Georgios Mitsibonas (Greek: Γεώργιος Μητσιμπόνας; 11 November 1962 – 13 September 1997) was a Greek football player during the 1980s and 1990s.

Biography

Mitsibonas was born in 1962 in the village of

Tsaritsani Tsaritsani or Tsiaritsiani ( el, Τσαριτσάνη, or el, Τσαρίτσιανη, ) is a village and a community of the Elassona municipality. Before the 2011 local government reform, it was an independent community. The 2011 census recorded ...

( Larissa regional unit). He started his football career as a centre forward in Ikonomos Tsaritsanis and in 1981 he signed with AEL where he played one year as a forward. In 1982 the coach of Larissa used him as a sweeper, and as a defender Mitsibonas made a great career. With Larissa he won a

Greek Football Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most imp ...

in 1985 and a Greek football Championship in 1988. This championship was and still remains a huge success, as Larissa became the first, and until now, only team not based in Athens or Thessaloniki to have won the Greek championship. Mitsibonas is believed to be the best Larissa defender and one of the greatest Greek defenders in history. In 1989, he moved to PAOK and three years later he signed with the team of

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós ( el, Ολυμπιακός Σύνδεσμος Φιλάθλων Πειραιώς, Olympic Club of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number ...

where he won a

. In 1994, he returned to Larissa, but nothing was like before. Many good players had left the team and Larissa eventually in 1996 failed to remain in the first division. Then Mitsibonas moved to AE Tyrnavos, a team in the Greek Third Division, in the city of

Tyrnavos Tyrnavos ( el, Τύρναβος) is a municipality in the Larissa regional unit, of the Thessaly region of Greece. It is the second-largest town of the Larissa regional unit, after Larissa. The town is near the mountains and the Thessalian Plain ...

, the second biggest of the Larissa regional unit after Larissa.

Death

On 13 September 1997 Mitsibonas was killed in a car crash near the village of

Giannouli Giannouli ( el, Γιάννουλη) is a town and a former municipality in the Larissa regional unit, Thessaly, Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the s ...

outside Larissa. He was only thirty-five and left behind his wife and his two daughters. He left also of course a large career, 413 matches and 43 goals in the first Greek division (he played 344 matches and scored 38 goals with AEL) and 27 matches and one goal with the national team of Greece. He was one of the biggest football players not only of Larissa, but also of Greek football.

Honours

AEL *

Greek Championship The Super League Greece 1 ( el, Ελληνική Σούπερ Λιγκ 1), or Super League 1, is the highest professional association football league in Greece. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and replaced ''Alpha Ethniki'' at the top of ...

(1): 1987–88 *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup ( el, Κύπελλο Ελλάδος Ποδοσφαίρου), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Kypello Elladas is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second most ...

1985 The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitsimponas, Georgios 1962 births 1997 deaths Greek footballers Super League Greece players Olympiacos F.C. players PAOK FC players Greece international footballers Athlitiki Enosi Larissa F.C. players Road incident deaths in Greece Association football defenders People from Larissa (regional unit) Footballers from Thessaly