Crete is a year round holiday destination with coastlines on both the Mediterranean Sea and the Libyan Sea.
With wild natural beauty and thousands of years of history, the island of Crete may not be the first name on anyone’s lips where football is concerned.
But it is true that the main club OFI Crete has long played a role at the top table of Greek Football.
Crete has a long and rich history and according to archaeologists.
It started in the Neolithic period with Crete being the birthplace of the first European civilization – the Minoan people, who flourished between 3000 BC and 1200 BC mainly in Central and Eastern Crete.
Crete also appears in Homer’s Odyssey.
Crete plays a forefront role in the modern Greek economy thanks to its thriving tourist scene.
But it was not until December 1st 1913 that Crete was officially united with Greece. One of the key figures was Eleftherios Venizelos from Chania; a man who was later to become the Prime Minister of Greece.
The struggles of Cretans did not end in 1913 since many fought in the Battle of Crete in 1941 – one of the most important strategically important conflicts of World War II. Today, there are memorials and monuments scattered all over the island reminding people of the horror and devastation of the war with the German military.
With its distinctive elongated shape straddling two climatic zones, Crete spans 260km from its eastern tip to the west yet is only 60 km at its widest point. Surrounded to the south by the Libyan Sea; the Sea of Crete and the Carpathian Sea, Crete lies approximately 160km south of the Greek mainland with a boat trip between Heraklion and Piraeus taking 9 hours.
Yet for all its ancient remains and rich history, its greatest football treasure remains the main football team OFI Crete and its inner city home – the compact Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium.
Omilos Filathion Irakielou 1925 or Club of Fans of Heraklion 1925 are based in the capital of Heraklion.
O Ómilos (The Club) remain the Cretan club with the most appearances in the Greek first division last winning the cup as recently as 1987.
Given the large population of the island (600,000 inhabitants) OFI is not the only football club from Crete.
The club retains a strong if not as fierce rivalry with cross-town Heraklion based Ergotalis; a rivalry that has existed since 1929 when the first Cretan derby between the two was abandoned.
Ergotalis currently play a level below OFI at the Pankritio Stadium. This was a stadium created for the 2004 Olympics and sits across the street from the home stadium of OFI. Despite playing at a modern home the footballing decline of Ergotalis has its roots in the ‘one city/one club’ rule of the Greek military junta which existed from 1967-74.
The traditional home ground of Ergotalis is the Nikos Kazantzakis Stadium also known locally as the Martinengo Stadium. The stadium is located on top of Venetian era fortifications that surrounding the ancient inner city of Heraklion.
Other prominent clubs on Crete include Platanias who play at the Perivolia Municipal Stadium near Chania on the east of the island. Platanias had competed in the Greek Super league during the 2017-18 season but were relegated at the end of the campaign.
