Iraklis Thessaloniki F.C.
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| Full name | Iraklis 1908 Football Club (Ηρακλής 1908 ΠΑΕ) |
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| Nickname(s) | Γηραιός (the Elder) |
| Founded | 29 November 1908 as Macedonikos Gymnasticos Syllogos |
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Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece |
| Capacity | 27,770 |
| Owner | Spyros Papathanasakis |
| Chairman | Spyros Papathanasakis |
| Manager | Savvas Pantelidis |
| League | Superleague Greece |
| 2015–16 | Superleague Greece, 12th |
| Website | Club home page |
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Iraklis 1908 FC (Greek: Α.Ε.Π. Ηρακλής 1908 ΠΑΕ) or Iraklis FC, is a Greek football club, based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece, currently playing in the Superleague, the top tier of Greek football. Their home ground is the Kaftanzoglio Stadium with a capacity of 27,770.
Founded in 1908 as "Macedonikos Gymnasticos Syllogos" (Macedonian Gymnastics Club), they are one of the oldest in Greek football and the oldest in Thessaloniki, 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 (or Hercules as the Roman equivalent). The team's colours are cyan or blue and white, inspired by the Greek flag. Iraklis was 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 in 1985.
Iraklis traces 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 that took place in the area at that time. Due to the Young Turks' revolt of 1908 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 operation of the club was accepted by the Greek courts in 1914 and on 11 January 1915 Iraklis became a fully registered sports club.
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Wikipedia