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Skoda Xanthi
Full name	Αθλητικός όμιλος Skoda Ξάνθη ΠΑΕ; (Athletic Club Skoda Xanthi)
Nickname(s)	Βασίλισσα της Θράκης; (Queen of Thrace),; AOXARA;
Founded	1967, as A.C. Xanthi
Ground	Skoda Xanthi Arena; Xanthi, Greece; (Capacity: 7,422)
Chairman	Christos Panopoulos
Manager	Kostas Konstantinidis (caretaker)
League	Super League Greece; (Σούπερ Λίγκα Ελλάδα)
2008-09	Super League Greece, 7th
Home colours	Away colours

Athletic Club Skoda Xanthi (Greek: Π.Α.Ε. Skoda Ξάνθη Α.O.) is a Greek football club, based in the city of Xanthi. The club currently competes in the Super League Greece.

[edit] History

The club was formed in 1967 from the merger of two local clubs, Aspida and Orfeas. The name of the team was Xanthi Athletic Club, officially up to 1992. In 1991, Viamar S.A., the official importer of Skoda vehicles in Greece, bought the club from its previous owner and renamed it to Skoda Xanthi Athletic Club.

The club is one of the best in Greece, especially in terms of their financial support and youth setup.^{[citation needed]} Skoda Xanthi participated in the UEFA Cup in 2001-02, 2005-06, and 2006-07 seasons. In the 2004-05 season, Skoda Xanthi finished fourth in the First Division (today Super League), the club's best performance in many years.

Xanthi FC first played in the first division in 1989.

[edit] Stadium

Xanthi left their old stadium, the Skoda Xanthi Stadium (capacity 9,500), located in near the centre of the city for the Skoda Xanthi Arena in 2004. Their new stadium sited 8 km outside the city, near Pigadia village, has a capacity of 7,422, however only has 3 stands. When the final stand is finally built, the new capacity will be around 9,000 seats.

Their appearance in the UEFA cup saw them drawm in the qaulifying rounds against Middlesbrough F.C. who went on to reach the UEFA cup final against seville. They drew bravely 0-0 in the second leg. With Emerson making a return to the Riverside Stadium

[edit] Staff

Head Coach: Kostas Konstantinidis (caretaker)
Assistant Coach: Panagiotis Goutzidis
Goalkeeper Coach: Alekos Maladenis
Physio: Karel Malis

[edit] Current squad

As of 31 August 2009 (2009 -08-31)^[update]

No.	Position	Player
1	GK	Juri Lodigin
4	DF	Stavros Tziortziopoulos
5	DF	Giannis Papadimitriou (captain)
6	DF	Manolis Liapakis
7	FW	Mauro Poy
8	MF	Luciano
9	MF	Diego Quintana
10	FW	Odai Saify
11	MF	Marcelinho
14	MF	Pantelis Rizogiannis
15	DF	Kim Jaggy
16	MF	Theodoros Vasilakakis
17	MF	Amvrossios Papadopoulos
18	DF	Stavros Stathakis
19	FW	Dimitrios Souanis

No.	Position	Player
20	FW	Georgios Vakouftsis
21	MF	Konstantinos Fliskas
23	MF	Dimitris Komesidis
24	GK	Michael Gspurning
25	DF	Spyros Vallas (1st vice-captain)
27	FW	Marek Zieńczuk
28	DF	Athanasios Kostoulas
32	MF	Iván Moreno y Fabianesi
33	GK	Sotirios Lymperopoulos
35	DF	Manolis Bertos
39	MF	Nabil Taïder
41	MF	Peter Styvar (on loan from Bristol City)
66	MF	Zdeno Štrba
99	FW	Nathan Ellington (on loan from Watford)
-	MF	Petros Mantalos

For recent transfers, see List of Greek football transfers summer 2009.

[edit] Out on loan

No.		Position	Player
		DF	Charalambos Provatidis (at Trikala)
		DF	Athanasios Dinas (at Zakynthos F.C.)
		FW	Dimitris Chasomeris (at Makedonikos FC)
		MF	Rejeb Hasanoglou (at Makedonikos FC)
		MF	Nikolaos Tsoumanis (at Makedonikos FC)

No.		Position	Player
		DF	Dimos Baxevanidis (at Doxa Drama F.C.)
		DF	Efthimios Kotitsas (at Olympiakos Volou)
		MF	Dorival (at Thrasyvoulos F.C.)
		FW	Chiquinho Delgado (at Thrasyvoulos F.C.)
		MF	Rafał Grzelak (at FC Steaua Bucureşti)