Takis Loukanidis ( el, Τάκης Λουκανίδης, 25 September 1937 – 11 January 2018) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

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 ...

of the 1950s–60s.

Career

Born in

Paranesti Paranesti ( el, Παρανέστι) is a municipality in the Rhodope Mountains of northeastern Drama regional unit, Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on ...

, a village in the broader area of

Drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...

, Loukanidis' father was killed by

Bulgarian armed forces The Bulgarian Army ( bg, Българска армия, Bŭlgarska armiya) is the military of Bulgaria. The commander-in-chief is the president of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for political leadership, while overall military ...

and soon after he was placed in an orphanage at age 10. He began playing football with the youth side of AEK Komotini, and joined the senior team of

Doxa Drama F.C. Doxa Drama Football Club ( el, Δόξα Δράμας) is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Drama, Macedonia, Greece. The club currently competes in the Super League 2, the second tier of the Greek football league system. Fou ...

in 1955. He soon attracted the interest of major clubs in Greece and abroad, including

Juventus F.C. )''I Bianconeri'' (The White and Blacks)''Le Zebre'' (The Zebras)''La Signora Omicidi'' (The Killer Lady)''La Gheuba'' (: The Hunchback) , founded = as Sport-Club Juventus , ground = Juventus Stadium , capacity = 41,507 , owner = Agnelli ...

Finally, Antonis Mantzevelakis brought him to

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 ...

via

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") ...

in Cyprus. Takis Loukanidis made his debut on 28 March 1962 against

AEK Athens A.E.K ( el, AEK , formally Αθλητική Ένωσις Κωνσταντινουπόλεως; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople''), known as A.E.K, is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club based in Nea ...

(score: 2-3). In the following match, on 1 April 1962, he scored his first goal with Panathinaikos, helping them beat

Proodeftiki Proodeftiki Football Club, also known as Proodeftiki Piraeus, simply as Proodeftiki, or with its full name as A.O. Proodeftiki Neolea ( el, Αθλητικός Όμιλος Προοδευτική Νεολαία, transliterated "Athlitikós Όmilo ...

5–0. He ended his career at

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki
...

, where he won the Greek Cup in 1970. Loukanidis made 23 appearances and scored three goals for the Greece national team from 1958 to 1967. He made his debut in a 1-7

1960 European Nations' Cup The 1960 European Nations' Cup was the first edition of the UEFA European Championship, held every four years and organised by UEFA. The first tournament was held in France. It was won by the Soviet Union, who beat Yugoslavia 2–1 in Paris afte ...

qualifying defeat to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

on 1 October 1958.

Death

Loukanidis died on 11 January 2018 in Athens due to a myocardial infarction. He was 80.

released a statement on their official website, paying tribute:

Honours

Doxa Dramas Doxa Drama Football Club ( el, Δόξα Δράμας) is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Drama, Macedonia, Greece. The club currently competes in the Super League 2, the second tier of the Greek football league system. Fo ...

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 im ...

: 1958 (runner-up), 1959 (runner-up)

Greek Championship 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 ...

: 1962, 1964, 1965, 1969 *

: 1967, 1969

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 ...

: 1970

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loukanidis, Takis 1937 births 2018 deaths Greek footballers Greece international footballers Super League Greece players Doxa Drama F.C. players Panathinaikos F.C. players Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players Association football midfielders Panserraikos F.C. managers Greek football managers People from Drama (regional unit) Footballers from Eastern Macedonia and Thrace