On Wednesday, June 2, 1971, the “Great Club second to none” had “a business to attend to in London”…

Panathinaikos stepped onto the hallowed turf of the iconic Wembley Stadium, and together with them came the entirety of Greek football, the whole of Greek sport, and the entire Greek nation. Leading the way was “General” Mimis Domazos, followed by a generation of legends: Antoniadis, Oikonomopoulos, Kamaras, Sourpis, Eleftherakis, Filakouris, Grammos, Kapsis, Tomaras, and Vlachos.

That afternoon, in the “Temple of Football,” the brightest page in the club’s history was written, as Ferenc Puskás’ great Panathinaikos became the first, and till today the unique, Greek team to play in a European Cup final, the premier club competition that would later be renamed the UEFA Champions League.

The honored green jersey bearing the white Shamrock on its chest traveled to every corner of Europe, and the name Panathinaikos became globally recognized, echoing to the farthest reaches of the world. Facing Johan Cruyff’s magnificent Ajax, the Greens fought bravely before eventually falling 2–0. Yet the result could not overshadow the magnitude of the achievement. That journey was more than a footballing triumph against the odds. It was an epic that forever changed the place of Greek football on the world map.

Everything had begun months earlier in Luxembourg against Jeunesse Esch. What followed was a remarkable campaign featuring major victories over the strong Slovan Bratislava and the powerful Everton, before the legendary comeback against Red Star Belgrade. It was an unforgettable journey that brought millions of Greeks into the streets, filled an entire nation with pride, and remains to this day the ultimate benchmark in the history of Greek football.

Fifty-five years later, the Wembley Epic continues to illuminate the path for future generations of Panathinaikos…

Visit the official Panathinaikos FC digital exhibition, a pioneering project for Greek sports, offering visitors the complete story—the “Bible”—of Panathinaikos’ legendary journey in the 1970–71 European Cup.

You can also watch Panathinaikos FC’s historic documentary about that mythical road to the final.