Foundation and first years (1899–1912) G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis traced its roots back on 1 July 1899 when
Omilos Filomouson () was established. The club was established as a cultural union of the
Greeks of
Thessaloniki (then under
Ottoman sovereignty), and its sports department was founded in 1902. In 1903 the club joined forces with Olympia, another greek Gymnastic Club of
Thessaloniki.
Football was a new sport at the time, but rapidly increasing in popularity and thus the board of directors decided to line up a football team. The first
football match that was held on 23 April 1905 by the Omilos Filomouson football team which won by 3–0 against Union Sportive, team of the Western European diaspora of
Thessaloniki. . Later on, Omilos Filomouson faced financial problems. As a result, members of Omilos Filomouson founded on 29 November 1908 a new sporting club, called
Makedonikos Gymnastikos Syllogos (), that gained a permission to operate by the Ottoman authorities. The new club's first president was a Greek doctor, Alkiviadis Maltos. The name of the club had a direct reference to the
ethnic tensions that took place in the area at that time. Due to the
Young Turks revolt of
1908 and their promises for ease of ethnic tensions in the area, the club was forced to change its name. Thus a new name was decided in 1910 for the club,
Othomanikos Ellinikos Gymnastikos Syllogos Thessalonikis "Iraklis" (). Τhe name "Iraklís" () was added to the club's name as an honour to the
ancient Greek demigod. The new name was approved, together with a new statute and a new board of directors, by a general assembly of the club on 13 April 1911.
G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis (1912–2012) National establishment and early success (1912–1959) After the integration of
Thessaloniki in the
Kingdom of Greece on 26 October 1912, the operation of the club was accepted by the Greek courts in 1914 and became a fully registered sports club on 11 January 1915 as
Gymnastikos Syllogos Thessalonikis "Iraklis" (). Shortly after the end of the
Second Balkan War, Iraklis together with the 3
Jewish football clubs of the city, Progrès Sportive, Alliance and French-German School Alumni Union organised the first Thessaloniki Football Championship in January and February 1914. Iraklis won Alliance 3–1, Progrès Sportive 5–1 and after winning the French-German School Alumni Union, the club was proclaimed Champion of Thessaloniki. On 6 April 1914, Iraklis Thessaloniki played a match against Athinaikos Syllogos Podosferiseos, that ended as a draw. It was the club's first match against a club outside
Thessaloniki. In 1914, Iraklis established the club's youth squad, so the students of the Greek Gymnasium of the city could train in football. A year later Iraklis won the second Thessaloniki Football Championship. The next championship was not held due to
World War I. In the years following
World War I, several
football clubs were established in
Thessaloniki and that led to the establishment of the
Macedonia Football Clubs Association in 1923. The first championship from the newly founded association was organised shortly afterwards and Iraklis lost in the tournament's final 4–1 to
Aris. In 1924 Iraklis played its first match against a club from outside the borders of
Greece. It was a match against
Yugoslav club SSK Skopje, a contest that ended 2–1 in favour of Iraklis. It was in that same year that Iraklis played its first match abroad, a 3–0 friendly win against SK Bitola. In 1926 the club appointed
Hungarian Joseph Sveg as
manager, the first ever foreign
manager in Greece. Under Sveg's guidance, Iraklis won the Championship organised by the
Macedonia Football Clubs Association in 1926–27. By winning 6–0 against the reigning champion of
Western Macedonia Ermis Sorovič and the champion of
Eastern Macedonia and Thrace Rodopi, Iraklis was proclaimed Champion of
Macedonia and
Thrace. In the following years, Iraklis did not have any success, finishing in runner up and even lower positions in the
Macedonia Football Clubs Association Championship. In the 1933–34 season Iraklis won the North Group of the
Panhellenic Championship qualifying for the championship final, where the club had to compete against the champion of the South group
Olympiacos. The first leg was played in Iraklis Ground on 10 June 1934. Although Iraklis took a 2–0 lead at half time,
Olympiacos managed to make a comeback in the second half, winning the game by a 2–3 scoreline. The second leg was played a week later in
Piraeus and
Olympiacos was proclaimed National champion by winning this match 2–1. In the following years Iraklis faced mid table mediocrity, with the exception of the 1936–37 season, when the club was only one point short to
Macedonia Football Clubs Association champions
PAOK. The 1938–39 season was a successful one for Iraklis, as it won both the
Macedonia Football Clubs Association championship and the North Group of the
Panhellenic Championship, the second resulting in the qualification of Iraklis in the National final. In the national final Iraklis lost to
AEK Athens both away and at home (1–3 and 2–4 respectively), failing to win the silverware. In the following season Iraklis celebrated its consecutive win in the
Macedonia Football Clubs Association Championship but failed to qualify for the National final. All football competitions were suspended in
Greece due to
Axis occupation of Greece from 1941 to 1945. After the war period, the club was constantly competing with
Aris for
Macedonia F.C.A. Championship, which gave upon its winner the right to participate in
Panhellenic Championship. Iraklis participated in the
1947 Greek Cup final, where was defeated 5–0 by the dominant greek club of that era,
Olympiacos. In the 1950s, the team solidified its position among the top teams in
Greece along with
Olympiacos,
Panathinaikos,
AEK Athens,
PAOK,
AEL and
Aris. Nevertheless, the club struggled with financial difficulties in an ailing
Greek economy.
Thessaloniki (where many refugees from the
Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922 had settled) was particularly damaged by the economic downturn. The highlight of the decade was the
1957 Greek Cup final, in which Iraklis was once again defeated 2–0 by
Olympiacos.
Semi-professional Alpha Ethniki era (1959–1975) Iraklis played in the
inaugural season of
Alpha Ethniki. The club secured the 10th position in the first season of national top tier of Greece. Iraklis football academy was founded during the same season after the suggestion of club manager
Panos Markovic. In the
1960–61 season Iraklis finished 8th and achieved a record 4–0 win against
Atromitos Piraeus. The club also reached the
Greek Cup semi-finals that season, getting eliminated by
Panionios. The following two seasons Iraklis played in the
Inter-Cities Fairs Cup, getting eliminated both times, by
F.K. Vojvodina and
Real Zaragoza respectively. In the league, Iraklis secured the 6th position for the
1961–62 season, a club record at the time. The rest of the 1960s, Iraklis secured mid-table positions repeating the club record in the
1969–70 season. In 1965,
Kostas Aidiniou, a player that together with fellow
Greek international Zacharias Chaliabalias would lead the club for the following decade, debuted for Iraklis. During the
1968–69 season Iraklis matched its record win as it won
AEL Limassol by a 4–0 margin. against Iraklis Thessaloniki in
G.S.E. Stadium,
Famagusta for an
exhibition game in 1970. In the
1970–71 season Iraklis, under the guidance of
Yugoslav manager
Ljubiša Spajić, finished 5th in the league, the club's best positioning since the establishment of
Alpha Ethniki. In that season, Iraklis sold 45,634 tickets in a 1–0 home win against
Panathinaikos, a club record since today and an Alpha Ethniki record at the time. The following for seasons, Iraklis achieved safe mid-table positions. In 1972, Iraklis signed
Dimitris Gesios from
Kozani, a player that would become the club's all-time league top-scorer. In the
1973–74 season Iraklis broke its biggest win record in Alpha Ethniki, by beating
AEL 6–1. On 29 August 1974, Iraklis sold its star player
Kostas Aidiniou to
Olympiacos for 11,000,000
drachmas. In the
next season Iraklis beat
Kalamata 5–0 at home to match its record win and finished 8th in the league. The club also reached the semi-final of
1974–75 Greek Cup. Iraklis was eliminated 1–2 by
Panathinaikos at home. After the match, three players of Iraklis,
Chaliabalias, Rokidis and
Nikoloudis revealed that there was an attempt from
Panathinaikos officials to bribe them for the semi-final. The two first were driven out of the club while the latter was sent off the club for six months.
The Absolute Star: Vasilis Hatzipanagis era (1975–1990) On 22 November 1975, the club acquired
Vasilis Hatzipanagis, a
USSR national of Greek descent, who was late voted a
Greece's Golden player for
UEFA Jubilee Awards. In the
1975–76 Greek Cup competition Iraklis eliminated
Veria,
Pierikos,
Trikala and
Panetolikos to reach the semi-finals. In the semi-finals Iraklis beat
Panathinaikos 3–2, at home.
Panathinaikos appealed against the result claiming the Iraklis winning goal came from an
offside position. Finally the courts turned down
Panathinaikos appeal and Iraklis qualified to the final to face
Olympiacos. On 9 June 1976 Iraklis won the Cup after a 6–5 penalty shootout. In the final
Hatzipanagis scored twice,
Kousoulakis and
Gesios scored once each, in a match that ended 2–2 in full-time and 4–4 in extra-time. In the league Iraklis finished in the 8th position led by
Gesios and
Hatzipanagis, that scored 9 and 6 goals respectively. In the next season Iraklis was eliminated from Cypriot club
APOEL in
1976–77 European Cup Winners' Cup and struggled in the league finishing in the 12th position, gathering just one point more from relegated
Panetolikos. Iraklis improved slightly in the
next season ending up 9th in the league with
Gesios achieving a personal best scoring 13 goals. In the
1978–79 season Iraklis mproved greatly under the guidance of
Antoni Brzeżańczyk. Iraklis finished 6th in the league, had a positive goal aggregate for the first time since the
1973–74 season and achieved the club's biggest victory in
Alpha Ethniki by beating
A.S. Rodos by an 8–1 margin. The
1979–80 season was the first season of fully professional football in
Greece. Iraklis finished in the 8th position in the league having his best goal difference since the establishment of Alpha Ethniki with +11. The highlight of the season was a 6–0 against title perennial contenders Panathinaikos, which is Panathinaikos' biggest league defeat to date. In
1979–80 Greek Cup Iraklis eliminated
Veria,
Niki Volos,
Almopos Aridea and
Panarkadikos to reach the semi-finals. In the semi-finals Iraklis eliminated
PAOK, but the club's chairman, Kostas Pertsinidis, was accused for a
bribe attempt by
PAOK's player
Filotas Pellios. Iraklis proceeded to play in the Cup final, but as the players morale was damaged the club was defeated by underdogs
Kastoria by a 5–2 margin. At the end of the season Iraklis was demoted to
Beta Ethniki, due to the alleged bribery scandal. Iraklis appealed against that decision, and the club was, later on, declared not guilty, but the club already played in
Beta Ethniki. In the
1980–81 season Iraklis had to compete in the
Beta Ethniki without his star player
Vasilis Hatzipanagis. The club won the championship in the North Group with Ilias Chatzieleftheriou being the top scorer with 24 goals. Iraklis scored a total of 99 goals, conceding 22, and achieved a club league record 12–0 win against
Edessaikos. Upon its return to the top tier, Iraklis managed to finish in the 6th position in
1981–82 Alpha Ethniki and achieved the club's best goal difference at the time with +14. In the
1983–84 season, Iraklis finished in third place overall, which remains to date the club's best positioning, since professional football was established in 1959. The club, led by
Hatzipanagis that scored 12 goals in the season, also had its best goal difference since the establishment of
Alpha Ethniki with +27 goals and its best defence record, conceding only 20 goals. In the
1984–85 season, Iraklis finished in the 5th position setting the club's offensive record scoring 59 goals. Major contributors to this record were
Vasilis Hatzipanagis,
Lakis Papaioannou and
Sigurður Grétarsson each contributing 10 goals throughout the campaign. In the same season Iraklis won its only international competition, the
Balkans Cup. Iraklis had to eliminate Turkish giants
Galatasaray by winning 5–2 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, and
Ankaragücü through a
penalty shoot-out in the semi-finals. In the final's second leg Iraklis won
Argeș Pitești by 4–1, thus winning the trophy 5–4 on aggregate. In the
1985–86 season, Iraklis finished in the fourth position having the best defensive record in the league conceding 22 goals, led by
Lakis Papaioannou who finished the season with 8 goals. Two years later, 17,000 fans travelled to
Athens to support Iraklis in the
1987 Greek Cup final, unfortunately to see their team lose 3–1 on penalties (1–1 regular time) to
OFI. On 9 November 1990, shortly after the
1990–91 UEFA Cup match against
Valencia,
Vasilis Hatzipanagis announced his retirement from professional football. Iraklis competed in
1990–91 UEFA Cup against
Valencia, being eliminated in
overtime at
Mestalla Stadium.
Reconstruction and change of ownership (1990–2007) The 1990s were a period of reconstruction for the club, as aging players either left the club or retired.
Vasilis Hatzipanagis retirement in 1990 had a major negative impact on the team's success. Fans began calling for a change in the club's management, as club president Petros Theodoridis began selling the team's most talented players (
Christos Kostis,
Georgios Anatolakis,
Savvas Kofidis etc.). The team was sold in 2000 to prominent Greek businessman
Evangelos Mytilineos for almost €3,500,000 (1.18 billion
drachmas). Despite the acquisition of many promising players during the first summer, the 2000–2001 campaign didn't have the expected results, with the club finishing in 5th position, out of European qualification spots. However, Iraklis managed to progress to the 2nd round of
UEFA Cup, where they achieved a memorable (although without any effect) win over
1. FC Kaiserslautern in
Fritz-Walter-Stadion. Next summer, Mytilineos's first move was to sell the highly rated striker and fans' favorite
Michalis Konstantinou to
Panathinaikos, setting a new record for the highest fee received for a domestic transfer. That move worsened the relationship between the new owner and the fans, while it clearly weakened the club, since Konstantinou was not replaced. Manager
Giannis Kyrastas, who was widely considered one of Greece's bests, was replaced by previous coach
Angelos Anastasiadis who in his second tenure managed to qualified once again for the
UEFA Cup on a very small budget. In 2003,
Evangelos Mytilineos announced his desire to leave the team and therefore sell it to Giorgos Spanoudakis (a friend of his from their school years, who used to be first vice-president of the club), for just €1, since the team was heavily in debt. Giorgos Spanoudakis initiated a series of expensive but unsuccessful deals like
Polish international
Cezary Kucharski and
Serie A veteran
Giuseppe Signori, driving the team close to bankruptcy. He later tried to get rid of the team by selling it to yet another businessman, named Dimitris Choulis, who had been a president of
Akratitos. After a 5-month period during which Dimitris Choulis controlled the team, the Professional Sports Committee finally annulled the transfer, raising questions in the media regarding its handling of the previous one between
Evangelos Mytilineos and Giorgos Spanoudakis, too. In January 2004,
Savvas Kofidis, famous as a player of the team in the 1980s, became the team's manager. During the 2005–06, he led Iraklis to an acclaimed 4th-place finish, playing effective and attractive football, creating a club record for 13 consecutive wins at home. However, with considerable debts to players, coaches and the state, Spanoudakis started the 2006–07 season attempting to reconcile Iraklis finances by selling
Joël Epalle and
Panagiotis Lagos, who were instrumental in the previous year's success. Next year Kofidis resigned as manager of a considerably weakened team after Iraklis lost 7 and drew 2 of his first nine games in
Super League and additionally was eliminated from the
UEFA Cup in extra time by
Wisła Kraków. Eventually the 2006–07 season ended in a hard breaking fashion as the team gained its survival to Greek Super League only in the last matchday, after breaking a 39 matches unbeaten home run of
Skoda Xanthi.
Financial collapse and relegations (2007–2011) On 13 July 2007, Giorgos Spanoudakis eventually resigned and the team passed to the hands of a consortium of local businessmen, with prominent Greek singer
Antonis Remos (a lifelong fan of the team) as their leader. The new owners tried to stabilize the team financially having already paid the debts to
Giuseppe Signori (almost $1,000,000) and to other players and lenders from the past. However, on 4 May 2011 Iraklis Thessaloniki was demoted to
Football League after failing to obtain a license to participate in 2011–12
Super League. On 19 May 2011, the Disciplinary Committee of the competition found Iraklis Thessaloniki guilty of forgery during the winter transfer window. Therefore, the club was automatically placed in the last position. That is a unique case as Iraklis Thessaloniki has never finished in a relegation spot but has been relegated twice. Moreover, on 26 September the Professional Sports Committee stripped Iraklis Thessaloniki from its professional licence and demoted the club to
Delta Ethniki. This situation spurred reactions from Iraklis Thessaloniki fans, with demonstrations in
Thessaloniki and
Athens.
A.E.P. Iraklis 1908 (2012–2019) The team finally competed in the 2011–12 Delta Ethniki, which started late due to
Koriopolis, without much success. Meanwhile, the club's board was discussing a possible merger with another club. There were discussions with local teams
Agrotikos Asteras Evosmos and
Anagennisi Epanomi. On 3 January 2012, a pre-agreement contract was signed between
G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis and
M.A.E. Pontion Katerinis regarding the running of the new club, with further negotiations planned after six months. On 20 January 2012, the merger was approved by
G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis, and their football team was disbanded and withdrawn from
Delta Ethniki.
M.A.E. Pontion Katerinis changed its name to
Athlitiki Enosi Pontion "Iraklis" 1908 (), took the logo and the colors of
G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis, and moved to
Kaftanzoglio Stadium. The squad consisted of players from both teams and was training in
Katerini. The resulting team replaced
M.A.E. Pontion Katerinis in
2011–12 Football League 2. On 23 January 2012, the team played their first game at home against
Tilikratis Lefkada, while pending approval of the merger by the Greek Professional Sports Committee. On 24 September 2012, the merged club was accepted in Greek Football League, as an acknowledgement of injustice against the old Iraklis Thessalonikis P.A.E.. In 2012 the new company was named
A.E.P. Iraklis 1908 P.A.E.. The new merged club has no legal connection to the original
G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis, but is essentially considered as a direct continuation of it, as it uses the crest of Iraklis Thessaloniki, its colours, and incorporates players and people associated with the former Iraklis Thessaloniki. Therefore,
G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki has no shares of the new company, but instead still holds the 10% of the bankrupt original company of Iraklis Thessalonikis P.A.E., which remains to be dissolved. After several months of negotiations, Spyros Papathanasakis became the new major shareholder of the club in the summer of 2014. Iraklis returned in
Super League in 2015, after four years of absence. After two seasons in
Super League (2015-16, 2016-17), Iraklis was relegated from the
First Division for the third time in his history, even though it didn't finish in a relegation position. Also was dissolved as a professional club the same year, due to major financial issues the club had been facing for some years. They failed to participate in
Football League and were thus dissolved as a professional football club and begun the season in
Gamma Ethniki. The next season they promoted back in
Football League. In 2018 the new company was named
A.E.P. Iraklis 1908 Nea P.A.E..
A.S. Iraklis 2015 (2019–2020) Iraklis was relegated in 2019 from the professional second-tier
Football League into the amateur fourth-tier
Gamma Ethniki, due to the restructuring of the Greek national championships and its performance in conjunction to its financial state. This led the professional club into further insolvency and an inability to form a squad to participate in any championship in the 2019–20 season. Faced with this situation, a new football club was formed through the
volleyball club of
Iraklis Volleyball 2015 on 25 September 2019. The new club was named
Athlitikos Syllogos "Iraklis" 2015 (), which participated in the lowest regional championship of the Thessaloniki region,
Macedonia F.C.A. Third Division, which is on the fourth-tier regionally and on the eighth-tier nationally. On 20 April 2020, amateur championships were suspended due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, therefore Iraklis won the championship winning all 15 games, scoring 88 goals and conceding 6.
A.S. Iraklis Ampelokipon (2020–2021) In September 2020, an agreement between
G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis and
A.S. Iraklis Ampelokipon was announced. In the
2020–21 season Iraklis played in
Gamma Ethniki and finished second (2nd) in Group 1 with 33 points. In April 2021,
N.G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis 1908 announced the termination of the agreement with
A.S. Iraklis Ampelokipon.
P.O.T. Iraklis (2021–) On 2 August 2021, an agreement between
N.G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis 1908 and
P.O. Triglias was announced.
P.O. Triglias changed their name to
Panathlitikos Omilos Triglias "Iraklis" () and moved to
Kaftanzoglio Stadium. In 2021 the new company was named
P.O.T. Iraklis P.A.E.. In the
2021–22 season Iraklis played in
Super League 2, the second tier of the
Greek football league system. They finished 7th in North group with 48 points. In the
2022–23 season, Iraklis played in
Super League 2 again. They finished 5th in North group with 47 points. They scored 56 goals (1st in the league). The season
2023–24, start with legal problems plaguing the club during the summer, 15 players left the team. At the start of
Super League 2, 16 new players were added to the team and the team manager of the team,
Anastasios Katsabis, left. Iraklis relocated football activities to
Chalastra Stadium for the remainder of the 2023–24 season. They finished 7th in North group with 30 points. On 27 September 2023, the Arbitration Court of the
E.P.O. rejected the request to withdraw the P.O.T. Iraklis P.A.E. against
Bogdan Mara, consequently the team was at risk of relegation from the
2023–24 Super League 2 championship. On the same day, the owner of P.O.T. Iraklis P.A.E., Stratos Evgeniou, announced that it could not meet the repayment of the former footballer and other old debts of Iraklis Thessaloniki P.A.E.. On 2 October 2023,
N.G.S. Iraklis Thessaloniki 1908 called on the members and fans of the sports club to help financially at the last moment so that by 6 October 2023, the required financial amount of €225,000 can be collected and the agreement with the former footballer can be completed. At the same time, the coach
Sakis Tsiolis and the football players of the team asked Stratos Evgeniou to be paid with less money to collect the necessary financial amount. On 6 October 2023, the selflessness, determination and solidarity of the members and fans of
Iraklis Thessaloniki was highlighted. This date is a milestone in the history of the sports club. Within 3 working days, the required financial amount was collected by the fans of
Iraklis Thessaloniki and finally the repayment of the former football player of the team was achieved. After several months of negotiations, Panagiotis Monemvasiotis became the new major
financier of the club in the summer of 2024, while Stratos Evgeniou continues having the ownership of the club. In the
2024–25 season, Iraklis finished 2nd in North group of
Super League 2 with 36 points. == Ownership and financing ==