Gymnastic Club Iraklis Thessaloniki Football Club ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής Θεσσαλονίκης) is a Greek professional
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
club based in the city of
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
,
Macedonia, Greece. As of 2022, the club competes in the
Super League Greece 2
The Super League Greece 2 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λίγκα 2) is the 28 team two-group second division of professional football in Greece, being a feeder-league to the top-level Super League usually played from September to May.
His ...
. It plays its home matches at
Kaftanzoglio Stadium.
Founded in 1908 as "Macedonikos Gymnasticos Syllogos" (''Macedonian Gymnastics Club''), they are one of the oldest in Greek football and the oldest in
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
, hence the nickname ''Ghireos'' (meaning ''the Elder''). A year later, the name "Iraklis" (''Heracles'') was added to the club's name as an honour to the ancient Greek hero
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
(or
Hercules
Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures.
The Romans adapted the Gr ...
as the Roman equivalent). The team's colours are
cyan
Cyan () is the color between green and blue on the visible spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a predominant wavelength between 490 and 520 nm, between the wavelengths of green and blue.
In the subtractive color system, or CMYK color ...
or blue and white, inspired by the
Greek flag
The national flag of Greece, popularly referred to as the "blue and white one" ( el, Γαλανόλευκη, ) or the "sky blue and white" (, ), is officially recognised by Greece as one of its national symbols and has nine equal horizontal strip ...
. Iraklis is a founding member of ''Macedonia Football Clubs Association'', as well as the
Hellenic Football Federation, as a part of
G.S. Iraklis.
Before the formation of the nationwide league of
Alpha Ethniki, Iraklis competed in the league that was run by the ''Macedonia Football Clubs Association'', winning it on no less than five occasions. The club has also played in five Greek Cup finals, lifting the trophy once in the 1976 final, which is the club's only domestic trophy. They have also an international title, as they won the
Balkans Cup
The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being t ...
in 1985.
History
Foundation and first years (1899–1914)
![Omada filomouswn 1905](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3b/Omada_filomouswn_1905.jpg)
Iraklis traced its roots back in 1899 when ''Omilos Filomouson'' (meaning ''Friends of Music Club'') was established.
The club was established as a cultural union of the Greeks of Thessaloniki, but in 1902 it founded a sports department.
Football was a new sport at the time, but rapidly increasing in popularity and thus the board of directors decided to line up a football team. The first match that was held by the ''Omilos Filomouson'' football team was on 23 April 1905, against a team of the Western European diaspora of the city called ''Union Sportive''.
''Omilos Filomouson'' won the match by a 3–0 scoreline.
Later on, the club faced financial problems, but members of the club joined forces with another Greek athletic club of the city, called ''Olympia''.
The result of this union was the foundation of a new club on 29 November 1908, called ''Makedonikos Gymnastikos Syllogos'' (meaning ''Macedonian Gymnastics Club''), that gained a permission to operate by the Ottoman authorities.
The new club's first president was a Greek doctor, Alkiviadis Maltos.
The name of the club had a direct reference to the
ethnic tensions
Ethnic hatred, inter-ethnic hatred, racial hatred, or ethnic tension refers to notions and acts of prejudice and hostility towards an ethnic group in varying degrees.
There are multiple origins for ethnic hatred and the resulting ethnic conflic ...
that took place in the area at that time.
Due to the
Young Turks' revolt of
1908
Events
January
* January 1 – The British ''Nimrod'' Expedition led by Ernest Shackleton sets sail from New Zealand on the ''Nimrod'' for Antarctica.
* January 3 – A total solar eclipse is visible in the Pacific Ocean, and is the 46 ...
and their promises for ease of ethnic tensions in the area, the club was forced to change its name.
Thus a new name was decided for the club, ''Ottomanikos Ellinikos Gymnastikos Syllogos Thessalonikis "Iraklis"'' (meaning ''Ottoman Greek Gymnastics Club of Thessaloniki "Iraklis"'').
The new name was approved, together with a new statute and a new board of directors, by a general assembly of the club on 13 April 1911.
After the integration of Thessaloniki in the
Kingdom of Greece
The Kingdom of Greece ( grc, label=Greek, Βασίλειον τῆς Ἑλλάδος ) was established in 1832 and was the successor state to the First Hellenic Republic. It was internationally recognised by the Treaty of Constantinople, where ...
, the operation of the club was accepted by the Greek courts in 1914 and on 11 January 1915 Iraklis became a fully registered sports club.
National establishment and early success (1914–1959)
Shortly after the end of the
Second Balkan War
The Second Balkan War was a conflict which broke out when Bulgaria, dissatisfied with its share of the spoils of the First Balkan War, attacked its former allies, Serbia and Greece, on 16 ( O.S.) / 29 (N.S.) June 1913. Serbian and Greek armies r ...
, Iraklis together with the three
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
football clubs of the city, ''Progrès Sportive'', ''Alliance'' and ''French-German School Alumni Union'' organised the first ''Thessaloniki Football Championship'' in January and February 1914.
Iraklis won ''Alliance'' 3–1, ''Progrès Sportive'' 5–1 and after winning the ''French-German School Alumni Union'', the club was proclaimed ''Champion of Thessaloniki''.
On 6 April 1914, Iraklis played a match against
Athinaikos Syllogos Podosfairou, that ended as a draw. It was the club's first match against a club outside Thessaloniki.
In 1914, Iraklis established the club's youth squad, so the students of the ''Greek Gymnasium'' of the city could train in football.
A year later Iraklis won the second ''Thessaloniki Football Championship''.
The next championship was not held due to World War I.
In the years following World War I, several football clubs were established in Thessaloniki and that led to the establishment of the
Macedonia Football Clubs Association in 1923.
The first championship from the newly founded association was organised shortly afterwards and Iraklis lost in the tournament's final 4–1 from
Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to:
People
* Aris (surname)
Given name
* Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer
* Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player
* Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano
* Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter
* Aris Howard, Former President of the Jamai ...
.
In 1924 Iraklis played its first match against a club from outside the borders of
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...
.
It was a match against
Yugoslav club ''SSK Skopje'', a contest that ended 2–1 in favour of Iraklis.
It was in that same year that Iraklis played its first match abroad, a 3–0 friendly win against ''SK Bitola''.
In 1926 the club appointed
Hungarian Joseph Sveg as manager, the first ever foreign manager in Greece.
Under Sveg's guidance, Iraklis won the Championship organised by the ''Macedonia Football Clubs Association'' in 1926–27.
By winning 6–0 against the reigning champion of
West Macedonia ''Ermis Shorovich'' and the champion of
East Macedonia and Thrace ''Rodopi'', Iraklis was proclaimed Champion of Macedonia and Thrace.
In the following years, Iraklis did not have any success finishing in runner up and even lower positions in the
Macedonia Football Clubs Association Championship.
![Iraklis 1930 31](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Iraklis_1930_31.jpg)
In the 1933–34 season Iraklis won the Northern Group of the
National Championship
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
qualifying for the championship final, where the club had to compete against the champion of the Southern group
Olympiacos
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
.
The first leg was played in ''Iraklis Ground'' on 10 June 1934.
Although Iraklis took a 2–0 lead at half time, Olympiacos managed to make a comeback in the second half, winning the game by a 2–3 scoreline.
The second leg was played a week later in
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saronic ...
and Olympiacos was proclaimed National champion by winning this match 2–1.
In the following years Iraklis faced mid table mediocrity, with the exception of the 1936–37 season, when the club was only one point short to
Macedonia Football Clubs Association champions PAOK.
The 1938–39 season was a successful one for Iraklis, as it won both the
Macedonia Football Clubs Association championship and the Northern Group of the
National Championship
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...
, the second resulting in the qualification of Iraklis in the National final.
In the national final Iraklis lost to
AEK
A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelf ...
both away and at home (1–3 and 2–4 respectively), failing to win the silverware.
In the following season Iraklis celebrated its consecutive win in the ''Macedonia Football Clubs Association Championship'' but failed to qualify for the National final.
All club football in Greece was suspended from 1941 to 1945 due to the
German occupation
German-occupied Europe refers to the sovereign countries of Europe which were wholly or partly occupied and civil-occupied (including puppet governments) by the military forces and the government of Nazi Germany at various times between 1939 an ...
of the country.
After the war period, the club was constantly competing with
Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to:
People
* Aris (surname)
Given name
* Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer
* Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player
* Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano
* Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter
* Aris Howard, Former President of the Jamai ...
for the Thessaloniki championship, which gave upon its winner the right to participate in the Greek championship. Iraklis participated in the 1947
Greek Cup final, where was defeated 5–0 by the dominant Greek team of that era,
Olympiacos
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
. In the 1950s, the team solidified its position among the top teams in Greece along with
Olympiacos
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
,
AEK Athens,
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
,
Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to:
People
* Aris (surname)
Given name
* Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer
* Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player
* Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano
* Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter
* Aris Howard, Former President of the Jamai ...
and
PAOK. Nevertheless, the club struggled with financial difficulties in an ailing Greek economy. Thessaloniki (where many refugees from the
Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 had settled) was particularly damaged by the economic downturn. The highlight of the decade was the 1957
Greek Cup final, in which Iraklis was once again defeated by
Olympiacos
Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...
, 2–0.
Semi-professional Alpha Ethniki era (1959–1975)
Iraklis played in the
inaugural season of
A' Ethniki.
The club secured the 10th position in the first season of national top tier of Greece.
Iraklis football academy was founded during the same season after the suggestion of club manager
Panos Markovic
Panos Markovits (alternate spelling Panos Markovic) ( el, Πάνος Μάρκοβιτς; 5 May 1925 – 17 August 2012) was a Greek football coach and player.
Career
He was born in Drama, Macedonia (Greece) in 1925, but grew up in Thessalon ...
.
In the
1960–61 season Iraklis finished 8th and achieved a record 4–0 win against
Atromitos Piraeus.
The club also reached the
Greek Cup semi-finals that season, getting eliminated by
Panionios
Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...
.
The following two seasons Iraklis played in the
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup
The Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, sometimes referred to as the European Fairs Cup, Fairs Cities' Cup, or simply as the Fairs Cup, was a European Association football, football competition played between 1955 and 1971. It is often considered the predecess ...
, getting eliminated both times, by
FK Vojvodina
Fudbalski klub Vojvodina ( sr-Cyrl, Фудбалски клуб Војводина), commonly known as Vojvodina and colloquially as Voša ( sr-Cyrl, Воша), is a Serbian professional football club based in Novi Sad, Vojvodina, the second la ...
and
Real Zaragoza
Real Zaragoza, S.A.D. (), commonly referred to as Zaragoza, is a football club based in Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, that currently competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish league system. Zaragoza holds its home games at La ...
respectively.
In the league, Iraklis secured the 6th position for the
1961–62 season, a club record at the time.
The rest of the 1960s, Iraklis secured mid-table positions repeating the club record in the
1969–70 season. In 1965,
Kostas Aidiniou
Kostas Aidiniou ( el, Κώστας Αϊδινίου; born 2 February 1948) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder.
Playing career Club career
Aidiniou was born on 2 February 1948 in Psarades. Although he ...
, a player that together with fellow
Greek international Zacharias Chaliabalias would lead the club for the following decade, debuted for Iraklis. During the
1968–69 season Iraklis matched its record win as it won
AEL Limassol by a 4–0 margin.
In the
1970–71 season Iraklis, under the guidance of
Yugoslav manager
Ljubiša Spajić
Ljubomir "Ljubiša" Spajić (; 7 March 1926 – 28 March 2004) was a Serbian footballer who was part of Yugoslavia national football team at the 1954 FIFA World Cup
The 1954 FIFA World Cup was the fifth edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quad ...
, finished 5th in the league, the club's best positioning since the establishment of
Alpha Ethniki.
In that season, Iraklis sold 45,634 tickets in a 1–0 home win against
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
, a club record since today and an Alpha Ethniki record at the time.
The following for seasons, Iraklis achieved safe mid-table positions.
In 1972, Iraklis signed
Dimitris Gesios from
Kozani, a player that would become the club's all-time league top-scorer. In the
1973–74 season Iraklis broke its biggest win record in Alpha Ethniki, by beating
AEL 6–1.
On 29 August 1974, Iraklis sold its star player Aidiniou to Olympiacos for 11,000,000
drachmas.
In the
next season Iraklis beat
Kalamata 5–0 at home to match its record win and finished 8th in the league.
The club also reached the semi-final of
that season's Cup. Iraklis was eliminated 1–2 by Panathinaikos at home. After the match, three players of Iraklis, Chaliabalias, Rokidis and
Nikoloudis revealed that there was an attempt from Panathinaikos officials to bribe them for the semi-final.
The two first were driven out of the club while the latter was sent off the club for six months.
The Absolute Star: Vassilis Hatzipanagis era (1975–1990)
On 22 November 1975, the club acquired
Vassilis Hatzipanagis
Vasilis Hatzipanagis ( el, link=no, Βασίλης Χατζηπαναγής, , born 26 October 1954) is a Greek former professional footballer. He played for Iraklis in the Greek Alpha Ethniki and Pakhtakor in the Soviet Supreme League. He a ...
, a
USSR
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
national of Greek descent, who was late voted a Greece's Golden player for
UEFA Jubilee Awards To celebrate the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)'s 50th anniversary in 2004, each of its member associations was asked by UEFA to choose one of its own players as the single most outstanding player of the past 50 years (1954–2003). ...
. In the
1975–76 Greek Cup competition Iraklis eliminated
Veria,
Pierikos
S.F.K. Pierikos ( el, Σ.Φ.Κ. Πιερικός) is a Greek football club based in Katerini, Greece, part of the major multi-sport club of the same name. Their name was inspired from the State's name of Pieria. The club recently competed in ...
,
Trikala and
Panetolikos
Panetolikos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Παναιτωλικός), or with its full name Panetolikós Yimnastikós Filekpedeftikós Síllogos ( el, Παναιτωλικός Γυμναστικός Φιλεκπαιδευτικός Σύλλογος'' ...
to reach the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals Iraklis beat Panathinaikos 3–2, at home.
Panathinaikos appealed against the result claiming the Iraklis' winning goal came from an
offside position.
Finally the courts turned down Panathinaikos' appeal and Iraklis qualified to the final to face Olympiacos.
On 9 June 1976 Iraklis won the Cup after a 6–5 penalty shootout.
In the final Hatzipanagis scored twice,
Kousoulakis and Gesios scored once each, in a match that ended 2–2 in full-time and 4–4 in extra-time.
In the league Iraklis finished in the 8th position led by Gesios and Hatzipanagis, that scored 9 and 6 goals respectively. In the next season Iraklis was eliminated from Cypriot club
APOEL
APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...
in the
Cup Winners' Cup and struggled in the league finishing in the 12th position, gathering just one point more from relegated Panetolikos.
Iraklis improved slightly in the
next season ending up ninth in the league with Gesios achieving a personal best scoring 13 goals.
The
1978–1979 season the club improved greatly under the guidance of
Antoni Brzeżańczyk
Antoni Brzeżańczyk (19 January 1919 – 26 May 1987) was a Polish footballer and football manager.
He played for Podgórze Kraków, Dąb Poznań, Lechia Gdańsk, Odra Opole, AKS Chorzów, Lech Poznań and Stal Mielec where he began his coachi ...
.
Iraklis finished sixth in the league, had a positive goal aggregate for the first time since the
1973–74 season and achieved the club's biggest victory in Alpha Ethniki by beating
Rodos by an 8–1 margin.
The
1979–80 season was the first season of fully professional football in Greece. Iraklis finished in the 8th position in the league having his best goal difference since the establishment of Alpha Ethniki with +11.
The highlight of the season was a 6–0 against title perennial contenders Panathinaikos, which is Panathinaikos' biggest league defeat to date. In the
Greek Cup competition of the season Iraklis eliminated Veria,
Niki Volos,
Almopos Aridaea and
Panarkadikos to reach the semi-finals.
In the semi-finals Iraklis eliminated PAOK, but the club's chairman was accused for a
bribe attempt by PAOK's player
Filotas Pellios
Filotas Pellios ( el, Φιλώτας Πέλλιος; born 22 March 1953) is a retired Greek footballer.
He is president of the PAOK veterans association.
Honours
;PAOK
*Greek Cup: 1974
*Greek Championship: 1976
Events January
* Janua ...
.
Iraklis proceeded to play in the Cup final, but as the players' morale was damaged the club was defeated by underdogs Kastoria by a 5–2 margin.
At the end of the season Iraklis was demoted to the
Beta Ethniki
The Football League ( el, Φούτμπολ Λιγκ) was the second highest professional football league in Greece since its inception in 1962 as ''Beta Ethniki'' and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super Lea ...
, due to the alleged bribery scandal.
Iraklis appealed against that decision, and the club was, later on, declared not guilty, but the club already played in the Second Division.
In the
1980–81 season Iraklis had to compete in the
Beta Ethniki
The Football League ( el, Φούτμπολ Λιγκ) was the second highest professional football league in Greece since its inception in 1962 as ''Beta Ethniki'' and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super Lea ...
without his star player Vasilis Hatzipanagis.
The club won the championship in the Northern Group with
Ilias Chatzieleftheriou being the top scorer with 24 goals.
Iraklis scored a total of 99 goals, conceding 22, and achieved a club league record 12–0 win against
Edessaikos.
Upon its return to the top tier Iraklis managed to finish in the 6th position in the league and achieved the club's best goal difference at the time with +14. In 1983–84 Iraklis finished in third place overall, which remains to date the club's best positioning, since professional football was established in 1959.
The club, led by
Hatzipanagis that scored 12 goals in the season, also had its best goal difference since the establishment of Alpha Ethniki with +27 goals and its best defence record, conceding only 20 goals.
In the
1984–85 season Iraklis finished in the 5th position setting the club's offensive record scoring 59 goals.
Major contributors to this record were Hatzipanagis,
Lakis Papaioannou
Apostolos "Lakis" Papaioannou (Greek: Απόστολος "Λάκης" Παπαϊωάννου; born 5 October 1956) is a retired Greece, Greek professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder.
Career Club career
Born in K ...
and
Sigurður Grétarsson
Sigurður Grétarsson (born 2 May 1962) is an Icelandic former footballer who played as a striker. After retiring, he worked as a football manager.
He is the older brother of former international player Arnar Grétarsson.
Club career
Sigurð ...
each contributing 10 goals throughout the campaign. In the same season Iraklis won its only international competition, the
Balkans Cup
The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being t ...
.
Iraklis had to eliminate Turkish giants
Galatasaray by winning 5–2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, and
Ankaragücü through a
penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals.
In the final's second leg Iraklis won
Argeș Pitești 4–1, thus winning the trophy 5–4 on aggregate.
In the
1985–86 season Iraklis, led by Lakis Papaioannou that finished the season with 8 goals, finished in the fourth position, having the best defensive record in the league, conceding 22 goals. Two years later, 17,000 fans travelled to Athens to support Iraklis in the 1987
Greek Cup final, unfortunately to see their team lose 3–1 on penalties (1–1 regular time) to
OFI Crete OFI may refer to:
* Overseas Filipino Investors, Filipino expatriates who contribute to the economy of the Philippines through remittances, buying property, and creating businesses
* OFI Crete, a Greek association football club based on the island ...
. On 9 November 1990, shortly after an
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
match against
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
, Hatzipanagis announced his retirement from professional football.
Reconstruction and change of ownership (1990–2007)
The 1990s were a period of reconstruction for the club, as aging players either left the club or retired.
Hatzipanagis' retirement in 1990 had a major negative impact on the team's success. Fans began calling for a change in the club's management, as club president Petros Theodoridis began selling the team's most talented players (
Christos Kostis
Christos Kostis ( el, Χρήστος Κωστής, born 15 January 1972) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a forward. Kostis is widely regarded to be one of the most technical players Greece has ever produced, but his great ...
,
Giorgos Anatolakis,
Savvas Kofidis
Savvas Kofidis ( el, Σάββας Κωφίδης; born 5 February 1961) is a Greek professional football manager and former player.
Career
Born in modern-day Kazakhstan to Pontic Greek parents, he started his career in Iraklis, debuting on 18 J ...
etc.). Iraklis competed in 1990 against
Valencia
Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...
in the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
, being eliminated in overtime at
Mestalla.
Evangelos Mytilineos period (2000–2004)
![IraklisTeam2000](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6e/IraklisTeam2000.jpg)
The team was sold in 2000 to prominent Greek businessman
Evangelos Mytilineos
Evangelos Mytilineos (Greek language, Greek: Ευάγγελος Μυτιληναίος, born in Athens in 1954) is a Greek businessman, chairman of the board of directors of Mytilineos Holdings, Mytilineos that he founded in 1990.
Born in Athens ...
for almost €3,500,000 (1.18 billion
drachmas
The drachma ( el, δραχμή , ; pl. ''drachmae'' or ''drachmas'') was the currency used in Greece during several periods in its history:
# An ancient Greek currency unit issued by many Greek city states during a period of ten centuries, fro ...
[http://archive.enet.gr/online/online_text/c=115,dt=13.11.2005,id=52291600 ]). Despite the acquisition of many promising players during the first summer, the 2000–2001 campaign didn't have the expected results, with the club finishing in 5th position, out of European qualification spots. However, Iraklis managed to progress to the 2nd round of
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
, where they achieved a memorable (although without any effect) win over
1. FC Kaiserslautern in
Fritz-Walter-Stadion. Next summer, Mytilineos's first move was to sell the highly rated striker and fans' favorite
Michalis Konstantinou
Michalis Konstantinou ( el, Μιχάλης Κωνσταντίνου; born 19 February 1978) is a Cypriot retired football striker. He played for the Cyprus national football team, and he is the all-time leading scorer with 32 goals in 85 appea ...
to
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
, setting a new record for the highest fee received for a domestic transfer. That move worsened the relationship between the new owner and the fans, while it clearly weakened the club, since Konstantinou was not replaced. Manager
Giannis Kyrastas, who was widely considered one of Greece's bests, was replaced by previous coach
Angelos Anastasiadis
Angelos Anastasiadis (; born 8 March 1953) is a Greek football manager and former international footballer. He previously coached numerous clubs in Greece including PAOK, Panathinaikos, Platanias and PAS Giannina as well as the Greece and Cyp ...
who in his second tenure managed to qualified once again for the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
on a very small budget. In 2004, Mytilineos announced his desire to leave the team and therefore sell it to Giorgos Spanoudakis (a friend of his from their school years, who used to be first vice-president of the club), for just €1, since the team was heavily in debt. Spanoudakis initiated a series of expensive but unsuccessful deals like Polish international
Cezary Kucharski
Cezary Kucharski () (born 17 February 1972) is a retired Polish football striker.
Kucharski was born in Łuków. He played for clubs such as FC Aarau (Switzerland), Legia Warsaw, Sporting de Gijón (Spain), Iraklis (Greece) and Górnik Łęcz ...
and
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Coppa ...
veteran
Giuseppe Signori
Giuseppe "Beppe" Signori (; born 17 February 1968) is an Italian former professional footballer who played as a forward.
He played for several clubs in Italy throughout his career, and also had spells in Greece and Hungary with Iraklis Thessal ...
, driving the team close to bankruptcy. He later tried to get rid of the team by selling it to yet another unknown businessman named Dimitris Houlis, who had been a president of
Akratitos F.C.
A.P.O. Akratitos Ano Liosia ( el, Α.Π.Ο. Ακράτητος Άνω Λιοσίων) is a Greek football professional club from Ano Liosia, Athens, Greece. They currently play in the Alpha Division of the Football League championship, which is th ...
After a 5-month period during which Houlis controlled the team, the Greek football commission finally annulled the transfer, raising questions in the media regarding its handling of the previous one between Mytilinaios and Spanoudakis, too.
![Ivan Jovanović Coach](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9f/Ivan_Jovanovi%C4%87_Coach.jpg)
In January 2004,
Savvas Kofidis
Savvas Kofidis ( el, Σάββας Κωφίδης; born 5 February 1961) is a Greek professional football manager and former player.
Career
Born in modern-day Kazakhstan to Pontic Greek parents, he started his career in Iraklis, debuting on 18 J ...
, famous as a player of the team in the 1980s, became the team's manager. During the 2005–06, he led Iraklis to an acclaimed 4th-place finish, playing effective and attractive football, creating a club record for 13 consecutive wins at home. However, with considerable debts to players, coaches and the state, Spanoudakis started the 2006–07 season attempting to reconcile Iraklis finances by selling
Joël Epalle
Joël Dieudonné Martin Epalle Newaka (born 20 February 1978) is a Cameroonian football manager and former player who manages Val d'Europe FC.
He mainly played as a right midfielder, but throughout his career he also played as a second striker, ...
and
Panagiotis Lagos
Panagiotis Lagos ( el, Παναγιώτης Λαγός; born 18 July 1985) is a Greek former professional footballer. Lagos had the ability to play in various positions as much as on the wings as on the center, due to the combination of the speed ...
, who were instrumental in the previous year's success. Next year Kofidis resigned as manager of a considerably weakened team after Iraklis lost 7 and drew 2 of his first nine games in
Greek Super League
The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...
and additionally was eliminated from the
UEFA Cup
A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store Solid, solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, porcela ...
in extra time by
Wisła Kraków
Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. It currently competes in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system. It ...
. Eventually the 2006–07 season ended in a hard breaking fashion as the team gained its survival to Greek Super League only in the last matchday, after breaking a 39 matches unbeaten home run of
Skoda Xanthi
Xanthi Football Club ( el, Α.Ο. Ξάνθη Π.Α.Ε.) is a Greek professional football club based in Xanthi, Western Thrace and plays at Xanthi FC Arena. The club resigned from the Super League 2 due to financial issues.
Founded in 1967, Xan ...
.
Financial collapse and relegations (2007–2011)
On 13 July 2007, Spanoudakis eventually resigned and the team passed to the hands of a consortium of local businessmen, with prominent Greek singer
Antonis Remos (a lifelong fan of the team) as their leader. The new owners tried to stabilize the team financially having already paid the debts to Giuseppe Signori (almost 1,000,000 $) and to other players and lenders from the past.
However, on 4 May 2011 Iraklis was relegated back to
Football League (Greece) after failing to obtain a license to participate in 2011–12
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
. On 19 May 2011, the Disciplinary Committee of the competition found Iraklis guilty of forgery during the winter transfer window. Therefore, the club was automatically placed in the last position.
That is a unique case as Iraklis has never finished in a relegation spot but has been relegated twice. Moreover, on 26 September the Professional Sports Committee stripped Iraklis from its professional licence and demoted it to
Delta Ethniki. This situation spurred reactions from Iraklis fans, with demonstrations in
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
and
Athens
Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...
.
Resurgence through Pontioi Katerini (2011–2014)
The team finally competed in the 2011–12 Delta Ethniki, which started late due to
Koriopolis
Koriopolis ( el, Κοριόπολις) is the name given by the Greek press to a match fixing scandal in Greek football that came to light in June 2011. The investigation centres on offences that include illegal gambling, fraud, extortion and mone ...
, without much success.
Meanwhile, the club's board was discussing a possible merger with another club. There were discussions with local teams
Agrotikos Asteras
Agrotikos Asteras Football Club ( el, Π.Μ.Α.Σ. Αγροτικός Αστήρ) is a Evosmos-based football club, currently playing in Gamma Ethniki. It was founded in 1932 by refugees from Asia Minor.
History
Agrotikos Asteras was founded fro ...
and
Anagennisi Epanomi,
but only the ones with Pontioi were successful, and a pre-agreement contract was signed between Iraklis and Pontioi on 3 January 2012. The resulting team was named ''AEP Iraklis F.C.'', but virtually Iraklis replaced Pontioi Katerinis, who ceased to exist. On 20 January 2012, the merger was approved by
amateur Iraklis, and their football team was disbanded and withdrawn from the Delta Ethniki.
The merged club
On 3 January 2012, the two teams reached an agreement regarding the running of the new club, with further negotiations planned after six months.
Pontioi Katerinis would change their name to ''AEP Iraklis'', take the badge and colors of Iraklis, and move to
Kaftanzoglio Stadium.
The squad would consist of players from both teams and be trained in
Katerini
Katerini ( el, Κατερίνη, ''Kateríni'', ) is a city and municipality in northern Greece, the capital city of Pieria regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, ...
.
On 23 January 2012, the team played their first game at home against
Tilikratis, while pending approval of the merger by the Greek Professional Sports Committee.
Ιn August 2012, ''AEP Iraklis'' was incorporated as ''AEP Iraklis 1908 FC''. The new merged club has no legal connection to the original Iraklis Thessaloniki F.C., but is essentially considered as a direct continuation of it, as it uses the crest of Iraklis Thessaloniki FC, its colours, and incorporates players and people associated with the former Iraklis FC. Therefore,
G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki has no shares of the new company, but instead still holds the 10% of the bankrupt original Iraklis FC company, which remains to be dissolved.
On 24 September 2012, the merged club was accepted in Greek Football League, as an acknowledgement of injustice against the old PAE Iraklis. In 2014 the company was renamed in PAE Iraklis 1908.
In the summer of 2014, and after several months of negotiations, Spyros Papathanasakis became the new major shareholder of the club.
Relegation (2017)
Iraklis was dissolved as a professional club in 2017, due to major financial issues the club had been facing for some years. They failed to participate in
Football League (second tier) and were thus dissolved as a professional football club and begun the season in division 3 (Gamma Ethniki). The next season they promoted back.
Relegation (2019) and new successor club
Iraklis was relegated in 2019 from the professional second-tier
Football League
The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...
into the amateur fourth-tier
Gamma Ethniki
The Gamma Ethniki ( el, Γ΄ Εθνική Ερασιτεχνική Κατηγορία, C National Amateur Division) is the third highest football league in Greece.
History
The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 198 ...
, due to the restructuring of the Greek national championships and its performance in conjunction to its financial state. This led the professional club into further insolvency and an inability to form a squad to participate in any championship in the 2019–20 season. Faced with this situation, a new football club, named ''Iraklis 2015'' was formed through the
volleyball club of the
Iraklis sports club family, which started participating in the lowest regional championship of the Thessaloniki region, the
Macedonia Football Clubs Association Gamma Amateur Championship, which is on the fourth tier regionally and on the eighth nationally.
On 20 April 2020, amateur championships were suspended due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, therefore Iraklis won the championship winning all 15 games, scoring 88 goals and conceding 6. In July 2021, an agreement between the club and
Triglia
Triglia ( el, Τρίγλια) is a former municipality in Chalkidiki, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Nea Propontida, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 121.959 km2 ...
was announced and Iraklis will officially be in Super League 2 for the
2021–22 season.
Crest and colours
![Iraklislogoold](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1b/Iraklislogoold.png)
Iraklis's crest has changed through times. The original club logo was a capital
Η (Eta), the first letter of the word ''Iraklis'' (Ηρακλής) in Greek, surrounded by a circle. After the 2000 takeover of the club by
Evangelos Mytilinaios, the logo was changed once again to a more "modern" looking one. During the
2008–09 season the club used a special logo, created especially for its centenary. The crest that is now used depicts the demigod
Heracles
Heracles ( ; grc-gre, Ἡρακλῆς, , glory/fame of Hera), born Alcaeus (, ''Alkaios'') or Alcides (, ''Alkeidēs''), was a divine hero in Greek mythology, the son of Zeus and Alcmene, and the foster son of Amphitryon.By his adoptive ...
resting upon his club, a scene inspired by
Farnese Hercules
The ''Farnese Hercules'' ( it, Ercole Farnese) is an ancient statue of Hercules, probably an enlarged copy made in the early third century AD and signed by Glykon, who is otherwise unknown; the name is Greek but he may have worked in Rome. Like ...
statue, itself a copy of a statue crafted by
Lysippos
Lysippos (; grc-gre, Λύσιππος) was a Ancient Greek sculpture, Greek sculptor of the 4th century BC. Together with Scopas and Praxiteles, he is considered one of the three greatest sculptors of the Ancient Greece, Classical Greek era, bri ...
in the fourth century BC.
Throughout the entire club's history its colours were blue or
cyan
Cyan () is the color between green and blue on the visible spectrum of light. It is evoked by light with a predominant wavelength between 490 and 520 nm, between the wavelengths of green and blue.
In the subtractive color system, or CMYK color ...
and white, to resemble the colours of the
Greek flag
The national flag of Greece, popularly referred to as the "blue and white one" ( el, Γαλανόλευκη, ) or the "sky blue and white" (, ), is officially recognised by Greece as one of its national symbols and has nine equal horizontal strip ...
, given the fact that Iraklis was established while
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
was a part of the
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...
. The team is so known in Greece as ''Kianolefkoi'' (
Greek: "Κυανόλευκοι"), meaning the ''Cyan-Whites''. Iraklis' away colours were usually either white or orange. Traditionally, the Iraklis shirt was blue and white stripes, but through the years this was changed often to all blue, all white, chess-like, and hooped, among others.
Kit evolution
First
Alternative
Sponsorships:
*Great Shirt Sponsor: N/A
*Official Sport Clothing Manufacturer:
Givova
*Official Sponsor: N/A
Facilities
Stadium
![Kaftanzoglio west stand](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/df/Kaftanzoglio_west_stand.jpg)
The first ground of the team was placed in the centre of Thessaloniki, nearby the
White Tower.
Its construction was funded by the members of
G.S. Iraklis, but, after
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area, and the capi ...
became a part of Greece, the club was ousted from its owned ground, so a park could be created in its place.
In 1915, Iraklis rented an area in the centre of Thessaloniki for a ten years period, but the club was unable to use its facilities until 1919, due to World War I.
In 1927 the club renewed the contract for the use of the area, but in 1930, the newly founded
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki tried to take the ownership of the field.
For almost two decades the ground was used by both the athletes of Iraklis and the students of the university, until in the 1950s the university managed to get the ownership of the ground, so it could demolish it to construct a square, that is nowadays known as ''Platia Chimiou''.
On 6 November 1960 Iraklis played its first match in
Kaftanzoglio Stadium, to record a 2–1 win against ''M.G.S.S. Thermaikos Thessalonikis''. Kaftanzoglio has been the home ground of Iraklis ever since, including the 2011–12 season, when both the G.S. Iraklis and the A.E.P. Iraklis team used it as their home ground. In the
2002–03 and
2003–04 seasons Iraklis used
Makedonikos Stadium
Makedonikos Stadium (greek: Γήπεδο Μακεδονικού / Gipedo Makedonikou) is a football stadium located in Thessaloniki, Greece. It is home to Makedonikos football club.
The stadium was also used by Iraklis FC for two seasons when t ...
as its home ground.
That decision was made due to the renovation of Kaftanzoglio for the
2004 Summer Olympics
The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...
.
Iraklis also owns a football ground and training facilities in the, adjacent to Kaftanzoglio Stadium, ''Chortatzides'' area, where the juveniles of the club train. There were plans for Iraklis to construct a new 22,000-seat stadium, in a club owned area in the eastern extremities of the city, in Mikra.
Training facility
''Iraklis Sports Center'' locates in the area of
Mikra and is the club-owned training ground of the team. The training facilities include three football fields, gym, sauna, water pool, such as the administration building of Iraklis FC. In the area, the club's new stadium also was planned to be built.
Supporters
![IRAKLISGATE10](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/IRAKLISGATE10.jpg)
Iraklis was well supported right from the start of its establishment. Even though the football section wasn't the most popular among club loyals in the very first years, it soon became the "flagship" of the sports club, as football became more and more popular. In the '70s and '80s, the club attracted crowds of around 10.000 people, to reach a peak in the
1983–84 season with an average attendance of 16,559. In the '90s, following
Hatzipanagis' retirement and the general fall in attendances in Greek football, crowds in
Kaftanzoglio deteriorated to a modest average of 5,000. A record low attendance was recorded during the '90s, as in a match against
Paniliakos
Paniliakos Football Club ( el, Πανηλειακός Α.Ο. Πύργου) is a Greek association football club based in Pyrgos, Elis, Greece. The club plays in Gamma Ethniki, the third tier of Greek football. It plays its home matches at the Pyrg ...
there were only 384 tickets sold. A brief increase in attendance was recorded after the purchase of the club by
Evangelos Mytilineos
Evangelos Mytilineos (Greek language, Greek: Ευάγγελος Μυτιληναίος, born in Athens in 1954) is a Greek businessman, chairman of the board of directors of Mytilineos Holdings, Mytilineos that he founded in 1990.
Born in Athens ...
, reaching a peak in the
2001–02 season with an average of 6,790. On 24 January 1971 Iraklis set the highest attendance record for any football match in
Alpha Ethniki, with 45,634 tickets sold in the club's contest against
Panathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...
. In the
1987 Greek Cup final a crowd of 17,000 Iraklis fans travelled to Athens, to watch Iraklis lose in penalties against
OFI. In two recent opinion polls Iraklis was ranked as the 6th most popular football club in Greece, gathering 2.8%–3.7% of the participating football supporters.
The most prominent supporters' club of the team is ''Aftonomi Thira 10'' (meaning Autonomous Gate 10), a fan club with a total of 15 branches in Northern Greece. The fan club is known for holding an antiracist stance, as it participates in the ''Ultras Antiracist Festival''. Other activities of the fan club include the publication of a magazine and the conduct of an annual festival. Other minor supporters' clubs are ''SFISE'', ''Blue Boys'', ''A.P.A.T.S.I.'' and ''Iraklis Fan Club of Athens''.
Iraklis' supporters hold ties with the supporters of
FSV Mainz
1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05 () or simply Mainz (), is a German sports club, founded in 1905 and based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. 1. FSV Mainz 05 play in the Bundesliga, the top ...
,
Rayo Vallecano,
Zemun
Zemun ( sr-cyrl, Земун, ; hu, Zimony) is a municipality in the city of Belgrade. Zemun was a separate town that was absorbed into Belgrade in 1934. It lies on the right bank of the Danube river, upstream from downtown Belgrade. The developme ...
and
FK Buducnost Podgorica FK or fk may refer to:
In arts and entertainment:
* Flyer Killer, fictional automated robots in the ''Terminator'' film franchise.
* Fox Kids, a former American children's television programming block.
* Funky Kong, a video game character.
Place ...
as those have shown their support during Iraklis' supporters rallies against
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
's refusal to grant Iraklis a license to participate in the
2010–11 Super League season.
Also, the fans have sympathy for all the clubs named "Heracles" worldwide, most notably the Spanish
Hércules CF
Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a Spanish football team in Alicante, in the autonomous community of Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Segunda División RFEF – Group 3 and plays its hom ...
. Since 2003, fans of both teams formed a friendship through the internet. There is even a Hércules CF supporters club that bears the name "Iraklis", in honor of their friendship.
Ownership and financing
Professional era
Until 1979 Greek football was semi-professional and each football club was run by a board and a president appointed by its respective
multi-sport club
A sports club or sporting club, sometimes an athletics club or sports society or sports association, is a group of people formed for the purpose of playing sports.
Sports clubs range from organisations whose members play together, unpaid, and ...
, of which it was considered a branch. In
the 1979–80 season the football branch of Iraklis became an
SA owned by local businessmen Tertilinis and Pertsinidis.
In the
1983–84 season Iraklis was bought by Petros Theodorides who remained at the helm of the club for almost 18 years.
From the beginning of the
1999–2000 season there were demonstrations by the supporters of Iraklis, asking for the resignation of Theodoridis from his presidential seat and the sale of his stocks.
On 11 February 2000 Greek business magnate
Evangelos Mytilineos
Evangelos Mytilineos (Greek language, Greek: Ευάγγελος Μυτιληναίος, born in Athens in 1954) is a Greek businessman, chairman of the board of directors of Mytilineos Holdings, Mytilineos that he founded in 1990.
Born in Athens ...
bought the stocks of Theodoridis for a reported 1.18 billion
Greek drachmas.
On 27 January 2003, two days after a 3–1 away defeat of Iraklis against
OFI, Mytilineos gave a press conference in which he announced his withdrawal from Iraklis' affairs, due to his disgust with the establishment of Greek football.
Shortly afterwards the ownership of the club was passed to businessman Giorgos Spanoudakis for 1
euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
and until 2006 the club had accumulated a debt of 8 million euros, partly because Mytilineos did not pay the taxes for the players' contracts and partly due to Spanoudakis handling of the club's affairs.
After a takeover of the club, in 2005, by businessman Dimitris Khoulis failed, Spanoudakis continued having the ownership of Iraklis.
In 2007 Spanoudakis declared the club's inability to repay its debts to the players and tried to hand Iraklis' stocks to Cypriot businessman Pheevos Morides. After the latter failed to fulfill his promises the deal was cancelled. Greek singer
Antonis Remos, a prominent supporter of Iraklis, expressed his interest to undertake the club's fortunes, but he moved back when Spanoudakis asked €500,000 to pass the club's ownership.
On 10 July 2007 Iraklis' administration building was set on fire by supporters in an attempt to express their discontent for the cancellation of the club's takeover from Antonis Remos. A few days later a deal was reached and Remos took over Iraklis. In the summer of 2010, Ioannis Takis took charge as the new chairman.
Summers 2010 and 2011 authorisation issues and reactions
On 1 June 2010, the club was denied a license to compete in next season's Greek Super League. That summer, Iraklis's fans rallied in Thessaloniki for more than 10 days. Also there were 2 rallies in Athens and other important places in Greece like
Malgara
Malkara ( el, Μάλγαρα, Malgara) is a town and district of Tekirdağ Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. It is located at 55 km west of Tekirdağ and 190 km from Istanbul. It covers an area of 1,225 km², which makes ...
and
Tempi.
Finally, on 25 June, Iraklis received permission to play in Greek Super League for the 2010–11 season.
On 4 May 2011, Iraklis were relegated to
Football League (Greece) after failing to obtain a license to participate in 2011–12
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
. On 19 May 2011, the Disciplinary Committee of the competition found Iraklis guilty of forgery during the winter transfer window. Therefore, the club was automatically placed in the last position.
That is a unique case as Iraklis have never finished in a relegation spot but have been relegated twice. On 26 September, however, the Professional Sports Committee stripped Iraklis from its professional licence and demoted it to
Delta Ethniki. The team competed in Delta Ethniki under the ownership of
G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki, until the G.S. Irakli's General Assembly decided to disband it in favour of a merging deal with Pontioi Katerini to form ''AEP Iraklis F.C.'' in 2012.
The Club is named AEP Iraklis (2012–2014)
Ιn August 2012, AEP Iraklis was incorporated as ''AEP Iraklis 2012 FC''. The new merged club has no legal connection to the original Iraklis Thessaloniki F.C., but is essentially considered as a direct continuation of it. Therefore, G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki has no shares of the new company, but instead still holds the 10% of the bankrupt original Iraklis FC company, which remains to be dissolved. Currently, MAE Pontioi Katerini own 10% of the new merged club, as required by the Greek sports law, the club's chairman Theodoros Papadopoulos and team fans own the rest, with the chairman possessing a relative majority.
Spyros Papathanasakis era (2014–2018)
In the summer of 2014 and after several months of negotiations Spyros Papathanasakis became the new major shareholder of the club holds the 90% of shares. The same year the company was once again renamed in PAE Iraklis 1908. In 2014–15, Iraklis promoted easily from the second division (Football League) to the Super League (first tier) after finishing in the first place during the regular season and second in the playoffs only behind AEK FC. The next season Iraklis finished in the 12th position to secure Super League status for the next season.
Two years later, despite successfully retaining Super League status once again by finishing 12th the team was again relegated to gamma ethniki (third tier) while the financial situation of the club was again under severe deterioration. This urged Papathanasakis, on 7 September 2017, to declare Iraklis' inability to satisfy financial obligations, causing the club to be disbanded for the second time in five years. Papathanasakis stepped down as owner and chairman of Iraklis FC. For this reason, a brand new committee with Nikos Vafeiadis as its chairman was made by Iraklis's Legends and fans to save the club.
Despite starting the 2017–18 season with only 14 players Vafeiadis and the rest of the brand new committee brought lots of players who quickly helped Iraklis to climb the rankings and play high quality football during their first season back in Gamma Ethniki since 2011–12. After an amazing season, despite being an outsider Iraklis finished top of the table in group 2. This obtained the club a Play-offs place. In the Play-offs Iraklis managed to finish in the 1st place and gain promotion to Football League (2nd tier).
Tom Papadopoulos era (2018–2019)
In the summer, negotiations began on the purchase of the football section of Iraklis Thessaloniki by the Greek–American businessman Tom Papadopoulos, who is involved in the processing and marketing of marble in the United States of America. On 27 September 2018, Professional Sports Committee of Greece announced that Tom Papadopoulos is the new major shareholder of Iraklis Thessaloniki and today 90% of its shares are its own, since it has already given €300,000 for the share capital of the new company set up a few days ago. The professional club formed through the merger with Pontioi Katerini F.C., which is owned by Tom Papadopoulos, does not currently compete and appears to be insolvent.
Players
Current squad
Personnel
Management
Honours and achievements
Regional
*Thessaloniki Championship
**Winners (2): 1914, 1915
*
Macedonia FCA Championship
**Winners (5): 1926–27, 1938–39, 1939–40, 1950–51, 1951–52
**Runners up (6): 1923–24, 1925–26, 1929–30, 1936–37, 1946–47, 1952–53
*
Macedonia FCA Championship Fourth Division
**Winners (1): 2019–2020
National
*
Super League
The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...
(First Division)
**Runners up (3):
1933–34,
1938–39,
1946–47
*
Super League 2
Stones Bitter Super League II was the official name for the year 1997's Super League championship season, the 103rd season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the second to be played in summer.
Teams
Twelve teams were ...
(Second Division)
**Champions (1):
1980–81
**Runners up (1):
2014–15
*
Gamma Ethniki
The Gamma Ethniki ( el, Γ΄ Εθνική Ερασιτεχνική Κατηγορία, C National Amateur Division) is the third highest football league in Greece.
History
The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 198 ...
(Third Division)
**Champions (1):
2017–18
*
Greek Cup
**Winners (1):
1975–76
**Runners up (4):
1946–47,
1956–57,
1979–80,
1986–87
Iraklis Thessaloniki in European competitions
*
Balkans Cup
The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being t ...
** Winners (1): 1985
** Runners-up (1): 1981
Managerial history
Notable former players
Greek Golden Player –
UEFA Jubilee Awards To celebrate the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA)'s 50th anniversary in 2004, each of its member associations was asked by UEFA to choose one of its own players as the single most outstanding player of the past 50 years (1954–2003). ...
*
Vasilis Hatzipanagis
Vasilis Hatzipanagis ( el, link=no, Βασίλης Χατζηπαναγής, , born 26 October 1954) is a Greek former professional footballer. He played for Iraklis in the Greek Alpha Ethniki and Pakhtakor in the Soviet Supreme League. He a ...
Top foreign league goalscorer
Foreigner leading in league appearances
Records and statistics
Records
*Biggest win:
**14–1 v Enosi Charilaou,
1959–60 Greek Cup
**13–0 v
Odysseas Kordelio,
1955–56 Greek Cup
*Biggest away win:
**1–8 v
Apollon Krya Vrysi,
1993–94 Greek Cup
*Biggest league win:
**12–0 v
Edessaikos,
1980–81 Beta Ethniki
The 1980–81 Beta Ethniki season was 22nd edition of second tier nationwide championship of Greece. Forty teams participated in the league, divided in two groups, the ''South and the North Group''. Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki), Iraklis was named ch ...
*Biggest top tier win
**8–1 v
AEK
A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelf ...
,
1930–31 Panhellenic Championship
The 1930–31 Panhellenic Championship was the third season of the highest football league of Greece. Olympiacos emerged champion for the 1st time in its history. On the other hand, Apollon Athens, Ethnikos Piraeus and Iraklis qualified for the r ...
,
**8–1 v
Rodos,
1978–79 Alpha Ethniki
The 1978–79 Alpha Ethniki was the 43rd season of the highest football league of Greece. The season began on 3 September 1978 and ended on 3 June 1979. AEK Athens won their second consecutive and seventh Greek title.
The point system was: ''Win ...
League statistics
Positioning in Greek league
1 Demoted to second division due to a match fixing scandal in a cup game against PAOK.
2 Demoted to fourth division (amateur division) because the Professional Sports Committee stripped Iraklis from its professional licence.
3 Demoted to fourth division (amateur division) due to restructuring of national championships and its financial state.
Total league record
Head to head record against city rivals
''As of 16 May 2015''
Highest attendances
Statistics in Europe
Iraklis' matches in Europe
UEFA club competitions' record
References
External links
Official websites
Official websiteat
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
Media
Official YouTube channelNews sites
*Iraklis o
Blue Arena
*Iraklis o
Iraklis1908.gr
{{Football in Greece
Iraklis Thessaloniki F.C.
Iraklis Thessaloniki
Football clubs in Thessaloniki
Association football clubs established in 1908
1908 establishments in the Ottoman Empire
Super League Greece 2 clubs