 Papadopoulos playing forDinamo Zagreb in 2009 | |||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dimitrios Papadopoulos | ||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1981-10-20)20 October 1981 (age 44) | ||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Gagarin,Uzbek SSR,Soviet Union | ||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||
| Position | Striker | ||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | |||||||||||||||||
| 1989–1999 | Akratitos | ||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | |||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | ||||||||||||||
| 1999–2001 | Akratitos | 57 | (20) | ||||||||||||||
| 2001–2003 | Burnley | 39 | (3) | ||||||||||||||
| 2003–2008 | Panathinaikos | 126 | (50) | ||||||||||||||
| 2008–2009 | Lecce | 14 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2009–2010 | Dinamo Zagreb | 13 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
| 2010–2012 | Celta Vigo | 25 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012 | →Levadiakos (loan) | 10 | (0) | ||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Panthrakikos | 25 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Atromitos | 35 | (14) | ||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | PAOK | 24 | (7) | ||||||||||||||
| 2015–2016 | Asteras Tripolis | 12 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2016–2017 | Atromitos | 20 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2017 | Panetolikos | 9 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| Total | 409 | (112) | |||||||||||||||
| International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
| 2000–2002 | Greece U21 | 27 | (11) | ||||||||||||||
| 2004 | Greece Olympic | 3 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
| 2002–2014 | Greece | 22 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
| |||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 9 April 2017 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 5 March 2014 | |||||||||||||||||
Dimitrios Papadopoulos (Greek:Δημήτριος Παπαδόπουλος; born 20 October 1981 in Uzbekistan, Jizzakh region, Mirzachul district) is aGreek former professionalfootballer who played as astriker.
Papadopoulos started his career from the youth academies of Greek minnowsAkratitos, and made his debut in 1999, contributing to the team's promotion toAlfa Ethniki in 2001 for the first time in its history.
Shortly after, Papadopoulos was transferred toBurnley in England, for a transfer fee reported to be €500,000.[2] He stayed at the club for two seasons. In July 2003, Burnley sold Papadopoulos toPanathinaikos for a reported €200,000 including a sell-on clause in which Burnley could profit from future transfers.[2][3]
Papadopoulos starred in his very first season withPanathinaikos becoming its top scorer with 17 goals in 26 games and winning the double with the club. It was the first championship in almost 10 years ofOlympiacos domination in the Greek championship.
He was subsequently voted best footballer of that year in the league and was awarded a place in theEuro 2004 Greek squad that went on to win the tournament. He played in the game againstRussia and had a contribution in the Greece goal that determined its qualification to the next round. He also took part in the Greek Olympic Football team during the Olympic Games ofAthens 2004 in the very same summer.
An integral part of the Panathinaikos offence, he signed a three-year extension with the team in the summer of 2006 and his stellar performances were one of the reasons that the team's board let fellow starterMichalis Konstantinou leave the team.
On 13 November 2008,Serie A clubLecce announced to have signed Papadopoulos in a free transfer.[4]He made his Italian Serie A debut for Lecce on 18 January 2009 in a home match at theStadio Via del Mare againstGenoa coming on as a substitute forGianni Munari late in the match. He scored his first goal in the Serie A on 19 April againstRoma at theStadio Olimpico.
On 26 June 2009, he signed a three-year contract worth €650,000 annually with the Croatian championsDinamo Zagreb.[5]He contributed toDinamo Zagreb, scoring goals to go forward in the Croatian cup and to win theCroatian League.
On 22 January 2010, Papadopoulos signed a contract withCelta Vigo until the end of the season.[6] Things looked good for him but in late April, he got injured and was unable to play regularly. During the next summer, Celta Vigo signed strikerDavid Rodríguez and wingerQuique de Lucas in order to strengthen the squad. This relegated Papadopoulos to the position of third striker of the team and therefore he was not included in many of the team's lineups during that season. At the beginning of the 2010–11 season, Celta Vigo's managerPaco Herrera claimed that he would not count with Papadopoulos any more,[7] putting pressure on him to leave the club due to his high salary and his poor performances. Although he played more than 20 matches, he failed to score more than a single goal. His contract was due to expire in 2013.
In January 2012, Papadopoulos moved on loan toLevadiakos of the Greek Super League,[8] but he failed to score a goal although the team finished in 7th place.
In the summer of 2012 he moved toPanthrakikos.[9] He made his debut against his former teamPanathinaikos, scoring the winning goal. On 8 October he scored a penalty in the 1–0 away victory againstLevadiakos, another ex-team. On 11 November 2012, Papadopoulos scored his fourth goal of the season againstAsteras Tripolis giving the victory to Panthrakikos and he was elected Man of the Match. On 26 November 2012 he scored two goals against Aris Thessaloniki allowing Panthrakikos to win 4–0. Papadopoulos had not scored two goals in one match of the Greek league since 26 November 2006. On 15 December 2012 he scored the second goal of the 2–0 away win againstKerkyra. On 16 January 2013 he made his first appearance in theGreek Cup after several years againstApollon Smyrni replacingLeonidas Kyvelidis in the 78th minute. On 19 January 2013, he scored another goal against Panathinaikos at theAthens Olympic Stadium, drawing the goal ofToché. On 13 March 2013 he reached the semifinals of theGreek Cup with Panthrakikos. On 7 April 2013 he scored a penalty leading to a 3–1 win againstOFI with this goal Papadopoulos reached 10 goals in the Greek Super League.
Papadopoulos was named Best Player of the Super League. The player ofPanthrakikos stood out with his performances in the Greek Super League. He was the top goal-scorer of his team, scoring 11 times. In critical games, Papadopoulos excelled, helping his team to finish mid-table and avoid relegation comfortably. Panthrakikos also reached the semi-finals of the Greek Cup. PSAP spokesman Stamatis Sirigos added:"With his character, leadership skills and experience, Dimitros Papadopoulos helped his team-mates and boosted their confidence. All this combined with his ethos was recognised with his first position in the vote of professional footballers in Greece".[10]
On the other hand, Papadopoulos put several frustrating campaigns behind him :"I always believed I could get my career back on track," he said at Monday's award ceremony in Athens."I was given that chance atPanthrakikos, where we fought a tough war in order to secure our place in the league."[11]
After a great season, in the summer of 2013 he signed a two-year contract withAtromitos,[12] a team that got 4th place in the previous year ofGreek Superleague. He scored his first goal with the club on 17 August 2013, in a 2–2 home draw againstErgotelis.
On 30 August 2013 in a dramatic game againstAZ Alkmaar for theEuropa League, the latter beat Atromitos after fire caused a delay in playing the remaining 33 minutes. Spectators were evacuated after the match was halted in the 57th minute, with Atromitos leading 1–0, but trailing 3–2 on aggregate, through a goal from Dimitris Papadopoulos before play was stopped. When the action resumed next day,Thanasis Karagounis made it 2–0 in the second leg but the Greek team could not find a winning goal as the tie ended 3–3 on aggregate, with the Dutch side advancing into the group phase.[13]
On a 0-0 cup game against the Greek giantOlympiacos after an excellent appearance, he said in front of TV : "We have a good team confronting any opponent. Our team has experienced players who know what to do in such games. In the first half Olympiacos pushing us so we could not keep the ball, and be aggressive. In the second half we got better and by entering Karamanos the whole match changed. Against Olympiakos we tried to have a good run defense, as our mail target was not to nil in the first match and see what happens in the second".[14]
At the end of the 2013/14 regular season, he scored 14 league goals being the top scorer of his club.[15] On 27 May 2014,Atromitos announced the end of their contract with the striker.[16]
On 29 August 2014, Papadopoulos, although, he was linked withVeria as they had an oral agreement, signed a contract withSuperleague Greece teamPAOK for one year.[17][18] On 18 September, he made his debut with the shirt of PAOK in the Europa League by scoring the fifth goal in the 6–1 victory of PAOK againstDinamo Minsk. The 22 September debut in the jersey ofPAOK in theGreek Superleague against Panaitolikos. 30 November marked his first goal in his new jersey, scoring in the 2–2 draw againstPanthrakikos, his former team contributing to the victory of PAOK 3–2. He was voted Greek Footballer of the Year in 2014, and on 4 February 2015, he scored his second goal against OFI Crete underGennaro Gattuso. On 18 March, he scored the winning goal against Ergotelis in a 1–0 win. While 21 March marked his fourth goal against Panathinaikos away, 5 April marked his two goals for his team's victory 2–1 against Xanthi. On 3 May 2015, he scored another goal contributing to a 1–0 win againstLevadiakos, his former team. Papadopoulos, afterPAOK, was close to making a sensational move toKarşıyaka after agreeing to sign a one-year deal,[19][20] but the deal was not fulfilled due to financial reasons. On 28 August 2015, Papadopoulos turned down an offer of a year-long contract fromSuper League clubKalloni, waiting for a better offer.[21]
On 8 September 2015, Papadopoulos signed a year-long contract withSuperleague Greece teamAsteras Tripolis for an undisclosed fee.[22] He made his debut inSuperleague Greece with his new team againstKalloni. On 18 October 2015, in his first match in the2015-16 season as a member of the starting XI, he missed a penalty in a 1–1 home draw againstSkoda Xanthi as the ball hit the crossbar.[23] On 8 November, he scored his first goal with the new team, giving them a victory away againstAEK Athens.[24] On 20 January 2016, he dissolved his contract with the club by mutual consent.[25]
On 21 January 2016, Papadopoulos signed a contract with his former team,Atromitos until the summer of 2017, for an undisclosed fee.[26] He made his debut inSuperleague Greece 24 January againstGiannina. On 10 February 2016, he reached the semifinals of theGreek Cup, against his ex-clubPanathinaikos.[27] On 28 November 2016, he scored his first goal with the club, in a triumphal 4–3 away win againstPAOK.
On 1 February 2017, Papadopoulos signed a six-month contract withPanetolikos. At that very day, he had his first training session with his new team.[28] He made his debut 4 February 2017 against his previews teamAtromitos. On 4 March 2017, scored his first goal with his new team againstLevadiakos, his ex-club.
On 23 September 2017, Papadopoulos officially announced his retirement from professional football.[29]
Dimitrios Papadopoulos made his debut in the Greece national team on 20 November 2002 againstRepublic of Ireland and he was included in the squad ofEuro 2004 that would go on to be tournament champions. His pass for the goal ofZisis Vryzas allowed Greece to qualify from the group stage at the expense of Russia and Spain and then become Euro 2004 Champions. He also participated in all three games ofGreece Olympic football team in the2004 Summer Olympics scoring 1 goal. As Euro 2004 winner, Dimitrios Papadopoulos was included in the Greek squad for the2005 FIFA Confederations Cup in Germany.Otto Rehhagel also included him in the squad duringqualification but he did not make it to the final selection forUEFA Euro 2008 inSwitzerland andAustria.
On 29 August 2013, the coach of the Greece national team,Fernando Santos announced the return of Dimitrios Papadopoulos after six years absence[30] for the match againstLiechtenstein inVaduz at theRheinpark Stadion stadium for the2014 FIFA World Cup qualification. He came in during the 84th minute replacingLazaros Christodoulopoulos.
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 18 February 2004 | Athens, Greece |  Bulgaria | 2–0 | Friendly | |
| 2 | 12 October 2005 | Piraeus, Greece |  Georgia | 1–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier |
Panathinaikos
Dinamo Zagreb
Greece
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