Giannis Papadopoulos ( el, Γιάννης Παπαδόπουλος; born 9 March 1989) is a Greek professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who last played as a

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Iraklis Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

. He was the captain of the Greece Under-19 team. He plays in a central midfield role predominantly, although he is capable of playing as a left midfielder and also as an attacking midfielder.

Club career

Iraklis

Papadopoulos started out his career at

as a trainee. His second season was a very impressive one, catching the eye of major Greek teams in 2007–08, which eventually earned him a move to

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 ...

on 3 June 2008. The transfer fee was thought to be around 800,000 Euros. Papadopoulos is left-footed, and his main strength is his powerful shot which he uses to great effect by often shooting from long distances.

Olympiacos

On 5 October 2008, Papadopoulos became a man as he made his Olympiakos debut as a substitute for teammate

Dudu Cearense Alexandro Silva de Sousa (born 15 April 1983), known as Dudu Cearense or simply Dudu, is a Brazilian former professional footballer who last played for Botafogo. He is known for his passing, aerial ability and tackling. He was a central midfi ...

against city rivals

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...

. He impressed, having played a creative role in the second goal of Olympiakos' 2–0 win. After he had terminated his contract with

in July 2011, he switched to

Dynamo Dresden Sportgemeinschaft Dynamo Dresden e.V., commonly known as SG Dynamo Dresden or Dynamo Dresden, are a German association football club based in Dresden, Saxony.Grüne, Hardy (2001). Enzyklopädie des deutschen Ligafußballs 7. Vereinslexikon. Kasse ...

Dynamo Dresden

On 12 August 2011 he debuted with the club in a victorious 4–0 home win against

Union Berlin 1. Fußballclub Union Berlin e. V., commonly known as 1. FC Union Berlin () or Union Berlin, is a professional German football club in Köpenick, Berlin. The club's origins can be traced to 1906, when its predecessor FC Olympia Oberschöneweid ...

. His first year in

2. Bundesliga The 2. Bundesliga ( ) is the second division of professional football in Germany. It was implemented 11 years after the founding of the Fußball-Bundesliga as the new second division for professional football. The 2. Bundesliga is ranked below ...

was an impressive one having 24 appearances, 15 as a starter. Unfortunately the period 2012/13 was mostly a substitute, therefore after he had terminated his contract with

in July 2013, he signed a 1-year contract with

Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Howard, Former President of the Jama ...

, returning to

Super League The Super League (officially known as the Betfred Super League due to sponsorship from Betfred and legally known as Super League Europe), is the top-level of the British rugby league system. At present the league consists of twelve teams, of wh ...

Aris

He made his debut with the club on 18 August in an away loss from

Apollon Smyrni Apollon Smyrnis Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Απόλλων Σμύρνης), or in its full name Gymnasticos Syllogos Apollon Smyrnis ( el, links=no, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Απόλλων Σμύρνης, ''Gymnastics Club Apollon o ...

. On 2 March 2014 Papadopoulos terminates his contract with the club, signing with the Polish club

Cracovia Cracovia is the Latin name for the Polish city of Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh cen ...

. There will have the opportunity to find a mate from

Greek Super League 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 ...

,the former Croatian central defender of

Panthrakikos Panthrakikos Football Club ( el, Α.Π.Σ. Πανθρακικός) is a Greek football club based in Komotini, Thrace in North Eastern Greece founded in 1963. The club competed in Super League Greece during the 2008–09 season for the first time. ...

Tomislav Mikulic. ''" Aris F.C. announces the termination of cooperation with the footballer Yannis Papadopoulos. The management team would like to thank the 24 years' old for his contribution and wishes him continued success in his career"'' said the announcement of the club. Papadopoulos had informed his coach Soulis Papadopoulos for his intention to leave the club due to serious economic problems and that was the reason that was not among the starting XI in the home game against OFI.

Cracovia

On 1 March 2014 he signed a one and a half-year contract with the Polish club

. He made his debut with the club on March, 17 in a 1–0 home win against

Jagiellonia Białystok Jagiellonia Białystok () is a Polish football club based in Białystok that plays in the Ekstraklasa, the top level of Polish football. The club was founded in 1920 by soldiers in the Reserve Battalion in Białystok. Jagiellonia play their home g ...

and a week later he scored the only goal in a 1–1 away draw against

Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała TS Podbeskidzie Bielsko-Biała () is a football club based in Bielsko-Biała, Poland. They currently compete in the I liga, the second tier of Polish football. History The club was essentially founded on 11 July 1997, although it can trace i ...

. At the end of the 2013/14 season

announced the end of cooperation with the Greek midfielder due to financial disagreements.

Career in Israel

On 11 July 2014, Papadopoulos signed a one-year contract with the Israeli football club Bnei Sakhnin F.C. playing for

Israeli Premier League The Israeli Premier League ( he, ליגת העל, ''Ligat Ha`Al'', ), is a professional association football league which operates as the highest division of the Israeli Football League – the state's league of Israel. The league is contested b ...

. In February 2015, he signed for the rest of the season with the Israeli club

Hapoel Acre Hapoel Acre Football Club ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל עכו, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Akko'') is an Israeli football club based in Acre, Israel. The club currently plays in Liga Leumit. History Founded in 1946, the club dwelt i ...

. During this period

began to show a different face making a championship rally, as in the next nine games, managed to lose only from

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...

counting 5 wins and 4 draws. Papadopoulos described as "multi-tool" from the sports press, as in addition to defensive midfielder role in the game, he could play both as central back as well as an attacking midfielder, and with his goals helped his team in that achievement. As a result of this outstanding performance one of the biggest sports' sites in the country («sports.walla») indicate that his acquisition was crucial for the club, a fact that is also acknowledged from the team coach,

Shlomi Dora Shlomi Dora ( he, שלומי דורה; born June 22, 1973, in Haifa) is an Israeli football manager. His younger brother is the footballer Yossi Dora who was play for Hapoel Haifa F.C., Hapoel Haifa. Honours As manager *Liga Leumit (1): **2008� ...

, who in an interview he gave on the same site asked what were the five key moments of the year and of course stated that the acquisition of the Papadopoulos is one of them. ''"I had seen Yiannis several times at Bnei Sakhnin F.C. and I think he is an excellent player, so when his contract expired, we moved immediately for his acquisition and we have not been disappointed" '' he said among others. On 16 July 2015 signed to

Hapoel Kfar Saba Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C. ( he, מועדון כדורגל הפועל כפר סבא, ''Moadon Kaduregel Hapoel Kfar Saba'') is an Israeli football club based in Kfar Saba. The club competes in the Liga Leumit and plays home matches at Levita Stadiu ...

On 20 December 2015, he scored his first goal in the season, helping his club to escape with a 1–1 draw against

Maccabi Haifa Maccabi Haifa ( he, מכבי חיפה) is one of the biggest sports clubs in Israel and a part of the Maccabi association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Haifa which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, such as Football ...

. On 30 April 2016, he scored with an incredible left kick in a 2–1 home win against Ironi Kiryat Shmona.

Veria

On 2 August 2016, he signed a year contract with Greek club

Veria Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of I ...

for an undisclosed fee, returning in Superleague after 2,5 years.

Nea Salamina

On 21 June 2017, he signed a two years contract with Cypriot club

Nea Salamina Nea Salamis Famagusta or Nea Salamina Famagusta ( el, Νέα Σαλαμίνα Αμμοχώστου) is a Cypriot sports club based in Ammochostos (also known by its romanized name, Famagusta), Cyprus. The club is named after Salamis (or Salam ...

for an undisclosed fee.

Iraklis

On 28 July 2018, newly promoted side

announced the signing of Papadopoulos.

Rodos

In January 2020, Papadopoulos moved to Rodos FC.

International career

He was member of Greece U21 and Captain of Greece U19. On 29 May he demonstrated this capability by scoring a 30-yard shot against Russia for the Greece U19 team.

Personal life

Papadopoulos is the son of

all-time leader in appearances

Daniil Papadopoulos Daniil Papadopoulos ( el, Δανιήλ Παπαδόπουλος) is a former Greek footballer that played in several positions throughout his career. He was born in Thessaloniki and played youth football with Olympos Dendropotamou before startin ...

Honours

;Olympiacos *

Greek Superleague 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 ...

: 2008–09,

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

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 im ...

: 2008–09 ;Greece *

UEFA U-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply UEFA Under-19 Championship or the UEFA Euro U-19, is an annual Association football, football competition contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the member associations of UE ...

: Runners-up:

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Papadopoulos, Giannis 1989 births Living people Greek men's footballers Greek expatriate men's footballers Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki) players Olympiacos F.C. players Dynamo Dresden players Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players Bnei Sakhnin F.C. players Hapoel Acre F.C. players Hapoel Kfar Saba F.C. players Veria F.C. players MKS Cracovia players Nea Salamis Famagusta FC players Digenis Akritas Morphou FC players A.E. Rodos players Super League Greece players 2. Bundesliga players Israeli Premier League players Greek expatriate sportspeople in Germany Greek expatriate sportspeople in Israel Greek expatriate sportspeople in Poland Expatriate men's footballers in Germany Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Expatriate men's footballers in Poland Men's association football midfielders Greece men's youth international footballers Greece men's under-21 international footballers Greece men's international footballers Footballers from Thessaloniki