Stefanos Gaitanos ( el, Στέφανος Γαϊτάνος; born in 1948) is a Greek former professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

manager and former player who manages Pontioi Veria.«Η ΙΣΤΟΡΙΑ ΤΟΥ ΠΟΔΟΣΦΑΙΡΟΥ ΣΤΗ ΒΕΡΟΙΑ»
/ref> He played for Superleague clubs

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 ...

and

Apollon Athens 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 ...

. His nickname was the ''"General" ( el, Στρατηγός)''. It was given to him by Veria's fans as well as by the newspapers, as he was Veria's main playmaker and his football style was familiar to

Mimis Domazos Dimitris "Mimis" Domazos ( el, Δημήτρης "Μίμης" Δομάζος, born 22 January 1942) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. His nickname was ''"The General"'' ''( el, "Ο Στρατηγός ...

who had the same nickname.

Playing career

Born in

, Gaitanos joined

in 1960. He left Veria later to join

as he wanted to be closer to his

Law school A law school (also known as a law centre or college of law) is an institution specializing in legal education, usually involved as part of a process for becoming a lawyer within a given jurisdiction. Law degrees Argentina In Argentina, ...

. He retired from football in 1978 in order to finish his studies.

Managerial career

Stefanos graduated from law school and also became a coach. His first team to manage was Doxa Makrochori (later renamed to

Makrochori Makrochori ( el, Μακροχώρι, before 1928: Κωνομπλάτη - ''Konomplati''; Bulgarian and Macedonian: Кономлади, ''Konomladi''), is a village of Kastoria regional unit in Western Macedonia, Greece. History The castle ...

. He also worked for Veria's in youth level. Two years after joining Makrochori as manager he received a contract offer by Naoussa which was playing in

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 ...

. At the age of 33, Stefanos became manager of a Football League coach. He spent 3.5 years in Naoussa winning a promotion to Football League. He also worked for Alexandria, a local team in

Imathia Imathia ( el, Ημαθία ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the region of Central Macedonia, within the geographic region of Macedonia. The capital of Imathia is the city of Veroia. Administration The regional unit Imath ...

. He later joined Pontioi Veria where he stayed for four more years. He also worked for Eordaikos and won the promotion to Football League. Gaitanos has also worked for

as a team manager and as an interim. He also worked again in the 2000s for Eordaikos. He is the head coach of Veria U20 squad and he also controls the youth academies of the club. He owns a football academy named after himself in Veria, the ''Stefanos Gaitanos Football Academy''. During his managerial career, he discovered some of Greece's most important football players; some of the players that he trained, guided and offered to Greek football were

Vasilios Tsiartas Vasilios Tsiartas ( el, Βασίλειος Τσιάρτας; born 12 November 1972) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Although he was famed for his lackadaisical playing style, his ability was never ...

at Alexandria,

Alexis Alexandris Alexis Alexandris (Greek: Αλέξης Αλεξανδρής, sometimes wrongly called ''Alekos Alexandris'' born 21 October 1968) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker. Club career Alexis Alexandris began his career ...

at Veria,

Pantelis Kafes Pantelis Kafes ( el, Παντελής Καφές; born 24 June 1978) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He was known for being one of very few outfield players to have worn the number 1 jersey and has won accla ...

Nikos Dabizas Nikos Dabizas ( el, Νίκος Νταμπίζας, born 3 August 1973) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a defender for Newcastle United, Leicester City, Olympiacos and AEL. He was also in Greece's 2004 European Football ...

Andreas Niniadis Andreas Niniadis ( el, Aνδρέας Nινιάδης; born 18 February 1971) is a Pontic Greek former professional footballer. Olympiacos Since his retirement, Niniadis has been employed by his former club Olympiacos as a chief scout and an ass ...

, Dimitrios Geladaris and

Ilias Atmatsidis Ilias Atmatsidis ( el, Ηλίας Ατματσίδης; born 24 April 1969) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He is the Director of Football at AEK Athens B. Club career Atmatsidis started playing football re ...

at Pontioi Veria.

Personal life

After retiring from football in 1978, Stefanos got his

degree. He is married and also has a daughter, Katerina, who's a football coach at "Stefanos Gaitanos Football Academy", she also worked for

as coach for the youth squads.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gaitanos, Stefanos 1948 births Living people Greek men's footballers Super League Greece players Football League (Greece) players Veria F.C. players Veria F.C. managers Apollon Smyrnis F.C. players Men's association football players not categorized by position Greek football managers Footballers from Veria