Nikos Giannakopoulos ( el, Νίκος Γιαννακόπουλος; born 19 February 1993) 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 plays as a

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

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 ...

club

Hapoel Petah Tikva Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. ( he, הפועל פתח תקווה) is an Israeli football club based in the city of Petah Tikva, currently playing in the Liga Leumit. Its most successful period was throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in which the club won ...

Career

Giannakopoulos started his career in the youth team of

Asteras Tripolis Asteras Tripolis Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Αστέρας Τρίπολης), commonly referred to as Asteras Tripolis (meaning "Star of Tripoli"), is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Tripoli in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greec ...

, before he joined the youth team of English club

Blackburn Rovers Blackburn Rovers Football Club is a professional football club, based in Blackburn, Lancashire, England, which competes in the , the second tier of the English football league system. They have played home matches at Ewood Park since 1890. T ...

in 2009. After a period of a year he joined the youth team of Italian club

Udinese Calcio Udinese Calcio, commonly referred to as Udinese, is a professional Football in Italy, Italian association football, football club based in Udine, Friuli-Venezia Giulia, that currently plays in Serie A. It was founded on 30 November 1896 as a ...

. He soon however was released and returned to his country joining

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan- Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis'') ...

. On 27 August 2012, he made his league debut against

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 ...

. He has been the first-choice keeper for the club since the early part of 2013. There was a brief period when

Kostas Peristeridis Kostas Peristeridis ( el, Κώστας Περιστερίδης; born 24 January 1991) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Super League 2 club Ilioupolis. Career Born in Chania, Greece, Peristeridis moved to the Net ...

displaced him from top spot again after young Giannakapoulos oversaw a run of 3 straight defeats. But he regained his spot later in the 2013–14 season and has been the first choice ever since. Arguably his best performance came in the early part of his career when he kept a clean sheet against Greek giants, Panathanaikos. He repeated this feat the following season as Panionios beat Panathanaikos 3–0 with Giannakopoulos as a main goalie. On 29 July 2015, Giannakopoulos signed his four (three years with an option for an additional one) years' contract with Greek giants

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos ( el, Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club ba ...

for €180,000, adding another high-caliber Greek talent to their squad. On 17 April 2016, in the last game of the 2015–16 season, he made his debut with the club in a 6–1 home win against

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. ...

. As he is not among the first priorities of

coach

Andrea Stramaccioni Andrea Stramaccioni (; born 9 January 1976) is an Italian football manager and former player who last managed Qatari club Al Gharafa. A football coach with experiences as a youth coach of Roma and Inter Milan, he was put in charge of first tea ...

he signed a long-term year loan with

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 ...

club

Aris Limassol FC Aris Limassol (Greek: ''Άρης Λεμεσού'') is a Cypriot football club based in Limassol and one of the founder members of Cyprus Football Association. The club's colours are green, black and white, and their home is the Tsirion Stadium ...

. On 26 June 2017, Giannakopoulos signed a two-year contract with

Kerkyra Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...

. On 4 July 2018, following

's relegation to

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

, he joined

Panetolikos Panetolikos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Παναιτωλικός), or with its full name Panetolikós Yimnastikós Filekpedeftikós Síllogos ( el, Παναιτωλικός Γυμναστικός Φιλεκπαιδευτικός Σύλλογος'' ...

on a two-year deal.

Career statistics

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Giannakopoulos, Nikos 1993 births Living people Greek men's footballers Footballers from Tripoli, Greece Panionios F.C. players Panathinaikos F.C. players Aris Limassol FC players PAE Kerkyra players Panetolikos F.C. players Apollon Smyrnis F.C. players FC Zimbru Chișinău players Hapoel Petah Tikva F.C. players Super League Greece players Cypriot First Division players Moldovan Super Liga players Israeli Premier League players Greek expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Cyprus Expatriate men's footballers in Moldova Expatriate men's footballers in Israel Greek expatriate sportspeople in Cyprus Greek expatriate sportspeople in Moldova Greek expatriate sportspeople in Israel Greece men's youth international footballers Men's association football goalkeepers