Kalamata F.C.
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| Full name | PS Kalamata | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Black Storm | ||
| Founded | 1967 | ||
| Ground | Kalamata Metropolitan Stadium Kalamata, Greece (Capacity: 10,000) |
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| Chairman |  Giorgos Grigoropoulos |
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| Manager | Stratos Voutsakelis |
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| League | Beta Ethniki | ||
| 2008-09 | 9th | ||
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Kalamata FC, PS PAE Kalamata in Greek, is a Greek football club playing in the national second division, Beta Ethniki.
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[edit] History
The club was formed in 1967. They play their home matches at Kalamata Metropolitan Stadium in Kalamata. The club's official colours are black and white and it is well known in Greece as Mavri Thiella "Black Storm". Kalamata's most famous supporters club is buldoggs fun club. The team has achieved promotion to the Greek first division seven times; 1972-73, 1974-75, 1995-98 and 1999-2001. Its first two promotions in the early 1970s are considered the team's first golden era. The two promotions in the 1990s are considered the team's second golden era.
The first time Kalamata FC achieved promotion, they finished first in the second division. The 2nd division league championship trophy is still standing in the team trophy room. The president of that time, Lycourgos Gaitanaros is still close to the team, being part of the early 1970s golden era. The late 1970s saw Kalamata FC fall on hard times and slip down to the third division. They remained in the lower division for the whole of the 1980s.
The second golden era in the team's history began in 1992 when international businessman Stavros Papadopoulos bought the team, which was stuck in the third division, and began pouring a substantial amount of money into it. By 1995, the team 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. The very next year after Papadopoulos sold the team, Kalamata FC fell back to the second division and has remained in the lower divisions ever since.
The Papadopoulos era of Kalamata FC was notable for the signing of many international players from the African nation of Ghana, such as Sam Johnson, Afo Doudou, Ebenezzer Hagen, Derek Boateng, and Peter Ofori-Quaye. These players helped Kalamata FC to achieve great results domestically, and some would go on to bigger teams; Sam Johnson went on to play for Anderlecht of Belgium, Peter Ofori-Quaye was eventually sold for a club record USD $3.5 million to perennial Greek champions Olympiakos, and Derek Boateng went on to play for Panathinaikos. These signings by Kalamata FC are credited with starting the trend of signing African talent amongst top Greek clubs in the late 1990s. The Papadopoulos era is also notable for uncovering a wealth of young Greek talent, most significantly current Greek international player Nikolaos Lymperopoulos.
While the fixation on African talent paid dividends for Kalamata FC, it also caused them to miss some bigger opportunities... It was always rumored, and then later confirmed by media in Brazil, that the famous Brazilian superstar Ronaldo was offered to Kalamata FC at the age of 15 for USD $50,000, but was rejected by Papadopoulos and the team's technical staff as not good enough. Brazilian 2002 World Cup star Juninho was also offered to Kalamata FC back in 1996 for USD $500,000, but once again the club deemed the sum too high a price to pay.
The club would learn its lessons, however, and 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. Interestingly enough, one of those players, Hilton Jeronymo Assis (Kalamata FC 1999-2000), turned out to be the first cousin of Brazil and Barcelona FC superstar Ronaldinho. Hilton was once a promising player in Brazil 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.
[edit] Rivals
Kalamata's long standing rivals are Paniliakos, (a team situated in Pirgos city in western Pelopponesus), and Aigaleo city, a well known industrial and impoverished suburb of Athens. Messiniakos FC are cross town rivals, though have only experienced a resurgence in recent years. Kalamata FC is also noted for having some of the most passionate and dedicated fans in all of Greece.
[edit] Current squad
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[edit] Notable former players
[edit] External links
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