Global InformationMimis Papaioannou information
 Mimis Papaioannou with AEK Athens. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dimitrios Papaioannou | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 23 August 1942 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Nea Nikomedeia, Veria, Greece | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 15 March 2023 (aged 80) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of death | Athens, Greece | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.68 m (5 ft 6 in) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Forward, attacking midfielder | |||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1957–1959 | Nea Genea | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1959–1962 | Veria | 84 | (40) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1962–1979 | AEK Athens | 481 | (236) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1979–1982 | New York Pancyprian-Freedoms | 17 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||
| Total | 582 | (281) | ||||||||||||||||||
| International career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1962–1965 | Greece military | 7 | (4) | |||||||||||||||||
| 1963–1978 | Greece | 61 | (21) | |||||||||||||||||
| Managerial career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1982–1986 | New York Pancyprian-Freedoms | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1986–1987 | Kerkyra | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1987–1988 | Edessaikos | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1988–1989 | Olympiacos Chalkida | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1990 | AE Kos | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1990–1991 | Pannafpliakos | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1991–1992 | Evgeros | |||||||||||||||||||
| 1992–1994 | Greece (assistant) | |||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dimitrios "Mimis" Papaioannou (Greek: Δημήτριος "Μίμης" Παπαϊωάννου; 23 August 1942 – 15 March 2023) was a Greek professional footballer, who played as a forward, mostly for AEK Athens and a manager. Widely regarded as the greatest Greek footballer of his generation and one of the best players of all time in Greece, as he was named the best Greek footballer of the 20th Century by the IFFHS.[1]
A skillfull striker that was later converted into an attacking midfielder, due to technical abilities, Papaioannou was characterized by his technique, dribbling abilities, physical strength, versatility in his finishing and his jumping skills that allowed him to stay in the air longer than his opponents. Throughout his playing career, Papaioannou was never shown a single red card, while he was booked with a yellow card only three times.[2] Papaioannou played for AEK for 17 seasons and managed to win to 5 league titles, 3 Greek cups, including a domestic double in 1978. He is the club's all-time top scorer and by the time he left AEK he was also the all-time top scorer of the Greek championship, but today he is the third place.[3] He is the player of AEK with the second most appearances in all competitions and the first in league appearances. His nickname was "the Vlach" (Greek: "ο Βλάχος"), due to his family origins.[4]
In his international career, Papaioannou was part of the Greek military team that managed to win the World Military Cup in 1962 and 1963. With Greece he earned 61 caps and scored 21 goals, becoming their top scorer until 1986 and now he is the 5th place of the top scorer list.[5] In 2021, the IFFHS also selected him in Greece's best XI of all time.[6]
In 1982 Papaioannou, became the coach for New York Pancyprian-Freedoms, where he won both the league and the cup claiming the domestic double.[7] From 1986 to 1991 he managed Kerkyra, Edessaikos, Olympiacos Chalkida, AE Kos and Pannafpliakos. In 1991 he coached the local club Evgeros at Kefalonia for a season. He also served as an assistant of Alketas Panagoulias in bench of Greece for 2 years.
- ^ "Μετάλλια και παρεξηγήσεις" [en:Medals and misunderstandings]. tanea.gr (in Greek). Online.
- ^ "Μίμης Παπαιωάννου" [en:Mimis Papaioannou] (PDF). snf.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2022.
- ^ "60 χρόνια Α' Εθνική: Οι πρώτοι σκόρερ όλων των εποχών" [en:60 years of Alpha Ethniki: The top scorers of all time] (in Greek). Online. 5 May 2020.
- ^ "Μίμης Παπαϊωάννου 1942 - 2023: Αν είναι να πνιγείς, κάν' το σε μεγάλο ποτάμι" [en:Mimis Papaioannou 1942 - 2023: If you have to drown, do it in a big river]. athensvoice.gr (in Greek). Online.
- ^ "Greece - Record International Players". RSSSF.
- ^ "IFFHS MEN'S ALL TIME GREECE DREAM TEAM". IFFHS.com. Online. 23 October 2021.
- ^ "1983 US Open Cup Final: The first time Houston hosted US Soccer's championship game". thecup.us. 26 September 2018.