Nikolaos "Nikos" Michopoulos ( el, Νικόλαος "Νίκος" Μιχόπουλος; born 20 February 1970) is a former

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 ...

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 ...

player. During his career he played for PAOK Thesaloniki and

Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...

, and a short period to

Crystal Palace Crystal Palace may refer to: Places Canada * Crystal Palace Complex (Dieppe), a former amusement park now a shopping complex in Dieppe, New Brunswick * Crystal Palace Barracks, London, Ontario * Crystal Palace (Montreal), an exhibition building ...

and

Omonia Nicosia Athletic Club Omonia Nicosia ( el, Αθλητικός Σύλλογος Oμόνοιας Λευκωσίας, ΑΣΟΛ; ''Athlitikos Sillogos Omonias Lefkosias'', ''ASOL''), commonly known as Omonia Nicosia, or simply Omonia ("Harmony"; also trans ...

. He played as a goalkeeper and was known for his reactions and shot-stopping ability. Michopoulos began his career at

Apollon Larissa Apollon Larissa Football Club ( el, ΠΑΕ Απόλλων Λάρισας) is a Greek professional football club based in Filippoupoli, Larissa, Greece. The club plays in the Gamma Ethniki, the third tier of the Greek football league system. It ...

. In 1992 he joined PAOK Thessaloniki, and made over 187 appearances for the Greek team, earning himself 15 international caps for

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

in the process. He was brought to Burnley by

Stan Ternent Francis Stanley Ternent (born 16 June 1946) is an English former footballer and manager. He managed Blackpool, Hull City, Bury, Burnley, Gillingham and Huddersfield Town. He was a scout for Hull City until January 2017. As a manager, he won th ...

as one of three Greeks to sign for the Clarets along with goalkeeper

Luigi Cennamo Luigi Cennamo (born February 7, 1980) is a retired German-born Greek-Italian footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career He started his career in Olympiakos as part of the first team in 1997. He was brought to Burnley by Stan Ternent as one ...

and centre-forward Dimitrios Papadopoulos. 'Nik the Greek' as he became known established himself solidly as a fan-favourite at

Turf Moor Turf Moor is an association football stadium in Burnley, Lancashire, England, which has been the home of Burnley F.C. since 1883. This unbroken service makes Turf Moor the second-longest continuously used ground in English professional footba ...

and became somewhat of a cult-hero. He would make almost 100 appearances for the Clarets, his last being in the farcical 7–2 home defeat to

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 ...

, when he was carried off injured in the first half and replaced by

Marlon Beresford Marlon Beresford (born 2 September 1969) is an English former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He formerly also worked as an accountancy tutor and sports commentator after retiring from football. He is currently working for Woking FC as a ...

. Michopoulos would return to his native Greece and become goalkeeping coach at his old club, PAOK, a position he still holds. In pre-season training for the 2005/06 season, Michopoulos was able to meet up with several of his old team-mates when Burnley took on PAOK at a neutral ground.

References

1970 births Living people Greek footballers Association football goalkeepers English Football League players Cypriot First Division players Super League Greece players Burnley F.C. players Crystal Palace F.C. players AC Omonia players PAOK FC players Greece international footballers Greek expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in Cyprus Footballers from Karditsa 20th-century Greek people 21st-century Greek people {{Greece-footy-goalkeeper-stub