Nikos Liberopoulos facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Nikos Liberopoulos

Liberopoulos in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Nikolaos Liberopoulos
Date of birth	(1975-08-04) 4 August 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth	Filiatra, Greece
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Forward, attacking midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1991–1993	Erani Filiatra	53	(33)
1993–1996	Kalamata	78	(20)
1996–2003	Panathinaikos	185	(72)
2003–2008	AEK Athens	142	(66)
2008–2010	Eintracht Frankfurt	50	(10)
2010–2012	AEK Athens	53	(18)
Total		561	(219)
International career
1996–1998	Greece U21	23	(15)
1996–2012	Greece	76	(13)
1997	Greece military
Medal record Men's football Representing  Greece World Military Cup Winner 1997 UEFA European U-21 Championship Runner-up 1998
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nikolaos "Nikos" Liberopoulos (born on 4 August 1975) is a retired Greek football player. He was a forward, known for his powerful shots and great attacking skills. Nikos was a special player in Greek football. Fans of both AEK Athens and Panathinaikos loved him. He is the only player to be among the top ten goal scorers for both these big teams. After playing for Panathinaikos for seven seasons, he scored many goals. On 10 May 2012, he reached 100 goals for AEK Athens. This made him the only player in history to score 100 goals for both Athens clubs. After retiring from playing, he became the Technical Director for AEK Athens on 8 September 2017.

Club Career Highlights

Starting His Football Journey

Nikos Liberopoulos began his football career at a local club called Erani Filiatra. Later, in 1994, he moved to Kalamata. He played very well in Greece's top football league. In the summer of 1996, big clubs like AEK Athens and Olympiacos wanted to sign him. But in the end, Panathinaikos was able to get him.

Playing for Panathinaikos

Nikos joined Panathinaikos in the summer of 1996. With them, he reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League. Some Italian clubs, like Juventus and Hellas Verona, were interested in him. However, he chose to stay loyal to Panathinaikos in Athens. In 2003, Nikos had some disagreements with the Panathinaikos board. This led to him leaving the club.

Time with AEK Athens

After leaving Panathinaikos, Nikos almost joined a French team, Sochaux. But he decided to join AEK Athens instead. There, he became a very strong attacker and an inspiring leader. He scored many goals against his old team, Panathinaikos. But he never celebrated these goals, which earned him respect and applause from the fans. He scored 79 goals in 195 games for AEK Athens. He also won a top scorer award in the 2006–07 season.

Some of his most important goals were long-range shots. One was in a 1–0 win against Lille. Another was in a 4–0 win against Olympiacos. In June 2007, a German club, 1. FC Nürnberg, offered him a lot of money. But Nikos turned it down to stay with AEK Athens. The club president wanted him to stay to help AEK Athens become stronger in the Greek Super League. On 7 July 2008, Nikos left AEK. A German team, Eintracht Frankfurt, signed him on 13 July 2008.

Playing for Eintracht Frankfurt

Nikos signed a two-year contract with Eintracht Frankfurt. He wore the number 10 shirt. He played his first game in the Bundesliga on 17 August 2008. He played the whole game against Hertha BSC in Frankfurt. Nikos scored his first goal against Mainz 05. He played 55 games for the club and scored 13 goals in total.

Coming Back to AEK Athens

Nikos Liberopoulos returned to AEK Athens in the summer of 2010. He played very well in a 5–3 win against A-League club Sydney FC on 25 July 2010. He scored one goal and helped set up two others. Nikos also scored against Blackburn a few days later. He played his first league game back against Kerkyra. His first official goal was in a UEFA Europa League match against Hajduk Split.

On 19 January 2010, he scored two goals in a Greek Cup match against Panathinaikos. This helped his team win. When he was substituted later in that game, some Panathinaikos fans applauded him. After the match, Nikos said that he had spent seven good years at Panathinaikos. He said he grew as a player there, but now AEK was his family. He also said it felt great to be applauded by fans of his former team. On 30 May 2011, Nikos won his first trophy with AEK. They won the Greek Cup 2010–11 against Atromitos with a 3–0 score. He scored the first goal and was named the best player of the match.

On 16 June 2011, Nikos signed a new one-year deal to stay at the club until 2012. His teammate Traianos Dellas also decided to stay for one more year. They wanted to finish their professional careers together as best friends. On 20 May 2012, Nikos played his last match for AEK against Panathinaikos. Many fans from both Panathinaikos and AEK gave him a standing ovation as he left the stadium.

International Career

Nikos Liberopoulos played for the Greece U21 team from 1996 to 1998. He scored 15 goals in 23 games, becoming their top scorer. He was also a key player in the team that reached the final of the European Championship in 1998. They lost to Spain in that final.

In 1997, he was called to the military team. He won the World Military Cup that same year, scoring in the final against Italy.

Nikos played 76 times for the Greece senior team and scored 13 goals. A memorable moment was in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. He scored a last-minute goal five minutes into extra time. This gave Greece a 2–1 victory over Moldova on 6 June 2007. This win put Greece at the top of their qualifying group. Nikos was often known as a "super sub" in international games. He would come off the bench in the last part of games and score important goals.

He was part of the 23-player squad chosen by coach Otto Rehhagel for UEFA Euro 2008. On 11 September 2009, Nikos announced he was retiring from international football. But he returned about a year later when the new coach, Fernando Santos, called him back. He was also chosen for UEFA Euro 2012 by coach Fernando Santos. Nikos Liberopoulos announced his retirement from international football again after Greece lost to Germany 4–2 in the Euro 2012 quarter-finals on 22 June 2012.

Career Statistics

Club Appearances and Goals

International Appearances and Goals

Awards and Honours

Team Honours

AEK Athens

• Greek Cup: 2010–11

Greece U21

• UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 1998

Individual Awards

• Greek Young Footballer of the year: 1995–96
• Greek Footballer of the year: 1999–2000, 2005–06, 2006–07
• Greek Super League top scorer: 2002–03, 2006–07

See also

In Spanish: Nikolaos Liberopoulos para niños