Kyriakos Papadopoulos ( el, Κυριάκος Παπαδόπουλος; born 23 February 1992) 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 ...
who plays as a
centre-back for
Super League club
Lamia
LaMia Corporation S.R.L., operating as LaMia (short for ''Línea Aérea Mérida Internacional de Aviación''), was a Bolivian charter airline headquartered in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, as an EcoJet subsidiary. It had its origins from the failed ...
.
Having made his first league appearances for
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 ...
at the age of 15, Papadopoulos moved to Germany in 2010 to join
Schalke 04
Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...
and scored on his senior debut for Greece the following year, aged 19. However, his career progress in the
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
was hampered by a succession of injuries over several seasons.
Club career
Olympiacos
Born in
Katerini
Katerini ( el, Κατερίνη, ''Kateríni'', ) is a city and municipality in northern Greece, the capital city of Pieria regional unit in Central Macedonia, Greece. It lies on the Pierian plain, between Mt. Olympus and the Thermaikos Gulf, ...
, Papadopoulos was playing for hometown club Svoronos Katerinis in July 2007 when he was invited on trial to train with the
RCD Espanyol
Reial Club Deportiu Espanyol de Barcelona (; "Royal Spanish Sports Club of Barcelona"), commonly known as Espanyol, is a professional sports club based in Barcelona, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of the Spanish football league s ...
youth team during pre-season, with a view to giving the player a role in the youth team. Papadopoulos, however, performed well enough for the club's management staff to fast-track him to the reserve team, offering him a contract immediately.
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 ...
scouts were also aware of the prodigy's talents, however, and the former manager of Olympiacos, George Louvaris, was quick to secure a deal with Papadopoulos' father Nikos, thus bringing him to
Piraeus
Piraeus ( ; el, Πειραιάς ; grc, Πειραιεύς ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens' city centre, along the east coast of the Saron ...
. He immediately featured in several of Olympiacos' pre-season friendlies, three league games and three
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 ...
games.
The
2007–08 season was promising for Papadopoulos. He made his competitive debut for Olympiacos in the
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 ...
as a substitute during a 3–1 win over
Atromitos on 2 December 2007, thus becoming the youngest player to ever play in the Greek league at the age of 15 years and 283 days. He also made the substitutes bench in the
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
against
Real Madrid and
Lazio
it, Laziale
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, and featured in several
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 ...
games. If Papadopoulos had featured in any Champions League games, he would have broken the record for the youngest player to ever compete in the competition by nearly two years.
In September 2008, Papadopoulos signed a new contract with Olympiacos, which included a £4.6 million release clause, over three years. On 2 November 2008, he made his first league appearance of the
2008–09 season for Olympiacos at home to
Ergotelis in a 2–0 home win.
Schalke 04
On 23 June 2010, German club
Schalke 04
Fußballclub Gelsenkirchen-Schalke 04 e. V., commonly known as FC Schalke 04 (), Schalke 04 (), or abbreviated as S04 (), is a professional German football and multi-sports club originally from the Schalke district of Gelsenkirchen, North Rhine ...
announced that they had signed Papadopoulos on a four-year deal, keeping him until 2014. On 21 August 2010, Papadopoulos made his
Bundesliga
The Bundesliga (; ), sometimes referred to as the Fußball-Bundesliga () or 1. Bundesliga (), is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of the German football league system, the Bundesliga is Germany's primary footba ...
debut for the club in a 2–1 loss against
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...
. On 25 August 2011, in the qualification round of the
UEFA Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
, he scored his first goal for Schalke in a 6–1 win over
HJK Helsinki
Helsingin Jalkapalloklubi (), commonly known as HJK Helsinki, or simply as HJK, is a professional football club based in Helsinki, Finland. The club competes in the Finnish Veikkausliiga. Founded in 1907, the club has spent most of its history i ...
. On 1 December, in a
group stage
A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses:
# One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...
game in the Europa League, Papadopoulos scored the opening goal in a 2–1 win over
Steaua București. On 17 December, Papadopoulos scored his first goal in the Bundesliga in a 5–0 win over
Werder Bremen
Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen (), Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen, Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, they are best known for the ...
and scored the next game on 21 January 2012 in a 3–1 win over
VfB Stuttgart
Verein für Bewegungsspiele Stuttgart 1893 e. V., commonly known as VfB Stuttgart (), is a German sports club based in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg. The club's football team is currently part of Germany's first division, the Bundesliga. VfB S ...
. Since joining Schalke from Olympiacos, Papadopoulos has played in over 70 matches in all competitions, scoring five goals and has ultimately gathered respect and praise from all over Europe due to his tenacious and skillful defending considering his young age.
Ahead of the
2012–13 season, Italian club
Milan
Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
were interested in signing Papadopoulos. After showing interest, Schalke accused Milan of making an illegal approach for Papadopoulos without the club knowing. Also interested were Russian giants
Zenit Saint Petersburg
Football Club Zenit (russian: link=no, Футбольный клуб «Зенит» ), also known as Zenit Saint Petersburg or simply Zenit, is a Russian professional football club based in Saint Petersburg. Founded in 1925 (or in 1914, acco ...
, but when their £16 million bid for Papadopoulos was accepted by Schalke, Papadopoulos rejected the move, opting to stay in Germany. In September 2012, Papadopoulos signed a new contract with Schalke that will keep him at the club until 2016. On matchday two of the 2012–13 season, Papadopoulos scored his first goal of the season, and third in the Bundesliga, in a 3–1 win over
FC Augsburg
Fußball-Club Augsburg 1907 e. V., commonly known as FC Augsburg () or Augsburg, is a German football club based in Augsburg, Bavaria. FC Augsburg play in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the German football league system. The team was founded as ...
. A virus, however, would later kept him out of play for a number of games, and he would later undergo surgery in an attempt to correct a knee injury he suffered in a 3–1 loss away at
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...
in November 2012.
After a very difficult year for the defender marred by injury (383 days to be exact), Papadopoulos returned to action in a home game against
SC Freiburg
Sport-Club Freiburg e.V., commonly known as SC Freiburg () or just Freiburg, is a German football club, based in the city of Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemberg. It plays in the Bundesliga, having been promoted as champions from the 2. Bund ...
in December 2013. Just a few weeks after his return to action, however, Papadopoulos suffered a new shoulder injury and could have been forced to undergo surgery. The news came as another blow, as his recurring knee problems restricted him to just four appearances in the
2013–14 season. The injury also forced him to miss the
2014 World Cup
The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...
with
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
.
Loan to Bayer Leverkusen
On 3 August 2014,
Bayer Leverkusen
Bayer 04 Leverkusen Fußball GmbH, also known as Bayer 04 Leverkusen (), Bayer Leverkusen, or simply Leverkusen, is a professional football club based in Leverkusen in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The club competes in the Bundesliga, t ...
signed Papadopoulos on a season-long loan deal. He told Leverkusen's official website, "I am very happy that it worked out with the change. Bayer 04 is a club just like Schalke with major international ambitions. Unfortunately I was injured more often in the past season. But now I'm back fit and highly motivated to achieve with Leverkusen both my personal goals as well as the club's."
On 3 November 2014, Leverkusen announced that Papadopoulos had been ruled out for the remainder of 2014 with a shoulder injury. The centre-back suffered the injury in the final training session ahead of his side's
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
away match with Zenit Saint Petersburg; he underwent surgery. "That's just bitter for Papa," Leverkusen coach
Roger Schmidt told reporters ahead of Leverkusen's trip to Russia. Following his injury, the club announced that Papadopoulos underwent successful surgery on the following Monday in
Herne.
On 8 March 2015, Papadopoulos scored his first Bundesliga goal for Bayer Leverkusen against
SC Paderborn
Sport-Club Paderborn 07 e.V., commonly known as simply SC Paderborn 07 () or SC Paderborn, is a German association football club based in Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has enjoyed its greatest successes since the turn of the mille ...
. His injury misery continued after, on 25 April 2015, he dislocated his right shoulder in a league match away against
1. FC Köln. Leverkusen officials reported that Papadopoulos would return to the training after three months.
Bayer Leverkusen
On 7 June 2015, Bayer Leverkusen opted to make Papadopoulos' loan from Schalke 04 permanent on a €6.5 million transfer fee, with the player signing a five-year contract. On 29 September 2015, Papadopoulos scored his first goal in the
2015–16 season in the first half of a
Champions League encounter against
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
:
Hakan Çalhanoğlu
Hakan Çalhanoğlu (, born 8 February 1994) is a Turkish professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder for club Inter Milan and the Turkey national team, which he captains. He is well renowned as a free kick specialist, known f ...
, swung in a corner that hit right underneath Barça goalkeeper
Marc-André ter Stegen
Marc-André ter Stegen ( ; born 30 April 1992) is a German professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for La Liga club Barcelona and the Germany national team. Regarded as a highly promising player in his youth, he has since established ...
's crossbar; Papadopoulos headed in the rebound from close range. Papadopoulos suffered a lot of injuries during the
season
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and ...
facing a tear in a joint capsule that kept him two weeks out of training, as well as a right calf tendon in the 0–0
Europa League
The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
draw with
Villarreal
Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain.
The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...
that kept him out of the club until the end of the season.
Loan to RB Leipzig
On 31 August 2016, Papadopoulos joined
RB Leipzig
RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. (), commonly known as RB Leipzig, and colloquially referred to as Red Bull Leipzig, is a German professional football club based in Leipzig, Saxony. The club was founded in 2009 by the initiative of the company Red Bul ...
on a €1.5 million season-long loan deal, linking up once again with Leipzig's director of sport
Ralf Rangnick
Ralf Rangnick (; born 29 June 1958) is a German professional football coach, executive and former player who is currently the manager of the Austria national team.
Rangnick began his coaching career in 1983, succeeding his career as a player, a ...
, who was his coach when they won the
DFB Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
together with Schalke in 2011. On 21 September 2016, he made his debut with the club as a substitute in a 1–1 Bundesliga match against
Borussia Mönchengladbach. On 24 November 2016, Papadopoulos underwent a successful routine surgery to overcome a chronic knee problem. and started a rehabilitation program, with his return to action estimated at three weeks.
Hamburger SV
On 13 January 2017, after a frustrating first half of the campaign with RB Leipzig and due to their acquisition of defender
Dayot Upamecano from
Salzburg
Salzburg (, ; literally "Salt-Castle"; bar, Soizbuag, label= Austro-Bavarian) is the fourth-largest city in Austria. In 2020, it had a population of 156,872.
The town is on the site of the Roman settlement of ''Iuvavum''. Salzburg was founded ...
during the winter transfer window, Papadopoulos moved to
Hamburger SV
Hamburger Sport-Verein e.V. (), commonly known as Hamburger SV () or Hamburg (), is a German sports club based in Hamburg, with its largest branch being its football section. Though the current HSV was founded in June 1919 from a merger of three ...
. The HSV manager
Markus Gisdol knew the defender from their time together at Schalke 04. On 21 January 2017, he made his debut with the club as a starter in a 1–0 away loss to
VfL Wolfsburg
Verein für Leibesübungen Wolfsburg e. V., commonly known as VfL Wolfsburg () or Wolfsburg, is a German professional sports club based in Wolfsburg, Lower Saxony. The club grew out of a multi-sports club for Volkswagen workers in the city of W ...
. On 3 February 2017 Papadopoulos scored a headed goal from a set piece against Bayer Leverkusen, giving Hamburg a 1–0 victory over his parent club. A week later, HSV celebrated back-to-back Bundesliga wins for the sole second time this season as Papadopoulos scored against his last club in a 3–0 away win at RB Leipzig.
On 18 February 2017, in his fourth Bundesliga game with Hamburg, he was substituted in the first half due to a shoulder injury. On 1 March 2017, Papadopoulos returned in the
DFB Cup
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout Association football, football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesl ...
against Borussia Mönchengladbach. On 18 March 2017, in a 0–0 away draw against
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...
, he reached 100 appearances in the Bundesliga wearing the jersey of four clubs.
On 21 June 2017, having narrowly avoided relegation the previous season, Hamburger SV signed Papadopoulos on a permanent three-year deal from Bayer Leverkusen on a €6.5 million transfer fee, with the ''Dinosaurs'' to offer another €3 million in the form of a target bonus, for the next three years. On 9 August 2017, despite having been with the club for only six months, he was named vice-captain for the
2017–18 season. On 12 December 2017, he scored his first goal for the season in a 2–1 home loss against
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...
.
On 23 July 2018, according to the ''
Hamburger Morgenpost
The ''Hamburger Morgenpost'' (Hamburg Morning Post) (also known as Mopo) is a daily German newspaper published in Hamburg in tabloid format.
As of 2006 the ''Hamburger Morgenpost'' was the second-largest newspaper in Hamburg after '' Bild Zeitu ...
'', Papadopoulos was suffering from a
knee cartilage injury which required immediate surgical treatment. The rehabilitation period was estimated at six months, meaning he would will be able to compete again around Christmas, missing at least the first half of the
2018–19 2. Bundesliga season. On 30 March 2019, he returned to the squad as a substitute in the bench, in an away 0–0 game against
VfL Bochum
Verein für Leibesübungen Bochum 1848 Fußballgemeinschaft, commonly referred to as simply VfL Bochum (), is a German association football club based in the city of Bochum, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club has spent 35 seasons in the Bundeslig ...
after a difficult recovery process (154 days to be exact) from his cartilage damage and three days later he made his debut with the first team as a starter in a 2–0 away win
DFB Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
game against
Paderborn
Paderborn (; Westphalian: ''Patterbuorn'', also ''Paterboärn'') is a city in eastern North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, capital of the Paderborn district. The name of the city derives from the river Pader and ''Born'', an old German term for t ...
.
Lokomotiva
On 27 October 2020, the Croatian football club based in Zagreb
NK Lokomotiva
Nogometni klub Lokomotiva Zagreb ( en, Lokomotiva Zagreb Football Club), commonly known as Lokomotiva Zagreb or simply Lokomotiva, is a Croatian professional football club based in Zagreb. It competes in the Croatian First Football League, the ...
officially announced the signing of Greek international for an undisclosed fee.
Al-Fayha
On 18 July 2021, he moved to
Saudi Professional League
The Saudi Pro League (SPL for short) ( ar, دوري المحترفين السعودي, link=no, ''Dawriyy al-Muḥtarifayni as-Suʿūdī''), known as the Roshn Saudi League (RSL for short) for sponsorship reasons, is the top division of associat ...
side
Al-Fayha, on a free transfer from NK Lokomotiva, for a two-years' contract for an undisclosed fee, increasing the parish of the Greeks in the club after the signing of
Panagiotis Tachtsidis
Panagiotis Tachtsidis ( el, Παναγιώτης Ταχτσίδης; born 15 February 1991) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Emirati club Khor Fakkan.
Club career
AEK Athens
Tachtsidis was scouted by Toni Savevsk ...
. On 28 August 2021, Kyriakos Papadopoulos is looking for the next club of his career, as he is solved his contract with Al-Fayha, after a month of his presence in Saudi Arabia. The 29-year-old defender recorded just one participation, and that was for only 16 minutes.
Atromitos
On 9 September 2021, Papadopoulos returned to
Super League Greece, by signing a season-long contract with
Atromitos F.C.
Atromitos Football Club (, ''PAE APS Atromitos Athinon''), also simply known as Atromitos (literally meaning "Fearless"), is a Greek professional football club based in Peristeri, Athens, that plays in the Super League. It was founded in 1923 ...
for an undisclosed fee.
FC U Craiova 1948
On 23 July 2022, Papadopoulos joined
FC U Craiova 1948 a Romanian professional
football club based in
Craiova,
Dolj County
Dolj County (; originally meant ''Dol(no)- Jiu'', "lower Jiu", as opposed to '' Gorj'' (''upper Jiu'')) is a county ( județ) of Romania on the border with Bulgaria, in Oltenia, with the capital city at Craiova.
Demographics
In 2011, the c ...
, which competes in the
Liga I
The Liga I (; ''First League''), also spelled as Liga 1, is a Romanian professional league for men's association football clubs. Currently Sponsor (commercial), sponsored by betting company Superbet, it is officially known as the SuperLiga. It ...
on a two years contract for an undisclosed fee. On 21 January 2023, he mutually solved his contarct with the club, as his last official game was in October 2022.
Lamia FC
On 15 February 2023, Papadopoulos returned to
Super League Greece, by signing a season-long contract with
Lamia FC for an undisclosed fee.
International career
Papadopoulos was called up to the
under-19 Greece national team for the
Elite round
In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...
of the
2007 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship. He appeared in all three group games against Moldova, Netherlands and Russia, helping Greece finish top and qualify for the finals. Papadopoulos later featured at the heart of the Greek defence in the finals tournament and was partners with teammate
Konstantinos Lambropoulos. He was instrumental in keeping a clean sheet against the Czech Republic, as well as strong performances against England and Italy. His performances attracted attention from scouts of elite teams such as
Manchester United,
Arsenal and
Chelsea
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
.
He was the youngest player in the tournament by 13 months and the teams were impressed with the defender's maturity while in a competition. Also, he was one of the ten most talented players in Europe as considered by
UEFA
Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...
in their UEFA Under-19 Team of the Tournament.
He finished an excellent season with Schalke when, on 4 June 2011, the then-
Greece
Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...
head coach,
Fernando Santos, called up Papadopoulos for a rookie spot on the team for a match against
Malta
Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...
. Due to an injured
Avraam Papadopoulos
Avraam Papadopoulos ( el, Αβραάμ Παπαδόπουλος; born 3 December 1984) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. He was born in Melbourne, Australia, to Greek parents.
Club career
Aris
Papadopoulos ...
and
Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Sokratis Papastathopoulos ( el, Σωκράτης Παπασταθόπουλος; born 7 June 1988), commonly known mononymously as Sokratis, is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Super League club Olympiacos.
Club ca ...
being unable play, he took their place in the squad in the centre of defence next to
Vangelis Moras
Vangelis Moras ( el, Βαγγέλης Μόρας; born 26 August 1981) is a Greek former professional Association football, footballer who played as a centre back and currently a manager.
Club career
Early years
Moras started his football Ampel ...
. Papadopoulos had an excellent game that included he scoring the team's second match goal. On 6 September 2011, he scored his second international goal against
Latvia in
UEFA Euro 2012 qualification
The qualifying competition for UEFA Euro 2012 was a series of parallel association football competitions held over 2010 and 2011 to decide the qualifiers for UEFA Euro 2012, held in Poland and Ukraine. The draw for the qualifying rounds was held ...
.
Papadopoulos was part of the
Greece Under-23 squad for the finals of the
UEFA Euro 2012
The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th UEFA European Championship, European Championship for List of men's national association football teams#UEFA (Europe), men's ...
. He was a starter in the team's second and third
group games and the
quarter-final
A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...
match loss to
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
On 17 April 2015, Papadopoulos was recalled by new Greece manager
Sergio Markarian, as part of a selection overhaul, to participate in the nation's European Championship qualifier away at
Hungary
Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the ...
.
For the
World Cup 2018 qualifying campaign, Papadopoulos was selected by the German-born coach
Michael Skibbe. Against
Cyprus
Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is ge ...
, he came on as substitute of
Kostas Stafylidis
Konstantinos "Kostas" Stafylidis ( el, Κώστας Σταφυλίδης; born 2 December 1993) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a left-back for Bundesliga club VfL Bochum. He represents the Greece national team.
Early career
St ...
after 71 min. He played the entire third match against
Estonia
Estonia, formally the Republic of Estonia, is a country by the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, a ...
, but was sent off after 79 minutes during the clash against
Bosnia-Herzegovina. Papadopoulos was then required to miss the important fifth game against the
Belgian Red Devils.
Career statistics
Club
International
:''Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Papadopoulos goal.''
Honours
Olympiacos
*
Superleague Greece:
2007–08,
2008–09
*
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 ...
:
2007–08,
2008–09
*
Greek Super Cup
The Greek Super Cup ( el, Σούπερ Καπ Ελλάδος), officially known as the Cup of Friendship and Solidarity ( el, Κύπελλο Φιλίας και Αλληλεγγύης) was a Greek association football one-match competition which w ...
: 2007
Schalke 04
*
DFB-Pokal
The DFB-Pokal ( is a German knockout football cup competition held annually by the German Football Association (DFB). Sixty-four teams participate in the competition, including all clubs from the Bundesliga and the 2. Bundesliga. It is considered ...
:
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. ...
*
DFL-Supercup:
2011
References
External links
*
*
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Papadopoulos, Kyriakos
Living people
1992 births
Footballers from Katerini
Greek footballers
Greece youth international footballers
Greece under-21 international footballers
Greece international footballers
Olympiacos F.C. players
Super League Greece players
Bundesliga players
2. Bundesliga players
Croatian Football League players
Saudi Professional League players
Liga I players
FC Schalke 04 players
FC Schalke 04 II players
Bayer 04 Leverkusen players
RB Leipzig players
Hamburger SV players
NK Lokomotiva Zagreb players
Al-Fayha FC players
Atromitos F.C. players
FC U Craiova 1948 players
Greek expatriate footballers
UEFA Euro 2012 players
Association football central defenders
Association football midfielders
Greek expatriate sportspeople in Germany
Expatriate footballers in Germany
Greek expatriate sportspeople in Croatia
Expatriate footballers in Croatia
Greek expatriate sportspeople in Saudi Arabia
Expatriate footballers in Saudi Arabia
Greek expatriate sportspeople in Romania
Expatriate footballers in Romania