Throughout the 1930s the reputation and status of Panathinaikos grew under the leadership of their Hungarian coach, Jozsef Kunsztler. He had led the club to its first championship win in 1930 and they were very competitive again in the 1934 tournament. The Greens finished top of their Athenian Qualification Round group and advanced unbeaten into the semi-final round. They showed strong form and scored plenty of goals there too, but eventually finished a point behind their great rivals Olympiacos to miss out on a place in the final.