|
Register Now!
|
|
Register now for vtap for the fastest and easiest way to watch web video on your mobile device!
|
|
Iraklis Thessaloniki Football Club (also known as Iraklis, or The Old one) is a Greek professional association football club, branch of the wider family of the Gymnastic Club Iraklis Thessaloniki based in Thessaloniki.It is named after Heracles (Greek: Ηρακλής), the mythical Greek demigod.They play in the Greek Super league and are one of the most historic clubs in Greek football, the oldest in Thessaloniki and one of the oldest in Greece, having been established in 1908, they are co-founders of the Thessaloniki Football Federation (now defunct) as well as the Hellenic Football Federation and compete in Greece's top football Division for 48 of it's 49 years of life having won one Greek Cup reaching four more Cup finals,and one Balkans Cup.
Iraklis FC was founded in 1908, as "Ottoman Hellenic Club of Thessaloniki - Iraklis" (at that time, the city of Thessaloniki was under Ottoman rule, so the club was forced to include the adjective Ottoman in its name) though it traces it's roots back in 1905 when the "Friends of the Arts" Club (merged with "Olympia" in 1908 to produce Iraklis) gave it's first footbal game. After a lean period in the post-war years they became one of the powers to be reckoned in Greek football especially after securing the services of Vassilis Hatzipanagis in 1975 - an already member of the USSR national team of Greek descent who was later voted the best football player in Greek history and was honored as so in the UEFA Jubilee Awards.After a golden era from mid 70ies to late 80ies the club began downturn partly because of the impact the bosman ruling had in domestic football market and partly because it fell victim of what many have described as mismanagement of the team's fortunes by untrustworthy presidents.
The club's colours have traditionally been blue and white, to resemble the Greek flag and remained the same - although in different variations - through history. Similarly, the club have changed location over time; the team's first stadium was located in what is now Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, central-east Thessaloniki, but in 1960 they moved further east across the city to state owned Kaftanzoglio Stadium after the team's one was purchased by the state in a compulsory deal to expand the city's university. As of 2008 there are plans in development for Iraklis to build their own stadium in Chortatzides,east Thessaloniki where the club owns land.
Iraklis nowadays has a modest in numbers and diverse fanbase, who holds a string of long-standing rivalries with few other clubs; the most notable of these is with neighbours Aris and P.A.O.K., with whom they regularly contest the Thessaloniki derbies.







