Pieros Sotiriou ( el, Πιέρος Σωτηρίου; born on January 13, 1993) is a Greek

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 le ...

who plays as a striker for

Sanfrecce Hiroshima Sanfrecce Hiroshima ( ja, サンフレッチェ広島, translit=''Sanfuretche Hiroshima'') is a Japanese professional football club based in Asaminami-ku, Hiroshima. The club plays in the J1 League, which is the top tier of football in the coun ...

in Japan and the Cyprus national team. Sotiriou joined

FC Copenhagen Football Club Copenhagen ( da, Football Club København, ), commonly known as FC København, FC Copenhagen, Copenhagen or simply FCK, is a professional Danish football club in Copenhagen, Denmark. FCK was founded in 1992 as a superstructure on ...

in 2017 from

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") ...

of 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 ...

. In February 2020, he moved to Kazakh side

FC Astana Astana Football Club ( kk, Astana Futbol Kluby) is a professional football club based in Astana. They play in the Kazakhstan Premier League, the highest level of Kazakh football. The club's home ground is the 30,254-seat Astana Arena stadium. Th ...

Career

Olympiakos Nicosia

Sotiriou was born in

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaor ...

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 geo ...

. He is a product of

Olympiakos Nicosia Olympiakos Nicosia ( el, Ολυμπιακός Λευκωσίας, ''Olympiakos Lefkosias'') is a football club based in Nicosia, Cyprus and competes in the Cypriot First Division. The club was founded in 1931, and is a founding member of the Cy ...

academies. He made his official debut with Olympiakos in the 2009–10 season, when the club was competing in the

Cypriot Second Division The Cypriot Second Division ( el, Πρωτάθλημα Β΄ Κατηγορίας) is the second highest football division of the Cypriot football league system. Administrated by the Cyprus Football Association, it is contested by 16 teams, with th ...

, appearing in four matches and scoring one goal. On 19 March 2011, he made his

debut, playing the last 11 minutes in a match against Doxa Katokopias and he added a further five appearances in the

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 ...

season. The next season ( 2011–12), he made 16 league appearances (2 at starting line-up, 14 as a substitute) and scored his first

goal on 18 September 2011, in the third matchday against

where Olympiakos lost by 1–4. In June 2012, it was rumoured that

Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot of ...

was interested in him and also on 5 August 2012, he was trialled at

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional association football, football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football league system, Portuguese footba ...

, but finally stayed at Olympiakos. On 16 November 2012, he renewed his contract with Olympiakos, signing a three-year contract extension. His most productive season with Olympiakos came in

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 ...

, when he appeared in 29 league matches (28 at starting line-up, 1 as a substitute) and scored 8 goals. At the end of the 2012–13 season, he has been awarded the "Young player of the season" award by

Cyprus Football Association The Cyprus Football Association (CFA; el, Κυπριακή Ομοσπονδία Ποδοσφαίρου (ΚΟΠ), Kypriakí Omospondía Podosfaírou (KOP)) is the governing body of football in Cyprus and is based in Nicosia. It organizes the footb ...

APOEL

On 24 December 2012, it was announced that Sotiriou's transfer from Olympiakos to

APOEL FC APOEL FC ( el, ΑΠΟΕΛ; short for Αθλητικός Ποδοσφαιρικός Όμιλος Ελλήνων Λευκωσίας, ''Athletikos Podosferikos Omilos Ellinon Lefkosias'', literally "Athletic Football Club of Greeks of Nicosia") ...

was already agreed by the two clubs (for a transfer fee of €90,000), but he stayed to Olympiakos until the end of the 2012–13 season and his four-year contract with APOEL activated in June 2013. He made his debut on 29 August 2013, in the

2013–14 UEFA Europa League The 2013–14 UEFA Europa League was the 43rd season of Europe's secondary club association football, football tournament organised by UEFA, and the fifth season under its current title. The 2014 UEFA Europa League Final was played between Sevil ...

play-off match against Zulte Waregem at

GSP Stadium Gymnastic Club "The Pancyprians" Stadium (GSP Stadium) ( el, Στάδιο Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος "Τα Παγκύπρια") is a football stadium in Strovolos, Nicosia District, Cyprus. Although small by international standar ...

, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute in APOEL's 1–2 defeat. During the 2013–14 season, he appeared in three

2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage The group stage of the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League was played from 19 September to 12 December 2013. A total of 48 teams competed in the group stage. Draw The draw was held on 30 August 2013, 13:00 CEST (UTC+2), at the Grimaldi Forum, Monaco. Th ...

matches for APOEL and won all the titles in Cyprus, the

Cypriot League 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 ...

, the

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 ...

and the

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 us ...

. He scored his first official goal for APOEL on 20 September 2014, netting the second goal in APOEL's 3–1 away victory against

Ayia Napa Ayia Napa ( el, Άγια Νάπα tr, Aya Napa, ), officially romanised Agia Napa, is a tourist resort at the far eastern end of the southern coast of Cyprus. Etymology The name Ayia Napa is derived from a Venetian-era monastery of the same ...

in the

. On 10 December 2014, he made his first

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 concent ...

appearance, coming on as a 65th-minute substitute in APOEL's 4–0 defeat against

Ajax Ajax may refer to: Greek mythology and tragedy * Ajax the Great, a Greek mythological hero, son of King Telamon and Periboea * Ajax the Lesser, a Greek mythological hero, son of Oileus, the king of Locris * ''Ajax'' (play), by the ancient Greek ...

Amsterdam Arena The Johan Cruyff Arena ( nl, Johan Cruijff Arena ; officially stylised as Johan Cruijff ArenA) is the main stadium of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam and the home stadium of football club AFC Ajax since its opening. Built from 1993 to 1996 ...

. On 15 December 2014, he scored twice in APOEL's enthralling 4–4 home draw against

AEK Larnaca AEK Larnaca FC ( el, AEK; for short Αθλητική Έvωση Κίτιον Λάρνακας , translit=''Athletiki Enosi Kition Larnakas'', "Athletic Union Kition of Larnaca") is a Cypriot professional football club based in Larnaca. The club ...

in the First Division. In the 2014–15 season, he managed to add two more titles to his collection, as APOEL won again both the Cypriot championship and the

2014–15 Cypriot Cup The 2014–15 Cypriot Cup was the 73rd edition of the Cypriot Cup. A total of 26 clubs entered the competition. It began on 29 October 2014 with the first round and concluded on 20 May 2015 with the final which was held at GSZ Stadium. APOEL clinch ...

. On 28 April 2016, Sotiriou scored the opening goal against title rivals

and sealed the victory which secured APOEL's fourth consecutive

title. He scored his first goal in European competitions on 19 July 2016, netting the second goal in APOEL's 3–0 home win against

The New Saints The New Saints of Oswestry Town & Llansantffraid Football Club, also known as The New Saints ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed y Seintiau Newydd) or TNS, are a professional football club that currently play in the Cymru Premier. They are the most successfu ...

in the second qualifying round UEFA Champions League. On 24 August 2016, Sotiriou opened the scoring in APOEL's 1–1 home draw against

in the Champions League play-off round, but his goal was not enough as his team were defeated 1–2 on aggregate and dropped down to the Europa League group stage. On 19 September 2016, Sotiriou signed a three-year contract extension with APOEL, running until 31 May 2020. On 29 September, he scored the only goal in APOEL's 1–0 away victory against Greek club

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 ...

in the Europa League group stage. On 3 November 2016, he scored again in the group stage in APOEL's 1–0 home victory against Swiss side

BSC Young Boys BSC Young Boys (YB by short abbreviation ) are a Swiss sports club based in Bern, Switzerland. Its first team has won 15 Swiss league championships and six Swiss Cups. YB is one of the most successful Swiss football clubs internationally, reac ...

. He scored his first ever

hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...

on 8 January 2017, in APOEL's 5–0 home win against

Aris Limassol 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. ...

in the 2016–17 First Division. On 23 February 2017, he scored with a flying volley against

Athletic Bilbao Athletic Club ( eu, Bilboko Athletic Kluba; es, Athletic Club de Bilbao), commonly known as Athletic Bilbao or just Athletic, is a professional Association football, football club based in the city of Bilbao in the Basque Country (autonomous com ...

, as APOEL won 2–0 at home and overturned the 3–2 deficit from the first leg to advanced to the last 16 of the Europa League for the first time in their history. Following his successful 2016–17 season with APOEL, Sotiriou awarded the "Player of the season" award by

FC Copenhagen

On 25 April 2017, it was announced that

had secured his signature on a five-year contract running from 1 July 2017, for an undisclosed transfer fee from APOEL, reported to be around €2.5 million.

Astana

On 20 February 2020,

announced the signing of Sotiriou on a three-year contract. The transfer fee paid to Copenhagen was reported as DKK37 million (about €5 million, £4 million).

Ludogorets Razgrad

In February 2021, Sotiriou moved to Bulgarian club Ludogorets Razgrad on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

Sanfrecce Hiroshima

On 15 August 2022, Sotiriou signed to J1 club,

for during mid season in 2022. Also, in the Levain Cup final of the same year, he scored a tie goal and a come from behind goal and was awarded the MVP, contributing greatly to the team's victory in the Levain Cup.

International career

On 10 October 2012, Sotiriou was called for the first time into the

Cyprus national football team The Cyprus national football team ( el, Εθνική ομάδα ποδοσφαίρου της Κύπρου) represents Cyprus in international football and is controlled by the Cyprus Football Association, the governing body for football in Cyp ...

for the

2014 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA#Structure, FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil national football team, Bra ...

matches against

Slovenia Slovenia ( ; sl, Slovenija ), officially the Republic of Slovenia (Slovene: , abbr.: ''RS''), is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the west, Austria to the north, Hungary to the northeast, Croatia to the southeast, an ...

and

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, but he remained on the bench in both matches. He made his debut for the national team on 14 November 2012, in a friendly match against

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute in Cyprus' 0–3 defeat. He scored his first international goal on 13 November 2016, netting the second goal in Cyprus' 3–1 home victory against

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = " Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gib ...

in the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.

Personal life

On December 28, 2019 Sotiriou married with Cypriot journalist Maria Kortzia, after eight years of relationship. They have two sons: Sophocles (born December 9, 2020) and Giorgos (born June 14, 2022).

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Cyprus' goal tally first.''

Honours

Club

APOEL *

: 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17 *

: 2013–14, 2014–15 *

: 2013 Copenhagen *

Danish Superliga The Danish Superliga ( da, Superligaen, ) is the current Danish football championship tournament, and administered by the Danish Football Association. It is the highest football league in Denmark and is currently contested by 12 teams each yea ...

: 2018–19 Astana *

Kazakhstan Super Cup The Kazakhstan Super Cup ( kk, Қазақстан Суперкубогы, ''Qazaqstan Sýperkýbogy'') is a one-match football annual competition. The two participating clubs are the Kazakhstan Premier League champion and the Kazakhstan Cup winner ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

Ludogorets Razgrad *

Bulgarian First League The First Professional Football League ( bg, Първа професионална футболна лига, Parva Profesionalna Futbolna Liga), also known as the Bulgarian First League or Parva Liga, currently known as the efbet League for spon ...

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen b ...

, 2021–22 *

Bulgarian Supercup The Bulgarian Supercup ( bg, Суперкупа на България) is the trophy won in a football match held between the football club that has won the Bulgarian first football division in the season that ended in the year of the match and ...

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Sanfrecce Hiroshima *

J.League Cup The is a Japanese football (soccer) competition organized by J.League. It has been sponsored by Yamazaki Biscuits (YBC) of Yamazaki Baking (formerly Yamazaki Nabisco) since its inception in 1992. It is also known as the or (Levain is one of YB ...

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

Individual

Young Player of the Season: 2012–13 *Cyprus Football Association Player of the Season: 2016–17 *

Top Goalscorer: 2021–22

References

External links

APOEL official profile
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sotiriou, Pieros 1993 births Living people Greek Cypriot people Cypriot footballers Footballers from Nicosia Cyprus men's international footballers Cyprus men's under-21 international footballers Cyprus men's youth international footballers Men's association football forwards Cypriot First Division players Cypriot Second Division players Danish Superliga players Kazakhstan Premier League players First Professional Football League (Bulgaria) players J1 League players Olympiakos Nicosia players APOEL FC players F.C. Copenhagen players FC Astana players PFC Ludogorets Razgrad players Sanfrecce Hiroshima players Cypriot expatriate footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Denmark Expatriate footballers in Kazakhstan Expatriate footballers in Bulgaria Expatriate footballers in Japan