Giorgos Merkis (, born 30 July 1984) is a retired
Cypriot
Cypriot (in older sources often "Cypriote") refers to someone or something of, from, or related to the country of Cyprus.
* Cypriot people, or of Cypriot descent; this includes:
**Armenian Cypriots
**Greek Cypriots
**Maronite Cypriots
**Turkish C ...
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 ...
who played as a
centre back
In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield position whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring.
Centre-backs are usually positioned in pairs, with one full-back on either ...
for
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...
club
APOEL
APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...
and the
Cyprus national team.
Career
Apollon Limassol
Merkis is a product of
Apollon Limassol academies, making his first team debut during
2001–02 season at the age of 17. He spent the vast majority of his career with Apollon, where he won one
championship
In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion.
Championship systems
Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship.
Title match system
In this system ...
, two
cups
CUPS (formerly an acronym for Common UNIX Printing System) is a modular printing system for Unix-like computer operating systems which allows a computer to act as a print server. A computer running CUPS is a host that can accept print jobs ...
and one
super cup. After fifteen years at the club, his contract was mutually terminated on 12 January 2016.
APOEL
On 12 January 2016, Merkis signed an 18-month contract with fellow
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...
club
APOEL
APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...
. He made his official debut on 17 January 2016, coming on as a 69th-minute substitute in APOEL's 3–0 home win against
Enosis Neon Paralimni
Enosis Neon Paralimni Football Club ( el, Ένωση Νέων Παραλιμνίου, ''Enosi Neon Paralimniou'', "Youth Union of Paralimni"), commonly referred to as ENP, is a Cypriot football team from Paralimni. Currently playing in the fi ...
for the
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...
. He scored his first goal for APOEL against his former team
Apollon Limassol on 2 April 2016, netting a late equalizer in his team's 2–2 home draw for the
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...
Championship play-offs. A few months after joining APOEL, he was crowned champion as his team won the
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...
title for a fourth consecutive time.
On 2 March 2017, Merkis signed a two-year contract extension with APOEL, running until 31 May 2019.
International career
Merkis made his international debut with
Cyprus National Team on 1 March 2006, in friendly match against
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ' ...
at
Tsirion Stadium
The Tsirio Stadium ( el, Τσίρειο Στάδιο) is an all-seater multi-purpose stadium in Limassol, Cyprus.
The stadium holds 13,331 people and is mostly used for football matches. It was the home ground of the three biggest clubs in Limas ...
, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute in
Cyprus' 2–0 win. He scored his first goal on 16 November 2014, netting the opening goal in
Cyprus' 5–0 home victory against
Andorra
, image_flag = Flag of Andorra.svg
, image_coat = Coat of arms of Andorra.svg
, symbol_type = Coat of arms
, national_motto = la, Virtus Unita Fortior, label=none (Latin)"United virtue is stro ...
for the
UEFA Euro 2016 qualifiers.
International goals
:''Scores and results list Cyprus' goal tally first.''
Honours
;
Apollon Limassol
*
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...
:
2005–06
*
Cypriot Cup
The Cypriot Cup () is the main cup competition in Cypriot football, run by the Cyprus Football Association (CFA). It began in 1934, the same season with the Cypriot Championship. It is the second most important competition for Cypriot club team ...
:
2009–10,
2012–13
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 ...
;
APOEL
APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...
*
Cypriot First Division
The Cypriot First Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Α΄ Κατηγορίας) is the top tier football league competition in Cyprus, run by the Cyprus Football Association. Since February 2016, it is sponsored by Cyta and is thus officially ...
:
2015–16,
2016–17,
2017–18,
2018–19
*
Cypriot Super Cup
The Cypriot Super Cup is a Cypriot football trophy, contested in an annual match between the previous season's Cypriot First Division champions, and the Cypriot Cup winners. The match is contested at the beginning of the football season, and is u ...
: 2019
Personal life
On June 3, 2017 Merkis married with Cypriot journalist Andrea Kyriakou. On October 8, 2018 Kyriakou gave birth to their first child, a son Labrinos Merkis.
References
External links
APOEL official profile
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Merkis, Giorgos
1984 births
Living people
Sportspeople from Limassol
Greek Cypriot people
Cypriot footballers
Association football defenders
Apollon Limassol FC players
APOEL FC players
Cypriot First Division players
Cyprus international footballers