OFI Crete
Encyclopedia
OFI the Sportfriends Association Heraklion, is a Greek
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 association football club based in Heraklion
Heraklion
Heraklion, or Heraclion is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete, Greece. It is the 4th largest city in Greece....

, on the island of Crete
Crete
Crete is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, and one of the thirteen administrative regions of Greece. It forms a significant part of the economy and cultural heritage of Greece while retaining its own local cultural traits...

. Outside Greece, the club is generally known as OFI Crete F.C., however, the name Crete is not actually part of the club's official title.

OFI is the club with most appearances in the Greek first division
Super League Greece
The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...

 among clubs of the Greek province
Province
A province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Etymology:The English word "province" is attested since about 1330 and derives from the 13th-century Old French "province," which itself comes from the Latin word "provincia," which referred to...

. The club has had noticeable success to date, particularly considering its comparative status, and has won one Greek Cup
Greek football Cup
The Greek Football Cup , commonly known as the Greek Cup or for sponsorship reasons the Football Cup OPAP, is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation....

 and one Balkans Cup
Balkans Cup
In 1961, a Balkans Cup for football clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia was introduced. It was played 27 times...

, while they have competed several times in UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....

 competitions.

At the end of the 2008–09
Super League Greece 2008-09
-League table :||rowspan=8 style="background-color:white;"|-Results:...

 season, OFI was relegated to Beta Ethniki
Beta Ethniki
Football League, former Beta Ethniki, is the second highest professional football league in Greece.-History:In its first years, the system of conduct was very intriguing. It began in 1954 as regional championship, separated in two groups, North and South. Then, the participating teams were the...

, thus ending a notable 33-year run in the greek top division. In the 2010-11 season they were promoted back to the top flight.

The foundation

The club was founded during the autumn of 1925 by a group of athletes that used to exercise in a specific gym in the city centre of Heraklion. The official name given to the sports club was Omilos Filathlon Irakleiou (acronym OFI). The colours that OFI used were black and white, because none of the existing sports clubs had the same colour combination in Crete. The scope of the sport club, as had been written down in the first deed of association, was to participate in all kinds of events, and exhibitions related to athletics. During the first period of OFI’s existence most of the teams founders were also members.

The years before World War II (1925–1940)

The years preceding World War II were a very difficult period not only for Crete, but for Greece in general. Thus, it was extremely difficult for OFI to travel and participate in national football tournaments. As a result, OFI was limited to matches around the island of Crete and particularly with other football clubs based in Heraklion. Strangely enough, these local matches were more frequent in comparison to the official ones of former periods. Even though official documentation does not exist, elderly fans of OFI believe that the team played around 400 matches before the Germans finally occupied Crete.

First participation in the National League (1945–1962)

After the German occupation of Greece had ended, football tournaments around the country started again. At this time there was only the “First Division” championship, in which standard football teams from Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...

 and Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki
Thessaloniki , historically also known as Thessalonica, Salonika or Salonica, is the second-largest city in Greece and the capital of the region of Central Macedonia as well as the capital of the Decentralized Administration of Macedonia and Thrace...

 participated, including a few teams which qualified through preliminary rounds. However, it was almost impossible for a team coming from the province to take part in it.
This situation arose because the Hellenic Football Federation structured a system in which football teams from around the country had to play many preliminary rounds before proceeding to the national championship. As a result, even though OFI was the top football team in Crete, they could not take part in the national tournament.

After 1956, the system in Greece changed slightly. Advantages were that in some seasons the preliminary rounds were organized in groups of a few teams, where the champions of each group were promoted directly to the championship of the same season’s First Division. One of those seasons was in 1957/58. OFI played preliminary games in a group of 4 teams, where they finished in first place. Thus, OFI, for the first time in its history, participated in the Greek National Championship. However, the team could not stand the frequent trips around Greece and finished in last position. Up to 1962, when the official 2nd Division Championship was organized, OFI tried again many times, but unsuccessfully, to take part in the competition of the 1st Division again.

Attempts in the official 2nd League (1962–1968)

In 1962/63 the official Greek 2nd division league was set up for first time. OFI was one of the teams that participated in the league and completed the season in 9th position. In 1963/64 and 1964/65 OFI finished in 3rd and 5th position respectively.
In 1965/66 OFI were the champions of the 2nd Division of Greek football and only one step away from promotion to the official 1st National Division of Greek football.

Yet, the Hellenic Football Federation decided that even the champions of the 2nd Division had to play preliminary games in order to be promoted.

OFI lost in the play-off matches and remained in the 2nd Division. In 1966/67 the disappointment was huge, even though OFI ended in 3rd position. Everyone on the island of Crete was feeling that the moment where they could see the pride of their island in the top league was very close.
In 1967/68 OFI finished in 2nd position and went into play-off games with the bottom team of the 1st division. The final match of the play-offs was to take place in the city of Chania
Chania
Chaniá , , also transliterated Chania, Hania, and Xania, older form Chanea and Venetian Canea, Ottoman Turkish خانيه Hanya) is the second largest city of Crete and the capital of the Chania peripheral unit...

, on 26/06/1968. OFI, with the help of 10,000 Cretans thrashed the team from the 1st division with a 3–0 win and made the dreams of thousands of supporters come true. OFI was an official member of the 1st National Division.

Debut in the 1st League (1968–1971)

OFI’s debut in the national 1st division was very difficult. “Omilos” ended the first round in 15th position. It was a very difficult task to remain in the league. However, in the 2nd round the Cretans played magnificently and finally finished in 12th place. In the next season OFI had already gained the experience of playing in the top league of Greek football. The “Snakes” finished in 13th place, but the strange thing was that OFI remained unbeaten in almost all of their home games in Heraklion. Only two teams managed to survive and leave Crete with an away win. Thus, even if OFI was not a feared opponent, all the other teams were anxious when taking the trip to the island of Crete.

1970/71 was the worse season the team from Heraklion ever had in the 1st Division. OFI ended in 17th position and was relegated for the last time in their history to the 2nd division. The whole season was a tragedy for the Cretans. OFI had to meet “old friends” from the 2nd division again and start battling again in order to be promoted for a second time.

Back to the 2nd league (1971–1976)

OFI had been relegated again, but this time the 2nd division had changed entirely. After all, the championship had been more officially organized and opponents were tougher than before.

OFI spent another 5 seasons in the 2nd division, from 1971–72 to 1975–76. During the first season, the team was continually in 1st place.
However, at the end of the season, OFI’s good performances deteriorated and they finally finished 4th. In 1972/73 the management decided on a complete overhaul of the squad. In these circumstances, the 13th position OFI achieved was predictable, yet a new era of the stars of OFI had just begun. In the next season OFI finished 6th and in 1974/75 they finished 5th. In the next season the league was divided again into two groups, each of 20 teams. The champions of each group would be promoted directly to the First National Division. OFI couldn’t afford to miss this chance.
Everything started perfectly for “Omilos” in 1975/76. They finished 1st at the end of the first round with a huge lead over the runners-up and then finished the season as champions.
The whole island of Crete was celebrating the promotion of OFI to the 1st division. Up to the present, (2007), OFI have never been relegated again.

The years before the arrival of Eugène Gerards (1976–1985)

During the first 3 seasons of OFI’s presence in the 1st Division, the Greek championship still had an amateur status. In 1976/77, even though OFI were rookies, they finished in 6th place and gained the admiration of the whole country. In addition Dimitris Papadopoulos finished the top goal scorer of the League season. The following two seasons OFI finished 8th and 7th respectively, a period in which OFI was never once defeated in Crete. Even the “heavyweights” of the league (Panathinaikos, Olympiakos, AEK & PAOK) struggled to win any points when making the trip to the 'Genti Koule' on island of Crete.

The championship in Greece was professionalised for the 1979/80 season and in the middle of that term the Vardinogiannis group bought the football club of OFI (see rival section). During that season the only team that beat OFI at home in Crete was Panathinaikos. The Athenian team took the victory in Heraklion extremely easily with a score line of 0–3. It was the only loss endured by Cretans on the island that year, after all games had been completed OFI finished in 11th position. The next season Panathinaikos embarked on their first set of experiments on OFI. Young players came from all over the country in order to play for “Omilos”. Partly because of this experimentation by their new owners OFI only managed 13th position in the League. The 1981/82 campaign saw OFI finish in 9th place and the following 1982/83 season in 7th. It seemed clear that Theodoros Vardinogiannis wanted OFI to be a stronger team in the championship. He tried to achieve that, not by spending money for good players, but by sending 2nd hand players from his other team Panathinaikos or young players that could possibly be useful to OFI, but primarily, for Panathinaikos in the future when the time was right. Thus, in 1983/84 3 goalkeepers, 1 midfielder and 1 defender came from the Athenian team to Crete.

The continuing experimentation caused OFI to be disappointed yet again. OFI finished in 8th place, exactly the same position they finished next season too. Although OFI’s results were not wonderful, this group of fresh players had gained experience and started to play like a team. The one thing that was missing was a good coach, who could get the best out of each player. This man arrived the following season.

The Gerards years (1985–2000)

Eugène Gerards stayed in Crete as coach of OFI for a legendary 15 years. This is still the record tenure for a coach in the Greek League, and will be a feat that lives long in the memory of Cretans. Gerards' first 3 years at the helm in Crete were nothing short of amazing. In 1985/86 OFI finished 2nd in the league and only missed out on becoming champions by 5 points. Gerards continued his revolution with a 3rd place finish in 1986/87 and 4th place in 1987/88. As Gerards' OFI continued to achieve high finishes in the Greek Championship the team from Crete did something wonderful 21 June 1987. In the Olympic Stadium in Athens they defeated Iraklis 3–1 on penalties winning the Greek Cup. The game had finished 1–1 after regular and extra time. With string league position and victorious in the Cup OFI was at that time one of the major players in Greek football.
The 1987/88 season was special for Cretans for another reason too – it was the first time in league history that OFI finished in a higher position than Panathinaikos, beating them 2–1 in Heraklion on the way, with a goal in last minute from Stefanos Vavoulas.
This golden era also saw OFI participate in European competition – UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

 1986 and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
UEFA Cup Winners' Cup
The UEFA Cup Winners' Cup was a football club competition contested annually by the most recent winners of all European domestic cup competitions. The cup is one of the many inter-European club competitions that have been organised by UEFA. The first competition was held in the 1960–61 season—but...

 1987.
The following seasons (1989/90, 1990/91, 1991/92) were not quite as spectacular as what had gone before. OFI finished 6th, 7th and 6th respectively, missing UEFA Cup qualification by a few points each year. In June 1990 OFI played once again in the final of the Greek Cup, this time against Olympiacos. The game took place in Olympiacos' home stadium and OFI lost 4–2.
In June 1991 OFI played in the final of the Pre-Mediterranean
1991 Mediterranean Games
The 11th edition of the Mediterranean Games were held in Athens, Greece fromthe 28th of June to the 12th of July 1991. Eighteen nations competed in 24 different sportingevents.- Pre-Mediterranean Cup :...

 Cup, against AEK Athens FC
AEK Athens FC
AEK Athens F.C. , the Athletic Union of Constantinople, is a Greek association football club based in the city of Athens, Greece. Outside Greece, the club is also known as AEK Athens, however, the word Athens is not part of the club's official title.Established in Athens in 1924 by Greek refugees...

.
The game took place in Georgios Kamaras Stadium
Georgios Kamaras Stadium
Georgios Kamaras Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Athens, Greece. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Apollon Smyrnis. The stadium holds 14,856 and was built in 1948. It was used by Olympiacos for about 3 years as home ground, due to the construction...

 and OFI lost 1–0.
During the last of those 3 seasons, OFI brought a young Argentinian star to Crete – Victor Hugo Delgado. However, there was little time for Cretans to enjoy the benefits of his talent as he was soon transferred to Panathinaikos.
In the 1992/93 campaign OFI was in great form once again. OFI finished 4th in the Championship and qualified for the following season's UEFA Cup tournament. The season's great star for OFI was Nikos Nioplias. At the end of the previous season the Vardinogiannis family decided that he might become useful to Panathinaikos, so he became the 3rd player to move to Athens from OFI. Without the team's great star, OFI only managed a 7th place finish in the 1993/94 Championship. But despite those facts the name of OFI was heard loud and clear all around Europe. That season OFI achieved the unthinkable – they eliminated Slavia Prague in the 1st round of the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

 and Atlético Madrid in the 2nd round (both 2–1 on aggregate). Nobody in Europe could believe that an unknown quantity like OFI could ever knock out of Europe such illustrious opposition. The famous cup run came to an end when OFI was eliminated in the 3rd round by Portuguese club Boavista FC
Boavista FC
Boavista Futebol Clube, commonly known as Boavista , is a Portuguese sports club from the city of Porto. Founded on 1 August 1903, it is one of the oldest clubs in the country, and currently plays in the third division...

 (Round of 16). Despite the disappointment there was pride for Cretans to be taken in that their team was the most successful Greek team in European competition that season.
In 1994/95, Panathinaikos were in dire need of a striker, and OFI had 2 top rated strikers from the previous season, Nikos Machlas and Alexis Alexoudis. Even though Panathinaikos wanted Machlas, he himself refused to go to Athens, and as a result, Panathinaikos grabbed Alexoudis. OFI ended in the 9th position this year. In the next season, Eugène Gerards tried to build a new team with young players. Yet the Dutchman had lost 2 great players to Panathinaikos and Nikos Machlas was transferred to Vitesse Arnhem. OFI finished 5th and missed qualification for the UEFA Cup in the last game of the season.

1996/97 was an amazing season for “Omilos”. With the partipication of Nikos Nioplias (Panathinaikos did not need him anymore, so he was transferred back to OFI), OFI was on 2nd place before the winter break and 4 of their players were part of the Greek National Team.
On the last day of the transfer period, Panathinaikos grabbed Kostas Konstantinidis, the best defender of OFI’s squad. Finally OFI finished 3rd in the championship by humiliating Panathinaikos 1 week before the end and leaving the team from Athens in 5th place, outside the positions leading to UEFA competitions. The whole island of Crete was again celebrating the great performance of OFI.

In the next 2 seasons, OFI finished in 7th and 8th position respectively, suffering constant humiliations by Panathinaikos in matches between the two, as revenge for what happened in May 1997. In addition to that, Kostas Kiassos
Kostas Kiassos
Konstantinos Kiassos is a Greek football player who currently plays for Enosis Neon Paralimni. He formerly played in Greece for OFI Crete, Panathinaikos, Iraklis, Panionios and Levadiakos, in Cyprus for Anorthosis and in Spain for CD Numancia.-External links:***...

, a great OFI midfielder, was the next 'victim' and was transferred to Panathinaikos. Nevertheless, OFI resumed their successful UEFA Cup campaigns. The pride of Crete eliminated Icelandic team KR Reykjavik
Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur
Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, , for short KR or KR Reykjavík, is an Icelandic athletic club based in the capital, Reykjavík. KR is the oldest and most successful club in Icelandic football.-History:...

 in the second qualifying round (3–1 on aggregate) and Hungarian team Ferencváros in the 1st round proper,(4–2 on aggregate, with an unforgettable 3–0 victory in Crete). OFI’s European dream was ended by AJ Auxerre
AJ Auxerre
Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise is a French association football club based in the commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club was founded in 1905 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Auxerre plays its home matches at the Stade l'Abbé-Deschamps on the banks of the...

 in the 2nd round of the UEFA Cup.

In the year 2000 and after 15 successful years, Eugène Gerards announced his retirement from OFI's bench as the team finished 4th in the championship. It was the last time that OFI gained a position that lead to European competitions, and the last season that OFI was considered one of the top teams in Greece.

The new era (2000–2009)

The new century found OFI unstable and close to relegation almost every year. While Nioplias and Machlas retired, the team partly suffered from a series of bad rosters and managers. In 2001 OFI really struggled to remain to the 1st League. The next two years, OFI managed to play a little better, thus avoiding low positions easier. But then the dark years came: OFI avoided relegation every year, for one or two points difference.

President Fanouris Vatsinas appointed German Reiner Maurer
Reiner Maurer
Reiner Maurer is a German football coach and a former player.-Career:He spent three seasons in the Bundesliga as a player for FC Bayern Munich, VfB Stuttgart and TSV 1860 München and then coached in Germany and Greece....

 as a coach in the summer of 2006. Maurer had the team playing greater football, even competing for a European place since the Gerards era. In the 2007 summer, OFI played in the Intertoto cup, but under-performed. The 2007–08 season found the club fighting to avoid relegation once again, and Maurer was sacked. Giorgos Paraschos was brought as a temporary manager, and he was eventually replaced by Czech, František Straka
František Straka
František Straka is a Czech former football player and manager.-Playing career:Straka played most notably for Sparta Prague. In 1988 he moved to Germany and spent the rest of his playing career there. He played for Czechoslovakia and was a participant in the 1990 FIFA World Cup...

 before the start of the new season.

In 2009 OFI suffered from the bad presidency of Fanouris Vatsinas, who was asked by the fans to leave the club. Furthermore, former player Machlas offered a great amount of money in order to purchase the team. OFI started with awful results, Straka was dismissed and Ioannis Matzourakis
Ioannis Matzourakis
Ioannis Matzourakis is a Greek association football manager and former player. He is currently employed by Kavala FC....

 came to fill his position. During the 2008–09 season, OFI struggled to remain to the Greek Super League, but failed and is in fact relegated to the second division after finishing 16th.

Since relegation OFI has gone into 'meltdown'.
Once the season had ended the majority of the clubs senior players filed claims against club President Fanouris Vatsinas for hundreds of thousands of Euros in unpaid wages. As the non payment of wages was also a breach of contract many of them also freed themselves from their Professional contracts with the club and sought new teams for the forthcoming season.

Club President Vatsinas resigned.

Current squad

As of 25 August, 2011.

Board of Directors

  • President: Nikos Machlas
    Nikos Machlas
    Nikolaos Machlas is a Greek retired footballer and now chairman of OFI Crete. He finished his career as a striker for Cypriot team APOEL.-Club career:...

  • Vice President: Manolis Papakaliatis
  • Director of Football: Nikos Machlas
    Nikos Machlas
    Nikolaos Machlas is a Greek retired footballer and now chairman of OFI Crete. He finished his career as a striker for Cypriot team APOEL.-Club career:...


Coaching & Medical Staff

  • General Manager: Pavlos Adamos
  • Manager: Nikos Anastopoulos
    Nikos Anastopoulos
    Nikos Anastopoulos is a Greek former football player, one of the most prolific strikers in the Greek league during the late 1970s and the 1980s. With 29 goals he is the all time highest scorer for the Greek national football team. Since retiring as a player he has become a football manager...

  • Goalkeeping coach: Kostas Chaniotakis
  • Club Doctor: Giorgos Stafanoudakis
  • Club Doctor: Nikos Zervakis
  • Physiotherapist: Giorgos Vereroudakis
  • Physiotherapist: Kostas Pappas
  • Fitness coach: Dimitris Papyrakis
  • Conditioning coach: Leonidas Sakoutis
  • Chief scout: Eugène Gerards
  • Director of youth academy: Eugène Gerards

Notable players

Albania Arjan Beqaj
Arjan Beqaj
Arjan Beqaj is a former Albanian professional footballer from Kosovo. In a career spanning 19 years he played for seven clubs in four countries and .He is now the goalkeeping coach at Anorthosis Famagusta.-Early career:...



Armenia Romik Khachatryan
Romik Khachatryan
Romik Khachatryan is an Armenian football midfielder, of Cypriot Second Division club Omonia Aradippou. He is also a member of the Armenia national team, participated in 54 international matches and scored 1 goal since his debut in away friendly match against Georgia on 30 March 1997.-National team...



Brazil Leozinho
Leozinho
Leandro Sales de Santana, better known as Leozinho , is a Brazilian footballer who plays for Kalloni F.C.. In the past he has been linked with moves to clubs such as the likes of Arsenal, Benfica, Bayern Munich....



Bulgaria Metodi Deyanov
Metodi Deyanov
Metodi Deyanov , is a former Bulgarian football attacking midfielder. He ended his career at the end of 2007-2008 season.Deyanov played several seasons in the Greek Super League for OFI Crete.-References:...



Chile Alejandro Hisis Jaime Vera
Jaime Vera
Jaime Andrés Vera Rodríguez is a former Chilean footballer and currently works as a head coach of Universidad de Concepción.-Club career:...



Costa Rica Rónald Gómez Mauricio Solís

Croatia Rajko Janjanin
Rajko Janjanin
Rajko Janjanin is a former Serbian football player. He was capped twice for Yugoslavia....

 Zdravko Popović
Zdravko Popovic
Zdravko Popović is a Croatian footballer who plays for Levadiakos F.C. in the Greek second division.His former clubs include NK Zagreb, NK Croatia Sesvete and OFI Crete. He led Croatia Sesvete in goal-scoring in both of his seasons with the club, notching a total of 51 goals.-External links:***...



Cyprus Nikos Papavasiliou Marios Neophytou
Marios Neophytou
Marios Neophytou is a Cypriot football striker playing for Akritas Chlorakas.-Career:He began his career in 1993, playing for AEL Limassol. He remained to AEL until 1999, when he was transferred to Anorthosis...



Ghana Derek Boateng
Derek Boateng
Derek Owusu Boateng is a Ghanaian professional footballer, who currently plays as a midfielder for Ukrainian club Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk in the Ukrainian Premier League and the Ghana national team....

 Peter Ofori-Quaye
Greece Pavlos Adamos Alexis Alexoudis
Alexis Alexoudis
Alexandros "Alexis" Alexoudis is a former Greek football player.Alexoudis played most of his career for OFI Crete and Panathinaikos FC....

 Yannis Anastasiou
Yannis Anastasiou
Yannis Anastasiou is a Greek football coach and former player who is currently Manager at Dutch club Ajax 2.As a player, Anastasiou played as a striker, and was active professionally in Greece, Belgium and the Netherlands; he also represented the Greek national side at senior international...

 Kostas Chaniotakis Tasos Dentsas
Tasos Dentsas
Tasos Dentsas is a Greek professional football midfielder. He currently plays for Panetolikos. He has been capped with the Greek U-21 squad.-Club career:...

 Kostas Frantzeskos
Kostas Frantzeskos
Kostas Frantzeskos is a Greek former footballer, best known for his deadly free-kick accuracy. He was regarded as one of the best free-kick specialists in Europe, scoring numerous times from set-pieces during his career....

 Nikos Goulis Thanasis Kolitsidakis
Thanasis Kolitsidakis
Athanasios "Thanasis" Kolitsidakis is a former Greek football defender.Kolitsidakis played most of his career for Apollon Smyrnis, Panathinaikos FC and OFI Crete....

 Kostas Konstantinidis
Kostas Konstantinidis
Konstantinos Konstantinidis is a Greek football player last playing for Nea Salamina.-Career:His previous teams include Panathinaikos FC, OFI Crete, Hertha BSC, Bolton Wanderers F.C., 1. FC Köln...

 Ilias Kotsios
Ilias Kotsios
Ilias Kotsios is a football Defender currently playing for PAS Giannina. He was also playing for Panathinaikos during the seasons 2004–2007, in which he won a double .-References:*...

 Nikos Kounenakis
Nikos Kounenakis
Nikos Kounenakis is a retired South African-born Greek footballer.Kounenakis is generally best known for his time with Greek club OFI Cretehe made 174 total appearances for the club from 1994 to 1999 and 2003 to 2009, and served as team captain from 2007 to 2009.-OFI Crete :At age 17, on 5 March...

 Nikos Machlas
Nikos Machlas
Nikolaos Machlas is a Greek retired footballer and now chairman of OFI Crete. He finished his career as a striker for Cypriot team APOEL.-Club career:...

 Petros Marinakis Nikos Nioplias
Nikos Nioplias
Nikolaos "Nikos" Nioplias , born on 17 January 1965 is a Greek football manager and former international footballer. He currently manages the Cyprus national football team.-Club career:...

 Manolis Patemtzis Eleftherios Poupakis
Eleftherios Poupakis
Eleftherios Poupakis is a retired Greek footballer.During his career he played for Egaleo F.C., Olympiacos F.C., Panathinaikos FC and Apollon Smyrnis F.C. He earned 6 caps for the Greece national football team, and participated in UEFA Euro 1980.-References:...

 Ilias Poursanidis
Ilias Poursanidis
Ilias Poursanidis is a former Greek footballer who spent time at a variety of different clubs in the Greek first division....

 Michalis Sifakis
Michalis Sifakis
Michalis Sifakis is a Greek international goalkeeper. He is well known for his agility and reflexes.-Early years:Born in Heraklion, Greece, Sifakis starts playing football at the age of 9...

 Giannis Taralidis
Giannis Taralidis
Giannis Taralidis is a Greek football defensive midfielder. He currently plays for Glyfada F.C. in the Football League 2.-External links:***...

 Alexandros Tzorvas
Alexandros Tzorvas
Alexandros Tzorvas is a Greek goalkeeper currently playing for Palermo and Greece national football team.-Early career:...

 Ioannis Samaras
Ioannis Samaras
Ioannis Samaras |Victoria]], Australia) is an Australian-born Greek former footballer who played as a midfielder during the 1980s and 1990s.Samaras was born in Melbourne, Australia, to Greek parents. His father, Georgios, was a co-founder of South Melbourne FC, an Australian soccer club with strong...

 Georgios Samaras
Georgios Samaras
Georgios Samaras is a Greek footballer who plays for Scottish Premier League club Celtic and the Greek national football team. He is predominantly a left winger but can also play as a striker....

 Petros Vouzounerakis

Mali Mahamadou Diarra
Mahamadou Diarra
Mahamadou Diarra is a Malian footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Mali national team. He is captain of the national team.-Early career:Diarra started his career with Greek side OFI Crete...



Netherlands Gaston Taument
Gaston Taument
Gaston Taument is a former Dutch football right winger , who played the vast majority of his career for Feyenoord.-Football career:...


Romania Anghel Iordănescu
Anghel Iordanescu
Anghel Iordănescu is a Major General and former Romanian football striker, currently a politician. In 2007 Iordănescu retired from football, and the following February, after his predecessor resigned, he became a member of the Romanian Senate, sitting on the Social Democratic Party benches.-Career...

 Cosmin Bărcăuan
Cosmin Barcauan
Cosmin Bărcăuan is a retired Romanian footballer.-Honours:Team*Ukrainian Premier League: 2005 with Shakhtar Donetsk*Romanian Cup: 2003, 2004 with Dinamo Bucureşti-External links:* at Romanian Soccer website.*...

 Dănuţ Lupu
Danut Lupu
Dănuţ Lupu is a Romanian former football midfielder and former Hockey player in his childhood.-Club career:Lupu started to play professional football in 1985, at the local team of Dunarea Galati in the Romanian second league. Scouters from Dinamo Bucharest saw him, and transferred him to Bucharest...



Senegal Dame N'Doye
Dame N'Doye
Dame N'Doye is a Senegalese footballer who plays as a forward for F.C. Copenhagen of the Danish Superliga. His preferred position is as a withdrawn striker, second striker...



Serbia Goran Drulić
Goran Drulic
Goran Drulić is a Serbian footballer who plays for Andorra CF in Spain, as a striker.-Club career:...

 Aleksandar Simić
Aleksandar Simic (footballer)
Aleksandar Simić is a Serbian footballer midfielder playing with OFK Beograd in the Serbian SuperLiga.-Club career:...



Singapore Fandi Ahmad
Fandi Ahmad
Fandi bin Ahmad is a football coach and former professional footballer from Singapore. During his playing career, he enjoyed success playing in both Europe and Asia, and was captain of the Singapore national football team...



South Africa Pierre Issa

Wales John Banwell

Canada Chris Dixon

Togo Eric Akoto
Eric Akoto
Eric Akoto is a naturalized Togolese football defender. He is currently a free agent after his previous club, North Queensland Fury ceased to participate in the A-League, through financial difficulties.-Club career:...


All the European games

Season Competition Round Club Home Away
1986–87 UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

1st Round   Hajduk Split
HNK Hajduk Split
HNK Hajduk Split, commonly referred to as Hajduk Split or simply Hajduk, is a Croatian football club founded in 1911 and based in the city of Split. The club's home ground since 1979 is the 35,000-seater Poljud Stadium and the team's traditional home colours are white shirts with blue shorts and...

1–0 0–4
1987–88 Cup Winners' Cup 1st Round   Vitosha Sofia 3–1 0–1
2nd Round   Atalanta
Atalanta B.C.
Atalanta Bergamasca Calcio, commonly known as just Atalanta, Atalanta Bergamo or the abbreviation Atalanta BC, is an Italian football club based in Bergamo, Lombardy.They are nicknamed the Nerazzurri and the orobici...

1–0 0–2
1993–94 UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

1st Round   Slavia Prague 1–0 1–1
2nd Round   Atlético Madrid 2–0 0–1
3rd Round   Boavista 1–4 0–2
1995–96 Intertoto Cup
UEFA Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...

Group Stage
(Group 7)
  Nea Salamina 2–1
  Bayer Leverkusen 0–1
  Tervis Pärnu
JK Tervis Pärnu
JK Tervis Pärnu is a now defunct Estonian football team from Pärnu, that used to play in various Estonian divisions, including Meistriliiga. Its club colors were white, black, and blue...

2–0
  Budućnost
FK Buducnost Podgorica
FK Budućnost is a football club from Podgorica, Montenegro, currently competing in the First League of Montenegro. Its colours are blue and white. FK Buducnost is a part of the Budućnost sport society.-History:...

4–3
2nd Round   Bursaspor
Bursaspor
Bursaspor is a professional Turkish football club located in the city of Bursa. Formed in 1963, Bursaspor are nicknamed the Yeşil Timsahlar...

1–2
1997–98 UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

2nd Qual. Round   KR Reykjavík
Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur
Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, , for short KR or KR Reykjavík, is an Icelandic athletic club based in the capital, Reykjavík. KR is the oldest and most successful club in Icelandic football.-History:...

3–1 0–0
1st Round   Ferencváros 3–0 1–2
2nd Round   Auxerre
AJ Auxerre
Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise is a French association football club based in the commune of Auxerre in Burgundy. The club was founded in 1905 and currently play in Ligue 1, the top division of French football. Auxerre plays its home matches at the Stade l'Abbé-Deschamps on the banks of the...

3–2 1–3
2000–01 UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...

1st Round   Napredak
FK Napredak Kruševac
FK Napredak is a football club based in the city of Kruševac, Serbia. The club was founded on December 8, 1946, through a fusion of three local area clubs: Zakić, Badža and 14. Oktobar...

6–0 0–0
2nd Round   Slavia Prague 2–2 1–4
2007–08 Intertoto Cup
UEFA Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...

3rd Round   Tobol
FC Tobol
FC Tobol is a Kazakh football club based at the Central Stadium in Kostanay. They have been members of the Kazakhstan Premier League since its foundation in 1992, they won Kazakhstan Premier league on 2010, and ended up close in 2nd and 3rd positions in last seven seasons.- Name history :*1967 :...

0–1 0–1

Managerial history

Stratos (1946) Kostas Zogas (1958) Mantalopoulos (1959) Vaggelis Helmis (1965–66) Petritsis (1967–68) Kostas Zogas (1967–68) Kapetanovic (1968–71) Giorgos Stratakis (1970–71) Thanasis Soulis (1971–72) Takis Papartheniou (1972–73) Giorgos Stratakis (1971–72) Kostas Karapatis & Manolis Tzanis (1973–74) Thanasis Zafeiropoulos (1975–76) Nikos Alefantos
Nikos Alefantos
Nikolaos Alefantos also known with the nickname "Kyr-Nikos", is a Greek football coach. He is well-known in Greece as a cult figure, due to his temperamental style, frequent use of harsh language and controversial views on coaching...

 (1976–77)
Les Shannon
Les Shannon
Leslie "Les" Shannon was an English football player and manager.-Playing career:Shannon was born in Liverpool; a centre-forward, he started his playing career with his hometown club of Liverpool in November 1944...

 (1979–80) Antonis Georgiadis (1978–80) Nikos Alefantos
Nikos Alefantos
Nikolaos Alefantos also known with the nickname "Kyr-Nikos", is a Greek football coach. He is well-known in Greece as a cult figure, due to his temperamental style, frequent use of harsh language and controversial views on coaching...

 (1981–82) Stratakis (1981–82) Les Shannon
Les Shannon
Leslie "Les" Shannon was an English football player and manager.-Playing career:Shannon was born in Liverpool; a centre-forward, he started his playing career with his hometown club of Liverpool in November 1944...

 (1982–84) Manolis Tzanis & Aris Vasileiou (1984) Lakis Petropoulos (1984–85) Giannis Parasidis (1984–85) Petr Packert
Petr Packert
Petr Packert was a Czech footballer and football manager.He played for Dukla Prague, Bohemians Prague and TJ Modřany....

 (1984–85) Mike Bailey (1984–85) Eugène Gerards (1985-00) Aris Vasileiou (2000) Giannis Samaras (2000–02) Zdeněk Ščasný
Zdenek Šcasný
Zdeněk Ščasný is a Czech football manager and former player.Ščasný has won the Czech league championship six timesfour times as a player and twice as a coachand the Czech Cup three timestwice as a player and once as a coach....

 (2002–03)
Giorgos Foiros
Giorgos Foiros
Giorgos Foiros is a retired Greek footballer and manager. He played center-back or sweeper. He was one of the very few players that was consistent in every game played. He played for the team of Aris Thessaloniki for many years and finished his career with Iraklis Thessaloniki. He made a total of...

 (2003–04) Giannis Hatzinikolaou (2004–05) Vaggelis Blaxos (2005–06) Myron Sifakis (2006) Reiner Maurer
Reiner Maurer
Reiner Maurer is a German football coach and a former player.-Career:He spent three seasons in the Bundesliga as a player for FC Bayern Munich, VfB Stuttgart and TSV 1860 München and then coached in Germany and Greece....

 (2006–07) Giorgos Paraschos (2007–08) František Straka
František Straka
František Straka is a Czech former football player and manager.-Playing career:Straka played most notably for Sparta Prague. In 1988 he moved to Germany and spent the rest of his playing career there. He played for Czechoslovakia and was a participant in the 1990 FIFA World Cup...

 (2008) Ioannis Matzourakis
Ioannis Matzourakis
Ioannis Matzourakis is a Greek association football manager and former player. He is currently employed by Kavala FC....

 (2008–09) Nicos Papavasiliou &   Myron Sifakis (2009) Nikos Goulis (2009) Giorgos Paraschos (2010) Giannis Chatzinikolaou(2010) Nikos Anastopoulos
Nikos Anastopoulos
Nikos Anastopoulos is a Greek former football player, one of the most prolific strikers in the Greek league during the late 1970s and the 1980s. With 29 goals he is the all time highest scorer for the Greek national football team. Since retiring as a player he has become a football manager...

(2010-present)

Most appearances

Player Matches
  Nikos Nioplias
Nikos Nioplias
Nikolaos "Nikos" Nioplias , born on 17 January 1965 is a Greek football manager and former international footballer. He currently manages the Cyprus national football team.-Club career:...

416
  Petros Marinakis 258
  Kostas Chaniotakis 255
  Manolis Patemtzis 250
  Nikos Goulis 249

Honours

  • UEFA Intertoto Cup
    UEFA Intertoto Cup
    The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...

     Runner-up: 1
    • 2007
      UEFA Intertoto Cup 2007
      The UEFA Intertoto Cup 2007 was the 19th and penultimate edition of the competition and took 50 entries. Three rounds were held, and 11 teams qualified for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Cup. The draw took place at UEFA headquarters in Nyon, Switzerland on 23 April 2007...

  • Balkans Cup
    Balkans Cup
    In 1961, a Balkans Cup for football clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia was introduced. It was played 27 times...

    • 1988/89
  • Greek Cup
    • 1987 (Winner)
      Greek football Cup
      The Greek Football Cup , commonly known as the Greek Cup or for sponsorship reasons the Football Cup OPAP, is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation....

    • 1990 (Runner-up)
      Greek football Cup
      The Greek Football Cup , commonly known as the Greek Cup or for sponsorship reasons the Football Cup OPAP, is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation....

  • Pre-Mediterranean Cup
    1991 Mediterranean Games
    The 11th edition of the Mediterranean Games were held in Athens, Greece fromthe 28th of June to the 12th of July 1991. Eighteen nations competed in 24 different sportingevents.- Pre-Mediterranean Cup :...

    • 1991 (Runner-up)

External links

Official Websites
Stadia
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