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OFI Crete F.C.

OFI Crete Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Όμιλος Φιλάθλων Ηρακλείου 1925, Club of Fans of Heraklion 1925), is a Greek professional football club based in Heraklion, on the island of Crete. It is a part of the OFI multi sports club. Outside Greece, the club is generally known as OFI Crete FC, however, "Crete" is not actually part of the club's official title. The team competes in the Super League, the top division of the Greek football league system, and hosts home games at the Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium in Heraklion, Crete.

OFI Crete
Full nameΌμιλος Φιλάθλων Ηρακλείου
Ómilos Filáthlon Heraklíou
(Heraklion Fans' Club)
Nickname(s)O Ómilos (The Club)
Short nameOFI
Founded1925; 98 years ago (1925)
GroundTheodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium
Capacity9,088[1]
PresidentMichael Bousis
Head coachPedro Caravela (interim)
LeagueSuper League Greece
2022–23Super League Greece, 7th
WebsiteClub website
Current season

OFI is the Cretan club with the most continuous appearances in the Greek first division. It has won one Greek Cup (1986–87) and one Balkans Cup, while they have competed seven times in UEFA competitions.

History edit

Foundation edit

The club was founded in the autumn of 1925[2] by a group of Cretan athletes exercising at the same gym in Heraklion. They registered a new sports club under the name Omilos Filathlon Irakleiou (acronym OFI) which means "Heraklion Sports Club".[3] The club's official scope was to participate at all kinds of athletic events and exhibitions. During the first OFI's years, the club's founders made up the majority of the members.

The years before World War II (1925–1940) edit

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.[4]

First participation in the National League (1945–1962) edit

During occupation of Crete in World War II competitions were suspended and players signed up to fight, resulting in the deaths of many players. In the first period after WW2 the football tournament restarted in Greece with a single Championship, the "First Division", in which only major football clubs from Athens and Thessaloniki 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.

 
OFI's squad in 1954

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 qualify to 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 2nd League (1962–1968) edit

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.[5]

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, on 26 June 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.[6] OFI was an official member of the 1st National Division.[7]

Debut in the 1st League (1968–1971) edit

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 worst 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) edit

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.

Theodoros Vardinogiannis era edit

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.[8] 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, Olympiacos, AEK & PAOK) struggled to win any points when making the trip to the Genti Koule on island of Crete.

The championship in Greece was professionalized in the 1979–80 season and in the middle of that term the Vardinogiannis group bought the football club of OFI with Theodoros Vardinogiannis being the major shareholder.[9][10][11] 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[citation needed]. 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, three goalkeepers, one midfielder and one defender came from the Athenian team to Crete.[citation needed]

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.

Gerards' years (1985–2000) edit

In 1985, OFI appointed Dutch Eugène Gerards as the head coach, who remained for a legendary 15 years.[12] 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.[13] 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 1986[14] and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup 1987.[15]

On 7 June 1989, OFI won the Balkans Cup by beating Radnički Niš 3–1 in Serres.[16]

In the following seasons (1989–90, 1990–91, 1991–92) OFI wasn't as successful. OFI finished 6th, 7th and 6th respectively, missing UEFA Cup participation by a few points. On 27 May 1990, OFI made the biggest overthrow in Greek football, as the club losing to 50' with 4–0 from Olympiacos in Karaiskakis Stadium, ending with 4–5.[17] 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 Cup, against AEK Athens. The game took place in Georgios Kamaras Stadium and OFI lost 1–0.

During the last of those three seasons, OFI brought a young Argentinian star to Crete – Victor Hugo Delgado.[18] However, there was little time for Cretans to enjoy the benefits of his talent as he was soon transferred to Panathinaikos.

In season 1992–93, 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 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 (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".[19] With the participation of Nikos Nioplias (Panathinaikos did not need him anymore, so he was transferred back to OFI), OFI was in 2nd place before the winter break and four of their players were part of the Greece 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 one week before the end and leaving the team from Athens in 5th place, outside the positions leading to UEFA competitions.[20] The whole island of Crete was again celebrating the great performance of OFI.

In the next two 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, 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 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 in the 2nd round of the UEFA Cup.[21]

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.[22] 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.[23]

New era (2000–2009) edit

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 as a coach in the summer of 2006.[24] 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 before the start of the new season.[25]

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.[26] OFI started with awful results, Straka was dismissed and Ioannis Matzourakis came to fill his position.[27] 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.[28]

Since relegation OFI has gone into 'meltdown'. Once the season had ended the majority of the club's senior players filed claims against club's 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.

Meltdown and restart (2009−2018) edit

It took OFI two years to eventually return to the Super League, under a new administration led by former OFI scoring legend Nikos Machlas.[29] Despite managing an impressive 6th-place finish in the 2013−14 season, severe financial debts around the €12 million range[30] would not allow the club to relive its past glory days in top-flight. OFI quickly fell behind in the league Table during the 2014–15 season. On 21 March 2015, OFI withdrew from professional competitions, as the administration failed to meet the club's pressing financial obligations.[31] In a symbolic gesture, the 15 players who still comprised the club's roster walked on the pitch of the Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium on that day (before match-day 29) and waived OFI's fans farewell.[32][33] After 47 consecutive years in professional competitions, OFI was relegated to amateur status.[34][35]

As a result, the professional football department merged with its parent sports club, which opened up winding-up proceedings and appointed liquidators for the bankrupt Football Club, a process that would allow a new football department of OFI to compete in the amateur Gamma Ethniki (the third tier of the Greek football league system under new leadership, free of the financial obligations of the previous administration.[36] OFI, therefore played in the third division for the first time in its history during the 2015−16 season, managing instant promotion after winning the Division title.[37] After spending two seasons in the Football League, OFI eventually achieved a return to the Super League as 2017−18 Second Division champions, alongside fellow historic top-tier regulars Aris Thessaloniki.[38]

The Michael Bousis era edit

On 4 October 2018, Professional Sports Committee of Greece announced that Michael Bousis became the new major shareholder of OFI[39] and in a few days (on 10 October) he took over the leadership of the administration during a press conference in Heraklion.[40][41]

On 18 April 2019, the Professional Sports Committee of Greece announced that team Vice President C' Angelo P. Palivos, his brother Gregory Palivos and their mother Vassiliki Tyrvolis Palivos, secured ownership and control of 36.4% of the team's shares. The brothers both served on the teams Board of Directors on behalf of the Palivos family of Las Vegas, Nevada & Chicago, Illinois.

On 22 June 2020, Michael Bousis bought out the shares of the Palivos family and became again the majority owner of OFI Crete FC. On the same day, Angelo and Gregory Palivos resigned from their board seats.

On 17 May 2021, Michael Bousis announced that Minas Lysandrou, is the new CEO of the club. Lysandrou served as AEK Athens F.C CEO up until 31 March 2021.

Crest and colours edit

Crest edit

OFI's traditional crest has been used since the club's foundation in 1925 (with several variations throughout the years). It featured a white shield with a black outline, and a diagonal black ribbon containing the club's acronym "ΟΦΗ" in white Greek letters, read from the bottom left to the top right of the crest. In 2016, as part of the club's re-entry into professional competitions after its dissolution the year before, the club's foundation date «1925» was added to the crest, while the outline was significantly thickened, so as to constitute a substantial visual change from the logo of the bankrupt, liquidated forerunner Club.

As of August 2020, the club's new administration issued a new crest, which incorporates the Greek letters "ΟΦΗ" in the centre of a circle, thus forming the badge of the club. According to the club's press release for the unveiling of the club's new logo, the departure from the previously used shield, and use of the circle expresses stability and balance, while the concentric circle design being used as a metaphor for teamwork, focus and dynamism.[42] Visually, the crest' design was inspired by the lines of the football field as seen from above, with the letters O and H corresponding to the two boxes, and the letter Φ representing for the center of the pitch.[42]

 
 
 
 
 
 
OFI's first home kit

Colours edit

The colours that OFI used were black and white, because none of the existing sports clubs had the same colour combination in Crete.

Sponsorships:

  • Great Shirt Sponsor: OPAP
  • Official Sport Clothing Manufacturer: Puma
  • Golden Sponsor: AVIS

Stadium edit

 
Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium

OFI's stadium is Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium, a stadium in Heraklion, Crete, Greece.[43] It was built in 1951 (not at its present state) as the home stadium of OFI. The stadium is commonly known by its nickname, Yedi Kule ("Seven Towers" in Turkish). The historic ground of OFI was constructed in 1951 and after the death of the historic leader of the club it was named "Theodoros Vardinoyannis". The opening of the stadium took place on 11 November 1951 with the football game of OFI Crete with the team of Α.Σ.Δ.Α.Ν. (English: A.S.D.A.N.) (something like the current national team) and the result was a defeat for OFI, 4–1, a result that had a little meaning compared with the benefits that the Cretan club had won. At last, the largest Cretan club acquired its own "home", that would roof all the faithful of the new football ideals developed in Iraklion, Crete. The stadium was built on the ruins of a Christian and a Jewish cemetery and that in the area where the pitch is located, there were two big holes, remaining structures of German army guns from the World War II occupation. The highest attendance recorded at Yedi Kule is 12,391 for OFI's match against Olympiacos on 25 September 1988. OFI won the game 2–1.[44]

Supporters edit

OFI has a big fan base in Crete. Most popular organized fan clubs are the "Snakes 4 Heraklion club" and "S.F Cretans 4 T. Papadopoulos".[45][46]

OFI fans have good relations with the fans of PAOK, a friendship that started in October 1987 when OFI faced Atalanta for 1987–88 Cup Winners' Cup at Toumba Stadium and numerous PAOK fans supported the Cretans.[47][48]

Rivalries edit

Rivalry with Ergotelis edit

OFI has enjoyed a fierce rivalry with other local side, Ergotelis. The first ever game between Ergotelis and OFI, a friendly match in 1929, ended after 35 minutes.[49] Ergotelis were ahead by one goal, when the game had to be abandoned after violence between the players broke out. Under the Greek military junta of 1967–1974, a legislation determined that every regional Greek city should be represented by one football team. At that time, both OFI and Ergotelis used to play in the Second National division (Football League). Αt the end of the 1966–67 season, Ergotelis finished 8th, while OFI finished in a higher position, leading to Ergotelis' relegation. The legislation also allowed the remaining teams in the second division to sign players of the relegated ones, and thus five Ergotelis players were transferred to OFI. In the years to come Ergotelis languished in the lower leagues. This led to various controversies, especially since Ergotelis' come back, at the early 2000s. Ergotelis became OFIs' rival after having to let go of their astonishing player Christodoulos Bikakis. This player, became OFIs' top scorer after having scored 169 goals in 7 matches. This rivalry has shown signs of diminishing over the years, with OFI fans attending newly promoted Ergotelis' games in the Super League during the club's first season in the competition, and Ergotelis loaning their longtime scoring legend Patrick Ogunsoto to a financially weakened Beta Ethniki side OFI for no fee, as an attempt to assist the latter in their struggle to return to the Super League.[50]

Honours edit

Domestic edit

European Competitions edit

Regional edit

  • Heraklion FCA Championship (Tiers 4−7)[51]
    • Winners (18) (record): 1927−28,[52] 1928−29, 1930−31, 1931−32, 1932−33, 1934−35, 1947−48, 1948−49, 1951−52, 1953−54, 1954−55, 1955−56, 1956−57, 1957−58, 1958−59, 1959−60, 1960−61, 1961−62

Seasons in the Super League era edit

Season Category Position Cup
2000–01 Alpha Ethniki 12th GS
2001–02 Alpha Ethniki 8th R16
2002–03 Alpha Ethniki 8th R16
2003–04 Alpha Ethniki 11th R16
2004–05 Alpha Ethniki 13th R16
2005–06 Alpha Ethniki 13th 4R
2006–07 Super League 7th 5R
2007–08 Super League 12th QF
2008–09 Super League 14th 5R
2009–10 Beta Ethniki 3rd 5R
2010–11 Football League 3rd 4R
2011–12 Super League 10th SF
2012–13 Super League 14th 3R
2013–14 Super League 6th SF
2014–15 Super League 16th QF
2015–16 Gamma Ethniki (Group 4) 1st -
2016–17 Football League 4th R16
2017–18 Football League 1st R16
2018–19 Super League 13th R16
2019–20 Super League 6th R16
2020–21 Super League 12th FR
2021–22 Super League 8th R16
2022–23 Super League 7th 5R

Best position in bold.

Key: FR = First Round, 3R = Third Round, 4R = Fourth Round, 5R = Fifth Round, GS = Group Stage, R16 = Round of 16, QF = Quarter-finals, SF = Semi-finals.

Players edit

Current squad edit

As of 9 September 2023

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

Out on loan edit

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player
GK   GRE Vasilios Sifakis (at Diagoras until 30 June 2024)
MF   GRE Frixos Grivas (at Kalamata until 30 June 2024)
No. Pos. Nation Player
MF   KSA Samer Al-Mohaimeed (at Diagoras until 30 June 2024)
FW   KSA Rayan Fallatah (at Diagoras until 30 June 2024)

Personnel edit

Ownership and current staff edit

Position Staff
Owner and president     Michael Bousis
Vice president & CEO   Minas Lysandrou
Club Director   Ilias Poursanidis
Commercial Manager   Nontas Kargakis
Legal Counsel   Iasonas Papastefanakis
Football Admin   Theano Rasouli
Team Manager   Savvas Tsabouris
Player Liaison   Pavlos Adamos
Head of Scouting   Ivan Slavov
Communication Director   Manolis Vogiatzakis
TMS and game operations   Antonis Chronakis

Coaching staff edit

Position Staff
Manager   Valdas Dambrauskas
Assistant managers   Marius Skinderis
  Rokas Kuznetsovas
Fitness coach   Edgaras Volodinas
Goalkeeper coach   Justinas Gasiūnas
Performance coach   Denisas Kozlovas
Analyst   Jonas Skinderis

Medical staff edit

Position Staff
Medical Director   Tautvydas Jankauskas
Doctors   Algimantas Kovalas
  Sergejus Jusupovas
Head of Rehabilitation   Valdemaras Fominas
Physiotherapists   Eugenijus Komanas
  Igoris Romanovas
  Vladislavas Smirnovas
Masseur   Rokas Bojkovas

European record edit

Season Competition Round Club Home Away
1986–87 UEFA Cup 1st Round   Hajduk Split 1–0 0–4  
1987–88 Cup Winners' Cup 1st Round   Vitosha Sofia 3–1 0–1  
2nd Round   Atalanta 1–0 0–2  
1993–94 UEFA Cup 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 Group stage
(Group 7)
  Nea Salamina 2–1  
  Bayer Leverkusen 0–1
  Tervis Pärnu 2–0
  Budućnost 4–3
2nd Round   Bursaspor 1–2  
1997–98 UEFA Cup 2nd Qual. Round   KR Reykjavík 3–1 0–0  
1st Round   Ferencváros 3–0 1–2  
2nd Round   Auxerre 3–2 1–3  
2000–01 UEFA Cup 1st Round   Napredak 6–0 0–0  
2nd Round   Slavia Prague 2–2 1–4  
2007–08 Intertoto Cup 3rd Round   Tobol 0–1 0–1  
2020–21 UEFA Europa League 2nd Qual. Round   Apollon Limassol 0–1  

Managerial history edit

Records and statistics edit

Most appearances and top scorers edit

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Γήπεδο "Θ. Βαρδινογιάννης"". oficretefc.com. Retrieved 10 September 2023.
  2. ^ "When was OFI founded" (in Greek). oficrete.gr. from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  3. ^ (in Greek). ofi1925.gr. Archived from the original on 4 September 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  4. ^ "When the Nazis bombed Crete" (in Greek). oficrete.gr.
  5. ^ "Mitsotakis gets crazy by OFI of 1966" (in Greek). ritorno2015.com. from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  6. ^ "Barrage Beta Ethniki 1968" (in Greek). footballleaguenews.info. from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  7. ^ "First time in Alpha Ethniki" (in Greek). soccerbase.info. from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  8. ^ "Dimitris Papadopoulos, the top goal scorer of OFI in 1977" (in Greek). gentikoule.gr. 22 October 2011. from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  9. ^ "Vardinogiannis and OFI" (in Greek). onsports.gr. 21 September 2017. from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  10. ^ ""The first one envisioned a big OFI"" (in Greek). sport-retro.gr. 21 September 2018. from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  11. ^ "The price to Vardinogiannis from OFI, with a bust and a chapel" (in Greek). newsit.gr. from the original on 21 October 2018. Retrieved 21 October 2018.
  12. ^ "Eugène Gerards, who was" (in Greek). onsports.gr. from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  13. ^ "OFI wins the Greek Cup at Athens Olympic Stadium" (in Greek). creteplus.gr. from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  14. ^ "Fights with the mighty Hajduk Split for the UEFA Cup" (in Greek). oficrete.gr. from the original on 28 September 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  15. ^ "The first European qualification" (in Greek). oficrete.gr. from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  16. ^ "OFI wins the Balkans Cup against Radnički Niš in Serres" (in Greek). oficrete.gr. from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  17. ^ "OFI made the biggest overthrow in Greek football against Olympiacos" (in Greek). sport24.gr. from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  18. ^ "Argentinian rising star Victor Hugo Delgado" (in Greek). oficrete.gr. from the original on 26 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  19. ^ "1996–97 amazing season" (in Greek). alithinihistoria.wordpress.com. from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  20. ^ "May 18, 1997: "OFI - Europe - Koutsoupias"" (in Greek). oficrete.gr.
  21. ^ "UEFA Cup against Auxerre" (in Greek). gentikoule.gr. 4 November 2021. from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  22. ^ "Gerards left OFI" (in Greek). cretapost.gr. 29 February 2016. from the original on 8 March 2016. Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  23. ^ "OFI's 1999-00 season" (in Greek). oficrete.gr. from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  24. ^ "OFI announced Maurer" (in Greek). contra.gr. from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 2 July 2006.
  25. ^ "Agreement with František Straka" (in Greek). sport24.gr. from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 25 May 2008.
  26. ^ "Machlas for OFI" (in Greek). ofi4us.blogspot.com. from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 16 March 2009.
  27. ^ "Matzourakis at OFI" (in Greek). athleticradio.gr. from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  28. ^ "OFI, the "fall": The root of evil" (in Greek). sport24.gr. from the original on 15 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  29. ^ "Μachlas as president of OFI" (in Greek). newsbeast.gr. from the original on 16 October 2018. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  30. ^ Nikos Asimakopoulos (23 March 2015). "Ο ΟΦΗ άργησε να πέσει (Greek)". from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  31. ^ "Αποχώρησε ο ΟΦΗ (Greek), www.sport-fm.gr". from the original on 10 November 2017. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  32. ^ Kostas Karalis (23 March 2015). "Ο τελευταίος χορός... (Greek)". from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  33. ^ "Gattuso: "I apologize for the fans of OFI"" (in Greek). gazzetta.gr. from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  34. ^ "OFI: A devastating 2015!" (in Greek). gazzetta.gr. from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  35. ^ "It's official: OFI at Gamma Ethniki" (in Greek). voria.gr. from the original on 24 June 2015. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
  36. ^ "η υπαγωγη των παε στη διαδικασια εξυγιανσης του νεου πτωχευτικου κωδικα-διευρυνση των μετρων προληπτικης προστασιας υπερ των ΠΑΕ (103 ΠτΚ) (Greek)". sfirislaw.gr. 3 December 2012. from the original on 11 September 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  37. ^ "ΟFI beats Fostiras 1-0 and promoted to the Football League" (in Greek). sport24.gr. from the original on 25 May 2016. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  38. ^ "Ανέβηκε στη Football League ο ΟΦΗ (Greek)". from the original on 25 September 2016. Retrieved 6 September 2016.
  39. ^ "Bousis takes OFI" (in Greek). gazzetta.gr. from the original on 7 October 2018. Retrieved 4 October 2018.
  40. ^ "Mike Bousis is the new boss at OFI" (in Greek). novasports.gr. from the original on 11 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  41. ^ "Bousis is official the new owner of OFI" (in Greek). maleviziotis.gr. from the original on 22 October 2018. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  42. ^ a b "Νέο σήμα για την νέα εποχή". www.oficretefc.com. OFI F.C. from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  43. ^ "OFI's home ground" (in Greek). stadia.gr. from the original on 26 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  44. ^ "Ticket Record of Yedi Kule" (in Greek). oficrete.gr. from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  45. ^ "Snakes 4 Heraklion club" (in Greek). snakes4.com. from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  46. ^ "S.F Cretans 4 T. Papadopoulos" (in Greek). krites.gr. from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  47. ^ Manolis Sarris (10 October 2011). "Κάπως έτσι ξεκίνησε η φιλία ΟΦΗ–ΠΑΟΚ" [How OFI–PAOK friendship started]. gentikoule.gr (in Greek). from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  48. ^ Chrisanthos Dovletoglou (28 September 2013). "ΠΑΟΚ–ΟΦΗ, μία αληθινή φιλία" [A true friendship]. contra.gr (in Greek). from the original on 11 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
  49. ^ "August of 1929 for OFI" (in Greek). oficrete.gr. from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 18 October 2018.
  50. ^ "Ogunsoto moves to OFI" (in Greek). contra.gr. from the original on 27 December 2012. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  51. ^ Mastrogiannopoulos, Alexander (5 June 2014). "Πρωταθλητές ΕΠΣ ΗΡΑΚΛΕΙΟΥ (ver.2) (Greek)". ellinikopodosfero, Greek Amateur Football blog. from the original on 5 October 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
  52. ^ "Document from the first championship of OFI" (in Greek). oficrete.gr. from the original on 19 October 2018. Retrieved 18 October 2018.

External links edit

Official websites

  • Official website (in Greek)
  • OFI at Super League (in English and Greek)
  • OFI at UEFA

News sites

  • OFI on gentikoule.gr (in Greek)
  • OFI news from Nova Sports

Other

crete, parent, multi, sport, club, sports, club, crete, football, club, greek, ΠΑΕ, Όμιλος, Φιλάθλων, Ηρακλείου, 1925, club, fans, heraklion, 1925, greek, professional, football, club, based, heraklion, island, crete, part, multi, sports, club, outside, greece. For the parent multi sport club see O F I sports club OFI Crete Football Club Greek PAE Omilos Fila8lwn Hrakleioy 1925 Club of Fans of Heraklion 1925 is a Greek professional football club based in Heraklion on the island of Crete It is a part of the OFI multi sports club Outside Greece the club is generally known as OFI Crete FC however Crete is not actually part of the club s official title The team competes in the Super League the top division of the Greek football league system and hosts home games at the Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium in Heraklion Crete OFI CreteFull nameOmilos Fila8lwn Hrakleioy omilos Filathlon Herakliou Heraklion Fans Club Nickname s O omilos The Club Short nameOFIFounded1925 98 years ago 1925 GroundTheodoros Vardinogiannis StadiumCapacity9 088 1 PresidentMichael BousisHead coachPedro Caravela interim LeagueSuper League Greece2022 23Super League Greece 7thWebsiteClub websiteHome coloursAway coloursThird coloursCurrent seasonOFI is the Cretan club with the most continuous appearances in the Greek first division It has won one Greek Cup 1986 87 and one Balkans Cup while they have competed seven times in UEFA competitions Contents 1 History 1 1 Foundation 1 2 The years before World War II 1925 1940 1 3 First participation in the National League 1945 1962 1 4 Attempts in the 2nd League 1962 1968 1 5 Debut in the 1st League 1968 1971 1 6 Back to the 2nd League 1971 1976 1 7 Theodoros Vardinogiannis era 1 7 1 Gerards years 1985 2000 1 8 New era 2000 2009 1 9 Meltdown and restart 2009 2018 1 10 The Michael Bousis era 2 Crest and colours 2 1 Crest 2 2 Colours 3 Stadium 4 Supporters 5 Rivalries 5 1 Rivalry with Ergotelis 6 Honours 6 1 Domestic 6 2 European Competitions 6 3 Regional 7 Seasons in the Super League era 8 Players 8 1 Current squad 8 2 Out on loan 9 Personnel 9 1 Ownership and current staff 9 2 Coaching staff 9 3 Medical staff 10 European record 11 Managerial history 12 Records and statistics 12 1 Most appearances and top scorers 13 See also 14 References 15 External linksHistory editFoundation edit The club was founded in the autumn of 1925 2 by a group of Cretan athletes exercising at the same gym in Heraklion They registered a new sports club under the name Omilos Filathlon Irakleiou acronym OFI which means Heraklion Sports Club 3 The club s official scope was to participate at all kinds of athletic events and exhibitions During the first OFI s years the club s founders made up the majority of the members The years before World War II 1925 1940 edit 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 4 First participation in the National League 1945 1962 edit During occupation of Crete in World War II competitions were suspended and players signed up to fight resulting in the deaths of many players In the first period after WW2 the football tournament restarted in Greece with a single Championship the First Division in which only major football clubs from Athens and Thessaloniki 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 nbsp OFI s squad in 1954This 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 qualify to 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 2nd League 1962 1968 edit 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 5 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 on 26 June 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 6 OFI was an official member of the 1st National Division 7 Debut in the 1st League 1968 1971 edit 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 worst 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 edit 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 Theodoros Vardinogiannis era edit 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 8 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 Olympiacos AEK amp PAOK struggled to win any points when making the trip to the Genti Koule on island of Crete The championship in Greece was professionalized in the 1979 80 season and in the middle of that term the Vardinogiannis group bought the football club of OFI with Theodoros Vardinogiannis being the major shareholder 9 10 11 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 citation needed 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 three goalkeepers one midfielder and one defender came from the Athenian team to Crete citation needed 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 Gerards years 1985 2000 edit In 1985 OFI appointed Dutch Eugene Gerards as the head coach who remained for a legendary 15 years 12 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 13 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 1986 14 and UEFA Cup Winners Cup 1987 15 On 7 June 1989 OFI won the Balkans Cup by beating Radnicki Nis 3 1 in Serres 16 In the following seasons 1989 90 1990 91 1991 92 OFI wasn t as successful OFI finished 6th 7th and 6th respectively missing UEFA Cup participation by a few points On 27 May 1990 OFI made the biggest overthrow in Greek football as the club losing to 50 with 4 0 from Olympiacos in Karaiskakis Stadium ending with 4 5 17 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 Cup against AEK Athens The game took place in Georgios Kamaras Stadium and OFI lost 1 0 During the last of those three seasons OFI brought a young Argentinian star to Crete Victor Hugo Delgado 18 However there was little time for Cretans to enjoy the benefits of his talent as he was soon transferred to Panathinaikos In season 1992 93 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 and Atletico 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 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 Eugene 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 19 With the participation of Nikos Nioplias Panathinaikos did not need him anymore so he was transferred back to OFI OFI was in 2nd place before the winter break and four of their players were part of the Greece 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 one week before the end and leaving the team from Athens in 5th place outside the positions leading to UEFA competitions 20 The whole island of Crete was again celebrating the great performance of OFI In the next two 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 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 in the second qualifying round 3 1 on aggregate and Hungarian team Ferencvaros 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 in the 2nd round of the UEFA Cup 21 In the year 2000 and after 15 successful years Eugene Gerards announced his retirement from OFI s bench as the team finished 4th in the championship 22 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 23 New era 2000 2009 edit 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 as a coach in the summer of 2006 24 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 Frantisek Straka before the start of the new season 25 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 26 OFI started with awful results Straka was dismissed and Ioannis Matzourakis came to fill his position 27 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 28 Since relegation OFI has gone into meltdown Once the season had ended the majority of the club s senior players filed claims against club s 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 Meltdown and restart 2009 2018 edit It took OFI two years to eventually return to the Super League under a new administration led by former OFI scoring legend Nikos Machlas 29 Despite managing an impressive 6th place finish in the 2013 14 season severe financial debts around the 12 million range 30 would not allow the club to relive its past glory days in top flight OFI quickly fell behind in the league Table during the 2014 15 season On 21 March 2015 OFI withdrew from professional competitions as the administration failed to meet the club s pressing financial obligations 31 In a symbolic gesture the 15 players who still comprised the club s roster walked on the pitch of the Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium on that day before match day 29 and waived OFI s fans farewell 32 33 After 47 consecutive years in professional competitions OFI was relegated to amateur status 34 35 As a result the professional football department merged with its parent sports club which opened up winding up proceedings and appointed liquidators for the bankrupt Football Club a process that would allow a new football department of OFI to compete in the amateur Gamma Ethniki the third tier of the Greek football league system under new leadership free of the financial obligations of the previous administration 36 OFI therefore played in the third division for the first time in its history during the 2015 16 season managing instant promotion after winning the Division title 37 After spending two seasons in the Football League OFI eventually achieved a return to the Super League as 2017 18 Second Division champions alongside fellow historic top tier regulars Aris Thessaloniki 38 The Michael Bousis era edit On 4 October 2018 Professional Sports Committee of Greece announced that Michael Bousis became the new major shareholder of OFI 39 and in a few days on 10 October he took over the leadership of the administration during a press conference in Heraklion 40 41 On 18 April 2019 the Professional Sports Committee of Greece announced that team Vice President C Angelo P Palivos his brother Gregory Palivos and their mother Vassiliki Tyrvolis Palivos secured ownership and control of 36 4 of the team s shares The brothers both served on the teams Board of Directors on behalf of the Palivos family of Las Vegas Nevada amp Chicago Illinois On 22 June 2020 Michael Bousis bought out the shares of the Palivos family and became again the majority owner of OFI Crete FC On the same day Angelo and Gregory Palivos resigned from their board seats On 17 May 2021 Michael Bousis announced that Minas Lysandrou is the new CEO of the club Lysandrou served as AEK Athens F C CEO up until 31 March 2021 Crest and colours editCrest edit OFI s traditional crest has been used since the club s foundation in 1925 with several variations throughout the years It featured a white shield with a black outline and a diagonal black ribbon containing the club s acronym OFH in white Greek letters read from the bottom left to the top right of the crest In 2016 as part of the club s re entry into professional competitions after its dissolution the year before the club s foundation date 1925 was added to the crest while the outline was significantly thickened so as to constitute a substantial visual change from the logo of the bankrupt liquidated forerunner Club As of August 2020 the club s new administration issued a new crest which incorporates the Greek letters OFH in the centre of a circle thus forming the badge of the club According to the club s press release for the unveiling of the club s new logo the departure from the previously used shield and use of the circle expresses stability and balance while the concentric circle design being used as a metaphor for teamwork focus and dynamism 42 Visually the crest design was inspired by the lines of the football field as seen from above with the letters O and H corresponding to the two boxes and the letter F representing for the center of the pitch 42 nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp OFI s first home kit nbsp 1925 2016 variations nbsp 2016 2020Colours edit The colours that OFI used were black and white because none of the existing sports clubs had the same colour combination in Crete Sponsorships Great Shirt Sponsor OPAP Official Sport Clothing Manufacturer Puma Golden Sponsor AVISStadium editMain article Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium nbsp Theodoros Vardinogiannis StadiumOFI s stadium is Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium a stadium in Heraklion Crete Greece 43 It was built in 1951 not at its present state as the home stadium of OFI The stadium is commonly known by its nickname Yedi Kule Seven Towers in Turkish The historic ground of OFI was constructed in 1951 and after the death of the historic leader of the club it was named Theodoros Vardinoyannis The opening of the stadium took place on 11 November 1951 with the football game of OFI Crete with the team of A S D A N English A S D A N something like the current national team and the result was a defeat for OFI 4 1 a result that had a little meaning compared with the benefits that the Cretan club had won At last the largest Cretan club acquired its own home that would roof all the faithful of the new football ideals developed in Iraklion Crete The stadium was built on the ruins of a Christian and a Jewish cemetery and that in the area where the pitch is located there were two big holes remaining structures of German army guns from the World War II occupation The highest attendance recorded at Yedi Kule is 12 391 for OFI s match against Olympiacos on 25 September 1988 OFI won the game 2 1 44 Supporters editOFI has a big fan base in Crete Most popular organized fan clubs are the Snakes 4 Heraklion club and S F Cretans 4 T Papadopoulos 45 46 OFI fans have good relations with the fans of PAOK a friendship that started in October 1987 when OFI faced Atalanta for 1987 88 Cup Winners Cup at Toumba Stadium and numerous PAOK fans supported the Cretans 47 48 Rivalries editRivalry with Ergotelis edit Main article Cretan derby OFI has enjoyed a fierce rivalry with other local side Ergotelis The first ever game between Ergotelis and OFI a friendly match in 1929 ended after 35 minutes 49 Ergotelis were ahead by one goal when the game had to be abandoned after violence between the players broke out Under the Greek military junta of 1967 1974 a legislation determined that every regional Greek city should be represented by one football team At that time both OFI and Ergotelis used to play in the Second National division Football League At the end of the 1966 67 season Ergotelis finished 8th while OFI finished in a higher position leading to Ergotelis relegation The legislation also allowed the remaining teams in the second division to sign players of the relegated ones and thus five Ergotelis players were transferred to OFI In the years to come Ergotelis languished in the lower leagues This led to various controversies especially since Ergotelis come back at the early 2000s Ergotelis became OFIs rival after having to let go of their astonishing player Christodoulos Bikakis This player became OFIs top scorer after having scored 169 goals in 7 matches This rivalry has shown signs of diminishing over the years with OFI fans attending newly promoted Ergotelis games in the Super League during the club s first season in the competition and Ergotelis loaning their longtime scoring legend Patrick Ogunsoto to a financially weakened Beta Ethniki side OFI for no fee as an attempt to assist the latter in their struggle to return to the Super League 50 Honours editDomestic edit Super League Runners up 1 1985 86 Greek Cup Winners 1 1986 87 Runners up 1 1989 90 Pre Mediterranean Cup Runners up 1 1990 91 Greek Super Cup Runners up 1 1987 Football League Winners 3 1965 66 1975 76 2017 18 Gamma Ethniki 3rd National Division Winners 1 2015 16European Competitions edit Balkans Cup Winners 1 1989Regional edit Heraklion FCA Championship Tiers 4 7 51 Winners 18 record 1927 28 52 1928 29 1930 31 1931 32 1932 33 1934 35 1947 48 1948 49 1951 52 1953 54 1954 55 1955 56 1956 57 1957 58 1958 59 1959 60 1960 61 1961 62Seasons in the Super League era editSeason Category Position Cup2000 01 Alpha Ethniki 12th GS2001 02 Alpha Ethniki 8th R162002 03 Alpha Ethniki 8th R162003 04 Alpha Ethniki 11th R162004 05 Alpha Ethniki 13th R162005 06 Alpha Ethniki 13th 4R2006 07 Super League 7th 5R2007 08 Super League 12th QF2008 09 Super League 14th 5R2009 10 Beta Ethniki 3rd 5R2010 11 Football League 3rd 4R2011 12 Super League 10th SF2012 13 Super League 14th 3R2013 14 Super League 6th SF2014 15 Super League 16th QF2015 16 Gamma Ethniki Group 4 1st 2016 17 Football League 4th R162017 18 Football League 1st R162018 19 Super League 13th R162019 20 Super League 6th R162020 21 Super League 12th FR2021 22 Super League 8th R162022 23 Super League 7th 5RBest position in bold Key FR First Round 3R Third Round 4R Fourth Round 5R Fifth Round GS Group Stage R16 Round of 16 QF Quarter finals SF Semi finals Players editCurrent squad edit As of 9 September 2023Note Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules Players may hold more than one non FIFA nationality No Pos Nation Player2 DF nbsp SWE Eric Larsson4 DF nbsp GRE Triantafyllos Pasalidis6 DF nbsp GRE Nikos Marinakis8 MF nbsp CHI Felipe Gallegos10 MF nbsp ARG Juan Neira11 FW nbsp MLI Nouha Dicko14 DF nbsp GRE Praxitelis Vouros vice captain 16 DF nbsp CYP Andreas Karo18 DF nbsp GRE Kostas Giannoulis captain 21 MF nbsp ESP Jon Toral22 DF nbsp ISL Gudmundur THorarinsson23 MF nbsp ESP Adrian Riera24 DF nbsp GRE Vasilios Lampropoulos No Pos Nation Player28 FW nbsp BRA Luiz Phellype29 MF nbsp ARG Miguel Mellado30 FW nbsp COL Santiago Mosquera31 GK nbsp GRE Nikos Christogeorgos32 GK nbsp GRE Dimitrios Sotiriou third captain 33 GK nbsp SUI Noam Baumann45 MF nbsp GRE Giannis Apostolakis46 FW nbsp GRE Giannis Theodosoulakis55 MF nbsp ISR Dan Glazer77 DF nbsp GRE Ilias Simantirakis80 MF nbsp GRE Titos Koutentakis88 MF nbsp MNE Marko Bakic99 DF nbsp FRA Leroy AbandaOut on loan edit Note Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules Players may hold more than one non FIFA nationality No Pos Nation Player GK nbsp GRE Vasilios Sifakis at Diagoras until 30 June 2024 MF nbsp GRE Frixos Grivas at Kalamata until 30 June 2024 No Pos Nation Player MF nbsp KSA Samer Al Mohaimeed at Diagoras until 30 June 2024 FW nbsp KSA Rayan Fallatah at Diagoras until 30 June 2024 Personnel editOwnership and current staff edit Position StaffOwner and president nbsp nbsp Michael BousisVice president amp CEO nbsp Minas LysandrouClub Director nbsp Ilias PoursanidisCommercial Manager nbsp Nontas KargakisLegal Counsel nbsp Iasonas PapastefanakisFootball Admin nbsp Theano RasouliTeam Manager nbsp Savvas TsabourisPlayer Liaison nbsp Pavlos AdamosHead of Scouting nbsp Ivan SlavovCommunication Director nbsp Manolis VogiatzakisTMS and game operations nbsp Antonis ChronakisCoaching staff edit Position StaffManager nbsp Valdas DambrauskasAssistant managers nbsp Marius Skinderis nbsp Rokas KuznetsovasFitness coach nbsp Edgaras VolodinasGoalkeeper coach nbsp Justinas GasiunasPerformance coach nbsp Denisas KozlovasAnalyst nbsp Jonas SkinderisMedical staff edit Position StaffMedical Director nbsp Tautvydas JankauskasDoctors nbsp Algimantas Kovalas nbsp Sergejus JusupovasHead of Rehabilitation nbsp Valdemaras FominasPhysiotherapists nbsp Eugenijus Komanas nbsp Igoris Romanovas nbsp Vladislavas SmirnovasMasseur nbsp Rokas BojkovasEuropean record editSeason Competition Round Club Home Away1986 87 UEFA Cup 1st Round nbsp Hajduk Split 1 0 0 4 nbsp 1987 88 Cup Winners Cup 1st Round nbsp Vitosha Sofia 3 1 0 1 nbsp 2nd Round nbsp Atalanta 1 0 0 2 nbsp 1993 94 UEFA Cup 1st Round nbsp Slavia Prague 1 0 1 1 nbsp 2nd Round nbsp Atletico Madrid 2 0 0 1 nbsp 3rd Round nbsp Boavista 1 4 0 2 nbsp 1995 96 Intertoto Cup Group stage Group 7 nbsp Nea Salamina 2 1 nbsp nbsp Bayer Leverkusen 0 1 nbsp Tervis Parnu 2 0 nbsp Buducnost 4 32nd Round nbsp Bursaspor 1 2 nbsp 1997 98 UEFA Cup 2nd Qual Round nbsp KR Reykjavik 3 1 0 0 nbsp 1st Round nbsp Ferencvaros 3 0 1 2 nbsp 2nd Round nbsp Auxerre 3 2 1 3 nbsp 2000 01 UEFA Cup 1st Round nbsp Napredak 6 0 0 0 nbsp 2nd Round nbsp Slavia Prague 2 2 1 4 nbsp 2007 08 Intertoto Cup 3rd Round nbsp Tobol 0 1 0 1 nbsp 2020 21 UEFA Europa League 2nd Qual Round nbsp Apollon Limassol 0 1 nbsp Managerial history edit nbsp Stratos 1946 nbsp Kostas Zogas 1958 nbsp Mantalopoulos 1959 nbsp Vaggelis Helmis 1965 66 nbsp Petritsis 1967 68 nbsp Kostas Zogas 1967 68 nbsp Domagoj Kapetanovic 1968 71 nbsp Giorgos Stratakis 1970 71 nbsp Thanasis Soulis 1971 72 nbsp Giorgos Stratakis 1971 72 nbsp Takis Papartheniou 1972 73 nbsp Kostas Karapatis amp nbsp Manolis Tzanis 1973 74 nbsp Thanasis Zafeiropoulos 1975 76 nbsp Nikos Alefantos 1976 77 nbsp Antonis Georgiadis 1978 30 June 1980 nbsp Les Shannon 1979 80 nbsp Nikos Alefantos 1981 82 nbsp Giorgos Stratakis 1981 82 nbsp Les Shannon 1982 84 nbsp Manolis Tzanis amp nbsp Aris Vasileiou 1984 nbsp Lakis Petropoulos 1984 85 nbsp Giannis Parasidis 1984 85 nbsp Petr Packert 1984 85 nbsp Mike Bailey 1984 85 nbsp Eugene Gerards 23 June 1985 20 Nov 2000 nbsp Aris Vasileiou 2000 nbsp Giannis Samaras 2000 02 nbsp Zdenek Scasny 1 July 2002 15 Nov 2003 nbsp Giorgos Foiros 26 Nov 2003 30 June 2004 nbsp Giannis Chatzinikolaou 1 July 2004 30 June 2005 nbsp Vangelis Vlachos 1 July 2005 13 Feb 2006 nbsp Myron Sifakis 14 Feb 2006 30 June 2006 nbsp Reiner Maurer 1 July 2006 12 Nov 2007 nbsp Giorgos Paraschos 16 Nov 2007 30 June 2008 nbsp Frantisek Straka 1 July 2008 11 Oct 2008 nbsp Ioannis Matzourakis 12 Oct 2008 15 May 2009 nbsp Giorgos Paraschos 2009 nbsp Nicos Papavasiliou amp nbsp Myron Sifakis 1 July 2009 2 Nov 2009 nbsp Nikos Goulis 5 Nov 2009 30 June 2010 nbsp Giannis Chatzinikolaou 1 July 2010 28 Sept 2010 nbsp Nikos Anastopoulos 28 Sept 2010 29 Dec 2012 nbsp Giannis Petrakis 2 Jan 2013 10 May 2013 nbsp Pavlos Dermitzakis 16 May 2013 7 Oct 2013 nbsp Ricardo Sa Pinto 18 Oct 2013 25 May 2014 nbsp Gennaro Gattuso 5 June 2014 30 Dec 2014 nbsp Nikos Anastopoulos 1 Jan 2015 21 Mar 2015 nbsp Murat Seropian 1 July 2015 29 Sept 2015 nbsp Nikos Goulis 7 Oct 2015 7 Jan 2016 nbsp Nikos Nioplias 21 Jan 2016 21 Jan 2017 nbsp Nikos Papadopoulos 24 Jan 2017 21 Jan 2019 nbsp Jaime Vera 25 Jan 2019 29 June 2019 nbsp Georgios Simos 12 July 2019 6 March 2021 nbsp Nikos Nioplias 6 March 2021 21 October 2022 nbsp Valdas Dambrauskas 25 October 2022 present Records and statistics editMost appearances and top scorers edit Most appearances Rank Name Apps1 nbsp Nikos Nioplias 4162 nbsp Petros Marinakis 2583 nbsp Kostas Chaniotakis 2554 nbsp Manolis Patemtzis 2505 nbsp Nikos Goulis 249 Top scorers Rank Name Goals1 nbsp Nikos Machlas amp Nikos Nioplias 732 nbsp Georgios Vlastos 553 nbsp Ronald Gomez 524 nbsp Dimitrios Papadopoulos 495 nbsp Thalis Tsirimokos amp Dimitrios Manos 40See also editO F I sports club References edit Ghpedo 8 Bardinogiannhs oficretefc com Retrieved 10 September 2023 When was OFI founded in Greek oficrete gr Archived from the original on 19 October 2018 Retrieved 18 October 2018 OFI s History in Greek ofi1925 gr Archived from the original on 4 September 2019 Retrieved 15 October 2018 When the Nazis bombed Crete in Greek oficrete gr Mitsotakis gets crazy by OFI of 1966 in Greek ritorno2015 com Archived from the original on 19 October 2018 Retrieved 18 October 2018 Barrage Beta Ethniki 1968 in Greek footballleaguenews info Archived from the original on 19 October 2018 Retrieved 18 October 2018 First time in Alpha Ethniki in Greek soccerbase info Archived from the original on 15 October 2018 Retrieved 15 October 2018 Dimitris Papadopoulos the top goal scorer of OFI in 1977 in Greek gentikoule gr 22 October 2011 Archived from the original on 21 October 2018 Retrieved 21 October 2018 Vardinogiannis and OFI in Greek onsports gr 21 September 2017 Archived from the original on 21 October 2018 Retrieved 21 October 2018 The first one envisioned a big OFI in Greek sport retro gr 21 September 2018 Archived from the original on 21 October 2018 Retrieved 21 October 2018 The price to Vardinogiannis from OFI with a bust and a chapel in Greek newsit gr Archived from the original on 21 October 2018 Retrieved 21 October 2018 Eugene Gerards who was in Greek onsports gr Archived from the original on 19 October 2018 Retrieved 18 October 2018 OFI wins the Greek Cup at Athens Olympic Stadium in Greek creteplus gr Archived from the original on 16 October 2018 Retrieved 15 October 2018 Fights with the mighty Hajduk Split for the UEFA Cup in Greek oficrete gr Archived from the original on 28 September 2020 Retrieved 18 October 2018 The first European qualification in Greek oficrete gr Archived from the original on 11 August 2020 Retrieved 18 October 2018 OFI wins the Balkans Cup against Radnicki Nis in Serres in Greek oficrete gr Archived from the original on 19 September 2020 Retrieved 18 October 2018 OFI made the biggest overthrow in Greek football against Olympiacos in Greek sport24 gr Archived from the original on 19 October 2018 Retrieved 18 October 2018 Argentinian rising star Victor Hugo Delgado in Greek oficrete gr Archived from the original on 26 October 2020 Retrieved 15 October 2018 1996 97 amazing season in Greek alithinihistoria wordpress com Archived from the original on 15 October 2018 Retrieved 15 October 2018 May 18 1997 OFI Europe Koutsoupias in Greek oficrete gr UEFA Cup against Auxerre in Greek gentikoule gr 4 November 2021 Archived from the original on 15 October 2018 Retrieved 15 October 2018 Gerards left OFI in Greek cretapost gr 29 February 2016 Archived from the original on 8 March 2016 Retrieved 29 February 2016 OFI s 1999 00 season in Greek oficrete gr Archived from the original on 1 July 2023 Retrieved 18 October 2018 OFI announced Maurer in Greek contra gr Archived from the original on 15 October 2018 Retrieved 2 July 2006 Agreement with Frantisek Straka in Greek sport24 gr Archived from the original on 16 October 2018 Retrieved 25 May 2008 Machlas for OFI in Greek ofi4us blogspot com Archived from the original on 19 October 2018 Retrieved 16 March 2009 Matzourakis at OFI in Greek athleticradio gr Archived from the original on 19 October 2018 Retrieved 20 November 2008 OFI the fall The root of evil in Greek sport24 gr Archived from the original on 15 October 2018 Retrieved 15 October 2018 Machlas as president of OFI in Greek newsbeast gr Archived from the original on 16 October 2018 Retrieved 15 October 2018 Nikos Asimakopoulos 23 March 2015 O OFH arghse na pesei Greek Archived from the original on 5 March 2016 Retrieved 24 March 2015 Apoxwrhse o OFH Greek www sport fm gr Archived from the original on 10 November 2017 Retrieved 24 May 2017 Kostas Karalis 23 March 2015 O teleytaios xoros Greek Archived from the original on 5 March 2016 Retrieved 24 March 2015 Gattuso I apologize for the fans of OFI in Greek gazzetta gr Archived from the original on 19 October 2018 Retrieved 18 October 2018 OFI A devastating 2015 in Greek gazzetta gr Archived from the original on 19 October 2018 Retrieved 18 October 2018 It s official OFI at Gamma Ethniki in Greek voria gr Archived from the original on 24 June 2015 Retrieved 15 June 2015 h ypagwgh twn pae sth diadikasia e3ygianshs toy neoy ptwxeytikoy kwdika dieyrynsh twn metrwn prolhptikhs prostasias yper twn PAE 103 PtK Greek sfirislaw gr 3 December 2012 Archived from the original on 11 September 2016 Retrieved 24 May 2017 OFI beats Fostiras 1 0 and promoted to the Football League in Greek sport24 gr Archived from the original on 25 May 2016 Retrieved 22 May 2016 Anebhke sth Football League o OFH Greek Archived from the original on 25 September 2016 Retrieved 6 September 2016 Bousis takes OFI in Greek gazzetta gr Archived from the original on 7 October 2018 Retrieved 4 October 2018 Mike Bousis is the new boss at OFI in Greek novasports gr Archived from the original on 11 October 2018 Retrieved 10 October 2018 Bousis is official the new owner of OFI in Greek maleviziotis gr Archived from the original on 22 October 2018 Retrieved 10 October 2018 a b Neo shma gia thn nea epoxh www oficretefc com OFI F C Archived from the original on 19 September 2020 Retrieved 14 August 2020 OFI s home ground in Greek stadia gr Archived from the original on 26 October 2018 Retrieved 18 October 2018 Ticket Record of Yedi Kule in Greek oficrete gr Archived from the original on 19 October 2018 Retrieved 18 October 2018 Snakes 4 Heraklion club in Greek snakes4 com Archived from the original on 19 October 2018 Retrieved 18 October 2018 S F Cretans 4 T Papadopoulos in Greek krites gr Archived from the original on 19 October 2018 Retrieved 18 October 2018 Manolis Sarris 10 October 2011 Kapws etsi 3ekinhse h filia OFH PAOK How OFI PAOK friendship started gentikoule gr in Greek Archived from the original on 11 October 2019 Retrieved 11 October 2019 Chrisanthos Dovletoglou 28 September 2013 PAOK OFH mia alh8inh filia A true friendship contra gr in Greek Archived from the original on 11 October 2019 Retrieved 11 October 2019 August of 1929 for OFI in Greek oficrete gr Archived from the original on 1 July 2023 Retrieved 18 October 2018 Ogunsoto moves to OFI in Greek contra gr Archived from the original on 27 December 2012 Retrieved 4 January 2010 Mastrogiannopoulos Alexander 5 June 2014 Prwta8lhtes EPS HRAKLEIOY ver 2 Greek ellinikopodosfero Greek Amateur Football blog Archived from the original on 5 October 2017 Retrieved 12 May 2017 Document from the first championship of OFI in Greek oficrete gr Archived from the original on 19 October 2018 Retrieved 18 October 2018 External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to OFI FC Official websites Official website in Greek OFI at Super League in English and Greek OFI at UEFANews sites OFI on gentikoule gr in Greek OFI news from Nova SportsOther Vardinogianneio Athletic Center dead link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title OFI Crete F C amp oldid 1188610609, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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