Iraklis V.C. (Thessaloniki)

Iraklis Volleyball Club (Greek: ΤΑΠ Γ.Σ. Ηρακλής), or Iraklis Volley, is a volleyball team based in Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. It plays in A1 Greek Volleyball League. Founded in the 1920s, they evolved in one of the most successful departments of G.S. Iraklis multi-sports club and one of the best teams in Greece and Europe, as they have won 5 times the Greek league (2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2012) and reached 3 times (2005, 2006, 2009) the final of the CEV Champions League.

Iraklis Volley
Full nameIraklis Volleyball Club
NicknameΓηραιός / Gireos (The Elder)
Founded1921
GroundMikra National Gym
(Capacity: 1,526)
ChairmanIoannis Mesthaneus
ManagerGiannis Orfanos
LeagueA1
2016–178th
Uniforms
Home
Away
Championships
5
Active departments of GS Iraklis
FootballBasketball
(Men's)		Basketball
(Women's)
VolleyballWater PoloHandball
AthleticsSwimmingRugby
Ice HockeyJudoWrestling
BoxingFencing

Men's Team

History
The European final-fours of the team

Iraklis was one of the first Greek clubs which encouraged volleyball before the World War II. After the war, they were always among the top teams in Greece. The first National Championship was played in 1968 and Iraklis was also able to contribute to the National Teams with plenty of players. During the 70's, Iraklis participated twice in the championship finals, thanks to the contribution of Nikos Antoniadis, the greatest athlete in the history of volleyball in Greece. In 1987, 1989 and 1992 Iraklis made it to the European Cup and in 1997 came the outburst of the team.

Thanks to an organized effort, Iraklis played three consecutive Championship finals and finally won its first title -the Greek Cup- in 2000. Two years later, the team won both the Championship and the Cup titles, while finishing third in the CEV Champions League final-four held in Opole, Poland.

The next four years Iraklis dominated in Greece, confirming his superiority by winning one Championship (2005), three Greek Cups (2004, 2005, 2006) and two Greek Super Cups (2004, 2005), but mostly by participating in three more CEV Champions League final-fours. In 2004 in Belgorod, Russia, the team finished in the fourth place. Next year, the presence of world-class players such as Lloy Ball, Thomas Hoff and Clayton Stanley helped the team to reach the final-four which took place in Thessaloniki, Greece. Iraklis beat Lokomotiv Belgorod in the semi-final, but lost 1-3 to Tours VB in the final, despite the outstanding support by the fans. In 2006, Iraklis made it again to the final in Rome, Italy, to be beaten by Sisley Treviso 3-1. About 4,000 Iraklis fans traveled to Rome to support the team, creating fantastic atmosphere and setting a record for an away crowd in a volleyball game.

The following season marked the beginning of a transitional period. Many of the top players were released from the team, while the budget was cut in half. Even so, the team's dominance in Greece continued. In 2007, Iraklis finished third in regular season, but managed to win the Championship beating Olympiacos S.C. in the semi-finals and Panathinaikos VC in the finals, having both times a disadvantage. The next Championship (2007–08) had the same conclusion. Iraklis defeated Panathinaikos VC in the finals (without losing a single game) and were crowned Champions for the fourth time in their history.

Current squad

Season 2016–2017

Shirt No Nationality Player Birth Date Height Position
1 GreeceVasilis Mouchlias21/11/19961.94Outside Hitter
12 GreeceChritos Kiossis23/12/19821.98Middle Blocker
18 GreeceDimitris Rizopoulos26/8/19842.01Outside Hitter
 GreeceApostolos Armenakis19/07/19802.05Opposite
 GreeceKonstantinos Prousalis06/10/19801.92Setter
 CyprusNikolas Eleutheriou17/10/19972.07Opposite

Technical and managerial staff
Job Name
Head Coach Giannis Orfanos

Crest evolution
  • Older
  • Current

Notable former players

Notable coaches
Flavio Gulinelli

Honours

Domestic

Greek League

  • Winners (5): 2001–02, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2011–12
  • Runners-up (8): 1970–71, 1974–75, 1998–99, 1999-00, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2005–06, 2010-11

Greek Cup

  • Winners (6): 1999–00, 2001–02, 2004–05, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2011–12
  • Runners-up (4): 2000–01, 2010–11, 2017–18, 2018–19

Greek Super Cup

  • Winners (4) (record): 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008
  • Runners-up (2): 2000, 2006

European

CEV Champions League

  • Runners-up (3): 2004-05, 2005-06, 2008-09
  • Third place (1): 2001-02
  • Fourth place (1): 2003-04

Sponsorships

Women
Iraklis Volley
Full nameIraklis Volleyball Club
Founded1927
GroundKatsaneio Indoor Hall
(Capacity: 800)
Manager Panagiotis Kalpakis
LeagueA1
2012-136th place in A1
(6th after regular season)
Uniforms
Home
Away

Current Squad 2012/2013
Number Name Height (m) Date of Birth Position Nationality
1 Labrini Konstantinidou 1,82 16/09/96 Setter  Greece
2 Chara Velliou 1,77 01/07/94 Opposite Hitter  Greece
4 Panagiota Damianidou 1,78 15/01/96 Outside Hitter  Greece
5 Evi Kiriakidou 1,88 27/07/81 Middle Blocker  Greece
6 Eleni Konstantinidou 1,81 18/04/92 Middle Blocker  Greece
7 Irene Kelesidou 1,75 16/05/91 Libero  Greece
8 Irene Michaliou 1,85 21/02/93 Middle Blocker  Greece
9 Olga Strantzali 1,85 12/01/96 Opposite Hitter  Greece
10 Georgia Tsoukari 1,76 01/01/93 Opposite Hitter  Greece
11 Nikoleta Karafoulidou 1,86 26/01/93 Middle Blocker  Greece
12 Evagelia Leonidaki 1,78 25/05/90 Opposite Hitter  Greece
14 Michaela Kravarik 1,77 14/09/97 Outside Hitter  Greece
17 Konstantina Bacharaki 1,93 23/02/90 Opposite Hitter  Greece
18 Marialena Artakianou 1,68 21/05/94 Libero  Greece
− Simona Komnino 1,82 10/01/97 Outside Hitter  Greece
− Efstathia Dimopoulou 1,77 01/01/96 Setter  Greece
  Captain
gollark: We have a mere 1300% oil piped in by pipe.
gollark: We should probably research nuclear things in order to avoid having to raze coal patches for power.
gollark: The acceleration is higher, top speed less so.
gollark: Nuclear fuel best fuel, actually.
gollark: We could incorporate "signalling" and "actually removing cliffs" ~~(by the way, please restock the cliff explosives thing with grenades)~~ (oops, wrong person, orbital bee strike inbound) and "proper bidirectional tracks".
Official Sites
Press
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