Konstantinos "Kostas" Mitroglou ( el, Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Μήτρογλου, ; born 12 March 1988) 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

striker Striker or The Strikers may refer to: People *A participant in a strike action *A participant in a hunger strike *Blacksmith's striker, a type of blacksmith's assistant *Striker's Independent Society, the oldest mystic krewe in America People wi ...

. He is nicknamed "Mitrogoal" and "Pistolero" by fans due to his goalscoring abilities. Raised in Germany, Mitroglou started his career at

Borussia Mönchengladbach Borussia Verein für Leibesübungen 1900 e. V. Mönchengladbach, commonly known as Borussia Mönchengladbach (), Mönchengladbach () or Gladbach (; abbreviated as Borussia MG, BMG), is a professional Association football, football club based in ...

, where he established himself as an excellent prospect. He was signed by

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 summer of 2007 and had two loan spells at

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'') ...

and

Atromitos Atromitos (Greek: Ατρόμητος, "fearless") may refer to: * Atromitos F.C., a football team based in Peristeri, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Piraeus, a football team based in Piraeus, Athens, Greece * Atromitos Yeroskipou, a football team curr ...

before establishing himself in the team. He transferred to Premier League club

Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...

in 2013 for a club record £12 million, and they were relegated in his only season, in which he was troubled by injury. He then returned to Olympiacos on loan and then to Benfica in Portugal, before joining the latter on a permanent basis in 2016. With Benfica, he would win five major honours, including back-to-back league titles, and set his single-season scoring record with 27 goals. A full international since 2009, Mitroglou has earned over 60 caps for the Greece national team. He was selected in their squads for UEFA Euro 2012 and the

2014 FIFA World Cup The 2014 FIFA World Cup was the 20th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organised by FIFA. It took place in Brazil from 12 June to 13 July 2014, after the country was awarded the hosting ri ...

Club career

Early career

Mitroglou was born on 12 March 1988, in

Krinides Krinides ( el, Κρηνίδες, before 1926: Ράχτσα - ''Rachtsa'') is a town in the Kavala regional unit in eastern Macedonia, Greece. It was the seat of the former municipality of Filippoi. The ruins of the ancient city Philippi are clo ...

, Kavala, Greece, and emigrated as an infant with his parents from his native country to Germany. He grew up in Neukirchen-Vluyn, North Rhine-Westphalia. He began his career at TuS Preussen Vluyn. At age 11, he scored 24 goals in 16 matches. He then played for SV Neukirchen. In 2003, he joined

MSV Duisburg Meidericher Spielverein 02 e. V. Duisburg, commonly known as simply MSV Duisburg (), is a Football in Germany, German association football club based in Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia. Nicknamed ''Die Zebras'' for their traditional striped jers ...

. Later on, he joined

. Mitroglou was a dominant player in the Under 19 Bundesliga. He scored 14 goals in 10 matches.

Olympiacos

2007–08 season

After impressing at the

2007 UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA U-19 Championship 2007 Final Tournament was held in Austria with matches played from 16–27 July 2007. Players born after 1 January 1988 were eligible to participate in this competition. The draw was made on 13 June 2007. The venues were ...

, Mitroglou was signed by Greek champions

. His first official goal for Olympiacos came in a 2–1 away win against Diagoras in the Greek Cup after an assist by Luciano Galletti. His first Superleague goal came in a 4–0 home win against

Levadiakos Levadiakos Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Λεβαδειακός) is a Greek professional football club that plays in the Super League Greece. Based in Livadeia, Greece, the club was promoted to the Alpha Ethniki, forerunner of the Super League, afte ...

. During the final stages of the season, Mitroglou played an important part in helping Olympiacos claim their 36th league title, scoring the last-minute winning goal (2–1) in their match against AEL, this time assisted by

Mirnes Šišić Mirnes Sead Šišić (born 8 August 1981) is a former Slovenian footballer. Club career Early career Šišić began his professional footballing career in Slovenia with NK Rudar Velenje in 2001. In 2003, Šišić signed with Ilisiakos F.C. in ...

. His first goal in the Superleague came in a 4–0 home win against Levadiakos. He then scored two goals in the last league fixture against

Iraklis Gymnasticos Syllogos Iraklis ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Ηρακλής, en, Gymnastics Club Heracles), commonly referred to as Iraklis, is a Greek multi-sports club based in Thessaloniki. The club was founded in 1908 as "Mace ...

to seal a 3–1 win. He also scored in a 2–2 away draw against Iraklis in the Greek Cup semi-finals, after an assist from

Michalis Konstantinou Michalis Konstantinou ( el, Μιχάλης Κωνσταντίνου; born 19 February 1978) is a Cypriot retired football striker. He played for the Cyprus national football team, and he is the all-time leading scorer with 32 goals in 85 appea ...

. In the 2007 Greek Super Cup, he scored the only goal as Olympiacos defeated AEL 1–0.

2008–09 season

For the 2008–09 season, Olympiacos appointed Ernesto Valverde as their new head coach, who dropped Mitroglou because he wanted his team to play a quicker and more offensive style of football. Mitroglou therefore made fewer appearances than the prior season. He scored in a 2–0 away win against

Nordsjælland North Zealand, also North Sealand ( da, Nordsjælland), refers to the northern part of the Danish island of Zealand which is not clearly defined but generally covers the area north of Copenhagen. The Danish tourist authorities have recently in ...

in the first round of the

2008–09 UEFA Cup The 2008–09 UEFA Cup was the 38th season of the UEFA Cup football tournament. The final was played at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, home ground of Fenerbahçe, in Istanbul on 20 May 2009. This season was the final one to use the UEFA Cup for ...

. In the Superleague, he scored two goals in a home win 4–1 against

2009–10 season

After Valverde left Olympiacos, Mitroglou saw increased playing time. He scored his first goal of the season against Sheriff Tiraspol in a 2–0 first leg away win in the UEFA Champions League play-offs, also scoring in the return leg (a 1–0 home win). Mitroglou scored the equalizing goal in an eventual 2–1 defeat of Standard Liège in a UEFA Champions League group stage match on 21 October 2009. He also scored in home wins against

Asteras Tripoli 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 ...

(3–0) and

Ergotelis The Gymnastics Club «Ergotelis» Heraklion Crete ( el, Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος «O Εργοτέλης» Ηρακλείου Κρήτης, Γ.Σ. Εργοτέλης), commonly known simply as Ergotelis ( el, Εργοτέλης), ...

(2–1). His next goal came in an away draw (2–2) against

PAS Giannina PAS Giannina Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ ΠΑΣ Γιάννινα 1966), or with its full name Panepirotikos Athlitikos Syllogos Giannina ( el, Πανηπειρωτικός Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Γιάννινα, ''Panepirotic Athleti ...

after an assist by Dudu Cearense. He also scored a goal in a heavy 3–1 away loss to

Panserraikos Panserraikos Football Club ( el, Πανσερραϊκός 1964), the ''All-Serres Football Club'', is a Greece, Greek Association football, football club based in Serres in Central Macedonia, Greece. Panserraikos is one of the most important and ...

. Mitroglou scored both goals in a 2–0 win against rivals

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 ...

after assists by Dudu Cearense and

Jaouad Zairi Jaouad Zairi ( ar, جواد الزايري; born 17 April 1982) is a Moroccan professional footballer who played as a winger. He played for the Morocco national team between 2000 and 2009, making 34 appearances and scoring six goals. Early l ...

. He added two more goals in a 5–1 home win against Levadiakos. He scored in the club's 2–1 loss to Bordeaux in the Champions League round of 16, which saw Olympiacos eliminated following a 3–1 aggregate loss. His next goal came in Olympiacos' 2–0 win against

2010–11 season

Ernesto Valverde returned as head coach of Olympiacos for the 2010–11 season. Despite being a starter and scoring a spectacular goal in the opening league match against Iraklis (1–2 away loss), Mitroglou only made four more appearances as Valverde chose to use

Kevin Mirallas Kevin Antonio Joel Gislain Mirallas y Castillo (born 5 October 1987), known as Kevin Mirallas (), is a Belgian professional footballer who plays as a winger for Cypriot side AEL Limassol. Mirallas started his professional career in France wit ...

and

Marko Pantelić Marko Pantelić ( sr-Cyrl, Марко Пантелић, ; born 15 September 1978) is a retired Serbian footballer who played as a striker. He represented Serbia at the 2010 FIFA World Cup. Club career Early years As Pantelić was coming up thr ...

instead. Mitroglou participated in the international match "8th Match Against Poverty" on 14 December 2010 (held at the

Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium The Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Γεώργιος Καραϊσκάκης), commonly referred to as the Karaiskakis Stadium ( el, Στάδιο Καραϊσκάκη, ), is a football stadium in Piraeus, Attica, Greece, and the ...

) as a player in the Olympiacos All-Star team and scored two goals.

Loan to Panionios

In January 2011, Mitroglou joined Panionios on a six-month loan from Olympiacos. In his debut, he scored both goals in a historic 2–0 away win against Aris, the first for the club in 50 years. His next goals came at a 1–1 home draw against Panathinaikos and a 1–1 away draw against AEK Athens, the latter after an assist from

Georgios Galitsios Georgios Galitsios ( el, Γεώργιος Γκαλίτσιος; born 6 July 1986) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a right back. He is a right-sided defender who has made a number of appearances for Greece's youth teams. More of a ...

. He scored the winning goal (2–1) against Atromitos and converted a penalty at the 3–3 home draw against AEL. He added another one at a 1–1 away draw against Iraklis. He scored his last goal at the 2–1 away win against

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 is ...

after an assist from

Fanouris Goundoulakis Fanouris Goundoulakis ( el, Φανούρης Γουνδουλάκης; born 13 July 1983) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He now works as a scout for AEK Athens. He is one of the very few greek footballers w ...

. Mitroglou ended this year with nine goals in the Superleague, one with Olympiacos and eight with Panionios.

Loan to Atromitos

Mitroglou was once again loaned, this time to Atromitos for the 2011–12 campaign. He scored his first goal at a 1–0 away win against Aris after an assist from

Miguel Sebastián Garcia --> Miguel is a given name and surname, the Portuguese and Spanish form of the Hebrew name Michael. It may refer to: Places *Pedro Miguel, a parish in the municipality of Horta and the island of Faial in the Azores Islands *São Miguel (disambi ...

. He next scored at a 1–1 home draw against Panathinaikos after an assist of

Denis Epstein Denis Epstein (born 2 July 1986) is a German professional footballer who plays for TSG Balingen II. Career Youth clubs Epstein played for three youth clubs, ranging from 1995 to 2005, including the youth teams of Bayer 04 Leverkusen, Fortuna K� ...

. He scored two goals in a 2–1 home win against

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

and one in a 1–0 away win against

Doxa Drama Doxa Drama Football Club ( el, Δόξα Δράμας) is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in the city of Drama, Greece, Drama, Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, Macedonia, Greece. The club currently competes in the Super ...

. His next goal was at a 1–1 home draw against Levadiakos, once again assisted by Denis Epstein. He went on to score goals in the victories against Ergotelis (1–0) and OFI Crete (2–0). Mitroglou's next goal came from the penalty spot in a 1–1 away draw against Panetolikos. He scored a goal in a 2–1 away win against PAS Giannina and scored two goals in another 2–1 away win against his former loan team Panionios. He next scored at a 2–0 home win against Doxa Drama and a 2–2 away draw against Levadiakos. He scored the winning goal (1–0) against

Skoda Xanthi Xanthi Football Club ( el, Α.Ο. Ξάνθη Π.Α.Ε.) is a Greek professional football club based in Xanthi, Western Thrace and plays at Xanthi FC Arena. The club resigned from the Super League 2 due to financial issues. Founded in 1967, Xan ...

His next goal came with a penalty kick in a 2–2 away draw against Ergotelis. Mitroglou also scored a goal in the semi-finals of the Greek Cup against Asteras Tripoli, sending his team reach the final against parent club Olympiacos. He finished the season with 16 league goals, helping Atromitos to reach the Superleague play-offs for the first time, where he added one more goal in a 1–1 home draw against PAOK after an assist from

Ilias Anastasakos Ilias Anastasakos ( el, Ηλίας Αναστασάκος; born 3 March 1978) is a Greeks, Greek Association football, football player who plays as a Forward (association football)#Striker, striker for Olympiacos Assou. He is the co-director of ...

. At the end of the campaign, he was voted the Superleague Greece Footballer of the Year.

2012–13 season

The 2012–13 season found Mitroglou back at parent club Olympiacos. After Ernesto Valverde left, Mitroglou was favoured by new head coach Leonardo Jardim. Mitroglou showed a good form in the pre-season training scoring a total of three goals, two of them in a friendly against Spanish side

Málaga Málaga (, ) is a municipality of Spain, capital of the Province of Málaga, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. With a population of 578,460 in 2020, it is the second-most populous city in Andalusia after Seville and the sixth most pop ...

at the Karaiskakis Stadium. However, the season started a bit irregular for him, as he had to compete with first-choice striker Rafik Djebbour in the starting 11. He therefore did not receive much playing time and often played as a substitute. His first goal of the season came in a 2–1 away win against PAS Giannina after an assist from Djebbour. In the same match, he provided an assist on Olympicaos' second goal, scored by Djebbour. With Djebbour absent due to injury, Mitroglou was a starter for the second group game of the UEFA Champions League against

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

in the

Emirates Stadium The Emirates Stadium (known as Arsenal Stadium for UEFA competitions) is a football stadium in Holloway, London, England. It has been the home stadium of Arsenal Football Club since its completion in 2006. It has a current seated capacity ...

, where he scored the equalizer in an eventual 3–1 loss. He next scored a goal in a 2–0 home win against OFI Crete after an assist from

Paulo Machado Paulo Ricardo Ribeiro de Jesus Machado (born 31 March 1986) is a Portuguese former professional footballer who played as a central midfielder. Formed at Porto, he amassed Primeira Liga totals of 103 matches and eight goals over five seasons, ...

. He scored again in the Champions League by scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 away win against

Montpellier Montpellier (, , ; oc, Montpelhièr ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of ...

after an assist from

Djamel Abdoun Djamel Abdoun (born 14 February 1986) is an Algerian retired professional footballer who played as a winger. In the summer of 2011, Abdoun signed a three-year contract with Olympiacos, on a free transfer from Kavala, due to their relegation to ...

. He also added another goal against Montpellier in the return fixture on 6 November as Olympiacos claimed a 3–1 victory. Mitroglou's scoring streak continued as he next scored two goals in a 4–0 away win against rivals AEK Athens, and one in each 2–0 victory against

AO Kerkyra Kerkyra FC, also known as AO Kerkyra ( el, Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κέρκυρα - Athlitikos Omilos Kerkyra), the ''Athletic Club Kerkyra'', is a Greek association football club based on the island of Kerkyra ( Corfu), Greece. Histor ...

and Panachaiki, the latter being a Greek Cup fixture. He scored his fourth Champions League goal at the 2–1 home win against Arsenal. His first goal of 2013, came in a 3–0 home win against Veria, after an assist of

Juan Pablo Pino Juan Pablo Pino Puello (born 30 March 1987) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward. Club career Monaco On 10 February 2007, Pino played his first Ligue 1 match for Monaco against Paris Saint-Germain. Galatasaray On 19 J ...

. On 9 February, he scored the lone goal against Asteras Tripoli at the last minute of the match, giving Olympiacos the 1–0 away win. He scored the winning goal again at the 1–0 away win against AO Kerkyra. Mitroglou's next goals came in a comfortable 4–0 away win against

Platanias Platanias (Greek: Πλατανιάς) is a village and municipality on the Greek island of Crete. It is located about west from the city of Chania and east of Kissamos, on Chania Bay. The seat of the municipality is the village Gerani. Platania ...

and the classical derby against Panathinaikos, which ended 1–1. In the Greek Cup semi-finals against Panthrakikos, he scored two goals in the first leg to give a 6–2 home win and another two goals at the returning leg (2–1 away win) as Olympiacos progressed to the final 8–3 on aggregate. In the last league match, he scored the opening for a 2–1 home win against Panionios.

2013–14 season

During the pre-season preparation at Seefeld, Mitroglou scored a goal in a 2–1 friendly win against Azerbaijani club

Simurq PIK Simurq PIK ( az, Simurq Peşəkar Idman Klubu) was an Azerbaijani football club based in Zaqatala, that competed in the Azerbaijan Premier League. History Early years (2005–2009) The club was founded in 2005 and participated in the Azerbaija ...

. On the second matchday of the

Superleague Greece 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 ...

, he provided an assist to

David Fuster David Fuster Torrijos (born 3 February 1982) is a Spanish retired professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. After starting out at Villarreal B – he also represented the first team in the 2009–10 season – he went on ...

in a 2–1 home win against Atromitos. On 1 September 2013, he scored his first career hat-trick in a 5–0 away win against Levadiakos after three assists from Fuster. He scored his second hat-trick on the next fixture in a 4–0 home win against Skoda Xanthi, becoming the first player in Olympiacos history—as well as the Greek League generally—to score two consecutive hat-tricks, while also having also scored in an international match between these two fixtures. Mitroglou scored his third hat-trick of the season on 2 October, scoring all three goals in a 3–0 away win against

Anderlecht Anderlecht (, ) is one of the 19 municipalities of the Brussels-Capital Region, Belgium. Located in the south-western part of the region, it is bordered by the City of Brussels, Forest, Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, and Saint-Gilles, as well as the ...

in the UEFA Champions League group stage. He became the first Greek player to complete a hat-trick in the Champions League, and along with

Predrag Đorđević Predrag Đorđević ( sr-cyr, Предраг Ђорђевић; also transliterated Predrag Djordjević; born 4 August 1972) is a Serbian former professional footballer. Known for his set pieces, Đorđević played as a left midfielder for Greek ...

is one of only two Olympiacos players to have scored a hat-trick in the Champions League. Mitroglou's scoring streak continued as he scored another hat-trick four days later in a comfortable 6–0 home win against Veria, while also assisting a goal to

Joel Campbell Joel Nathaniel Campbell Samuels (; born 26 June 1992) is a Costa Rican professional footballer who plays as a forward and winger for Liga MX club León and the Costa Rica national team. Campbell joined Arsenal in 2011 and was thereafter l ...

. His next goal came in an away win (1–4) against Platanias after an assist from Alejandro Domínguez, a match in which he also provided the assist for Javier Saviola's goal. On 24 October, Mitroglou assisted Domínguez's goal against Benfica in a 1–1 draw in the UEFA Champions League. He next scored two goals at a home win 5–1 against OFI Crete with two headers after two assists from Joel Campbell. He next scored the winning goal in an away win (1–0) against Panathinaikos. He next scored a goal at a home win 4–0 against PAOK after another assist from Joel Campbell. On 27 November, Mitroglou suffered an injury in a 2–1 away loss against Paris Saint-Germain, keeping him on the sidelines for over a month. On 19 December, amid much transfer speculation, Mitroglou renewed his contract with Olympiacos until 2017. On 10 January 2014, he recovered to come on as a substitute against Atromitos.

Fulham

On 31 January 2014, Mitroglou signed a four-and-a-half-year contract for a transfer fee believed in the region of £12 million with English Premier League club

. On 22 February, he made his debut for Fulham in a 1–1 draw at West Bromwich Albion, replacing

Hugo Rodallega Hugo Rodallega Martínez (born 25 July 1985) is a Colombian professional footballer who plays as a forward for Bahia. Rodallega started his professional career with Deportes Quindío in 2004. An impressive first season with the club earned him ...

after 61 minutes. Mitroglou was the highest transfer fee in Fulham's history, and despite Fulham pinning their hopes of staying in the Premier League on the Greece international, they were relegated in May 2014. Due to various injuries and fitness problems, Mitroglou played in only two more Premier League matches before the end of the 2013–14 season, starting only one, away against

Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...

Loan to Olympiacos

On 31 August 2014, Mitroglou returned to Olympiacos on a season-long loan from Fulham. He made his debut on 13 September, replacing

Dimitris Diamantakos Dimitrios Diamantakos ( el, Δημήτριος Διαμαντάκος; born 5 March 1993) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a forward for Indian Super League club Kerala Blasters. Club career Olympiacos Diamantakos started his car ...

in the 55th minute of a 3–0 home win over OFI Crete. Three days later, he scored what proved to be the game winner in a 3–2 win over

Atlético Madrid Club Atlético de Madrid, Sociedad Anónima Deportiva, S.A.D. (; meaning "Athletic Club of Madrid"), known simply as Atleti in the Spanish-speaking world and commonly referred to at international level as Atlético Madrid, is a Spanish profess ...

in the UEFA Champions League group stage.

Benfica

On 6 August 2015, Mitroglou joined Portuguese champions Benfica on loan until the end of the season. He made his debut three days later, replacing compatriot

Andreas Samaris Andreas Samaris ( el, Ανδρέας Σάμαρης; born 13 June 1989) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Portuguese Primeira Liga club Rio Ave. After winning Superleague Greece with Olympiakos in 2014, he signed ...

for the final 18 minutes of a 0–1 loss to rivals Sporting CP in the

2015 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira The 2015 Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira was the 37th edition of the Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira. It took place on 9 August 2015, and it featured the winners of the 2014–15 Primeira Liga, Benfica, and the winners of the 2014–15 Taça de P ...

at the Estádio Municipal de Aveiro. In their first match of the

Primeira Liga The Primeira Liga (; English: Premier League, also written as Liga Portugal 1), also known as Liga Portugal Bwin for sponsorship reasons, is the top level of the Portuguese football league system. Organised and supervised by the Liga Portugal, ...

season against Estoril, he opened the scoring in a 4–0 win at the Estádio da Luz. On 11 September, he scored in each half of a 6–0 win in the league against

Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...

neighbours

Belenenses Clube de Futebol Os Belenenses, commonly known as Os Belenenses (), is a Portuguese sports club best known for its football team. Founded in 1919, it is one of the oldest Portuguese sports clubs. It is based in the 25,000-seat Estádio do Reste ...

. On 23 January 2016, Mitroglou scored with a backheel goal in a 3–1 win against Arouca, and on 3 February, he scored a hat-trick against Belenenses in a 0–5 away victory. It was his first hat-trick in the season, scoring for the fifth consecutive match in a row. On 13 February, he opened the score in a 2–1 home loss against rivals Porto, struggling for the win before goalkeeper

Iker Casillas Iker Casillas Fernández (; born 20 May 1981) is a Spanish former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and currently works as a football commentator. Popularly dubbed "''San Iker''" ("Saint Iker") for his ability to produce spectac ...

made a save at close quarters to stop him from scoring the equalizer. One week later, he scored for the seventh match in a row by opening the score in a 1–3 win at

Paços de Ferreira Paços de Ferreira () is a city in the Porto District, in the north of Portugal. The population of the city in 2011 was 7491, while its municipality had 56,340 inhabitants, in an area of 70.99 km². Sometimes referred to as the ''Capital do ...

; at the final whistle, a Benfica supporter entered the field and knelt before Mitroglou, and then tried to shine his boots with a scarf. On 5 March, Mitroglou scored the only goal in the Lisbon derby at Sporting CP's Estádio José Alvalade, giving Benfica the lead in the league, ahead of their opponents. Later on, he scored a brace in a 5–1 home win against Braga in the Primeira Liga on 1 April, increasing his tally to 18 goals in the league, with 13 goals scored in 12 matches. He ended the league campaign with 20 goals in 32 matches, winning the Primeira Liga title on 15 May after a 4–1 home win over

Nacional Nacional, the Portuguese and Spanish word for "national", may refer to: Airlines * Nacional Transportes Aéreos, a Brazilian airline defunct in 2002 * Transportes Aéreos Nacional, a Brazilian airline defunct in 1961 Bank * Banco Nacional, a ...

. Two days after the league title celebrations, Benfica announced Mitroglou had signed a permanent contract with the club set to last until 2020, for a €7 million transfer fee, as disclosed by

Football Leaks Football Leaks was a leak in association football revealing "murky" financial transactions in the world of European professional football and exposes the tax tricks employed by some of the continent's biggest stars. It began with a series of in ...

. On 18 January 2017, he scored a hat-trick in a 6–2 home win over

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in the Taça de Portugal quarter-finals. On 28 February 2017, Mitroglou scored twice against Estoril in the first leg of the Taça de Portugal semi-finals.

Marseille

On 31 August 2017, French

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

club Marseille announced the signing of Mitroglou on a four-year contract for a transfer fee of €15 million to Benfica. On 28 September, Mitroglou made his competitive debut for Marseille in a

2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage The 2017–18 UEFA Europa League group stage began on 14 September and ended on 7 December 2017. A total of 48 teams competed in the group stage to decide 24 of the 32 places in the knockout phase of the 2017–18 UEFA Europa League. Draw The draw ...

1–0 away loss against Red Bull Salzburg, coming on as a substitute in the 79th minute for Maxime Lopez. On 6 February 2018, Mitroglou scored his first hat-trick for Marseille—to go along with one assist,—in a 9–0 blowout win over Bourg-en-Bresse in the Coupe de France.

Loan to Galatasaray

On 31 January 2019, Mitroglou was loaned out to Galatasaray in Süper Lig until 30 June 2020.

Loan to PSV Eindhoven

On 22 August 2019, PSV Eindhoven announced they would take on Mitroglou on a loan until the end of the 2019–20 season.

Aris

On 25 January 2021, Mitroglou signed with Greek club, Aris. On 21 February, he scored his first goal with the new team in the Super League against his former club Olympiacos at the Karaiskakis Stadium, in a match ended 1–1.

International career

Junior teams

Mitroglou was first called up for the Greece national under-19 team in 2005. He scored a goal against the Netherlands in a 3–2 away win in

qualification. He also scored two goals in a 3–1 home loss against Germany in the same campaign. Mitroglou also scored in a 2–0 away win against Italy, two goals in a 2–2 away draw against Croatia and a goal in a 4–0 home win against

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. He participated at the 2007 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, in which he scored the only goal against Portugal at Linzer Stadion in the group stage, as well as in a 1–1 draw against Austria at the Waldstadion. In the knock-out stage, he scored a goal against Germany in a 3–2 win at Vorwärts Stadium. Mitroglou finished as the top goalscorer of the competition with three goals. In 2007, Mitroglou was promoted to the Greece under-21 team. He scored two goals in a 3–1 home win against

Macedonia Macedonia most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a traditional geographic reg ...

in the UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers, and later a goal in a 1–1 home draw against England and the only goal against

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as the campaign continued.

Senior team

In 2009, Mitroglou was selected for the senior Greece side for the first time. He scored his first goal in a 3–2 away win over Norway on 15 August 2012. On 11 September 2012, he scored a goal in a

2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying The 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. The 2014 FIFA World Cup featured 32 teams, with one place reserved for the host nation, Brazil. The remaining 31 places were determined by ...

match against

, which ended in a 2–0 victory. He went on to score both goals in a 2–0 away friendly win against Austria on 14 August 2013. Mitroglou scored the only goal in a victory over Liechtenstein, after an assist from

Vasilis Torosidis Vasilis Torosidis (Greek: Βασίλης Τοροσίδης, born 10 June 1985) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Club career Skoda Xanthi Torosidis made his senior debut for Skoda Xanthi on 19 April 2003 at ...

, in their penultimate World Cup qualifying match on 6 September 2013. He scored two goals on 15 November in Greece's 3–1 home win against Romania in the first leg of their 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying play-off. Four days later, he scored the opening goal of the return leg in Romania, which ended in a 1–1 draw and sent Greece to the World Cup final stages in Brazil with a 4–2 aggregate victory.

Career statistics

Club

Notes :A. Includes appearances in the Greek Cup, Taça de Portugal,

Taça da Liga The Taça da Liga (), known outside Portugal as Portuguese League Cup, is an annual football club competition organised by the Liga Portuguesa de Futebol Profissional (LPFP) for teams competing in the Primeira Liga and LigaPro, the top two tier ...

, Coupe de France and

Coupe de la Ligue The Coupe de la Ligue (), known outside France as the French League Cup, was a Single-elimination tournament, knockout cup competition in Football in France, French football organized by the Ligue de Football Professionnel. The tournament was est ...

. :B. Includes appearances in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League. :C. Includes appearances in the

Super League Greece 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 ...

play-offs,

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 Football (soccer), association football one-match ...

Portuguese Super Cup Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

and

International

Honours

Club

Atromitos * Greek Cup runner-up: 2011–12 Olympiacos *

: 2007–08, 2008–09,

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 ...

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 ...

, 2013–14, 2014–15 * Greek Cup: 2007–08, 2008–09,

, 2014–15 *

: 2007 Benfica *

: 2015–16, 2016–17 * Taça de Portugal: 2016–17 *

: 2015–16 * Supertaça Cândido de Oliveira:

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

Marseille * UEFA Europa League runner-up: 2017–18 Galatasaray * Süper Lig: 2018–19 * Turkish Cup: 2018–19 * Turkish Super Cup:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

International

Greece * UEFA European Under-19 Championship: Runner-up

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

Individual

* UEFA European Under-19 Championship Golden Boot:

(3 goals) * Super League Greece Greek Footballer of the Year: 2011–12 * Greek Cup Top goalscorer:

(5 goals) * SJPF Primeira Liga Team of the Year: 2016 * Taça de Portugal Top goalscorer: 2016–17 (9 goals)https://www.thefinalball.com/edicao.php?id_edicao=98765

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mitroglou, Kostas 1988 births Living people People from Filippoi Greek footballers Greece youth international footballers Greece under-21 international footballers Greece international footballers Borussia Mönchengladbach players Olympiacos F.C. players Panionios F.C. players Atromitos F.C. players Fulham F.C. players S.L. Benfica footballers Olympique de Marseille players Galatasaray S.K. footballers PSV Eindhoven players Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players Super League Greece players Premier League players Primeira Liga players Ligue 1 players Süper Lig players Eredivisie players Greek emigrants to Germany UEFA Euro 2012 players Association football forwards Greek expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Expatriate footballers in Portugal Expatriate footballers in France Expatriate footballers in Turkey Greek expatriate sportspeople in England Greek expatriate sportspeople in Portugal Greek expatriate sportspeople in France Greek expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Greek expatriate sportspeople in the Netherlands 2014 FIFA World Cup players Footballers from Eastern Macedonia and Thrace