Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki)
Iraklis F.C., also known as Iraklis VENETIS BAKERIES after its title sponsor, is a professional football club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. Created in 1908, it serves as the professional men's football department of the multisports club of G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis. They play their home matches at Kaftanzoglio Stadium. As of 2021, the club competes in the second–tier level Super League 2.
G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis was founded on 29 November 1908 and is one of the oldest and most historic sport clubs in Greece, hence the nickname "Gireos". In 1910, the name "Iraklís" was added to the club's name as an honour to the ancient Greek demigod Heracles, hence the nickname "Imitheos". The club's colours are blue and white, inspired by the flag of Greece.
Iraklis Thessaloniki is a founding member of Macedonia Football Clubs Association and Hellenic Football Federation. Before the formation of the nationwide league of Alpha Ethniki, Iraklis Thessaloniki competed in the league that was run by the Macedonia Football Clubs Association, winning it on 5 occasions. The club has also played in 5 Greek Cup finals, lifting the trophy once in 1976, which is the club's only domestic trophy. They have also a European trophy, the Balkans Cup, won in 1985.
History
Foundation and first years (1899–1912)
G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis traced its roots back on 1 July 1899 when Omilos Filomouson was established. The club was established as a cultural union of the Greeks of Thessaloniki, and its sports department was founded in 1902. In 1903 the club joined forces with Olympia, another greek Gymnastic Club of Thessaloniki. 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 football match that was held on 23 April 1905 by the Omilos Filomouson football team which won by 3–0 against Union Sportive, team of the Western European diaspora of Thessaloniki.Later on, Omilos Filomouson faced financial problems. As a result, members of Omilos Filomouson founded on 29 November 1908 a new sporting club, called Makedonikos Gymnastikos Syllogos, 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 in 1910 for the club, Othomanikos Ellinikos Gymnastikos Syllogos Thessalonikis "Iraklis". Τhe name "Iraklís" was added to the club's name as an honour to the ancient Greek demigod. 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.
G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis (1912–2012)
National establishment and early success (1912–1959)
After the integration of Thessaloniki in the Kingdom of Greece on 26 October 1912, the operation of the club was accepted by the Greek courts in 1914 and became a fully registered sports club on 11 January 1915 as Gymnastikos Syllogos Thessalonikis "Iraklis".Shortly after the end of the Second Balkan War, Iraklis together with the 3 Jewish 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 Thessaloniki played a match against Athinaikos Syllogos Podosferiseos, 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 to Aris. In 1924 Iraklis played its first match against a club from outside the borders of Greece. 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 Western Macedonia Ermis Sorovič and the champion of Eastern 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.
In the 1933–34 season Iraklis won the North Group of the Panhellenic Championship qualifying for the championship final, where the club had to compete against the champion of the South group Olympiacos. 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 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 North Group of the Panhellenic Championship, the second resulting in the qualification of Iraklis in the National final. In the national final Iraklis lost to AEK Athens both away and at home, 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 football competitions were suspended in Greece due to Axis occupation of Greece from 1941 to 1945. After the war period, the club was constantly competing with Aris for Macedonia F.C.A. Championship, which gave upon its winner the right to participate in Panhellenic Championship. Iraklis participated in the 1947 Greek Cup final, where was defeated 5–0 by the dominant greek club of that era, Olympiacos. In the 1950s, the team solidified its position among the top teams in Greece along with Olympiacos, Panathinaikos, AEK Athens, PAOK, AEL and Aris. Nevertheless, the club struggled with financial difficulties in an ailing Greek economy. Thessaloniki 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 2–0 by Olympiacos.
Semi-professional Alpha Ethniki era (1959–1975)
Iraklis played in the inaugural season of Alpha 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. 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. The following two seasons Iraklis played in the Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, getting eliminated both times, by F.K. Vojvodina and Real Zaragoza 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, 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.File:NeaSalaminaFamagustaFCvsIraklisThessalonikiF.C..png|thumb|200px|Nea Salamis Famagusta against Iraklis Thessaloniki in G.S.E. Stadium, Famagusta for an exhibition game in 1970.
In the 1970–71 season Iraklis, under the guidance of Yugoslav manager Ljubiša Spajić, 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, 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 Kostas 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 1974–75 Greek 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.