Kallithea F.C.
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| Full name | Γ.Σ. Καλλιθέα Gymasticos Syllogos Kallithea |
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| Nickname(s) | Blues, England | ||
| Founded | 1966 | ||
| Ground | Gregoris Lambrakis Stadium Kallithea, Athens, Greece (Capacity: 4,200) |
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| Chairman | Nikos Salevris | ||
| Manager | Periklis Amanatidis | ||
| League | Gamma Ethniki | ||
| 2008-09 | Beta Ethniki, 17th (Relegated) | ||
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Kallithea F.C. (Greek: Γ.Σ. Καλλιθέα) is a Greek professional football club based in Kallithea, currently competing in Beta Ethniki, the Greek second division (see Greek football league system).
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[edit] Background
The club's full name is Gymnastikos Syllogos Kallithea (Greek: Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Καλλιθέα), meaning Gymnastic Club of Kallithea, which is shortened to G.S. Kallithea (Greek: Γ.Σ. Καλλιθέα).
The club was founded on 18 August 1966, from the merger of five local clubs: Esperos, Iraklis, AE Kallitheas, Kallithaikos, and Pyrsos [1].
The five stars in Kallithea's club logo represent the five founding clubs.
[edit] History
[edit] League
Kallithea's first season of competitive football was in 1966-67 in the third tier of Greek football.
In 1969 the club earned promotion to Beta Ethniki, the Greek second division, for the first time.
in 2002 Kallithea achieved promotion to Alpha Ethniki, which is now known as the Super League, for the first time. The first Alpha Ethniki match in the club's history was a 1-0 loss to Olympiacos at Georgios Kamaras Stadium on 25 August 2002. Kallithea's first Alpha Ethniki win came on 14 September 2002, a 3-2 upset of PAOK F.C. at Toumba Stadium, thanks to 2 goals from Theofanis Gekas.
The club's highest finish in Alpha Ethniki/Super League is 9th place, in 2004-05.
Kallithea was relegated back to Beta Ethniki after the 2005-06 season. In 2006-07 and 2007-08 Kallithea finished 7th and 6th, respectively, in Beta Ethniki [2].
[edit] Cup
Kallithea has reached as far as the quarterfinal stage of the Greek Cup on 4 occasions: in 1969-70 (eliminated by Aris), in 1978-79 (eliminated by Panachaiki), in 1986-87 (eliminated by OFI Crete, who won the competition that year), and most recently in 2001-02 (eliminated by Olympiacos) [3].
[edit] Stadium
Kallithea plays its home matches at Gregoris Lambrakis Stadium in Kallithea. The stadium was built in 1970, and currently has a seating capacity of 4,250 [4].
The ground is commonly referred to by its nickname, El Paso. The site of the stadium used to be a quarry, explaining the tall rock lining the north end of the stadium. When the stadium was being built in the 1960s, Clint Eastwood's Spaghetti Westerns were very popular in Greece, and the stadium's nickname is a reference to Eastwood's 1965 film For a Few Dollars More (which had the Greek title Duel in El Paso), as the stadium's backdrop reminded people of the scenery in the movie. [4]
[edit] Notable players
[edit] Theofanis Gekas
The greatest player to have played for Kallithea is Theofanis Gekas, who currently plays for Bayer 04 Leverkusen in Germany's Bundesliga.
In the 2001-02 season Gekas scored 14 goals in 26 league matches to lead Kallithea to promotion from Beta Ethniki to Alpha Ethniki. In two-and-a-half seasons with Kallithea in the top flight Gekas scored 32 goals in 73 matches, up until the club sold him to Greek giants Panathinaikos in January 2005. In 2006-07 Gekas was loaned to German Bundesliga club VfL Bochum, and that season he scored 20 goals and was the Bundesliga's top scorer. The following season Gekas transferred to Leverkusen.
[edit] Others
Other notable former Kallithea players include:
Alexandros Alexandris- Leonidas Vokolos
- Anastasios Kyriakos
Todor Yanchev
Kanfory Sylla
Yves Triantafyllos
Daniel Kenedy
Foto Strakosha- Bledar Kola
[edit] Current squad 2008/09
- As of 25 October 2008
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[edit] References
- ^ "Greece - Mergers and Name Changes". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesg/grk-names.html.
- ^ "Greece - List of Second Level Final Tables". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesg/grk2hist.html.
- ^ "Greece - Cup Data (from Quarterfinals on)". RSSSF. http://www.rsssf.com/tablesg/grkcuphistfull.html.
- ^ a b "Gregoris Lambrakis Stadium". Stadia.gr. http://www.stadia.gr/kallithea/kallithea.html.
[edit] External links
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