Iraklis (Hercules in English) has its roots deep in time . It is the oldest athletic club in the whole of Greece . And the colors , blue and white , strongly reminiscent of the national colors of Greece .
The story of Iraklis starts in 1899 , when it was founded by the group of music lovers . The group was not an athletic club , but a club of literature and music . In 1903 , the group members decided to include sports activities within the working of the club. They created and established physical fitness, swimming and cycling sections . However , it was football, the new sport of that era that ” stole the hearts ” of athletes.
The first official game was held on April 23, 1905 , but then the club got into financial problems . Three years later, in 1908 , a historical date for Iraklis, everything changed . The club worked with the group “Olympia ” and joining forces had resulted in the birth of Iraklis. Full name was then: ” Ottoman Greek Association of Thessaloniki ” Iraklis” .” The football department was first created . The first successes were soon to come . On 29 November 1908 , during the General Assembly of States established its first Statute of Iraklis consisting of 36 articles . First President in the history of Iraklis was Dr A. Malta .
In 1914 Iraklis facing housing problems , as the revenue of the club was little and came solely from membership fees . However , the club did , thanks to dynamics , manage to overcome the difficulties and the club’s sports facilities became the ‘ core ‘ sports in the city of Thessaloniki. Iraklis is inextricably tied to the history of the city and it is significant that so many great players and subsequent figures of Thessaloniki and the country wore the glorious shirt with ” demigod ” on their chest .
Since its inception, the football club of Iraklis, started to become popular throughout Greece . In the first postwar Panhellenic Games the ” turquoise and white ” team achieved many important victories and set the team standard for the era that all other clubs tried to mimic.
As the years passed , Iraklis is still among the top teams in Greek football . The beginning of the 1920s was marked by national events , but this did not prevent the club to win multiple victories during the ‘Panthrakikos’ Games ( 1923 ) . The same year the first children and youth departments were created within the club.
The story of Hercules , after the Second World War , included participation in five finals of the Greek Cup ( 1947 , 1975 , 1976 , 1980 , 1987 ) . 1976 was the year that will be engraved in the memories of all the fans of Hercules . On June 9, 1976 , in the ‘New Philadelphia’ stadium , the favorite team of all Greece won on penalties against Olympiakos ( 6-5 , 4-4 in regular time and overtime) and won the Cup .
The next day , when the ‘ blue white ‘ players returned to Thessaloniki , over one hundred thousand fans have reserved their slot in the vast celebrations.
In 1976 Hercules participates in the European Cup Winners Cup. Iraklis has participated a total in the UEFA cup (1962, 1964, 1989, 1990, 1996, 2000). In 2000-2001 , Iraklis managed to qualify for the first time in the second round of the tournament.
In 1985 Hercules won the Balkan Cup , beating in the final of the Romanian team ‘Arges Pitesti’ by 4 goals to 1 .
Landmark Dates:
1928 Hercules won the football championship Thessaloniki
1933 Participates in the semifinals of the Greek Cup
1934 occupies the second place in the national championship
1935 Balkan Cup in Sofia Bulgaria. Iraklis team lineup : Sideropoulos , Katrantzopoulos , Ribas , humus BALTAS , Vikelidis , Kasimatis , Symeonidis , Christodoulou , Mygiakis , Ordinary Course : Giounak
1938 Wins the Football Championship of Thessaloniki
1939 occupies the second place in the national championship
1947 Participates in the National Championship ( second time) and the Greek Cup final
Third in the 1951 national championship
1957 Participates in the final of the Greek Cup
1958 Participates to the Greek Cup semifinal
1961 Participates to the Greek Cup semifinal . At the same time , Iraklis participates (the first ever appearance of a Greek football team ) in the Fairs Cup , the current Europa Cup
1971 Participates to the Greek Cup semifinal
1975 Participates to the Greek Cup semifinal
1976 Becomes the Greek Cup
1980 Participates in the Greek Cup final
1985 Wins the Balkan Cup
1987 Participates in the final of the Greek Cup
Participates in the 1989 UEFA Cup
Participates in the 1990 UEFA Cup
Participates in the 1996 UEFA Cup
1998 Participates in the semifinals of the Greek Cup
2000 Participates in the UEFA Cup for the first time passing the second round of the event eliminating the French team of Gueugnon
2001 Achieves the fifth position in the league and participates in the semifinals of the Greek Cup
2002 Achieves the 6th place in the Championship. Participates in European competitions.
2003 Achieves the 7th place in the Championship and takes part in the Cup
2004 Achieves the 8th position in the Championship and participates in the quarterfinals of the Greek Cup
2006 With a stunning and mentionable progress , particularly in the second round of the championship , the team achieves 4th place in the standings with the final ranking. Iraklis finishes the championship standings with an aggregate of 51 points .