The decline of Kyriakos Papadopoulos
The career of Kyriakos Papadopoulos is at a crossroads at the age of 27 after being made to train with the U21 squad at Hamburg.
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Well over a decade ago, the name Kyriakos Papadopoulos was on the lips of the Greek football world. At the age of 15, the Katerini-born centre back made his debut for Olympiacos in a 3-1 win over Atromitos in December 2007. At 15 years and 283 days old he became the youngest ever player to feature in the Greek Super League. Fast forward to 2019, and the now 27-year-old has been forced to train with the U21 squad of his current club Hamburg in the second tier of German football.
This begs the question - where has it all gone wrong for the player?
Papadopoulos signed for Schalke in June 2010. The four year deal and the move up to such a well-respected and top quality league was tipped to accelerate his development. He made his Bundesliga debut shortly after in a 2-1 loss to Hamburg and enjoyed a relatively solid first four years in Germany, also becoming a regular fixture for the Greek national team during this time. He scored his first goal for Schalke in August 2011 in a 6-1 annihilation of HJK Helsinki in UEFA Europa League qualifying. His first Bundesliga goal followed in early 2012 in a 5-0 win over Werder Bremen.
His first years in Germany were so successful that Schalke offered him a new and improved four year contract that would run out in 2016. This came after interest from the likes of Liverpool and AC Milan. By this stage, not only did he burst onto the scene at the heart of defence for the national team, he scored his first goal at international level in UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying against Latvia.
He was a key member of Greece’s Euro 2012 team as he featured in group stage matches against the Czech Republic and Russia, as well as the quarter-final against Germany. However, it was after this tournament where things began to sour as injuries took their toll and curtailed his progress.
He missed a whopping 383 days due to a knee injury at club level, and consequently missed the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil for the Ethniki. Following this, Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Kostas Manolas were the first choice centre backs. The knee injury, coupled with a shoulder injury meant he only played four matches during the 2013-14 season.
During his stay at Schalke, the club qualified for the UEFA Champions League semi-finals and won the German Cup.
Following this, Bayer Leverkusen signed Papadopoulos on a season-long loan deal but injuries continued to derail him. However, this did not stop Bayer Leverkusen from signing him on a permanent basis. In September 2015, he scored in the Champions League in a game against Barcelona, but he missed the back end of the 2015-16 season due to a series of multiple injuries.
By next season, he was loaned out to RB Leipzig but failed to show any signs of a turnaround. He only made the sole Bundesliga appearance as reports of a chronic knee injury began to surface. After only a few months into his stay at Leipzig, he had well and truly fallen down the pecking order and he joined Hamburg on loan.
Hamburg made it a permanent move, after they narrowly avoided relegation the previous season. Despite only being at his new club for a matter of months, Papadopoulos was made vice captain for the 2017-18 season. However, this ended in disaster as Hamburg were relegated for the first time in the Bundesliga’s 55-year history under three different coaches. Papadopoulos stayed at Hamburg despite the fall to the second tier, but suffered a knee cartilage injury that kept him out for six months (he missed a total of 154 days).
He has made over 100 appearances in the Bundesliga in just over nine years in Germany, but his career is at a crossroads at 27 - when he should be at his peak in theory. Injuries clearly halted his rapid rise, this could have been due to his all-action playing style, but possibly a poor attitude is the reason for him moving around several clubs in Germany.
His next move will define his career as he has confirmed he will definitely leave Hamburg in January after being made to train with the U21 squad and effectively being banished into oblivion. Papadopoulos did state several years ago that he would like to end his career in Greece but maybe a return is on the cards much earlier.
