 Liberopoulos in 2012 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nikolaos Liberopoulos | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | (1975-08-04)4 August 1975 (age 50) | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| 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
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Nikos Liberopoulos (Greek:Νίκος Λυμπερόπουλος; born on 4 August 1975) is a retired Greek former professionalinternationalfootballer who played as aforward. He is famous for his aim-to-goal shot, his innate in-play instincts, and his technical attacking skills. Liberopoulos is a unique player in Greek domestic football, as he is equally adored by fans of both AEK Athens and Panathinaikos. He is the only player to be recorded in the top ten scorers of all time for both these teams. Indeed, after seven seasons at Panathinaikos Liberopoulos scored 103 goals. On 10 May 2012, he reached a milestone 100 goals for AEK Athens after a brace againstAtromitos, making him the only player in history to score a hundred goals for bothAthens clubs (NOTE: this contradicts the tabulated data below, which gives 101 goals for AEK Athens and 87 goals for Panathinaikos. The latter is also in disagreement with data on the Elite Football website: 92 goals at AEK Athens and 76 goals at Panathinaikos[1]). On 8 September 2017, he became the Technical Director ofAEK.[2]
Liberopoulos started his career football career at the localErani Filiatra, he then moved toKalamata in 1994. After an impressive debut season in Greece's top division,AEK Athens andOlympiacos tried to sign him during the summer of 1996 yetPanathinaikos managed to snap him up.
In summer 1996, he signed for Panathinaikos. With them he reached the semi-final stage of theUEFA Champions League. Italian clubs, mainlyJuventus andHellas Verona showed interest in hiring him, but his loyalty to Panathinaikos kept him inAthens. In 2003, Liberopoulos clashed with Panathinaikos' board which eventually led to him leaving the club. While at Panathinaikos he would deliberately misplace passes to his colleague Marco Villa because he saw him as more of a threat than a teammate.
Following his departure from Panathinaikos he was ready to joinSochaux, but he finally chose AEK Athens where he became a formidable offensive player and inspirational leader. He went to score several times against his former team but never celebrated earning the fans' applause and a standing ovation for his action. He helped AEK Athens scoring 79 times in his 195 appearances and earning a top scorer award during the2006–07 season. His most important goals originated from two long range shots, one in a 1–0 win againstLille and another in a 4–0 with againstOlympiacos. During June 2007, Liberopoulos was offered a lucrative contract with1. FC Nürnberg worth 4 million euros, which he declined to remain with AEK Athens. Club president,Demis Nikolaidis had publicly announced his intent to retain Liberopoulos at all costs in an effort to bolster AEK Athens' chances at achieving dominance in theGreek Super League. On 7 July 2008, Liberopoulos was released by AEK.[3] German teamEintracht Frankfurt announced his signing on 13 July 2008.
Liberopoulos signed a two-year deal and received the number 10 shirt. He made hisBundesliga debut forEintracht Frankfurt, playing the full 90 minutes againstHertha BSC on 17 August 2008 at the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt. Liberopoulos scored his first goal againstMainz 05. He won 55 caps scoring 13 goals in all competitions.
Liberopoulos again signed for AEK Athens in the summer of 2010 and put in an impressive display in AEK's 5–3 win against AustralianA-League clubSydney FC on 25 July 2010, scoring one goal and setting up two others. Liberopoulos also scored againstBlackburn three days later. He made his league debut againstKerkyra and scored his first official goal in aUEFA Europa League match againstHajduk Split. On 19 January 2010, in aGreek Cup match against Panathinaikos he scored two goals leading his team to victory. Liberopoulos was applauded during his substitution later in that game by some of Panathinaikos' fans despite their team's defeat. After the match Liberopoulos said "I have spent seven nice years in Panathinaikos in which I matured as a player. I keep only the positive things, but now for me AEK is my family and I will do everything for the team." and about the Panathinaikos' fans ovation "It means a lot to me. It's a great feeling to be applauded during your substitution. There were some hoots also but even if the whole stadium was hooting at me that would not have changed what I have said earlier about my feelings for Panathinaikos".[4] On 30 May 2011, Liberopulos won his first trophy in his career with AEK, winning theGreek Cup in 2011 againstAtromitos 3–0 while also scoring the first goal and was awardedMVP of the match.[5]
On 16 June 2011, Liberopoulos signed a new one-year deal keeping him at the club until 2012.[6] Also, his teammateTraianos Dellas decided to stay for one year at AEK, in order to stop his professional career with Liberopoulos.[7]
On 20 May 2012, he played his last match with AEK against Panathinaikos. A lot of Panathinaikos and AEK fans respected him with a standing ovation when he was exiting the stadium.
Liberopoulos played forGreece U21 from 1996 to 1998, where in 23 he scored 15 becoming their top scorer. He was also a key member of the team that took part in the final of theEuropean Championship in1998, where they lost toSpain.[8]
In 1997 he was called to the military team, where he won theWorld Military Cup of the same year, scoring in the final against Italy.[9]
Liberopoulos appeared 76 times in total forGreece scoring 13 goals in the process. His most notable performance in theEuro 2008 qualifiers to date was a last-second goal five minutes into stoppage time to grant Greece a 2–1 victory overMoldova on 6 June 2007, which placed Greece at the top of their qualifying division. Liberopoulos has been known on the international scene as a "super sub", coming off the bench many times in the final quarter of games and scoring the decisive goal.
He was a member of the 23-man squad formed by coachOtto Rehhagel forUEFA Euro 2008.
On 11 September 2009, Liberopoulos announced his retirement from international football,[10] But he returned to the national squad about a year later when he was recalled by the new coachFernando Santos.
He was also called forUEFA Euro 2012 by the coachFernando Santos. Liberopoulos announced his retirement from international football after Greece lost to German 4–2 in the Euro 2012 quarter finals on 22 June 2012.[11]
| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Erani Filiatra | 1991–94 | Delta Ethniki | 53 | 33 | 0 | 0 | – | – | 53 | 33 | ||
| Kalamata | 1991–94 | Beta Ethniki | 21 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | 23 | 5 | |
| 1994–95 | Beta Ethniki | 27 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 31 | 6 | ||
| 1995–96 | Alpha Ethniki | 30 | 11 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 34 | 13 | ||
| Total | 78 | 20 | 10 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 88 | 24 | ||
| Panathinaikos | 1996–97 | Alpha Ethniki | 32 | 7 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 2 | – | 38 | 9 | |
| 1997–98 | Alpha Ethniki | 27 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 31 | 3 | ||
| 1998–99 | Alpha Ethniki | 31 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 3 | – | 36 | 15 | ||
| 1999–00 | Alpha Ethniki | 26 | 23 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 1 | – | 30 | 26 | ||
| 2000–01 | Alpha Ethniki | 26 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 14 | 1 | – | 39 | 14 | ||
| 2001–02 | Alpha Ethniki | 17 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 10 | 2 | – | 28 | 2 | ||
| 2002–03 | Alpha Ethniki | 27 | 16 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 2 | – | 32 | 18 | ||
| Total | 186 | 72 | 32 | 14 | 48 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 266 | 97 | ||
| AEK Athens | 2003–04 | Alpha Ethniki | 27 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 1 | – | 40 | 17 | |
| 2004–05 | Alpha Ethniki | 28 | 9 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 1 | – | 43 | 13 | ||
| 2005–06 | Alpha Ethniki | 27 | 14 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | 34 | 16 | ||
| 2006–07 | Super League Greece | 29 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | – | 39 | 20 | ||
| 2007–08 | Super League Greece | 30 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | – | 39 | 13 | ||
| Total | 141 | 67 | 23 | 8 | 31 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 195 | 79 | ||
| Eintracht Frankfurt | 2008–09[12] | Bundesliga | 29 | 9 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | – | 31 | 10 | |
| 2009–10[12] | Bundesliga | 21 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 24 | 3 | ||
| Total | 50 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 55 | 13 | ||
| AEK Athens | 2010–11[12][13] | Super League Greece | 22 | 7 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 34 | 12 |
| 2011–12[12][13] | Super League Greece | 24 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 35 | 10 | |
| Total | 46 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 9 | 2 | 7 | 3 | 69 | 22 | ||
| Career total | 554 | 216 | 77 | 32 | 88 | 17 | 7 | 3 | 726 | 268 | ||
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greece | 1996 | 3 | 0 |
| 1997 | 0 | 0 | |
| 1998 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1999 | 14 | 4 | |
| 2000 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2001 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2002 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2003 | 1 | 0 | |
| 2004 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2005 | 4 | 1 | |
| 2006 | 5 | 1 | |
| 2007 | 7 | 2 | |
| 2008 | 10 | 1 | |
| 2009 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2010 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2011 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2012 | 2 | 0 | |
| Total | 76 | 13 | |
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 October 1998 | Athens Olympic Sports Complex,Athens, Greece |  Georgia | 2–0 | 3–0 | 2000 UEQ |
| 2 | 18 August 1999 | Anthi Karagianni Stadium,Kavala, Greece |  El Salvador | 1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 3 | 1–0 | |||||
| 4 | 3–0 | |||||
| 5 | 18 December 1999 | Trikala Municipal Stadium,Trikala, Greece |  Estonia | 2–2 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 6 | 3 June 2000 | Stadionul Steaua (1974),Bucharest, Romania |  Romania | 1–2 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 7 | 7 October 2000 | Athens Olympic Sports Complex, Athens, Greece |  Finland | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2002 WCQ |
| 8 | 14 November 2001 | Municipal Stadium Kaisariani, Athens, Greece |  Cyprus | 1–1 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 9 | 7 September 2005 | Almaty Central Stadium,Almaty, Kazakhstan |  Kazakhstan | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2006 WCQ |
| 10 | 2 September 2006 | Zimbru Stadium,Chişinău, Moldova |  Moldova | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2008 UEQ |
| 11 | 6 June 2007 | Pankritio Stadium,Heraklion, Greece | Moldova | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2008 UEQ |
| 12 | 13 October 2007 | Athens Olympic Sports Complex, Athens, Greece |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 3–1 | 3–2 | 2008 UEQ |
| 13 | 24 May 2008 | Stadium Puskás Ferenc,Budapest, Hungary |  Hungary | 2–3 | 2–3 | Friendly |
Greece U21
Greece squads | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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