P.O. Atsaleniou, short for Panathlitikos Omililos Atsaleniou ( el, Παναθλητικός Όμιλος Ατσαλένιου, translated ''Pan-athletic Club of Atsalenio'') and also known simply as Atsalenios or POA, is a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is t ...

club based in the suburb ''Atsalenio'' of

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Greece with a population of 211,370 (Urban ...

, the largest city on the island of

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cypru ...

. The club's short name Atsalenios can literally be translated ''made of steel'' ( el, ατσάλι, being the

word for '' steel''). The club currently competes in the

Gamma Ethniki The Gamma Ethniki ( el, Γ΄ Εθνική Ερασιτεχνική Κατηγορία, C National Amateur Division) is the third highest football league in Greece. History The Gamma Ethniki began in 1965 as an amateur championship, while in 198 ...

, the third tier of the

Greek football league system The Greek football league system includes four levels in which teams can possibly make it to the Super League 1, Greece's highest division of football. Cup eligibility Greek Football Professional Cup: Levels 1 to 2 Greek Football Amateur Cup: ...

. The club's crest is a vine leaf and its traditional colours are green and white.

History

Atsalenios was founded in 1951 as the ''Pan-athletic Club of Atsalenio'' by

Asia minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

refugees occupying the Atsalenio suburb, located in the southern area of the city of

. Since 1960, the club hosts its home games at the Atsalenios Stadium, a privately owned football stadium with a capacity of 1,500 spectators. In 1964, the club competed in the Beta Ethniki, the second tier of the

for the first time in its history. Since 1976, Atsalenios has consecutively competed at national competitions, either as an amateur or professional club playing in the

Delta Ethniki Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

, the fourth tier of the

. In 2003, Atsalenios was promoted to the

, featuring in seven consecutive seasons before being relegated in 2010. The club has since briefly resurfaced in the

2013–14 Gamma Ethniki The 2013–14 Gamma Ethniki was the 31st season since the official establishment of the third tier of Greek football in 1983. It was scheduled to start on 22 September 2013. 93 teams were separated into six groups, according to geographical crit ...

, where it was relegated to Heraklion FCA regional competitions for the first time in 38 years, after finishing 8th in the

Group 5. Then it once again achieved promotion to the

during the 2015−16 season, when the club was crowned champions of

by finishing first in the regional league, and eventually placing first in the 2016 FCA Winners' Championship. Atsalenios currently holds the record for most Heraklion FCA Cup trophies won since the competition was established in 1971, with a total of 12 wins. The club has also claimed 9 Heraklion FCA Championships, second-most behind modern

Superleague The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

regulars OFI. Atsalenios maintains its own football academies, having produced a number of players that have since moved on to more prestigious clubs in

, such as

OFI Crete OFI may refer to: * Overseas Filipino Investors, Filipino expatriates who contribute to the economy of the Philippines through remittances, buying property, and creating businesses * OFI Crete, a Greek association football club based on the islan ...

and

Ergotelis The Gymnastics Club «Ergotelis» Heraklion Crete ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος «O Εργοτέλης» Ηρακλείου Κρήτης, Γ.Σ. Εργοτέλης), commonly known simply as Ergotelis ( el, Εργοτέλης), ...

, as well as other

Greek Superleague The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

clubs. Some of the most renowned players to emerge from Atsalenios' infrastructure segments include

Michalis Sifakis Michalis Sifakis ( gr, Μιχάλης Σηφάκης; born 9 September 1984) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Early years Born in Heraklion, Greece, Sifakis started playing football at the age of 9. His fir ...

(former Greek champion with

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

, 15 international caps with the

Greece national football team The Greece national football team ( el, Εθνική Ελλάδας, ) represents Greece in men's international football matches and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece play mos ...

), his father

Myron Myron of Eleutherae ( grc, Μύρων, ''Myrōn'' ), working c. 480–440 BC, was an Athenian sculptor from the mid-5th century BC. He was born in Eleutherae on the borders of Boeotia and Attica. According to Pliny's '' Natural History'', Agela ...

( 1986−87 Greek Cup winner with

Manolis Roubakis Manolis Roubakis ( el, Μανώλης Ρουμπάκης; born 6 January 1979) is a Greek professional footballer who plays for Atsalenios in the Greek Football League 2. Despite being right-footed, his natural position is left back; however, h ...

Petros Giakoumakis Petros Giakoumakis ( el, Πέτρος Γιακουμάκης; born 3 July 1992) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a forward for Cypriot First Division club Olympiakos Nicosia, on loan from Lamia. Career Born in Crete, Giakoumakis b ...

and others.

Players

Current squad

Honours

Domestic

**Winners (2): 2002−03, 2012−13 * FCA Winners' Championship **Winners (2): 1988, 2016

Regional

* Heraklion FCA Championship **Winners (9): 1962−63, 1965−66, 1970−71, 1973−74, 1984−85, 1987−88, 1994−95, 1996−97, 2015−16 * Heraklion FCA Cup **Winners (12) (record): 1974−75, 1977−78, 1983−84, 1985−86, 1986−87, 1990−91, 1996−97, 1997−98, 2000−01, 2002−03, 2014−15, 2018–19

Notable former players

;Greece *

Michail Fragoulakis Michail Fragoulakis ( el, Μιχαήλ Φραγκουλάκης; born 15 July 1983) is a Greek professional footballer who plays for the Greek Gamma Ethniki club Giouchtas. Career Born in Heraklion, Fragoulakis began his football career wit ...

Giorgos Giakoumakis Giorgos Giakoumakis ( gr, Γιώργος Γιακουμάκης; born 9 December 1994) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a striker for Major League Soccer club Atlanta United FC and the Greece national team. Club career Early c ...

Grigorios Athanasiou Grigoris Athanasiou ( el, Γρηγόρης Αθανασίου; born 9 March 1984) is a professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. He is left-handed. Career Born in Eleftherio-Kordelio, Athanasiou began playing football with Akratitos in ...

Dimitris Hasomeris Dimitrios Chasomeris ( gr, Δημήτριος Χασομέρης; born 23 June 1989) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a forward for Iraklis Larissa. Career Iraklis On 8 August 2018, Chasomeris signed a contract with Iraklis, newl ...

Dimitris Karademitros Dimitris Karademitros ( el, Δημήτρης Καραδέμητρος; born 6 May 1983) is a Greek footballer. A right-sided winger, he is known for his speed, as well as his remarkable dribbling skills and scoring capabilities. Career Karademi ...

Stefanos Vavoulas Stefanos Vavoulas ( el, Στέφανος Βάβουλας; born 4 January 1965) is a retired Greek football defender. References 1965 births Living people Greek footballers OFI Crete F.C. players Super League Greece players Associatio ...

Thanasis Patiniotis Athanasios "Thanasis" Patiniotis (Greek : Θανάσης Πατινιώτης, born 1 October 1993) is a professional Greek footballer, who plays for Atsalenios. He plays as a midfielder for Atsalenios. Although the player had an agreement with ...

Anestis Anastasiadis Anestis Anastasiadis (Greek: Ανέστης Αναστασιάδης; born 21 January 1983) is a Greek professional football defender who plays for Atsalenios P.O. Atsaleniou, short for Panathlitikos Omililos Atsaleniou ( el, Παναθλη� ...

;Europe * Miguel Agostinho Oliveira *

Marco Meireles Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish ...

;Africa *

Ebus Onuchukwu Ebus Chukwubuka Onuchukwu (born 9 April 1984 in Lagos) is a Nigerian football player who currently plays for FC Baník Ostrava in the Czech first division, Czech 1. Liga, as a striker. Career He previously had spells at Ethnikos Katerini F. ...

Rasheed Alabi Rasheed Oladimeji Alabi Suaibu (born 9 January 1986 in Kaduna) is a Nigerian footballer who last played for Iranian club Sanat Naft. Career He also played for OFI Crete and Doxa Katokopias. He scored his first goal for AC Omonia in the UEFA C ...

Edouard Oum Ndeki Joseph Edouard Oum Ndeki (8 May 1976 – 7 March 2009 in Rhodes) was a Cameroonian footballer who last played for Rodos.He started his career in high school where he played for Lycée de New bell soccer team and quickly captioned the attenti ...

;America *

Fernando Benitez Fernando is a Spanish and Portuguese given name and a surname common in Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Switzerland, former Spanish or Portuguese colonies in Latin America, Africa, the Philippines, India, and Sri Lanka. It is equivalent to the G ...

Abel Masuero Abel Masuero (born 6 April 1988) is an Argentine professional Association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back for Chacarita Juniors. Career Masuero began his professional playing career in 2007 with Gimnasia y Esgrima de La Plata. He ...

Managerial history

* Rajko Janjanin (1996–2002) *

Pavlos Dermitzakis Pavlos Dermitzakis ( gr, Παύλος Δερμιτζάκης; born 29 June 1969) is a Greek professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Super League 2 club Panserraikos. Playing career Dermitzakis began his ...

(2002–2007) *

Ioannis Taousianis Ioannis or Ioannes ( el, Ιωάννης), shortened to Giannis or Yannis (Γιάννης) is a Greek given name cognate with Johannes and John and the Arabic name Yahya . Notable people with the name include: * Ioannis I, Tzimiskis, Byzantine E ...

(2007–2008) *

Thanasis Kolitsidakis Thanasis Kolitsidakis ( el, Θανάσης Κολιτσιδάκης, born 21 November 1966) is a Greek former football defender and later manager. Career Kolitsidakis played most of his career for Apollon Smyrnis, Panathinaikos FC and OFI Cre ...

(2008–2009) *

Manolis Patemtzis Manolis Patemtzis ( el, Μανώλης Πατεμτζής; born 22 April 1964) is a retired Greek football defender and later manager. References 1964 births Living people Greek men's footballers Irodotos FC players OFI Crete F.C. p ...

(2009–2015) *

Vasilis Krasanakis Vassilios or Vassileios, also transliterated Vasileios, Vasilios, Vassilis or Vasilis ( el, Βασίλειος or Βασίλης), is a Greek given name, the origin of Basil. In ancient/medieval/Byzantine context, it is also transliterated as Basil ...

(2015–2017 ) *

Manolis Soutzis Manolis ( el, Μανώλης, Μανόλης) is a Greek masculine given name, which is sometimes a contraction of Emmanouil. It may refer to: *Manolis Anagnostakis (1925–2005), Greek poet and critic at the forefront of the Marxist and existentia ...

(2017–2018 ) *

Manolis Skyvalos Manolis ( el, Μανώλης, Μανόλης) is a Greek masculine given name, which is sometimes a contraction of Emmanouil. It may refer to: *Manolis Anagnostakis (1925–2005), Greek poet and critic at the forefront of the Marxist and existentia ...

(2018–2020 ) *

Antonis Androulakis Antónis (Greek alphabet: Αντώνης) is a Greek masculine given name that is a variant of Antonios that is used in Greece and Cyprus. Antonis is a Dutch masculine given name that is a diminutive of Anthonius that is used in Netherlands, Bel ...

(2020-2021) *

(2021- )

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Atsaleniou Gamma Ethniki clubs Sport in Heraklion Football clubs in Heraklion Football clubs in Crete Association football clubs established in 1951 1951 establishments in Greece