| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Konstantinos Davourlis | ||
| Date of birth | (1948-01-04)4 January 1948 | ||
| Place of birth | Agyia,Patras, Greece | ||
| Date of death | 23 May 1992(1992-05-23) (aged 44) | ||
| Height | 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1962–1964 | Panionios Patron | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1965–1974 | Panachaiki | 111 | (47) |
| 1974–1977 | Olympiacos | 74 | (23) |
| 1977–1981 | Panachaiki | 132 | (25) |
| 1981–1982 | Panegialios | 30 | (5) |
| 1982–1985 | Panachaiki | 72 | (7) |
| 1985–1986 | Patrai | 29 | (8) |
| 1986–1987 | Panegialios | 2 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 1969–1977 | Greece | 11 | (2) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Kostas Davourlis (Greek:Κώστας Δαβουρλής, 4 January 1948 – 23 May 1992) born inAgyia,Patras, popularly nicknamedThe Black Prince, was a formerGreekfootballer who played as anattacking midfielder.[1] A gifted and talented player, he was voted by the Greek sports magazine "Ethnosport" as one of the 50 best Greek football players ever.
Having gained fame in Greece as the creativeplaymaker forPanachaiki FC, Davourlis attracted even more attention during the 1973 season, when he helped his team become the first Greek countryside football club ever to qualify for a European competition (the1974 UEFA Cup).[2]
Davourlis was famed for his technical ability, his ball skill, his creative passes and his powerful shot in or outside the box; furthermore, his leadership was exemplary.[3] He was also a notable free kick taker, as demonstrated by his numerous goals from outside the penalty area.
In spite of the fact that his career had a rather bitter end for a player of his caliber, he is still worshiped by fans all over thePeloponnese. ThePanachaiki Stadium bears his name since 1992, when he died due to a heart attack.[3]
Davourlis was born inPatras. Having been discovered by Panachaiki former player and scouter Spyros Voulgarakis, he began his playing career at the age of fourteen with aPanachaiki subsidiary team, Panionios Patron. Two years later he joined the senior team and contributed to Panachaiki's battle to reach theGreekfirst division. His most notable achievement at that time was that he became the first Greek football player to be selected for the national team while playing for a second division team.[4]
Finally, after several unsuccessful attempts, Panachaiki made it to the "big" division in 1969 and Davourlis' talent shone. However, the team was involved in a bribery scandal and sunk again to the lower division. Fortunately enough for Davourlis, they were back a year later and theBlack Prince of Patras led Panachaiki's rise towards glory.
In the 1972 season, Davourlis scored 15 goals and Panachaiki finished sixth. The best was still to come though. After an amazing 1973 season in which he scored again 15 goals, including ahat trick inToumba Stadium against championship contenderPAOK, he achieved with Panachaiki something that no other Greek countryside club ever had done at the time: participation in a European competition, for instance the 1974UEFA Cup.[2] In 1974, Davourlis' performances and leadership were still very good but rumors related to his transfer affected him considerably. Panachaiki proved to be unable to become a real threat to the local powerhouses and finished once again sixth. At the end of a season during which he scored 11 times in the Championship and once in theUEFA Cup, Davourlis was transferred toOlympiacos. The transfer fee was 9.25 million Drachmas, the highest in Greek football history at the time.[4]
At Olympiacos, Davourlis was one of the top players of the team, along withGeorgios Delikaris,Yves Triantafyllos andJulio Losada. His team won oneGreek Championship title and reached two consecutiveGreek Cup finals, winning thanks to his goal in 1975 and losing in 1976.[5][6] Nevertheless, his heart was travelling somewhere else.
In 1978, when Davourlis was transferred back to Panachaiki, almost nothing in Patras remained of the glorious team that fascinated Greece in the first half of the decade. Davourlis' presence increased the level of the team, but the results remained poor, leading to the club's relegation to theSecond Division in 1981 and once again in 1985.[4] He ended his career withKorinthos FC in 1986. Later on he worked for Panachaiki as a scouter discovering many talents until the year he died, the most famous of whom isGrigoris Georgatos.
Davourlis earned his first cap withGreece on 23 July 1969, coming in as a substitute in the 75th minute of a friendly match against theAustralia. Had Davourlis spent more years playing for a Greek powerhouse, the number of his national team selections would have been undoubtedly higher.[3]