AGONA Legends: Nikos Alefantos, the charismatic journeyman coach

The AGONA Legends series takes a brief look at the career of Nikos Alefantos, who sadly passed away in late June at the age of 81.

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PLAYING CAREER

Until he eventually decided to hang up his boots in 1969, Alefantos played as a midfielder for a grand total of nine clubs, notably representing Panathinaikos and Olympiacos. Interestingly he only made a single appearance for Panathinaikos, participating in one match as a 17-year-old on 19 February 1956 against Olympiacos Chalkida:

The game ended in a 2-0 victory for Panathinaikos. 

Later as a footballer, Aleftanos would play for Olympiacos, Atromitos Piraeus, Olympiacos Chalkida, Panegialios, Panelefsiniakos and Vyzas, before turning his hand to coaching at the age of 30 where he would really make his name.

ONE CAREER, 25 CLUBS

Incredibly, over the course of his coaching days, Alefantos would manage 25 different Hellenic clubs! He called it a day in 2004 after working with Olympiacos. 

During two consecutive years at the beginning of his managing career, Alefantos steered both PAS Giannina (1973/1974) and Pierikos (1974/1975) to promotion to the Alpha Ethniki, immediately proving himself to be a talented coach.

Unfortunately for Alefantos, he didn’t win a large amount of accolades on the pitch, only claiming the 1996/1997 Cypriot Cup as APOEL manager with a 2-0 triumph over Omonia. Alefantos spent the one season in Cyprus as APOEL boss before promptly returning to Greece with Apollon Kalamaria and then ILTEX Lykoi.

However, while he wasn’t overly successful in terms of titles, Alefantos shot to fame mainly as a result of his passion on the touchline and outbursts on television. He even had a song created for him in 1983:

Throughout his life, he kept tabs on famous coaches such as Ernst Happel, Carlos Alberto Parreira, Enzo Bearzot, Bob Paisley, Arrigo Sacchi, Marcello Lippi and Carlo Ancelotti, while also heavily admiring José Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson. Furthermore, a few years ago, Alefantos publicly criticised the Tiki Taka style used by by Barcelona and Spain, arguing that it was boring to watch and harmful to the development of football.

Alefantos was also critical of former national team coach Otto Rehhagel for decisions he made after winning UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal.

Let’s take a look back at some of Alefantos’ controversial moments on television in Greece, with the popular manager never afraid to hold back in any given situation:

Alefantos will sorely be missed among those involved in the Hellenic footballing world.

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