| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Georgios Donis | ||
| Date of birth | (1969-10-22)22 October 1969 (age 55) | ||
| Place of birth | Frankfurt,West Germany | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Al-Khaleej (manager) | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1986–1987 | AO Pavlos Melas | ||
| 1987–1988 | Panathinaikos | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1988–1996 | Panathinaikos | 107 | (31) |
| 1988–1989 | →Athinaikos (loan) | ||
| 1989–1990 | →Panargiakos (loan) | ||
| 1990–1991 | →PAS Giannina (loan) | 22 | (3) |
| 1996–1997 | Blackburn Rovers | 22 | (2) |
| 1997–1998 | AEK Athens | 30 | (2) |
| 1999 | Sheffield United | 7 | (1) |
| 1999–2000 | Huddersfield Town | 21 | (0) |
| Total | 239 | (43) | |
| International career | |||
| 1991–1997 | Greece | 24 | (5) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 2002–2004 | Ilisiakos | ||
| 2004–2008 | AEL | ||
| 2008 | AEK Athens | ||
| 2009–2012 | Atromitos | ||
| 2012–2013 | PAOK | ||
| 2013–2015 | APOEL | ||
| 2015–2016 | Al-Hilal | ||
| 2016–2017 | Sharjah | ||
| 2017–2018 | APOEL | ||
| 2018–2020 | Panathinaikos | ||
| 2020 | Maccabi Tel Aviv | ||
| 2021 | Al-Wehda | ||
| 2022–2023 | Al Fateh | ||
| 2023–2024 | Al-Wehda | ||
| 2024– | Al-Khaleej | ||
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Georgios Donis (Greek:Γεώργιος Δώνης; born 22 October 1969) is a Greek former professionalfootballer who played as amidfielder and currently the manager ofSaudi Pro League clubAl-Khaleej. He was the first ever Greek to play in theEnglish Premier League. In England, he was also known asGeorge Donis.
Donis was born and raised inFrankfurt,West Germany until he was six years old and the family moved back to their nativeGreece. His parents had lived in Frankfurt for "many years" and he has still family ties there.[1]
Donis started his senior career withPAS Giannina in 1990, and after one successful year he moved toPanathinaikos. The fans of Panathinaikos, known for their love for nicknames, named himthe Train for his remarkable acceleration.
On 5 June 1996, after helping the Greek club reach theUEFA Champions League semi-finals againstAjax, Donis moved toBlackburn Rovers on a free transfer, making use of the then recentBosman ruling signing for 1.1 billion drachmas, a record amount for Greek players at the time. He had an erratic season with Blackburn, scoring againstEverton and Coventry City.[2][3]He returned home to play forAEK Athens, before returning to England, playing forSheffield United andHuddersfield Town where he ended his career.[4]
Donis made his debut forGreece on 22 December 1991, in a 1–1 draw againstMalta for theUEFA Euro 1992 qualifying round.[5] He appeared in 24 matches and scored five goals during his international career with Greece.
After the end of his playing career, he turned to coaching. Starting in 2002, he ledZografou-basedIlisiakos in two consecutive promotions from the fourth to the second Greek football level. He then made the move toAEL where, after one season, he managed to bring the team to theGreek Superleague from the second division, and reached eighth place the following year. In 2007, Larissa finished only tenth in the league, but he managed to win theGreek Cup after defeatingPanathinaikos 2–1 in the final.[6] In his first taste of European football management, his team AEL defeated his former teamBlackburn Rovers to reach the2007–08 UEFA Cupgroup stages.[7] He finished a great year in sixth place in the league, missing out on the season play-offs on goal difference.
On 25 April 2008, Donis stepped down as manager of AEL and on 14 May he was appointed as head coach ofAEK Athens.[8]On 17 November 2008, due to a string of poor performances and early knock out from theUEFA Cup, AEK parted company with him just six months after his appointment.[9]
In 2009, Donis was appointed byAtromitos and in the 2010–11 season he again reached theGreek CupFinal only to lose 0–3 to his former teamAEK Athens. In the next year, Atromitos enjoyed another successful spell under his guidance, reaching theGreek CupFinal for a second consecutive time (losing 1–2 toOlympiacos atextra time), as well as participating at theGreek Superleague play-offs.
On 31 May 2012,PAOK appointed Donis as the new manager of the club, on a two-year contract, with immediate effect.[10] On 28 April 2013, after a crucial defeat 0–2 and the elimination in the semi-final ofGreek Cup byAsteras Tripolis, he was sacked by chairmanIvan Savvidis.[11]
On 11 October 2013, Donis signed a contract until the end of the 2013–14 season with the reigningCypriot championsAPOEL, replacingPaulo Sérgio who had been fired on 4 October 2013.[12] In his first season at APOEL, Donis achieved to win thedouble. He won his first title with APOEL on 21 May 2014, when he led his team to a 2–0 victory overErmis Aradippou in theCypriot Cup final.[13][14] Ten days later, Donis won also theCypriot First Division after APOEL's 1–0 away victory againstAEL Limassol in the title deciding match and won his first league title in his managerial career.[15][16]
Following a successful first season in the club, Giorgos Donis signed a one-year contract extension with APOEL on 26 June 2014.[17] In August 2014, Donis led APOEL into thegroup stages of the2014–15 UEFA Champions League, after eliminatingHJK Helsinki (4–2 on aggregate) in the third qualifying round and trashingAalborg BK 5–1 on aggregate in the play-off round of the competition.[18] APOEL were drawn in Group F alongsideBarcelona,Paris Saint-Germain andAjax.[19] Donis led his team to some great performances in the group stage, but APOEL managed to collect only one point after drawing 1–1 with Ajax at home.[20] In their other five Group F matches, APOEL lost twice to Barcelona (0–4 at home, 0–1 away), lost twice to Paris Saint-Germain (0–1 at home, 0–1 away) and also lost to Ajax 0–4 away.
On 6 January 2015, APOEL and Giorgos Donis parted company by mutual agreement after a poor run of performances and results, culminating in a 1–1 home draw against the last-placedAyia Napa.[21]
On 25 February 2015, he was appointed as the new manager ofAl-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, signing a contract until the end of the season. He helped Al-Hilal to qualify in the semi-final of the2015 AFC Champions League. On 6 June, Donis won the first title with Al-Hilal after defeatingAl-Nassr in the final of the2015 King Cup of Champions.
On 28 July 2016, he was appointed as the new manager of UAE clubSharjah, signing a contract until the summer of 2018.
On 28 July 2017, Donis signed a contract until the end of the 2017–18 season with the reigningCypriot championsAPOEL, replacingMario Been, who had been sacked by APOEL following a 1–0 away European defeat toViitorul Constanta.[22][23] On 23 March 2018, APOEL sacked Donis, and replaced him with 40-year-old Portuguese managerBruno Baltazar. The last straw was APOEL's recent 4–2 away defeat againstApollon Limassol, which saw APOEL fall out of first place in the Cypriot First Division. Expectations had become quite high at APOEL in recent years. The Nicosia giants have won theCypriot First Division the last five seasons, and seven of the last nine campaigns. With that domestic run now in jeopardy, APOEL made the move to replace Donis with the Portuguese coach.[24][25]
Donis was appointed on 3 July 2018 as the new manager of his former club as a player,Panathinaikos, signing a three-year contract.[26] On 19 July 2020, after the end of theSuperleague playoffs, he left the club by mutual consent, mainly as a result of his strenuous relationship with thePanathinaikos board and chairmanGiannis Alafouzos.[27]
Donis signed a contract withMaccabi Tel Aviv. He led the team to the Play Offs of theUEFA Champions League, where he was eliminated byRed Bull Salzburg; in theUEFA Europa League, he managed to lead the team to the round of 32. He was dismissed on 22 December 2020, with the team in fifth place in the league.[28]
In March 2021, he became the manager of Saudi clubAl-Wehda.[29]
On 16 January 2022, Donis was appointed as the manager of Saudi clubAl Fateh.[30]
On 11 July 2023, Donis returned to manage Al-Wehda for the second time.[31]
On 11 July 2024, Donis was appointed as manager ofAl-Khaleej.[32]
| Team | Nation | From | To | Record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | D | L | Win % | ||||
| Ilisiakos |  | 1 July 2002 | 30 June 2004 | 47 | 29 | 11 | 7 | 061.7 |
| AEL | | 1 July 2004 | 24 April 2008 | 110 | 39 | 32 | 39 | 035.5 |
| AEK Athens | | 14 May 2008 | 15 November 2008 | 13 | 4 | 7 | 2 | 030.8 |
| Atromitos | | 1 July 2009 | 30 May 2012 | 111 | 41 | 37 | 33 | 036.9 |
| PAOK | | 1 June 2012 | 29 April 2013 | 42 | 26 | 9 | 7 | 061.9 |
| APOEL |  | 11 October 2013 | 6 January 2015 | 61 | 35 | 14 | 12 | 057.4 |
| Al-Hilal |  | 4 March 2015 | 18 May 2016 | 66 | 45 | 11 | 10 | 068.2 |
| Sharjah |  | 28 July 2016 | 1 January 2017 | 13 | 4 | 2 | 7 | 030.8 |
| APOEL | | 28 July 2017 | 23 March 2018 | 41 | 25 | 8 | 8 | 061.0 |
| Panathinaikos | | 3 July 2018 | 19 July 2020 | 77 | 33 | 22 | 22 | 042.9 |
| Maccabi Tel Aviv |  | 20 July 2020 | 21 December 2020 | 25 | 14 | 7 | 4 | 056.0 |
| Al Wehda | | 23 March 2021 | 31 May 2021 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 016.7 |
| Al Fateh | | 16 January 2022 | 31 May 2023 | 46 | 18 | 8 | 20 | 039.1 |
| Al-Wehda | | 11 July 2023 | 30 June 2024 | 37 | 11 | 6 | 20 | 029.7 |
| Al-Khaleej | | 11 July 2024 | Present | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 028.6 |
| Total | 704 | 327 | 178 | 199 | 046.4 | |||