Ieroklis Stoltidis ( el, Ιεροκλής Στολτίδης; born 2 February 1975), also known as "Iéro", is a Greek former 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, rugb ...

who played as a

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. He was known as a passionate, determined anchorman with mental and physical courage.

Club career

Stoltidis started out with Pontioi Kozanis FC in the fourth division before signing for Iraklis FC, where he spent eleven years. He made his

Alpha Ethniki 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 ...

debut for the

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

-based club in December 1992 but did not become a regular until 1995–96. The following term he played

UEFA Cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay ...

football for the first time. Stoltidis stood out in 2002–03 and was named the club's player of the season. In June, after 234

league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...

matches, he left for Olympiacos CFP, signing a two-year contract. He was signed to replace Zé Elias at Olympiacos. Crucial goals against eventual champions Panathinaikos and AEK Athens in 2003–04 endeared him to supporters. Stoltidis also relished his first taste of

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 ...

football, scoring twice in five appearances. A regular in Dusan Bajevic's side in 2004–05, he played 25 league matches and scored twice. He appeared in all 540 minutes of the Champions League campaign and scored the winner at home against eventual champions

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

. In the same season, he won the

as well as the Greek Cup with Olympiacos. During the 2005–06 season, he started in the first eleven in the Greek ''El Clasico'', Panathinaikos vs

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 numbe ...

, and went on to score in Olympiacos' 2–0 victory. On 23 November 2005, during a Champions League fixture against Rosenborg, he made a reckless challenge on 18-year-old opponent Per Ciljan Skjelbred, breaking both bones in the teenager's lower leg just above the ankle. Stoltidis finished the season with another Olympiacos double as well as the award for Greek Footballer of the Year. The 2007–08 season would once again prove successful for Stoltidis. One half of Takis Lemonis' defensive midfield duo, Akis formed a strong partnership with Argentine international Cristian Raul Ledesma. Stoltidis also continued his streak of Champions League success, this time helping Olympiacos finish second and gaining entry into the Round of 16. Finishing the group stages with three goals and two assists, Stoltidis pulled off some of the most memorable performances of his career, notably the 3–1 (away) and 3–0 (home) victories against

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 ...

where Stoltidis found the back of the net three times. In 2010, he signed with Kerkyra on a one-year contract where he would finish his career a year later in 2011.

International career

Stoltidis was a member of the Greece side defeated in the

1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship, which spanned two years (1996–98), had 46 entrants. Before the quarter-finals stage, Romania were chosen as the hosts of the final stages, consisting of four matches in total. The exclusion (for po ...

final by

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. In November 1999, he made his debut for the senior national team and he went on to represent Greece at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Despite performing at a high rate for his club Olympiakos, he was left out of the

UEFA Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...

championship winning squad and the

FIFA World Cup 2006 The 2006 FIFA World Cup, also branded as Germany 2006, was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to host the ...

UEFA Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of Europea ...

campaigns. Finally, after years of media speculation, Stoltidis was called to the National Team under Rehhagel for a friendly against the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...

. He declined the invitation stating ''"I'm no longer at an age where I can perform on all those fronts at the required level. Apart from my gratitude to the fans for their support, I want to assure them that, had this call come earlier in my career, when I was capable of competing on all fronts at a high level, I would have put myself at the disposal of the coach without hesitation."

Career statistics

Honours

Olympiacos * Superleague Greece:

2004-05 A coxless four is a rowing boat used in the Rowing (sport), sport of competitive rowing. It is designed for four persons who propel the boat with Sweep (rowing), sweep oars, without a Coxswain, coxswain. The crew consists of four rowers, each ha ...

, 2005-06, 2006-07, 2007-08, 2008-09 *

Greek Football 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 imp ...

, 2005-06, 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 Individual * Greek Footballer of the year: 2005-06

References

External links

11v11.com profile & stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stoltidis, Ieroklis 1975 births Living people Greek footballers Association football midfielders Olympic footballers of Greece Olympiacos F.C. players Iraklis Thessaloniki F.C. players A.O. Kerkyra players Footballers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Greece international footballers Greece under-21 international footballers Super League Greece players Footballers from Thessaloniki