Kyriakos Papadopoulos facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Kyriakos Papadopoulos

Papadopoulos with Leverkusen in 2014.
Personal information
Date of birth	(1992-02-23) 23 February 1992 (age 33)
Place of birth	Katerini, Greece
Height	1.83 m
Playing position	Centre-back
Youth career
2000–2007	Svoronos Katerinis
2007–2010	Olympiacos
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2007–2010	Olympiacos	13	(1)
2010–2015	Schalke 04	61	(3)
2014–2015	→ Bayer Leverkusen (loan)	14	(2)
2015–2017	Bayer Leverkusen	16	(0)
2016–2017	→ RB Leipzig (loan)	1	(0)
2017	→ Hamburger SV (loan)	15	(2)
2017–2020	Hamburger SV	32	(1)
2020–2021	Lokomotiva	24	(2)
2021	Al-Fayha	1	(0)
2021–2022	Atromitos	15	(0)
2022–2023	U Craiova	9	(0)
2023–2024	Lamia	31	(0)
2024	Levadiakos	8	(0)
National team‡
2008–2009	Greece U17	6	(1)
2008–2010	Greece U19	17	(1)
2008–2011	Greece U21	15	(2)
2011–2021	Greece	35	(4)
Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20 October 2024. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 5 September 2021

Kyriakos Papadopoulos (born 23 February 1992) is a Greek professional footballer. He plays as a centre-back, which is a defender position. He most recently played for the Greek club Levadiakos.

Kyriakos started his career very young. He played his first league games for Olympiacos when he was just 15 years old. In 2010, he moved to Germany to join Schalke 04. The next year, at 19, he scored in his first game for the Greek national team. However, his career in the Bundesliga (Germany's top league) was often affected by injuries.

Club Career

Early Days at Olympiacos

Kyriakos Papadopoulos was born in Katerini, Greece. In July 2007, he was playing for his hometown club, Svoronos Katerinis. He was invited to try out with the youth team of Espanyol in Spain. He did so well that they wanted to offer him a contract right away.

However, Olympiacos in Greece also knew about his talent. Their former manager quickly made a deal to bring him to Piraeus. Kyriakos played in several friendly games before the season started. He also played in three league games and three Greek Cup games.

The 2007–08 season was very promising for him. He made his first official game for Olympiacos on 2 December 2007. He came on as a substitute in a 3–1 win against Atromitos. This made him the youngest player ever to play in the Greek league. He was only 15 years and 283 days old. He was also a substitute in Champions League games. If he had played, he would have broken the record for the youngest player in that competition.

In September 2008, Papadopoulos signed a new contract with Olympiacos. It included a release clause of about £4.6 million. On 2 November 2008, he played his first league game of the 2008–09 season. This was a 2–0 home win against Ergotelis.

Moving to Schalke 04

Papadopoulos training at Schalke 04 in 2010.

On 23 June 2010, the German club Schalke 04 announced they had signed Papadopoulos. He signed a four-year deal. On 21 August 2010, he played his first Bundesliga game for Schalke. It was a 2–1 loss against Hamburger SV.

On 25 August 2011, he scored his first goal for Schalke. This was in a UEFA Europa League qualification game. Schalke won 6–1 against HJK Helsinki. On 1 December, he scored the first goal in a 2–1 Europa League group stage win. This was against Steaua București.

On 17 December, Papadopoulos scored his first Bundesliga goal. It was in a big 5–0 win over Werder Bremen. He scored again on 21 January 2012 in a 3–1 win against VfB Stuttgart. Since joining Schalke, he played over 70 games. He scored five goals and earned a lot of praise. People admired his strong and skilled defending at such a young age.

Papadopoulos with Schalke 04 in 2011.

Before the 2012–13 season, the Italian club Milan wanted to sign Papadopoulos. Schalke said Milan tried to sign him without telling the club first. Another club, Zenit Saint Petersburg from Russia, also wanted him. They offered £16 million, which Schalke accepted. But Papadopoulos decided to stay in Germany. In September 2012, he signed a new contract with Schalke until 2016.

In the 2012–13 season, he scored his first goal of the season. It was in a 3–1 win over FC Augsburg. Later, a virus kept him out of games. He also had surgery for a knee injury. This injury happened in November 2012.

After a very tough year with injuries, Papadopoulos returned in December 2013. He played in a home game against SC Freiburg. But just a few weeks later, he hurt his shoulder. This was another setback. His knee problems had already limited him to only four games in the 2013–14 season. This injury also meant he missed the 2014 World Cup with Greece.

Loan to Bayer Leverkusen

On 3 August 2014, Bayer Leverkusen signed Papadopoulos on a loan for one season. He said he was happy about the move. He saw Bayer Leverkusen as a club with big international goals, just like Schalke. He mentioned he was fit again and very motivated.

On 3 November 2014, Leverkusen announced he would be out for the rest of 2014. He had a shoulder injury. He got this injury during training before a UEFA Champions League game. He had surgery for it. His coach said it was "bitter for Papa."

On 8 March 2015, Papadopoulos scored his first Bundesliga goal for Bayer Leverkusen. It was against SC Paderborn. His injury problems continued on 25 April 2015. He dislocated his right shoulder in a league game. Leverkusen said he would return to training after three months.

Playing for Bayer Leverkusen

On 7 June 2015, Bayer Leverkusen decided to buy Papadopoulos permanently. They paid €6.5 million to Schalke 04. He signed a five-year contract. On 29 September 2015, he scored his first goal of the 2015–16 season. It was in a Champions League game against Barcelona. He headed in a rebound from a corner kick.

Papadopoulos had many injuries during the season. He had a tear in a joint capsule, which kept him out for two weeks. He also hurt his right calf tendon in a Europa League game. This injury kept him out until the end of the season.

Loan to RB Leipzig

On 31 August 2016, Papadopoulos joined RB Leipzig on a loan for one season. The deal was worth €1.5 million. He reunited with Ralf Rangnick, who was his coach at Schalke. They had won the DFB Pokal together in 2011. On 21 September 2016, he played his first game for Leipzig. He came on as a substitute in a 1–1 draw. On 24 November 2016, Papadopoulos had surgery for a long-term knee problem. He started a recovery program and was expected to return in about three weeks.

Time at Hamburger SV

On 13 January 2017, Papadopoulos moved to Hamburger SV. He had not played much for RB Leipzig. The HSV manager, Markus Gisdol, knew him from their time at Schalke 04. On 21 January 2017, he played his first game for Hamburg. It was a 1–0 loss to VfL Wolfsburg.

On 3 February 2017, Papadopoulos scored a header against Bayer Leverkusen. This gave Hamburg a 1–0 win against his former club. A week later, he scored again. This time it was against his most recent club, RB Leipzig. Hamburg won 3–0.

On 18 February 2017, he got a shoulder injury in his fourth game for Hamburg. On 1 March 2017, Papadopoulos returned in a DFB Cup game. On 18 March 2017, he reached 100 games in the Bundesliga. He achieved this milestone in a 0–0 draw.

On 21 June 2017, Hamburger SV signed Papadopoulos permanently. They paid €6.5 million to Bayer Leverkusen. He signed a three-year deal. On 9 August 2017, he was named vice-captain for the 2017–18 season. On 12 December 2017, he scored his first goal of the season. It was in a 2–1 home loss against Eintracht Frankfurt.

On 23 July 2018, Papadopoulos had a knee cartilage injury. This needed surgery right away. He was expected to be out for about six months. This meant he would miss the first half of the 2018–19 2. Bundesliga season. On 30 March 2019, he returned to the squad. He was a substitute in a 0–0 game. Three days later, he started his first game back. It was a 2–0 win in a DFB Pokal game.

Later Clubs

On 27 October 2020, Kyriakos Papadopoulos joined the Croatian club Lokomotiva. He played 24 games for them and scored 2 goals.

On 18 July 2021, he moved to Al-Fayha in Saudi Arabia. He signed a two-year contract. However, he left the club after only one month. He played just one game for 16 minutes.

On 9 September 2021, Papadopoulos returned to Greece. He signed a one-year contract with Atromitos in the Super League Greece. He played 15 games for them.

On 23 July 2022, Papadopoulos joined U Craiova in Romania. He signed a two-year contract. He played 9 games for them. On 21 January 2023, he left the club. His last game was in October 2022.

On 15 February 2023, Papadopoulos returned to the Super League Greece again. He signed a one-year contract with Lamia. He played 24 games for them over two seasons. In 2024, he joined Levadiakos and played 8 games.

International Career

Papadopoulos was called up to the Greece national under-19 team. This was for the qualification round of the 2007 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. He played in all three group games. Greece finished first and qualified for the finals. Papadopoulos was a key defender in the finals. He helped Greece keep a clean sheet against the Czech Republic. His strong play also helped against England and Italy. His performances caught the eye of scouts from big clubs.

He was the youngest player in the tournament. He was considered one of the ten most talented players in Europe by UEFA.

He had a great season with Schalke. On 4 June 2011, the Greece head coach, Fernando Santos, called him up. This was for a match against Malta. Because other defenders were injured, he played in the center of defense. Papadopoulos had an excellent game and scored the team's second goal. On 6 September 2011, he scored his second international goal. This was against Latvia in a Euro 2012 qualifying game.

Papadopoulos was part of the Greece Under-23 squad for the UEFA Euro 2012. He started in two group games and the quarter-final match. Greece lost to Germany in that game.

On 17 April 2015, he was called back to the Greece national team. This was for a European Championship qualifier against Hungary.

For the 2018 World Cup qualifying campaign, Papadopoulos was chosen by coach Michael Skibbe. He played against Cyprus and Estonia. He was sent off in a game against Bosnia-Herzegovina. This meant he missed the important game against Belgium.

Career Statistics

Club Statistics

International Statistics

Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Papadopoulos goal.

List of international goals scored by Kyriakos Papadopoulos

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	4 June 2011	Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece	Malta	2–0	3–1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
2	6 September 2011	Skonto Stadium, Riga, Latvia	Latvia	1–1	1–1	UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying
3	31 May 2012	Kufstein Arena, Kufstein, Austria	Armenia	1–0	1–0	Friendly
4	15 August 2012	Ullevaal Stadion, Oslo Norway	Norway	2–0	3–2	Friendly

Honours

Olympiacos

• Super League Greece: 2007–08, 2008–09
• Greek Cup: 2007–08, 2008–09
• Greek Super Cup: 2007

Schalke 04

• DFB-Pokal: 2010–11
• DFL-Supercup: 2011

See also

In Spanish: Kyriakos Papadopoulos para niños