Antonios Nikopolidis facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Antonis Nikopolidis

Nikopolidis playing in a legends match in 2018
Personal information
Full name	Antonios Nikopolidis
Date of birth	(1971-01-14) 14 January 1971 (age 54)
Place of birth	Arta, Greece
Height	1.87 m
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1985–1989	Anagennisi Arta
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1987–1989	Anagennisi Arta	49	(0)
1989–2004	Panathinaikos	189	(0)
2004–2011	Olympiacos	180	(0)
Total		418	(0)
National team
1999–2008	Greece	90	(0)
Teams managed
2012–2013	Olympiacos (assistant)
2013	Olympiacos (caretaker)
2014–2015	Olympiacos (assistant)
2015–2019	Greece U21
2019–2020	Olympiacos U19
2022–2023	Proodeftiki
2024–2025	Panionios
Honours Men's football Representing  Greece UEFA European Championship Winner 2004
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals).

Antonis Nikopolidis (born January 14, 1971) is a famous Greek football player and manager. He used to be a goalkeeper. Many people think he is one of the best Greek goalkeepers ever. He played the most games as a goalkeeper for the Greece national football team. He was a very important part of the team that won the UEFA Euro 2004 championship.

Playing Career

Starting Out: Anagennisi Arta

Antonis Nikopolidis began his football journey at his local team, Anagennisi Arta. He played there for a few years. In the summer of 1989, he moved to a bigger club, Panathinaikos.

Time with Panathinaikos

Nikopolidis played his first game for Panathinaikos in the 1990–91 season. It was against Olympiacos, who would later become his rival team. For a few years, he was a backup goalkeeper. In 1995, he played five games when Panathinaikos won the championship. The next year, they won it again, and he played three games.

He became the main goalkeeper in the 1997–98 season when he was 26 years old. In 2002, he helped the team reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League. In the 2003–04 season, he had some disagreements about his contract. Because of this, he was benched and did not play much.

Before the UEFA Euro 2004 tournament, there were rumors. People said Nikopolidis was talking to Olympiacos, Panathinaikos's biggest rival. It was later found out that he had signed a deal with Olympiacos. This made many Panathinaikos fans upset with him.

Moving to Olympiacos

Nikopolidis playing for Olympiacos in 2008.

After helping Greece win the Euro 2004 trophy, Nikopolidis joined Olympiacos. He quickly became a key player for his new team. In his first game against his old club, Panathinaikos, he did not let any goals in. He then helped Olympiacos win two "Doubles" in a row. A "Double" means winning both the league championship and the cup in the same season. This made him the only Greek player to win three Doubles in a row with two different clubs.

At Olympiacos, Nikopolidis became known for making important saves. He was especially good at saving penalty kicks. He saved penalties against famous teams like Roma and Real Madrid in the Champions League. In the 2007–08 season, he saved many penalties in the Greek league. This set a new record for the most penalty saves in one season.

Nikopolidis first planned to retire after the 2009–10 season. However, he decided to play one more year. He wanted to retire as a champion. He signed a new contract to stay with Olympiacos for the 2010–11 season.

In January 2011, he was named one of the best goalkeepers of the first decade (2000-2010). On March 20, 2011, Olympiacos won the championship. They beat AEK Athens F.C. 6–0. He played his last game on April 17, 2011. It was a 6–0 win against Larissa F.C.. Near the end of the game, he was replaced by another goalkeeper. This allowed him to say goodbye to the fans. As the team captain, he was the one who lifted the championship trophy.

International Career

Nikopolidis played his first game for the Greece national football team on August 18, 1999. It was against El Salvador. He played very well in the qualifying games for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2004. His great play helped Greece qualify for the Euro 2004 finals.

Nikopolidis was a huge reason why Greece won the Euro 2004 tournament in Portugal. He did not let any goals in during three of the knockout stage games. He was also chosen as the best goalkeeper for the Euro 2004 All-Star team. On June 15, 2008, Nikopolidis announced he was retiring from international football. He said he made this decision before the Euro 2008 tournament began.

Managerial Career

After he stopped playing, Nikopolidis became an assistant manager for Olympiacos in 2012. In January 2013, he became the temporary manager after the previous manager left. When a new manager, Míchel, arrived, Nikopolidis went back to being his assistant.

After the 2012–13 season, Nikopolidis left Olympiacos. He wanted to start his own career as a head coach. On October 1, 2015, he was named the manager of the Greece national under-21 football team. He has also managed other clubs like Proodeftiki and Panionios.

Style of Play

Antonis Nikopolidis was not the tallest or fastest goalkeeper. But he was very good at knowing where to be on the field. This helped him stop many shots. He was also good at understanding the game. This allowed him to quickly run out from his goal to deal with one-on-one situations. He sometimes acted like a "sweeper-keeper," helping his defenders.

Honours

Player

Panathinaikos

• Alpha Ethniki (Greek League Champion): 1989–90, 1990–91, 1994–95, 1995–96, 2003–04
• Greek Cup: 1990–91, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95, 2003–04
• Greek Super Cup: 1993, 1994

Olympiacos

• Super League Greece (Greek League Champion): 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11
• Greek Cup: 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09
• Greek Super Cup: 2007

Greece National Team

• UEFA European Championship: 2004

Individual Awards

• Greek Best Goalkeeper: 8 times (1999–2000, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2007–08, 2008–09) - This is a record!
• UEFA European Football Championship Team of the Tournament Member: 2004

Images for kids

• 

  Nikopolidis with Olympiacos in 2008

See also

In Spanish: Antonis Nikopolidis para niños