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Kalamata

Full name	Ποδοσφαιρικός Σύλλογος "Η Καλαμάτα"
Nickname(s)	Μαύρη Θύελλα (Black Storm)
Founded	1967
Ground	Kalamata Metropolitan Stadium
Capacity	4,000
Owner	Agathoklis Christopoulos
Chairman	Apostolis Koukoutsis
Manager	Giannis Christopoulos
League	Gamma Ethniki
2017–18	Gamma Ethniki (Group 5), 5th
Website	Club website
Home colours Away colours
Current season

Kalamata Football Club (Greek: Π.Σ. Καλαμάτα) is a professional football club based in Kalamata, Greece, currently competing in Football League 2.

Background

Kalamata FC was formed in 1967 in a merger among Apollon Kalamata FC and other local sides.^[1]

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.^[2]

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.^{[citation needed]} The team could not stick in the top flight though, and would not have a resurgence until the 1990s.

Nikos Liberopoulos

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 FC 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' 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.^{[citation needed]} 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, 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.^{[citation needed]}

Crest and colours

Historic 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.^[3]

Supporters

Kalamata F.C.'s most famous supporters' club is the Bulldogs Fan Club.^[4]

Rivals

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

Players

Current squad

As of 19 August 2018

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

No. Position Player GK Felipe Gomes GK Panagiotis Bessis DF Theodoros Papoutsoyiannopoulos DF Cerezo Hilgen DF Giannis Kalogeropoulos DF Nikolaos Liolios DF Anastasios Kantoutsis DF Jordan Wilkes MF Michalis Zacharopoulos MF Angelos Sarantopoulos MF Luca Vigilante

No. Position Player MF Franco Toresani FW Kostas Kanellopoulos FW Alexandros Ereki FW Evandro Roncatto FW Christos Gasoukas FW Vasilios Athanasopoulos FW Ilias Merkouris FW Harrison De Nicolo MF Eudes Dagoulou MF Ivan Marković

For details on former players, see Category:Kalamata F.C. players

Achievements

• 
  Beta Ethniki Championship^[5]
  • 
    Winners (2): 1971–72 (Group 1), 1973–74 (Group 2)
  
  


• 
  Delta Ethniki Championship
  
  • 
    Winners (1): 2010–11
  
  

European matches

Season	Competition	Round	Club	Home	Away
2000	UEFA Intertoto Cup	3rd Round	FK Chmel Blšany	0−3	0–5

Former managers

• 
  Bo Petersson (1995–97)


• 
  Eduardo Fernandes Amorim (1997–98)


• 
  Andreas Michalopoulos (2003–04)

Former players

• 
  Nikos Lyberopoulos
  


• 
  Soares
  


• 
  Lee Bullen
  


• 
  Derek Boateng
  


• 
  Samuel Johnson
  


• 
  Kostas Frantzeskos
  


• 
  Peter Ofori-Quaye
  


• 
  Triantafyllos Machairidis
  


• 
  Dimitrios Konstantopoulos
  


• 
  Kyriakos Stamatopoulos
  


• 
  Carlos Marcora
  


• 
  Tomás De Vincenti
  


• 
  Baffour Gyan
  


• 
  Ivan Tasić
  


• 
  Stanimir Milošković
  


• 
  Thanasis Sentementes
  


• 
  Ebenezer Hagan
  


• 
  Afo Dodoo
  


• 
  Sandro Luiz Scapin
  


• 
  Vaggelis Kaounos
  


• 
  Panagiotis Drougas
  


• 
  Panagiotis Bachramis
  


• 
  Marcelinho (footballer, born 1987)
  


• 
  Dimitris Markos
  


• 
  Charles Sampson (footballer)
  


• 
  Christos Kalantzis
  

References

External links

• 
  PAE Kalamata - Official site (in Greek)
  


• 
  Bulldogs Fan Club - Supporters' club site (in Greek)
  


• Onsports.gr Profile