| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dimitrios Patikas | ||
| Date of birth | (1963-10-18)18 October 1963 (age 62) | ||
| Place of birth | Sydney,Australia | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Wide midfielder,forward | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1979–1983 | Sydney City | 59 | (10) |
| 1981 | Aberdeen | ||
| 1983–1984 | Sydney Olympic | 57 | (13) |
| 1985 | Sydney Croatia | 25 | (17) |
| 1985–1993 | AEK Athens | 142 | (27) |
| 1993 | Athinaikos | 10 | (1) |
| 1993 | A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers | 1 | (0) |
| 1993–1994 | Athinaikos | 35 | (2) |
| 1995 | Kastoria | ||
| 1996 | Sydney United | 17 | (1) |
| 1996–1997 | Sydney Olympic | 1 | (0) |
| Total | 329 | (71) | |
| International career | |||
| 1984–1985 | Australia B | 9 | (0) |
| 1981–1988 | Australia | 10 | (2) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Dimitris "Jimmy" Patikas (Greek:Δημήτρης "Τζίμης" Πατίκας; born 18 October 1963) is a formerAustralianfootball player. Renowned for his exceptional speed and for being the first established Australian player to be signed by a professional European football club, he was capped 27 times forAustralia and played as a forward and midfielder forSydney City,Sydney Olympic,Sydney Croatia,AEK Athens,Athinaikos andKastoria.[1] Since retiring as a player, Jim has coached at all levels across outdoor & futsal in both male & female football.
Patikas began playing football for over two seasons forNSL ChampionsSydney City, debuting as a 15-year-old in the 1979 season.
In 1983, after five seasons and threeNSL Championships withSydney City, Patikas was signed byTommy Docherty atSydney Olympic. In his first season at Olympic, he won the NSL Cup and became an international. However, the performances of Patikas attracted the attention of many international scouts. One including newly appointedBarcelona F.C. coachCesar Luis Menotti. According to media reports, Patikas was offered a contract by Menotti, but injury forced him to return to Australia.
In 1985, Patikas joined Olympics' rivalsSydney Croatia and scored two goals against his former club on his way to the Player of the Year and top goal scorer titles. He played 13 of his 27 caps during this season. Following these games, he was signed by Greek clubAEK Athens. In his fourth season at AEK, Patikas won the league title ending the club's ten year championship drought. He went on to make over 200 appearances for AEK in all competitions (including European Cup / UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup) scoring 58 goals. He won 3Greek Championships, 1Greek League Cup, 1Greek Super Cup.
After nearly a decade with AEK Athens, Patikas signed forAthinaikos in January 1993. In his first game back atNikos Goumas Stadium, he scored against his old club, AEK. Despite being man-of-the-match, he ended up on the losing side as the Greek champions won by 3–2.[2]
In 1995, Patikas signed for Northern Greek outfitKastoria inGamma Ethniki. The club was promoted intoBeta Ethniki, and Patikas helped the club gain promotion into the Greek First Division for the first time since 1983. Following a successful period at Kastoria, Patikas returned home to play for Sydney United and Sydney Olympic in theNSL.[3]
Patikas represented theAustralia U20 in both the1981 FIFA World Youth Championship inSydney and1983 FIFA World Youth Championship inMexico, being one of the youngest players in the 1981 FIFA World Youth Championship. He was a key part of the Australian squad that reached the quarter-finals in 1981, losing 1–0 only to eventual winners,Germany. He held the record for most Australia international appearances after playing in his secondFIFA World Youth Championship in Mexico. Against European Youth ChampionsScotland, Patikas scored a goal with 3 minutes remaining to give the Australia a 2-1 victory elevating them to the top of Group A.[4] In the final round, a 2–1 defeat toKorea Republic resulted in the elimination of Australia from the tournament with only one defeat.
His performances for the youth team and Sydney City earned Patikas his first appearance withAustralia aged only 17 againstIndonesia in the qualifying round of the1982 FIFA World Cup and a contract withSir Alex Ferguson who was the manager ofAberdeen. He was also a key member of Australia that played in the1986 FIFA World Cup Qualifying matches againstScotland ofGordon Strachan,Alex McLeish andGraeme Souness.[5] Patikas who had experience in Scotland during his time atAberdeen was one of the stand-out performers of Australia in a 2–0 aggregate loss. In March 1988, Patikas represented Australia to represent the in theSummer Olympics qualifiers becoming the first player to turn out for Australia, while based at a non-Australian club.[6] In his first game back he scored the winner for Australia against Chinese Taipei. The next match against New Zealand saw Patikas become the first Australian goal scorer at theSydney Football Stadium when opening the scoring in a 3–1 win.[7]
Sydney City
Sydney Olympic
AEK Athens
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