Kalamata F.C.

Background

Kalamata F.C. was formed in 1967 in a merger among Apollon Kalamata and other local sides.

History

The team has competed in the Greek first division seven times, in 1972-73, 1974–75, from 1995-96 to 1997-98, and from 1999-00 to 2000-01.

Kalamata F.C. achieved its first two promotions to the first division, in 1972 and 1974, under President Lykourgos Gaitanaros. Its first two promotions in the early 1970s are considered the team's first golden era. The team could not stick in the top flight though, and would not have a resurgence until the 1990s.

Businessman Stavros Papadopoulos bought the team in 1992, while the club was stuck in Gamma Ethniki, the third division. Upon his arrival, Papadopoulos began pouring a substantial amount of money into the club, and by 1995 the team had achieved promotion to the first division. The team dropped back to the second division for one season in 1997, but again achieved promotion to the first division the very next year, and remained in the top flight until Papadopoulos sold the team in 2000. After Papadopoulos' departure Kalamata fell to the second division and has since stayed in the lower divisions.

The Papadopoulos era of Kalamata F.C. saw the signing of many international players from Ghana, such as Samuel Johnson, Afo Dodoo, Ebenezer Hagan, Peter Ofori-Quaye and Derek Boateng. Johnson later transferred from Kalamata to Anderlecht and later played for Fenerbahçe, Hagan transferred to Iraklis and then to PAOK, Ofori-Quaye was sold for a club record USD $3.5 million to Olympiacos, and Derek Boateng left for Panathinaikos. Kalamata F.C. is credited with starting the trend among Greek clubs of signing African talent since the late 1990s. The Papadopoulos era also saw the uncovering of a wealth of young Greek talent, including Greek international player Nikos Liberopoulos, who made his name at Kalamata before moving to Panathinaikos, and from there to AEK and Eintracht Frankfurt.

After being demoted to the second division in 1997, they eventually started to bring in young Brazilian talent, as well as some veterans of the biggest teams in Brazil. The Brazilians helped the team gain promotion to the first division right away in 1998. According to Brazilian media and insiders, Papadopoulos's son Daniil, a former high level amateur athlete in America, was supposedly instrumental in spotting some of the Brazilian talent and sending them to Kalamata FC. One of them, Hilton Assis (1999-2000), turned out to be the first cousin of Brazil and Barcelona FC super star Ronaldinho. Hilton was once a promising player in Brazil who starred for Internacional of Porto Alegre, but serious knee operations curtailed his career. When he was healthy he was Kalamata's top goal scorer, but he returned to the Brazilian first division after Papadopoulos sold the team.

Kalamata's long-standing rivals are Paniliakos and Egaleo F.C., a poor and industrial suburb of Athens. Kalamata FC is also claimed to have some of the most passionate and dedicated fans in all of Greece.

Colours and crest

Kalamata F.C.'s official colours are black and white, and the team is known in Greece as the "Black Storm" (Mαύρη Θύελλα).

Stadium

Kalamata plays its home matches at Kalamata Metropolitan Stadium in Kalamata. The stadium was completed in 1976, and currently has a seating capacity of 5,400.

Supporters

Kalamata F.C.'s most famous supporters' club is the Bulldogs Fan Club.

Rivals

Kalamata's long-standing rivals are Paniliakos, located in Pyrgos in the western Peloponnese, and Egaleo, in the Athens suburn of Egaleo. Messiniakos is Kalamata's cross-town rival, but Messiniakos generally competed in lower leagues.

Current squad

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

Achievements

Former managers