Twelve Stars that Never Won the Greek Championship
Nick Tsambouniaris looks back at the best stars to never win the Greek Championship.
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Winning trophies are a major reason footballers play football, test themselves, and a big factor in determining career moves. Winning a league title is perhaps even the pinnacle, as opposed to a cup competition, as you train all offseason and play once or even twice a week sometimes in a bid to lift that trophy.
Greece has been blessed with some truly amazing superstars over the years, however, many never tasted the ultimate club football success in the country. Here are 12 stars that never won the Greek Championship in their respective careers.
Vasilis Hatzipanagis
Often referred to as Greece’s best footballer of all-time, Hatzipanagis was a superstar in every sense of the word in the 1970s and 1980s. He only wore the shirt of Iraklis (from 1975 until 1990) and refused to leave the club despite Athenian clubs making offers.
The closest he came to winning the title came in the 1983-84 season when Iraklis finished in third spot on 42 points behind winners Panathinaikos (46 points) and runners-up Olympiacos (43 points). It was all determined on the 20th matchday in a 2-2 draw with Panathinaikos in Thessaloniki. Hatzipanagis scored 12 goals that season and finished fourth in the overall goal scoring list, not bad for an attacking midfielder.
The only trophy he won with Iraklis was in the 1975-76 season, where Iraklis defeated Olympiacos in the Greek Cup final.
Dinos Kouis
One of the best ever players in the history of Aris, Kouis made a whopping 477 appearances in the black and yellow and scored an impressive 141 goals from the midfield. However, he never lifted the Greek Championship. He signed for Aris in 1974 and he retired there in 1991. Interestingly, he also never received a single red card in his entire playing career.
His closest moment to winning the title came in 1979-80, where Aris finished in equal 1st place with Olympiacos on 47 points. The two sides met in a playoff series in Volos and Olympiacos emerged as 2-0 winners.
He scored against Benfica in the First Round of the UEFA Cup in the 1979-80 season (Aris won 3-1) and also scored against a Perugia side featuring Paolo Rossi and Aris also won that tie.
Panagiotis Tsalouchidis
Tsalouchidis was one of the most unluckiest players in the history of Olympiacos, being a rare long-serving talented player who never won a league title in Piraeus. Tsalouchidis moved south from his boyhood club Veria in 1987 and stayed at Olympiacos until 1995. He was the captain of Olympiacos for numerous years and made 76 appearances for the Greek national team. He moved to PAOK in 1995, before rejoining Veria in 1996, but he never won a league title.
He was at Olympiacos during a difficult time, and the closest he came to lifting the trophy came in 1988-89, where they were pipped by AEK. It was all decided in the 29th matchday at the OAKA, where AEK edged Olympiacos 1-0. AEK finished first on 44 points, and Olympiacos finished second on 41 points.
He won the Greek Cup twice with Olympiacos and scored in both of the finals (against OFI in 1990 and PAOK in 1992).
Nikos Machlas
How can it be possible to win the ‘Golden Boot’ (for top goal scorer) yet not win the league title in the context of Greek football? Step forward, Nikos Machlas. The striker played for his boyhood club OFI from 1990 until 1996 and again from 2004 until 2006 (he also had a one year stint at Iraklis in 2003-04). However, he is better known for his exploits overseas, as he played in strong teams at Vitesse Arnhem, Ajax, and Sevilla.
OFI’s highest finish during his time was fourth, so he never came close to lifting the Championship domestically, but he did win the Dutch Eredivisie with Ajax in 2002.
He was Greece’s best striker for a long time and went to the 1994 FIFA World Cup. He was the top scorer in the Netherlands in 1997-98, as he scored an extraordinary 34 goals in 32 matches.
Theodoros Zagorakis
The captain of Greece’s unforgettable Euro 2004 triumph started his playing career at his local club Kavala in 1994. He featured prominently for two big clubs in Greece - playing over 100 times for both PAOK and AEK, yet he never tasted success domestically (he only won the 2001-02 Greek Cup with AEK). Zagorakis also played for Leicester City and Bologna.
The former PAOK President came closest to winning the title with AEK under Fernando Santos in the 2001-02 season. They lost the penultimate game of the season to Olympiacos 4-3, and with that, their title hopes vanished.
Undoubtedly, his greatest career moment came at Euro 2004, captaining the team in the ultimate underdog story, where he was even featured in the tournament team.
Demis Nikolaidis
The German-born striker was a hero at AEK for many years, yet he never got the chance to lift a league trophy. He played for Ethnikos Alexandroupolis and Apollon Smyrnis before spending eight years at AEK. He ended his playing career with a one-year stint at Atletico Madrid.
Nikolaidis won the Greek Cup with AEK on three occasions and later became the President of the club. Like Zagorakis, the closest he came to winning the league came in 2001-02, but AEK fell agonisingly short, losing to Olympiacos both home and away.
His greatest moment came in the summer of 2004 in Portugal, where he was an important member of Greece’s Euro 2004 triumph, despite not netting a goal in Portugal.
Zisis Vryzas
The tall striker started at local club Xanthi but made a name for himself at PAOK and, of course, abroad - he wore the shirts of Fiorentina, Celta Vigo, Perugia, and Torino.
Another former PAOK player who would go on to become the President of the club, Vryzas, never came close to winning the Championship. PAOK would finish fourth at best in the late 1990s.
His best career moment came at Euro 2004, where he was also a vital member of the squad. His vital goal in the 1-2 loss at the hands of Russia paved the way for Greece to finish second in the group as the team had scored more goals than Spain to prevail in the tie-breaker.
Nikos Lymberopoulos
Lymberopoulos is a rare figure in Greek football, as he is loved by two sets of fan bases (AEK and Panathinaikos). He played over 100 times for both clubs and also had a stint abroad with Eintracht Frankfurt.
Lymberopoulos is perhaps the unluckiest in this category as he came agonisingly close on many occasions. In the 1998-99 season, Panathinaikos finished a mere two points behind Olympiacos. In 2002-03, Panathinaikos were almost there but lost 3-0 to Olympiacos at Rizoupoli. In 2007-08 with AEK, he fell two points short of Olympiacos under a huge cloud of controversy. Apollon Kalamarias beat Olympiacos 1-0 but were docked three points due to fielding an ineligible player, and Olympiacos were awarded a 0-3 win on paper to claim the title.
He won the ‘Golden Boot’ twice as he was the top goal scorer in the league in 2002-03 and 2006-07. He also won the Greek Cup with AEK in 2010-11.
Akis Zikos
The defensive midfielder played over 100 times for Xanthi and AEK, where he later became the Youth Team Director. He also played for Monaco in Ligue 1. During two stints at AEK, he came very close to winning the League title.
He was a teammate of Lymberopoulos and Nikolaidis as AEK lost late on in the season to eventual winners Olympiacos in 2002, and was apart of the team that finished second on 68 points in 2008 (as mentioned above Olympiacos were awarded a 0-3 win on paper against Apollon Kalamarias to finish first on 70 points).
Zikos had an intriguing playing career as Otto Rehhagel overlooked him for the Euro 2004 squad, but he became the first-ever Greek to play in a UEFA Champions League final with Monaco in 2004 (lost to Porto).
Vassilis Lakis
A great player on his day with blistering pace and good crossing ability, Lakis played for Paniliakos before joining AEK in 1998. He remained there until 2004 before joining Crystal Palace for one season. He ended his career in Greece with a return to AEK, then PAOK and Kavala.
A recurring trend, he was also a part of the AEK team that came close to winning the title in 2002. He scored one of the goals in the 3-4 loss at OAKA at the hands of Olympiacos.
His greatest moment came at Euro 2004, where he made two appearances.
Traianos Dellas
One of the leading defenders in Greek football for a long time, Dellas started his playing career at Aris, had a brief loan spell at Panserraikos, before playing for AEK in three different stints. In his long and distinguished career, he also played abroad for Sheffield United, Perugia, and Roma.
He was a key player for AEK in the 2007-08 season (it is worth noting Rivaldo was also a part of this squad), where they lost the league title to Olympiacos by a mere two points under a lot of controversy. He also won the Greek Cup twice with the club.
His best moment came in the summer of 2004 in Portugal, where he scored the only ever silver goal at a major tournament, with his extra-time header in the semi-final against the Czech Republic. He was named in the Euro 2004 team of the tournament.
Angelos Charisteas
He started his career with Aris and went on to play for 11 clubs. In 2004, he won the German Bundesliga with Werder Bremen, and he also won the cup competitions with Ajax and Schalke in those respective countries.
Aris’ best-ever finish during his time was seventh place, so he never really came close to winning the league title in Greece.
Charisteas’ name will go down in the history books as he was a vital member of the all-conquering Euro 2004 squad. He scored three goals, including the header, in the final to defeat Portugal. He was also named in the team of the tournament. He played at Euro 2008 and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He is the Ethniki’s second-highest goalscorer of all time with 25 goals to his name.
