iraklis Thessaloniki, Aris Thessaloniki and Panionios Smyrna.

On July 31, 1927 Ethnikos was defeated in the final by Olympiakos 3–2 in a match that he appealed for a late goal scored by its opponent which led to extra time. The referee canceled the match as the timekeepers had tried to inform him of the end of the match (after all the score was at the time 2–1 in favor of Ethnikos). A replay was set for the third day of August but never took place. After days and meetings of the sports department of SEGAS with represantatives of the two teams, a rematch is set to take place on the 16th of August. In the end, this match will not take place either, since Olympiacos insists on the opinion that they won the match, so it should be declared champion, while the Ethnikos side, since they are not given the title, since they consider that the match was over before Olympiacos equalized, agreed to play a replay match. On the 16th of the same month a meeting was held, where the Board of Directors of SEGAS cancelled the referee's decision to cancel the match on the 31st of July, and declares Olympiacos champion without a playoff match.

The first championship after the establishment of KOE (National Swimming Federation) came in 1931 with Ethnikos conquering it again undefeated by defeating the then three-time consecutive champion Aris Thessaloniki in the final with 1–0. The 1931 team consisted of Petroutsos, Dede, Perdikis, Mavrogeorgos, Makris, Stephopoulos, Hatzigeorgiou. The leading player of the team was Petroutsos, one of the leading pre-war swimmers along with Zografos of Aris and Provatopoulos of Olympiakos. Ethnikos on its way to the final beat P.A.O.K. (6–0), Iraklis Thessaloniki (3–1) and NO Patras in the semi-final (3–0).

In 1932, Ethnikos will not be able to defend its title since the federation will expel Ethnikos and Olympiakos from the championship due to major incidents in the match between them.

In 1933 and 1934 Ethnikos will lose the title in the final to Olympiakos (4–2 the score in both years) while in 1935 he will not participate in the games in Mytilini due to his punishment by KOE for not playing the decisive play-off match with Olympiakos for the final qualification ticket.

In 1936 and 1938 he will lose to Olympiakos in the first round and will be eliminated from the competition (then the championship had a knock out system).

In 1937, he will come second again, losing 3–2 in the final to NO Patras despite leading at halftime with 1–0.

In 1940 he will be defeated by KO Piraeus (1–0) in the first match and will be eliminated.

1945–1952 (First post WWII years)

In the years 1945 and 1946 he will be ranked third. In 1945, he was eliminated after losing (4–1) to Olympiacos, while in 1946 he lost 4–2 to Olympiakos and 3–2 to the eventual champion NO Patras.

The third championship came 17 years after the second, in 1948, with Ethnikos winning it undefeated (wins over NO Patras 5–0, Aris 1–0, Olympiakos 5–1, NAO Kerkyra 5–0, NO Chalkida 7–2 and a draw against NO Mytilinis, 2–2). The coach of the team was Takis Sakellariou who played a modern and fast water polo in contrast to Olympiakos and NO Patras who played a physical and with less movement water polo.

In 1949, Ethnikos would lose the championship due to a draw with Palaio Faliro and a 3–1 loss to Olympiakos in a match where they played without their big gun, Andreas Garifallos due to injury.

In 1950, he lost to NO Patras and Olympiakos, finishing third.

In 1951 he would lose the title due to his defeat by Olympiakos with 2–1, while in 1952 he was very close to the title but the victory of Olympiakos with 3–2 over NO Patras combined with the draw of Ethnikos with the team from Patras (2–2) and the "suicide" of Ethnikos in the match against Olympiakos (3–3) while leading at half-time with 2–0, will lead the title to the "red and whites".

1953–1986 (Domestic Dynasty)

In the following season, Ethnikos started his dynasty and won the championship undefeated for the first time after 5 years, achieving 4 wins and 1 draw in 5 games (3–3 with P. Faliro, victory over Mytilini, 10–1 victory over Achilleas Patras, 10–3 over Aris and 5–1 over Olympiakos on 18/9/1953 in front of an audience of 5,000 spectators at the Zappeion Olympic swimming pool).

From 1953 to 1963, the blue and whites of Piraeus won 11 consecutive undefeated championships, a record that has not happened in any other sport. In the period 1953 to 1958 he won six consecutive cups before the competition discontinued.

During the 1950s, he began a long unbeaten streak in league games, which lasted 13 years, a record that remains to this day. In particular, after losing 2–1 to Olympiakos on September 21, 1951, they were defeated again by the same opponent on August 7, 1964 with 5–4. In between he remained unbeaten in 75 matches, where he won 71 while 4 ended in draws. The last draw was recorded in a match against Palaio Faliro on September 19, 1953. After this match, a winning streak began, which lasted for 11 years and 64 league matches until the defeat in 1964. In fact, together with the cup matches from 1953 to 1958 unbeaten streak reaches a total of 95 games (91 wins, 4 draws).

The 75 consecutive unbeaten matches in the Greek championship were:

This group consisted of Andreas Garifallos, Petros Kalfamanolis, Mimi Georgiadis, Yiannis Thymaras, Manolis Patlakas, Dimitris Kourantis, Nikos Lekakis, Kalomiris, Andreadis, Petros Chatzikyriakakis, Panagiotis Chatzikyriakakis, Panagiotis Takousis.

In 1965, 1966 and 1967 he won the championship without defeat. In 1966 he will do the maxium with 10 wins in 10 matches, in 1965 9 wins and a draw with Olympiakos (0–0) while in 1967 he will score 4 wins and 2 draws (3–3 with OSFP and PAO) in 6 matches .

On 7/8/1968, exactly four years and 34 consecutive unbeaten matches after their last defeat in Greece, he loses to Olympiakos in the first round (7–6) but beats him in the second (7–5, with five goals from Garyfallos) in order to win the championship with the best goal difference. The championship would be decided in the matches of the two Piraeus teams against NOP in the second round. OSFP will win hard 9-7 while Ethnikis will win 11-3. At the end of the championship, Andreas Garifallos retires as a water polo player and continues his work in Greek water polo as a coach.

In the 1969 championship, according to the press of the time, the final between Olympiacos and Ethnikos never took place because Olympiacos did not compete due to the death of its president Kostas Bouzakis. The two teams were named "co-champions" (they had four wins in five games while the derby match between them ended 2–2).

In 1970 Ethnikos will win the championship undefeated with only one draw against Olympiakos. This was the 18th championship in a row and the last before Olympiacos breaks the streak.

In 1971, the team would lose the title for the first time since 1952 due to a loss to Olympiakos in the second play-off match (2–1). Nevertheless, he would continue a new series of championships from 1972 until 1985. During this time, he would win the championships of 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1979 without defeat. In fact, he built a new streak of almost four years without defeat since from 15/7/1973 until his loss on 5/6/1977.

Also, from 28/07/1978 and the 5–4 defeat by Olympiakos until its defeat on 05/06/1990 with 10–9 again by Olympiakos, Ethnikos was undefeated against compatriot Olympiakos in 29 consecutive matches (League and Cup, the last draw coming in 1979, 4–4) while on September 1, 1982, in the second round of the championship, he beat Olympiakos 0–13 (in 28 minutes, four 7 minute quarters).

In the 1980s, Ethnikos had Glyfada as their rival after Olympiacos had lost the power of the previous decades.

In 1981, the first year that the duration of the games was increased from 20 to 28 minutes (four seven-minute periods, instead of the four five-minute periods), Ethnikos will destroy most of its opponents with the exception of Glyfada. Indicative are the 11–3 and 11–5 victories over Olympiakos, 13–3 and 12–4 over PAO, 21–0 over Palaio Faliro, 22-–1 over Chios, 19–2 and 23–0 over Vouliagmeni, while the 1982 will beat OSFP with 9–2 and 13–0, Patras with 20–2 and 16–6, NOB with 15–7 and 15–3, PAO with 14–7, PAOK with 17–5 and Volos with 22-4.

In the 1980s, Ethnikos managed to remain unbeaten in the Greek league for almost six years and 101 consecutive league matches and including cup matches of the seasons 1983–84, 1984–85, for a total of 109 matches. In particular, after losing the penultimate matchday of the 1980 championship against Glyfada 3–5 on September 27, 1980, he was defeated again on May 10, 1986 by Vouliagmeni 7–8 in a game in which Ethnikis appealed for a late goal of Vouliagmeni. In between he won 5 consecutive unbeaten championships (1981, 1982, 1983, 1984 and 1985) and two cups (1984, 1985) in the restart of the competition, while of the 101 consecutive games without defeat he won 100 and recorded one draw. Of the 100 wins, 86 were consecutive (the longest winning streak in the league until 2016 when Olympiakos broke it), as after their defeat by Glyfada in 1980 the next match without a win was a draw 6–6 against the same team on August 24, 1985.

The 100 wins in the Greek Championship were briefly against the following opponents:

• 11 wins over NO Patras (2 wins in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1 win in 1986)
• 11 wins over NO Chios (2 wins in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1 win in 1986)
• 10 wins over NO Vouliagmeni (2 wins in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985)
• 10 wins over Olympiakos SFP (2 wins in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985)
• 10 wins over Panathinaikos (2 wins in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985)
• 10 wins over NO Volos - Argonauts (2 wins in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985)
• 9 wins over ANO Glyfada (2 wins in 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1 win in 1985)
• 7 wins over ENO Egyptians (2 wins in 1981, 1984, 1985, 1 win in 1986)
• 6 wins over NAO Corfu (2 wins in 1982, 1984, 1985)
• 5 wins over Aris Thessaloniki (2 wins in 1983, 1985, 1 win in 1986)
• 5 wins over PAOK (2 wins in 1982, 1983, 1 win in 1986)
• 3 wins over AO Palaio Faliro (1 win in 1980, 2 wins in 1981)
• 2 wins over Aris Nicaea (2 wins in 1985)
• 1 victory over Iraklis Thessaloniki (in 1986)

1987–2002

In 1986–87, all the experienced players of the previous decade have left and he competes with the newly acquired Samartzidis, Kaiafas, Patras, while Aronis, as in 1986, will compete in selected games due to obligations with his studies in the USA. 1987–88 saw the last undefeated championship with Ethnikos dominating Glyfada to take first place in regular time and thus home advantage in the finals. In the end, it will only take one match for Ethnikos to reach the limit of five points, with Ethnikos winning the final and with a combination of their victory and draw from regular time against Glyfada taking the title relatively comfortably. The day after winning the championship, he also wins the Cup at the Ilisio swimming pool against Vouliagmeni thanks to a great performance by the evergreen Aronis who, however, leaves at the end of the year, changing team but not city.

In 1988–89, despite finishing first in the regular season (tied with Glyfada), he will lose in the first final to Glyfada at home and thus the title.

In 1989–90 Ethnikos will have problems in the regular season and despite the fact that he finishes second as in 1987, it has already lost three times (to Glyfada, Chios and Olympiakos). In the first stage of the playoffs, he will lose to Iraklis in Piraeus, but he will qualify for the semi-finals where, despite the fact that he had beaten Vouliagmeni twice in regular time, he will not be able to get the draw to qualify for the finals and so he will lose three games in a row (two at home) and for the first time since 1951 he will finish third.

In 1990–91, Ethnikos will return to a title by winning the Cup as an outsider, defeating Glyfada with 10–7 held at OAKA pool, while in the championship he finished fourth (regular season and final four) behind Vouliagmeni, Glyfada and Olympiakos.

In 1991–92 he would finish second behind champions Olympiakos in a season where Ethnikis did not start well but found their footing towards the end of the season and especially in the final four stage where the best four teams participated. He beat twice Vouliagmeni and once Olympiakos in the final stage.

In 1992–93, he would finish third in the regular season and the final phase.

In 1993–94, Ethnikos, coached by Lino Repetto for a short time at the beginning and Kyriakos Iosifidis for most of the season, took first place in the regular season with a record of 17 wins 4 draws and 1 loss making the best regular season since 1988–89. In the playoffs, he faces Iraklis in the quarter-final stage and wins the series 2–0. In the semi-finals against NO Patras he wins 2–0 and then faces Olympiakos with a home advantage for the title. In the first tense match where eight players were sent off, Ethnikos wins 11–10 thanks to a goal in the last second of the match by Manousos Vizyrakis. In the second match, Olympiacos gets the win at the last minute of the game and evens the series (10–9) sending the title to a third and final game. There, Ethnikos leads 6–4 but Olympiacos reacted and sent the final to overtime while having two shots at the post three seconds before the end of the match (8–8 regular time). In extra time, Olympiacos will score with Vlachos and will be close to the title, but 13 seconds before the end of extra time, Samartzidis scores a penalty and thus the final goes to penalties. Voltyrakis of the "red and white" will save two penalties, but Patras of the "blue and white" three with one additional pentaly shot by Olympiakos hitting the post.

In 1994–95, Ethnikos finished second in the regular season and reached the finals by eliminating Chania and Glyfada with 2–0 victories, but would lose the championship to Olympiakos in a close series of finals.

In 1995–96 he finished fourth in the regular season and was eliminated by Vouliagmeni in the semi-finals of the league but remained unbeaten against their "eternal" rival and eventual champion Olympiakos, winning 9–8 (10/4/1996) and drawing 10–10 (2/12/1995). This is the only time a champion team has failed to beat a specific opponent during a season. In May of 1996 occured the fatal accident of team's captain and legend Samartzidis, which greatly affected the Piraeus team.

In the 1996–97 and 1997–98 seasons, Ethnikos will face internal administrative and financial problems with the team having their worst years up to that point. Patras, Kaifas, Moustakarias have left and the team now relies on Kalakonas, Kourtidis, while it is also necessary to develop the young Kokkinakis, Schizas, Stellatos, Blanis. In 1998 he finished three points above the relegation zone. Nevertheless, in 1997 he managed to make it very difficult for the later champion Vouliagmeni, losing in the first stage of the playoffs with 2–1 victories, while his one defeat came in overtime.

In 1998–99 and 1999–00 he showed a slight improvement, finishing sixth and fifth respectively. In 2000 the team won the Cup in the final four held in Nikaia despite being the heavy underdogs. Coached by then 30-year-old Giorgos Morfesis, Ethnikos eliminated Vouliagmeni in the semi-final (13–12 in extra time), while in the final they beat the eternal rival Olympiakos 12–11 in extra time who was coached by Yugoslav legend Nikola Stamenic.

In 2000–01 and 2001–02 he finished third in the league. In 2001 he was eliminated by Olympiakos in the semi-finals and in 2002 by Vouliagmeni. In 2002, he beat Panthinaikos for the third place and the exit to the LEN Trophy.

2003–2008

In 2002–03 coached by Dragan Matutinović, Ethnikos men's team competed in the semi-finals of the LEN Trophy, but were knocked out by eventual cup winners Brescia and finished third together with Italian side Savona. In the domestic championship they took the third place. A landmark of the year was the resounding transfer of Vlontakis, one of the best strikers in the world at the time, from the European champion, Olympiakos, as well as Makis Voltyrakis, who had just retired.

In 2003–04 with Voltyrakis now as coach, Ethnikos would finish fifth, disappointing the ambitions that had been created to contest for the championship against Olympiakos and Vouliagmeni.

In 2004–05, Ethnikos having a very good regular season would finish first in the regular season for the first time since '94 (with Vlontakis being declared top scorer) but would lose the title in the fifth final to OSFP, a final with riots occuring at the stands between fans of the two teams and the police. Earlier that year Ethnikos had won the 12th Greek Cup by defeating NO Patras in the final of Thessaloniki. In the semi-final which was more of a final, Ethnikos had to overcome the resistance of Olympiakos with 11–9.

In 2005–06, although Ethnikos drew once and lost once to Olympiakos in the regular season meetings to finish second in the regular season, meaning Ethnikos had home court disadvantage in the finals, they managed to win the 38th championship in the last fifth game decided in overtime by a score of 7–6. Hatzikyriakakis scored the winning goal five seconds before the end, Olympiacos was awarded with a penalty at the last seconds of the extra time and with a goal would send the final to the penalty shootout as in 1994 but Karabetsos saved it. The championship was dedicated to the memory of the late great captain Nondas Samartzidis. This was the 20th time that Ethnikos won the championship and left Olympiakos second.

In 2006–07, the management of Ethnikos, wanting to keep Ethnikos in a leading role, carried out major transfers. They repatriated with a huge price Christos Afroudakis who played in Pozilipo Napoli, brings to Piraeus the goalkeeper of the national team of Serbia, Denis Sefik, while Thodoris Kalakonas, a child who grew up in the club (1990–2001, his first tenure) returned from Panionios. However, Ethnikos could not look strong and will easily lose the Cup final in Kalamata to Olympiakos. In Europe, the blue and whites would be knocked out in the last 16 of the Champions League by Partizan and Brescia, and despite improving in the league playoffs, they would only look competitive in the first two finals, losing the first and winning the second in extra time. Thus Ethnikos lost the championship title 3–1.

In 2007–08, weakened after Sefik and Afroudakis's departure, Ethnikos will not be able to show the resistance he showed in previous years, losing in the semi-final of the Cup to Olympiacos as well as the championship.

2009–present

In 2008–09 the team, after administrative turmoil and the departure of funder George Vasilopoulos as well as of several players (Vlontakis, Mazis, Mylonakis, Karabetsos) some of whom had grown up in the club (Kokkinakis, Blanis, Stellatos), had a bad year and was relegated to A2 for first time since 1928. He bounced back immediately but in 2011–12 he will be relegated for the second time without winning a match. The parent club was in major crisis, with the future looking extrremely ominous and uncertain. The following season 2012–13, despite the fact that the team was on the verge of extinction and with the main goal of staying in A2, it will be unexpectedly promoted thanks to the management of president Antonis Printezis and the financing of Alexandros Karydopoulos and will play again in A1 in 2013–14 where Ethnikos would be ranked. While Kostas Petrakis was initially the coach for the season, Fanis Kountoudios took over from November 2013, a coach who remains to this day, having completed a decade at the club.

In 2014–15 they had a great regular season and finished second for the first time since 2008, but in the semi-finals of the league playoffs they will be eliminated by PAO and miss out on playing Olympiakos in the finals.

In the very next season, they will again reach the semi-finals of the championship as in 2018–19 when they were eliminated by the champion Olympiakos.

In 2019–20 the team would reach the final of the Greek Cup for the first time since 2007 but would lose the final to the superior OSFP.

In 2020–21 in a year severely affected by the coronavirus pandemic, Ethnikos finished at the bottom of a fourteen team one-round league and luckily there was no team relegation.

In 2021–22 and 2022–23 it finished seventh out of sixteen teams with one of the lowest budgets in the division while also reaching the final four of the cup in 2023.

In total, since 2014, he has won a European ticket four times but did not take advantage of it due to financial weakness, while he has promoted players from an early age in the championship by giving them playing time (Argyropoulos, Chondrokoukis, Mathiopoulos).

Records

Seasons

Panhellenic Championship (1923–1966), National Division (1967–1976), A' National Division (1977–1986)

Α1 National Division (1987–)

Year	Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	Goals	Diff.	Coach
1986–87	2	20	13	4	3	146–107	+39	Péter Rusorán
1987–88	1	18	17	1	0	205–91	+114	Péter Rusorán
1988–89	2	20	16	1	3	214–126	+88	Péter Rusorán
1989–90	3	19	11	1	7	158–144	+14	Markellos Sitarenios
1990–91	4	24	13	1	10	307–241	+66	Giannis Karalogos
1991–92	2	24	17	2	5	287–227	+60	Koulis Iosifidis
1992–93	3	28	17	4	7	323–264	+59	Koulis Iosifidis
1993–94	1	29	23	4	2	334–207	+127	Koulis Iosifidis
1994–95	2	29	20	2	7	305–213	+92	Giannis Giannouris
1995–96	4	27	17	2	8	270–226	+44	Miro Trumbic
1996–97	8	25	10	1	14	224–230	–6
1997–98	9	22	6	2	14	231–247	–16	Andreas Garyfallos
1998–99	6	25	12	2	11	253–233	+20	Giannis Karalogos
1999–00	5	24	16	0	8	252–212	+40	Péter Rusorán, Giorgos Morfesis
2000–01	3	30	18	4	8	329–263	+66	Michalis Xanthopoulos
2001–02	3	29	19	3	7	266–239	+27	Ilias Machairas
2002–03	3	29	20	3	6	341–221	+120	Dragan Matutinović
2003–04	5	27	18	2	7	291–221	+70	Makis Voltirakis
2004–05	2	29	24	1	4	335–220	+115	Makis Voltirakis
2005–06	1	29	24	2	3	375–201	+174	Makis Voltirakis
2006–07	2	28	21	1	6	382–181	+201	Makis Voltirakis
2007–08	2	28	23	0	5	304–198	+106	Makis Voltirakis
2008–09	11	22	4	1	17	179–226	–47	Dimitris Kritikos
2010–11	8	22	7	2	13	176–225	–49	Dimitris Mavrotas
2011–12	12	22	0	1	21	121–273	–152	Dimitris Mavrotas
2013–14	6	22	9	2	11	189–224	–35	Kostas Petrakis, Fanis Kountoudios
2014–15	4	26	18	0	8	246–207	+39	Fanis Kountoudios
2015–16	4	28	14	3	11	244–230	+14	Fanis Kountoudios
2016–17	8	22	9	2	11	152–174	–22	Fanis Kountoudios
2017–18	5	25	13	1	11	195–211	–16	Fanis Kountoudios
2018–19	4	29	13	4	12	232–247	–15	Fanis Kountoudios
2019–20	6	22	10	2	10	173–205	–32	Fanis Kountoudios
2020–21	14	13	1	0	12	88–148	–60	Fanis Kountoudios
2021–22	7	26	15	1	12	275–287	–12	Fanis Kountoudios
2022–23	7	29	9	0	20	256–343	–87	Fanis Kountoudios

Statistics (post-war)

• Games (from 1945–2023): 1.296
• Wins (from 1945–2023): 884
• Draws (from 1945–2023): 80
• Losses (from 1945–2023): 332
• Goals Scored in the Α1 National Division (from 1987–2023): 8.658
• Goals Conceded in the Α1 National Division (from 1987–2023): 7.512
• Largest victory margin: +23 (Ethnikos – Vouliagmeni 23–0, 1981, Aris Nikaias – Ethnikos 6–29, 1985, Nireas Chalandriou – Ethnikos 2–25, 2006–07)
• Largest loss margin: –19 (Olympiakos – Ethnikos 21–2 , 2016–17)
• Most goals scored in a match: 29 γκολ (Aris Nikaias – Ethnikos 6–29, 1985)
• Fewer goals in a A1 National Division match (since 1987): 1 goal (Ethnikos – Olympiakos 1–9, 2002–03, Vouliagmeni – Ethnikos 5–1, 2015–16, Vouliagmeni – Ethnikos 7–1, 2018–19, Panionios – Ethnikos 8–1, 2020–21)
• Most goals conceded in a A1 National Division match (since 1987): 24 goals (Olympiakos – Ethnikos 24–6, 2019–20)
• Fewer goals scored by an opponent in a A1 National Division match (since 1987): 1 goal (Iraklis – Ethnikos 1–16, 1994–95, Ethnikos – Palaio Faliro 16–1, 2006–07, Glyfada – Ethnikos 1–7, 2006–07, Ethnikos – Kalamaki 11–1, 2016–17)

Top scorer in the Α1 National Division championship (1987–)

Season	Player	Goals
1986–87	Nondas Samartzidis	33
1987–88	Nondas Samartzidis (2)	56
1988–89	Nondas Samartzidis (3)	59
1989–90	Nondas Samartzidis (4), Tasos Tsikaris	32
1990–91	Nondas Samartzidis (5)	98
1991–92	Nondas Samartzidis (6)	90
1992–93	Ilias Machairas	48
1993–94	Nondas Samartzidis (7)	57
1994–95	Nondas Samartzidis (8)	54
1997–98	Theodoros Kalakonas	52
1998–99	Konstantinos Kokkinakis	52
1999–00	Konstantinos Kokkinakis (2)
2001–02	Wolf Wigo	43
2002–03	Antonios Vlontakis	73
2003–04	Antonios Vlontakis (2)	66
2004–05	Antonios Vlontakis (3)	85
2005–06	Antonios Vlontakis (4)	62
2006–07	Christos Afroudakis	54
2007–08	Theodoros Kalakonas (2)	48
2008–09	Marios Chatzikyriakakis, Tomislav Primorac	41
2010–11	Giannis Katrouzanakis	32
2011–12	Maximos Petrochelios, Giorgos Alevizos	17
2013–14	Christos Koutsialis	44
2014–15	Dionysis Karountzos	61
2015–16	Stelios Argyropoulos	54
2016–17	Panagiotis Papadoggonas	38
2017–18	Dionysis Karountzos (2)	51
2018–19	Aggelos Foskolos	48
2019–20	Konstantinos Chondrokoukis	27
2020–21	Konstantinos Chondrokoukis (2)	30
2021–22	Dimos Dermitzakis	43
2022–23	Konstantinos Mathiopoulos	36

Α2 National Division (1987–)

Year	Pos.	Pld	W	D	L	Goals	Diff.	Coach
2009–10	1	22	21	1	0	250–103	+147	Dimitris Mavrotas
2012–13	2	16	12	2	2	161–118	+43	Kostas Petrakis

Statistics

• Games: 38
• Wins: 33
• Draws: 3
• Losses: 2
• Largest victory margin: +13 (Ethnikos – OFI 16–3, 2009–10)
• Largest loss margin: –6 (Nireas Lamias – Ethnikos 14–8, 2012–13)
• Most goals scored in a match: 17 goals (Ethnikos – Peristeri 17–6, 2009–10)
• Fewer goals scored in a match: 6 goals (Ethnikos – Triton Maroussi 6–2, 2009–10)
• Most goals scored by an opponent in a match: 14 goals (Nireas Lamias – Ethnikos 14–8, 2012–13)
• Fewer goals scored by an opponent in a match: 2 goals (Ethnikos – Volos 13–2, 2009–10, Ethnikos – Syros 11–2, 2009–10, Kerkyra – Ethnikos 2–12, 2009–10, Ethnikos – Triton Maroussi 6–2, 2009–10, Ilissiakos – Ethnikos 2–8, 2009–10, Ethnikos – Nireas Geraka 12–2, 2012–13)

European Competitions

Year	Opponent	Score	Competition	Year	Opponent	Score	Competition
1964	Canottieri Napoli	0–6	European Cup	1984	Spandau 04	6–12	European Cup
	Wiener SC	2–8	European Cup		CN Montjuïc	12–12	European Cup
	CN Barcelona	1–5	European Cup		CN Marseille	10–7	European Cup
1965	CN Marseille	5–4	European Cup	1985	CS Crișul Oradea	6–8	European Cup
	CN Barcelona	4–6	European Cup		CN Montjuïc	8–10	European Cup
	VK Partizan	1–11	European Cup		CN Posillipo Napoli	9–11	European Cup
09/10/1966	Vienna	7–5	European Cup	1988–89	Alphen	8–12	European Cup
10/10/1966	CN Barcelona	2–0	European Cup		CN Posillipo Napoli	8–16	European Cup
11/10/1966	VK Partizan	2–7	European Cup		Gent	16–9	European Cup
20/11/1966	Rote Erde Hamm	1–2	European Cup Last 8	1991–92	Yusme	17–4	Cup Winner's Cup
19/11/1966	VK Partizan	3–15	European Cup Last 8		Slavia Bratislava	10–9	Cup Winner's Cup
18/11/1966	Dinamo Bucharest	1–10	European Cup Last 8		Volturno Napoli	7–14	Cup Winner's Cup
1967	CN Marseille	6–3	European Cup		VK Partizan	7–9	Cup Winner's Cup Quarterfinals
	Vienna	3–2	European Cup		VK Partizan	9–9	Cup Winner's Cup Quarterfinals
	VK Mladost	2–5	European Cup	1992–93	Turkeyt	21–1	LEN Trophy
	CN Barcelona	1–4	European Cup		CS Crișul Oradea	9–6	LEN Trophy
1968	Vienna	7–3	European Cup		Košice	7–8	LEN Trophy
	CN Barcelona	3–17	European Cup		Pro Recco	6–9	LEN Trophy
	VK Partizan	3–9	European Cup	1994–95	Maccabi Tel–Aviv	8–4	European Cup
	CN Marseille	6–7	European Cup		Koper	12–5	European Cup
1970	Graz	8–6	European Cup		CN Catalunya	3–11	European Cup
	Košice	7–1	European Cup		Újpesti TE	8–12	European Cup Quarterfinals
	Arkonia	5–6	European Cup		Újpesti TE	5–13	European Cup Quarterfinals
	CN Barcelona	4–4	European Cup	1995–96	CN Marseille	4–5	LEN Trophy
	Akademik Sofia	3–5	European Cup Last 8		Dalmatia Split	5–6	LEN Trophy
	SKK Stockholm	3–3	European Cup Last 8		CSKA Moscow	5–7	LEN Trophy
	VK Partizan	4–11	European Cup Last 8	1996–97	VK Jadran Split	7–8	LEN Trophy
1972	Helsingfors	10–3	European Cup		CN Catalunya	6–9	LEN Trophy
	Valenciennes	10–3	European Cup		Kastrup	16–7	LEN Trophy
	SKK Stockholm	9–4	European Cup	2000–01	Salzburg	18–1	Cup Winner's Cup
	Istanbul	8–4	European Cup		Jadran Herceg Novi	8–9	Cup Winner's Cup
	VK Partizan	5–11	European Cup		Mladost Skopje	12–4	Cup Winner's Cup
	Orvosegyetem SC	5–9	European Cup		CN Barceloneta	6–9	Cup Winner's Cup Quarterfinals
	CN Barcelona	3–5	European Cup Last 8		CN Barceloneta	9–9	Cup Winner's Cup Quarterfinals
	CSKA Moscow	2–4	European Cup Last 8	2001–02	Rote Erde Hamm	4–5	LEN Trophy Last 16
	Orvosegyetem SC	3–9	European Cup Last 8		Ferencvaros TC	7–6	LEN Trophy Last 16
1973	Graz	6–4	European Cup		VK Primorje Rijeka	5–7	LEN Trophy Last 16
	Galatasaray	9–0	European Cup	2002–03	Portuense	25–1	LEN Trophy First Phase
	Košice	3–2	European Cup		Strasbourg	6–5	LEN Trophy First Phase
	Χέρμεν	12–3	European Cup		Spartak Volgograd	11–3	LEN Trophy Second Phase
	De Meeuwen	4–5	European Cup		CN Catalunya	6–2	LEN Trophy Second Phase
	SKK Stockholm	3–6	European Cup		BVSC	8–3	LEN Trophy Second Phase
	MGU Moscow	0–11	European Cup		AN Brescia	5–8	LEN Trophy Second Phase
	De Meeuwen	6–10	European Cup Second Phase		VK Primorac Kotor	7–8	LEN Trophy Quarterfinals
	CSKA Sofia	7–8	European Cup Second Phase		VK Primorac Kotor	5–3	LEN Trophy Quarterfinals
	VK Partizan	4–12	European Cup Second Phase		AN Brescia	5–8	LEN Trophy Semifinals
1974	CSKA Sofia	2–1	European Cup		AN Brescia	4–9	LEN Trophy Semifinals
	Würzburg	2–2	European Cup	2003–04	Duisburg	10–4	Euroleague Qualification
	CN Barcelona	6–6	European Cup		VK Primorje Rijeka	5–11	Euroleague Qualification
	MGU Moscow	2–9	European Cup		VK Primorac Kotor	10–15	Euroleague Qualification
1975	Graz	6–5	European Cup		Mariupol	7–6	Euroleague Qualification
	Rote Erde Hamm	3–5	European Cup		Alphen	7–6	Euroleague Qualification
	CN Barcelona	2–6	European Cup		CN Martiánez	7–5	LEN Trophy
	VK Partizan	5–7	European Cup		Dynamo Moscow	11–15	LEN Trophy
1976	SKK Stockholm	4–2	European Cup		Niš	6–9	LEN Trophy Last 16
	Rapid Bucharest	7–9	European Cup		Niš	7–7	LEN Trophy Last 16
	CSKA Moscow	7–9	European Cup	2004–05	Cheltenham	14–3	LEN Trophy
	Den Haag	7–8	European Cup		Medveščak Zagreb	7–8	LEN Trophy
1977	Västerås	9–4	European Cup		Kazan	9–10	LEN Trophy
	CN Marseille	11–0	European Cup		Eeklo	18–4	LEN Trophy
	Horgen	7–1	European Cup		Strasbourg	9–6	LEN Trophy
	CSKA Moscow	5–7	European Cup		Újpesti TE	7–8	LEN Trophy Second Phase
	Würzburg	3–2	European Cup Last 8		Koper	7–6	LEN Trophy Second Phase
	Horgen	7–4	European Cup Last 8		VK Primorac Kotor	6–7	LEN Trophy Second Phase
	VK Partizan	4–6	European Cup Last 8	2005–06	Schaffhausen	13–5	Euroleague Qualification
1978	Würzburg	3–5	European Cup		VK Primorac Kotor	9–8	Euroleague Qualification
	CN Marseille	4–2	European Cup		Duisburg	12–11	Euroleague Qualification
	Odense	7–6	European Cup		Mariupol	12–5	Euroleague Qualification
	Graz	10–1	European Cup		Heybeliada	19–3	Euroleague Qualification II
	Košice	7–5	European Cup Last 8		Cannstatt	13–15	Euroleague Qualification II
	CN Montjuïc	7–7	European Cup Last 8		CN Posillipo Napoli	11–8	Euroleague Qualification II
	Pro Recco	3–5	European Cup Last 8		Savona	6–9	Euroleague Last 16
1979	Košice	3–4	European Cup		CN Barcelona	14–12	Euroleague Last 16
	CN Marseille	4–3	European Cup		VK Partizan	6–7	Euroleague Last 16
	Canottieri Napoli	6–4	European Cup		VK Partizan	3–7	Euroleague Last 16
	Košice	4–8	European Cup Last 8		CN Barcelona	13–14	Euroleague Last 16
	Vasas SC	4–7	European Cup Last 8		Savona	11–7	Euroleague Last 16
	CN Montjuïc	5–7	European Cup Last 8	2006–07	VK Mladost	7–9	Euroleague Last 16
25/10/1980	MGU Moscow	5–4	European Cup		AN Brescia	7–7	Euroleague Last 16
26/10/1980	Vasas SC	4–4'	European Cup		VK Partizan	11–11	Euroleague Last 16
14/11/1980	SKK Stockholm	12–4	European Cup Last 8		VK Partizan	7–9	Euroleague Last 16
15/11/1980	De Robben	6–4	European Cup Last 8		AN Brescia	9–10	Euroleague Last 16
16/11/1980	Spandau 04	4–5	European Cup Last 8		VK Mladost	12–11	Euroleague Last 16
05/12/1980	Vasas SC	4–4	European Cup Final Four	2007–08	Terrassa	7–6	Euroleague Qualification II
06/12/1980	VK Jug Dubrovnik	6–9	European Cup Final Four		Olimpija Ljubljana	12–4	Euroleague Qualification II
07/12/1980	Spandau 04	5–7	European Cup Final Four		Vojvodina	13–4	Euroleague Qualification II
1981	Horgen	16–5	European Cup		Spandau 04	9–7	Euroleague Qualification II
	Odense	20–5	European Cup		VK Primorac Kotor	8–10	Euroleague Qualification II
	CN Barcelona	10–11	European Cup		VK Jug Dubrovnik	8–9	Euroleague Last 16
	Vasas SC	8–11	European Cup Last 8		Honved	4–9	Euroleague Last 16
	VK Jug Dubrovnik	6–11	European Cup Last 8		Vasas SC	8–10	Euroleague Last 16
	Alphen	8–10	European Cup Last 8		Vasas SC	8–13	Euroleague Last 16
1982	Horgen	8–4	European Cup		Honved	8–12	Euroleague Last 16
	SKK Stockholm	9–5	European Cup		VK Jug Dubrovnik	8–12	Euroleague Last 16
	De Robben	8–9	European Cup	2008–09	Honved	7–24	Euroleague Qualification II
	VK Jug Dubrovnik	9–11	European Cup		Mariupol	9–7	Euroleague Qualification II
1983	Spandau 04	5–10	European Cup		Spartak Volgograd	2–15	Euroleague Qualification II
	Cardiff	13–9	European Cup		Eindhoven	7–7	Euroleague Qualification II
	Vienna	22–6	European Cup		Jadran Herceg Novi	4–14	Euroleague Qualification II
	Alphen	7–13	European Cup Last 8
	CN Barcelona	9–9	European Cup Last 8
	VK Jug Dubrovnik	6–10	European Cup Last 8

Results table

Honours

• Greek Water Polo Championship
  • Winners (38) (record): 1926, 1931, 1948, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1994, 2006
    • In bold, the years when Ethnikos won the title unbeaten, in bold and underlined, when the team won the title exclusively with wins.
• Greek Water Polo Cup
  • Winners (12): 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1991, 2000, 2005
• Central Greece Water Polo Championship
  • Winners (11)^[4]: 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963
• LEN Champions League
  • Fourth place: 1980
  • Quarterfinals: 1966, 1970, 1972, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1983, 1995
• Doubles (all of them unbeaten)
  • (9): 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1984, 1985, 1988

Tom Hoad Cup

Ethnikos Piraeus took part in the Tom Hoad Cup at the Melville Water Polo Club, Fremantle, Australia. There were six teams competing from around the world: the Fremantle Mariners (Australia), Ethnikos Piraeus (Greece), Galatasaray Water Polo Team (Turkey), Japan National Water Polo Team, The Barbarians and a composite European team including three Hungarian Olympic gold medalists. The competition took place from the 27th-30 December 2008, with gold going to The Barbarians.^[5]

Captains

Tenure	Captain
1950–1968	Andreas Garyfallos
1969	Giannis Thymaras
1970–1983	Kyriakos Iosifidis
1984–1986	Sotiris Stathakis
1987–1989	Antonios Aronis
1990	Nikos Armenakis
1991–1994	Thodoris Moustakarias
1995–1996	Nondas Samartzidis
1997–2001	Theodoros Kalakonas
2002–2008	Konstantinos Kokkinakis
2009	Marios Chatzikyriakakis
2010–2012	Charis Kechagias
2013–2014	Giannis Chatzialexis
2015–2016	Marios Chatzikyriakakis
2017–2020	Panagiotis Papadoggonas
2021–2022	Nikitas Kocheilas
2023	Panagiotis Papadoggonas
2024	Djordje Tesanovic

Notable players

Notable coaches

Women's team

The women's team of Ethnikos has won 3 championships and 2 European cups (LEN Trophy). The current season (2022–23) is competing in the first division championship (A1 Ethniki). The team has competed in every season of the Greek League since it was established in 1989 (35 appearances).

The road to two LEN Trophy victories

Date	City	Opponent	Score	Tournament Phase
2009–10 Women's LEN Trophy
18/12/2009	Zagreb, Croatia	CN Mataró	12–6	LEN Trophy Last 16
19/12/2009	Zagreb, Croatia	Union St-Bruno Bordeaux	14–2	LEN Trophy Last 16
20/12/2009	Zagreb, Croatia	HAVK Mladost	12–3	LEN Trophy Last 16
23/01/2010	Piraeus, Greece	CC Ortigia	9–7	LEN Trophy Quarterfinal 1st Leg
06/02/2010	Syracuse, Italy	CC Ortigia	7–4	LEN Trophy Quarterfinal 2nd Leg
21/02/2010	Gouda, Netherlands	GZC Donk	10–8	LEN Trophy Semifinal 1st Leg
06/03/2010	Piraeus, Greece	GZC Donk	8–6	LEN Trophy Semifinal 2nd Leg
17/03/2010	Khanty-Mansiysk, Russia	Jugra Chanty-Mansiysk	12–13	LEN Trophy Final 1st Leg
07/04/2010	Piraeus, Greece	Jugra Chanty-Mansiysk	10–9 3–3 (ext) 4–1 (pen)	LEN Trophy Final 2nd Leg
2021–22 Women's LEN Euroleague
18/11/2021	Porto, Portugal	AS Orizzonte Catania	14–15	LEN Euroleague Preliminary Round
19/11/2021	Porto, Portugal	Pacense	25–4	LEN Euroleague Preliminary Round
19/11/2021	Porto, Portugal	CN Sabadell	8–15	LEN Euroleague Preliminary Round
21/11/2021	Porto, Portugal	Olympia Kosice	23–4	LEN Euroleague Preliminary Round
10/12/2021	Piraeus, Greece	SIS Roma	14–5	LEN Euroleague Last 16
11/12/2021	Piraeus, Greece	CN Terrassa	8–7	LEN Euroleague Last 16
12/12/2021	Piraeus, Greece	Olympiacos	5–9	LEN Euroleague Last 16
05/02/2022	Piraeus, Greece	CN Sabadell	8–13	LEN Euroleague Quarterfinal 1st Leg
26/02/2022	Sabadell, Spain	CN Sabadell	6–8	LEN Euroleague Quarterfinal 2nd Leg
2021–22 Women's LEN Trophy
25/03/2022	Budapest, Hungary	Dunaújvárosi FVE	12–8	LEN Trophy Final 1st Leg
30/03/2022	Piraeus, Greece	Dunaújvárosi FVE	14–9	LEN Trophy Final 2nd Leg

Honours

• Women's LEN Trophy
  • Winners (2): 2010, 2022
• Greek Championships
  • Winners (3): 1988, 1990, 1992
• LEN Supercup
  • Finalist (2): 2010, 2022

Notable players

Notable coaches

• Koen Plasmeijer

References

External links

• Official Website