Kerkyra FC, also known as AO Kerkyra , the Athletic Club Kerkyra, is a Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 association football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 club based on the island of Kerkyra (Corfu

Corfu

Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...

), Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

.

History

It was formed in 1967 as "Kerkyraikos F.C." following a merge of three Corfu clubs ("Aris Kerkyras" est 1924, "Helespontos" est 1923 and "Asteras Kerkyras" est 1926). These three teams alongside "Olympos Kerkiras" where dominating Corfu Local Championship before the creation of Greek National Leagues in 1967. In order to represent Corfu in the National B' Class League the three teams decided to merge in 1967. Due to some players' dispute with "Olympos Kerkiras" in 1968 the team had to change its name to "A.O. Kerkyra".

Colors, emblem and ground

The club's colors are Maroon

Maroon (color)

Maroon is a dark red color.-Etymology:Maroon is derived from French marron .The first recorded use of maroon as a color name in English was in 1789.-Maroon :...

 and Blue

Blue

Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...

, depicting the colors of the island and its emblem is the ancient Corfiot's ("Faiakes

Faiakes

Faiakes is a former municipality on the island of Corfu, Ionian Islands, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Corfu, of which it is a municipal unit. It is located in the northeastern part of the island of Corfu. It has a land area of 53.850 km² and a...

") trireme, which is the island's emblem. The National stadium of the town of Corfu, "E.A.K.K.", (built in 1955) hosts A.O. Kerkyra since its foundation.

Current status

After 36 years in lower divisions A.O. Kerkyra managed to reach top-level "Alpha Ethniki" in 2004. The long effort to success was inspired by chairman Spyros Kalogiannis who took control in 1999 and managed to climb three divisions in 4 years. Though the long awaited "Alpha Ethniki" didn't end up as expected as the club was relegated, taking the last place in the final table.
After a successful year in B' Ethniki, 2005-2006 season ended with Kerkyra celebrating another chance in Alpha Ethniki.
2006-2007 was another failure in Alpha Ethniki or Super League Greece

Super League Greece

The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...

, with Kerkyra fighting bravely against relegation, but ending up relegated after a 2-2 tie on the last match against Panathinaikos FC

Panathinaikos FC

Panathinaikos Football Club is a Greek professional football club based in Athens. Founded in 1908, they play in the Super League Greece and are one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Greek football history. They have won 20 Greek Championships and 17 Greek Cups.Panathinaikos is the most...

. In the 2009-2010 season in Beta Ethniki

Beta Ethniki

Football League, former Beta Ethniki, is the second highest professional football league in Greece.-History:In its first years, the system of conduct was very intriguing. It began in 1954 as regional championship, separated in two groups, North and South. Then, the participating teams were the...

 they secured promotion to the super league on 2nd May 2010 with a 0-0 draw against Panetolikos.

Fans

Their nickname is Vourligans, a portmanteau of Vourlismenos (crazy in corfiot

Corfu

Corfu is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea. It is the second largest of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the edge of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The island is part of the Corfu regional unit, and is administered as a single municipality. The...

 dialect

Dialect

The term dialect is used in two distinct ways, even by linguists. One usage refers to a variety of a language that is a characteristic of a particular group of the language's speakers. The term is applied most often to regional speech patterns, but a dialect may also be defined by other factors,...

) and Hooligans.

Club Rivalries

A.O. Kerkyra's longest rivalry is with local club Olympos Kerkiras, though due to A.O. Kerkyra's high division presence, the two teams don't play often against each other.
Kerkyra also have long rivalries with nearby Epirus

Epirus (periphery)

Epirus , formally the Epirus Region , is a geographical and administrative region in northwestern Greece. It borders the regions of West Macedonia and Thessaly to the east, West Greece to the south, the Ionian Sea and the Ionian Islands to the west and the country of Albania to the north. The...

 clubs as PAS Giannina

PAS Giannina

PAS Giannina , the Panepirotic Athletic Association Giannina, is a Greek association football club based in the city of Ioannina, the capital of Greece’s Epirus region.Following the 2010–11 season, PAS was promoted to Greece’s Super League division...

, Anagennisi Artas, Panetolikos and Tilikratis of Lefkada

Lefkada

Lefkada, or Leucas or Leucadia , is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea on the west coast of Greece, connected to the mainland by a long causeway and floating bridge. The principal town of the island and seat of the municipality is Lefkada . It is situated on the northern part of the island,...

. The reason for the rivalry is that historically these clubs competed against each other in order to advance to higher leagues. PAS Giannina

Ioannina

Ioannina , often called Jannena within Greece, is the largest city of Epirus, north-western Greece, with a population of 70,203 . It lies at an elevation of approximately 500 meters above sea level, on the western shore of lake Pamvotis . It is located within the Ioannina municipality, and is the...

 and Anagennisi Arta

Arta, Greece

Arta is a city with a rich history in northwestern Greece, capital of the peripheral unit of Arta, which is part of Epirus region. The city was known in ancient times as Ambracia . Arta is famous for its old bridge located over the Arachthos River, situated west of downtown...

s, especially, are from nearby Epirus and there is a historical and cultural, (usually friendly), rivalry between the islanders and their mainland neighbours that also extends to their respective football clubs and fans. Panetolikos is another mainland team from nearby Aetolia-Acarnania

Aetolia-Acarnania

Aetolia-Acarnania is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of West Greece. It is located in the western part of Greece; the regional unit is a combination of the geographic regions Aetolia and Acarnania. Its capital is Missolonghi for historical reasons, with its biggest...

 and the same rivalry logic applies as with the Epirus teams.

Kerkyra National Stadium

• Built in 1961
• Capacity of 2,685 (all seated)
• Biggest Attendance 5,000 (AO Kerkyra v PAS Giannina 1974)

The stadium has two stands, the main one has a roof and is where the players and officials emerge from. The second stand is situated directly opposite and is a famous and very hostile terrace during big games. This is also where a lot of the Vourligans will watch from. This stand was constructed in 1973.

Squad 2011/2012

Technical team

• .  Manager: Javi Gracia
  Javi Gracia
  Javier 'Javi' Gracia Carlos is a retired Spanish footballer who played as a defensive midfielder, who currently manages Greek club Kerkyra.-Playing career:...
  
  
• .  Assistant Manager: Vasilis Ksanthis
• .  Goalkeeping Coach: Vaggelis Filippis
• .  Head of Fitness and Conditioning: Kostas Parousis
• .  General Manager: Christos Dousis
• .  Doctor: Alekos Koskinas
• .  Senior Physiotherapist: Giorgos Kollas
• .  Physiotherapist: Argyris Rapsomanikis
• .  Masseur: Vasilis Pouloumpis

AO Kerkyra season performances 1969 – present

1969-70: B' National A Group (11th)

1970-71: B' National A Group (17th)

1971-72: B' National A Group (14th)

1972-73: B' National A Group (16th)

1973-74: B' National A Group (14th)

1974-75: B' National A Group (20th Relegation)

1975-76: After the fall of the Second national, AOK is in the First Division of the Football Association of Corfu

1976-77: A' Division of F.A. Corfu

1977-84: A' Division of F.A. Corfu

1984-85: C' National South Group (14th)

1985-86: C' National South Group (11th)

1986-87: C' National South Group (12th)

1987-88: C' National South Group (12th Relegation)

1988-89: D' National (Promotion)

1989-90: C' National South Group (16th Relegation)

1990-91: D' National

1991-92: D' National (1st Promotion) - Finalist in Greek Amateur Cup

1992-93: C' National South Group (14th Relegation)

1993-94: D' National

1994-95: D' National

1995-96: D' National (1st Promotion)

1996-97: C' National South Group (9th)

1997-98: C' National South Group (12th Relegation)

1998-00: D' National

2000-01: D' National (1st Promotion)

2001-02: C' National (1st Promotion)

2002-03: B' National (5th)

2003-04: B' National (1st Historical Promotion to A' National)