Mimis Papaioannou

Mimis Papaioannou

Personal information
Full name	Dimitrios Papaioannou
Date of birth	(1942-08-23) 23 August 1942
Place of birth	Nea Nikomedeia, Greece
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s)	Forward, attacking midfielder
Youth career
1957–1960	Nea Genea
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1960–1962	Veria	84	(40)
1962–1979	AEK Athens	480	(234)
1979–1982	New York Pancyprian-Freedoms	17	(5)
Total		581	(279)
International career
1963–1978	Greece	61	(21)
Managerial career
1982–1986	New York Pancyprian-Freedoms
1988	Kerkyra
1988–1989	Olympiacos Chalkida
1991–1992	Kefalonia
1992–1994	Greece (assistant)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Dimitrios "Mimis" Papaioannou (Greek: Δημήτριος "Μίμης" Παπαϊωάννου; born 23 August 1942) is a Greek former international footballer who played as a forward, mostly for AEK Athens. His nickname was "The Vlach" (Greek: "ο Βλάχος") due to his origin. Papaioannou was a symbol of morality and faith for AEK Athens and the Greek football. He played for the same team for the most of his career and was never shown a single red card while being spotted only three times with a yellow, showing a wonderful prudence and integrity of character. Papaioannou was considered to be the best Greek footballer of his generation and one of the best Greek footballers of all time, being awarded as the best Greek footballer of the 20th Century by IFFHS. In 2021 the IFFHS also chose him in the best XI of all time of Greek football.

Early life

Papaioannou was born on 23 August 1942 in Nea Nikomedeia of Imathia. His father Kostas was the curator of the local football team Nea Genea, thus the young Papaioannou came in touch with the football fields from an early age. His football talent began to shine from early on, while his love for football was unquestionable. His love of football and the financial difficulties of his family forced him to leave school early and split his time between the stadium and the barber shop in the village, where he worked as an assistant.

Club career

Early career

At the age of 15 he joined Nea Genea and played in the team's offense. His name and abilities quickly became known in the capital of the prefecture of Veria and to the agents of the local club, as a result of which he transferred to them with a promising 1959 at the age of 17. His appearances for the "Queen of North" aroused the interest of the big teams of Thessaloniki but also of the then coach of AEK Athens, Tryfon Tzanetis. The offers of the teams of Thessaloniki did not meet the requirements of his club and in fact his transfer to PAOK failed for a difference of 20,000 drachmas. In 1961, Tzanetis suggested and persuaded Nikos Goumas to offer 175,000 drachmas to the team and 25,000 drachmas to the 19-year-old player for his transfer to AEK Athens. The young striker of refugee origin was hesitant, as on the one hand there was his sporting sympathy for the northern Greece, PAOK and the neighboring move to Thessaloniki, while on the other hand there was the greater name of AEK Athens and the money he was offered were more than an immediate need for his family, with prerequisite his move to the distant Athens, but eventually after the advise of the president of Veria, Kostas Vorgiatzidis, Papaioannou chose the Athenian club.

AEK Athens

1962–1963

In the summer of 1962, the 20-year-old Papaioannou was dressed in the yellow-black jersey, starting an integral course of 17 years that elevated him to one of the greatest players in the history of AEK Athens. He was the player that AEK needed to complete Kostas Nestoridis and lead them in claiming leagues. Alongside "Nestoras" they formed an incredible attacking duo that was proved deadly for the opposing defences. On 27 September 1962 he scored his first goal on his debut in a 7–2 thriumph against Egaleo. He scored in the derby against Olympiacos at Karaiskakis Stadium in the 1–3 victory on 23 December 1962, while also scoring in the match of the second round at home. At the end of the, AEK was tied for 1st place with Panathaikos and the title was judged in a play-off match for 23 June. Papaioannou scored twice, Nestoridis also scored from a direct corner kick and after a 3–3 draw according to the regulations of the time, the title was awarded to the team with the best goal ratio in the regular season. The 39 goals scored by the two clubs and the total goal difference of 66–21 lead AEK to win the league after 23 years. As Mimis Papaioannou had stated, after the end of the match, as he saw all the members of the team in the locker room crying for this success, he was grafted as a newcomer with the club's ideals, while he also cried and became a supporter of AEK.

1963–1965

The upcoming years for AEK and Papaioannou were almost ideal, as he showed that he would be the one to take the role from Nestoridis as the leader of the team, pushing them as high as he could. His appearances and achievements put him quickly in the heart of the people of the club. The fans adored him and he rewarded them with passion for the yellow-black jersey. On 29 September 1963 he scored a brace in the defeat with 5–4 against Panathinaikos. He scored his first hat-trick on 16 October 1963 scoring all three goals against Aris at home. and he did not took him long enough to score another as he did a 2 months later against Ethnikos Piraeus in a 4–0 win. Papaioannou scored a goal in the imposing 6–1 against Olympiacos on 6 January 1964. He also scored 4 of the total of 7 goals against Anagennisi Arta for the Cup, on 26 April 1964. At the end of the season he won his first Cup with AEK, as the final was scratched due to Panathinaikos and Olympiacos were ejected from the competition. In 1964 he ended the season as the league's top scorer with 29 goals, ending Nestoridis' 5-year streak of winning the award.

In 31 January Papaioannou scored a hat-trick against Panachaiki in a 6–0 home win for the league. He also scored the winner in an episodic away derby against Olympiacos that ended 1–2. He scored again with the same opponent, opening the score in a 3–3 home game for the final matchday.

Career break and singing

Οn 12 May 1965, the legendary Real Madrid player, Ferenc Puskás, who saw Papaioannou scoring a brace against the Spanish "Queen" in the friendly 3–3 at Nea Filadelfeia, suggested to the management of Real the acquisition of the Greek striker. The proposal of Real Madrid to AEK was unrealistically mythical for the Greek data of the time. The Castigians offered AEK 4,000,000 drachmas and 750,000 drachmas to the player his move to Madrid. The huge salary and the prospect of a football career far from Greece's standards in Spain ignited Mimis' desire for the transfer, but that desire was never fulfilled, due to the fear of the management for the reaction of the fans to a possible departure of Papaioannou. Nevertheless, Papaioannou was willing to leave AEK under the given punishment of a one-year ban and then sing free agent at Real, but the Spaniards refused ,as the didn't want to disrupt their relations with the Greek club.

His anger was such, that he was about to abandon football. Afterwards, Papaioannou was approached by a folk composer and bouzouki player Christos Nikolopoulos, who brought him in contact with Stelios Kazantzidis. Mimis and Stelios have unlimited mutual respect and admiration for each other's abilities and Kazantzidis discovered that Papaioannou, in addition to his footballing skills, had also a very good singing voice and suggested that he follow him to concerts in Germany with Marinella. Mimis accepted and went to Germany, singing to the Greek immigrants of the country. After two months and despite vocal competence of Papaioannou, Kazantzidis, realizing the "crime" of the departure of Mimis from football, persuaded him to return to AEK and mediated himself with the administration in order for Papaioannou to sign a very satisfactory contract of 500,000 drachmas per season at the start of the December 1965. His singing career was limited to the recording of seven songs by Stelios Kazantzidis and Christos Nikolopoulos between 1971 and 1972. Among them was the recording on 19 June 1971 of the famous "Hymn of AEK" to music by Stelios Kazantzidis and lyrics by Christos Kolokotronis.

Return to AEK Athens

1965–1966

Papaioannou returned to his two great loves, AEK and football and became the undisputed leader of the team, after the departure of Nestoridis. In his first match after his return, on 19 December 1965, he scored in the 3–2 of the yellow-blacks against Panathinakos at Leoforos Alexandras Stadium. Papaioannou scored five hat-tricks in this season: one in a 6–0 victory against Niki Volos on 6 March 1966, the other against PAOK in a 5–1 win, against Panionios with the same score against Egaleo with the score reaching 4–1 and against Edessaikos for the Cup. He also scored in the derby against Panathinaikos on 3 April 1966, but his goal didn't count as the game was suspended and eventually awarded to the greens. At the end of the season, he again emerged as the league's top scorer with 23 goals.

1966–1967

The next season Papaioannou led the double-headed eagle in the final of the Balkans Cup scoring in total 2 goals against Lokomotiv Sofia, 2 goals against Farul Constanța and 1 goal against Vardar. In the two-legged final in October 1967 against Fenerbahçe, his goal on the first leg in the 2–1 victory, was not enough in claiming the title, as the turkish tied the score in the second leg and sent the tie to a decider match in 1968 which they also won by 3–1, where Papaioannou was the scorer for his team. Papaioannou also scored once in the away defeat against Braga, for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, on 5 October 1966. In 29 January 1967 he scored the decider against Olympiacos in the last minutes, while in the match of the second round he opend the score in the final 1–1 away from home.

1967–1968

On 22 October 1967 he equalized the goal by Domazos and shaped the final 1–1 against Panathinaikos. On 12 November he scored a hat-trick against Panserraikos in a 4–0 win at home. Papaioannou scored a brace at the away 4–1 victory against Olympiacos. He scored his second hat-trick of the season, on 21 January 1968, against Vyzas Megara in a 6–1 home win. He also scored the winner in a 2–1 win facing Panathinaikos. For the 1967–68 Balkans Cup he scored in a 3–3 draw against Olimpija Ljubljana. Papaioannou celebrated his second championship with AEK at the end of the season and qualifying in the European Cup for the first time in their history.

1968–1969

In 18 September 1968, Papaioannou scored in AEK's first win in the European Cup, opening the score in the 3–0 over Jeunesse Esch. His leadership skills and the ability to inspire his teammates where was needed on 27 October 1968 in Faliro against Olympiacos, when the coach of AEK, Branko Stanković decided not to make a substitution, even after dismissal of Serafidis for kicking Sideris, sending Papaioannou to defend as a goalkeeper the "yellow–black" posts for the remaining 5 minutes of the match. Papaioannou, after scoring the third goal for AEK in the 78th minute, giving them a 2–3 lead, kept the post untouched, even making two great saves. In 3 November 1968 he scored the fastest hat-trick ever achieved by an AEK player within 12 minutes, in the 5–2 win against Chalkida. As AEK advanced in the second round of the European Cup, he scored with an impressive header, at their first away win in the institution by 2–0, for the 2nd leg against AB, securing the club's qualification to quarter-finals. After successfully leading the yellow-blacks to the European Cup quarter-finals, he scored equalizing the score in the second leg against Spartak Trnava, but the goal that would send them to the extra time after 2–1 loss at home, never came and AEK were eliminated. That was the greatest season of a Greek club at the time, in a European competition. In 14 May 1968 he scored another hat-trick at a Cup game against Lamia in a 5–0 win.

1969–1971

In 8 February 1970, Papaioannou won his team the match against Olympiacos at home, by scoring the only goal of the match. In the round of 32 of the Cup on 22 March, he opened the score against Panathnaikos, while also having a shot hit the crossbar, in an episodic 1–1 draw that was decided at the penalties with AEK losing by 3–5 and Papaioannou missing his penalty.

On 30 September 1970 he scored 4 goals in AEK's 10–0 triumph against the lower division Agia Eleousa for the Cup. The double-headed eagle made their highest scoring victory in the league in 4 December 1970, beating Veria by 8–2, with Papaioannou scoring a hat-trick. On 7 March 1971 he scored again a hat-trick against EPA Larnaca in a 3–0 win at home and three weeks later he scored another one in the 4–0 victory over OFI. Papaioannou led his club to the conquest of another championship, where he lost the top scorer award for a single goal by Georgios Dedes, scoring 27 goals in the league.

1971–1974

The following season, he scored in both league games against Olympiacos equalizing in the matches that ended with the same score of 1-1. Papaioannou scored in the epic 3–2 win against Internazionale on 29 September 1971, for 2nd leg of the first round the European Cup.

From the previous season AEK was beginning to struggle financially and the administrative disputes appeared within the club, resulted in a series of issues. Those issues marked the start of a declining period for AEK. In 1974 the club finished 5th and did not qualify for any European competition, while Stanković was sacked at the middle of the season. Papaioannou continued to lead the club during those hard time, as they had a decent presence in the UEFA Cup, where they reached the second round and were eliminated by the great Liverpool of Bill Shankly.

ΑΕΚ continued their bad campaign, as they finished for the second consecutive year in 5th place for the, while in the Cup they were eliminated at the round of 16. It was characteristic that the situation at he club was affecting the performances of Papaioannou as, he recorded his lowest until then performance, with 7 goals in all competitions.

1974–1976

As the ownership of the club passed to Loukas Barlos, the team entered in a glourious period, with Papaiannou leading the club to titles and distinctions. In the competitive regenaration of the club under František Fadrhonc and with the transfers of Walter Wagner, Christos Ardizoglou, Tasos Konstantinou and Giorgos Dedes in their offense, Papaioannou raised his performances. He scored a 4–3 victory against Panathinakos on 20 April 1975. AEK finished at the second place in the league, just 2 points behind Olympiacos.

In the next season, AEK faced Vojvodina in the first round of the UEFA Cup, where Papaioannou scored in 3–1 win the second leg on 1 October 1975. On 2 November 1975, he scored a hat-trick in the Cup game, where AEK prevailed over Agios Dimitrios with 7–0. One week later, with his 2 goals Papaioannou, formed the 2–0 win, in the away match against Olympiacos.

1976–1977

In the summer of 1976 after the yellow-blacks were strengthen by the additions of Nikos Christidis, Takis Nikoloudis and the great Thomas Mavros resulted in AEK playing amazing football. Fadrhonc, considering the playing intelligence and high technical qualities in the playing style of Papaioannou, decided to relocate him as a "classic number 10" in order to fit all the great attackers the club had to offer. Papaioannou responded successfully as a playmaker, while maintining his scoring ablities. In the first round of the UEFA Cup, AEK faced Dynamo Moscow, where Papaioannou scored in the 2–0 of the first leg on 15 September 1976. In the episodic second leg on 29 September 1976 that was sent to the extra time, after AEK won a penalty in the last minute and Konstantinou who went to take it, given the order by Papaiannou to finish the job, calmly sent the ball into the net and the goalkeeper the oppostie direction. After beating Derby County in both legs of the second round and became the first club in European tournaments' history to achieve a victory in English ground, they faced Red Star Belgrade, where Papaioannou open the score in the first leg on the 2–0 victory on 24 November 1976. In the quarter-finals he helped his team tie the 3–0 defeat of the first leg against QPR, scoring a goal in the regular time and sending the match to penalties. He scored the winning penalty leading the club to the semi-finals. AEK Athens glourious campaign in the UEFA Cup ended after losing to the legendary Juventus of Giovanni Trapattoni, who eventually won the tournament.

1977–1978

In the next season the aquisition of Dušan Bajević and the formation of an outstanding attacking duo with Thomas Mavros, while Papaioannou orchistrated the attack, the teams offense was unstoppable. was sacked in the beginning of the season after 3 years of presence and his replacement Zlatko Čajkovski also did an excellent job. On 28 September 1977 he scored in the second leg first round of the UEFA Cup against ASA Târgu Mureș, where AEK qualified with a score of 3–0, while at the second round their campaign was cut short by Standard Liège. At the end of the season, with Papaioannou as their captain, they won easilly the domestic double by winning the league by just 2 defeats as well as the Cup going undefeated while beating Panathinaikos in the second round, tearing apart Olympiacos by 6–1 in the semi-finals and prevailing against PAOK by 2–0.

1978–1979

After a completely successful season Barlos after the approval of Papaioannou added to the star roster of the club the other "Mimis", by sigining Panathinaikos' legendary captain, Domazos alongside Ferenc Puskás, now as a coach, who both led the "greens" to the European Cup final in 1971. During the season AEK were unstoppable with only three defeats in the league and played one of the most spectacular football that the team have ever played, as they tore their opponents appart with large margin wins, achieving the league's best offense with a total of 90 goals. The advanced age of Papaioannou and the other players' performances, did not allow him this time to be the lead player of the club. He passed that role to Mavros, who that season was declared the top scorer of the league with 31 goals and 40 in total, winning the European Silver Shoe, just 3 goals behind Kees Kist. Papaioannou won his last championship with AEK after they finished in the first place tied with Olympiacos and the latter did not came to play the play-off match, that was set for the title. However, AEK lost the chance to win a second domestic double in a row as they lost the Cup Final AEK against Panionios who overturned the 1–0 lead of the yellow-blacks and won by 3–1 and the first Cup their history. That year marked the last season of Papaioannou at the club. On 6 June 1979, AEK organized a friendly match in his honour against PAOK. Players from all over the elite of the Greek League, such as Vasilis Hatzipanagis, Antonis Antoniadis and Georgios Firos, as well as foreign players, such as Walter Schachner and Kurt Jara, wore the yellow-black shirt to honour Papaioannou, in a 3–2 loss by the team of Thessaloniki.

Papaioannou was the emblematic leader who proved to be the most effective of all as he managed to lead the club to 5 Championships, 3 Cups, including 1 double. He has been for AEK and Greek football a symbol of morale and loyalty to the team, as staying with the same team throughout his career and never seeing a red card in his entire career while only marked with a yellow card three times demonstrate an admirable prudence and integrity of character. In his 17-year spell, he became the club's all-time top scorer and by the time he left AEK he was also the league's all-time top scorer, a record broken 11 years later by Mavros. Papaioannou today is the 3rd place of the all-time top scorers of the Greek Championship. He holds the record of most goals scored in the derbies against Panathinaikos with 10 goals, while he is second, behind Mavros at the same record in the derbies against Olympiacos with 14 goals. He was the player with the most appearances in all official competitions with the double-headed eagle, until he was surpassed by Stelios Manolas, however Papaioannou holds record of the games played in league with 480 appearances. Untill today, he is sixth in appearances for the Greek Championship.

Retirement

After leaving AEK in the summer of 1979, the 37-year-old Papaioannou went in the United States to play for the New York Pancyprian-Freedoms. After a successful 3-year spell, Papaioannou ended his great career as a football player, at the age of 40.

In January 1999, the combination of all his virtues and talents, was recognized by the IFFHS, where he was named the Top Greek Footballer of the 20th Century.

International career

Papaioannou was capped 61 times by the Greece national team scoring 21 goals being Greece's ever top scorer, at the time, until Anastopoulos surpassed him in 1986 and now he is among the top 5 goalscorers. His debut was on 27 November 1963 in a friendly away 3-1 loss against Cyprus, under Tzanetis. Although it was the first international match of Papaioannou was the captain of Greece.

Managerial career

Papaioannou, after leaving AEK in 1979, went in the USA as a player-coach for New York Pancyprian-Freedoms, where he won a double in the League and Cup. He remained there until 1986 initially as a player, then as a player-coach and eventually only as a coach. Although he was approaching the age of 40, in 1981 he attracted the interest of the top professional league in the US, NASL, but he had already decided to retire.

After his return to Greece, some coaching attempts at clubs such as Kerkyra and others were not crowned with success. The 1991–92 season found Papaioannou in Kefalonia, where he was active professionally and at the local time coached the team of Evgeros, which was promoted from the local championships to the fourth division. He also coached divisions of the national team of Greece and was at the side of Alketas Panagoulias in the Men's team, as an assistant, at the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the USA.

After football

In December 2011, the autobiography of Papaiannou, entitled "Date in the Air" was published by NIKAS publications and edited by Dimitras Apostolias. He visits schools and gives speeches about football, while he present in tournaments held for school students. Papaiannou also competes with the veterans of AEK and plays football on a five-a-side football field to keep in shape. His wax figure is in the new Agia Sophia Stadium museum with other wax effigies of people who have connected their name with AEK from various positions. His name also is honoured on one of the four pillars of the Stadum, alongside other important figures of the club's history such as Kostas Nestoridis, Stelios Serafeidis and Thomas Mavros.

Career statistics

Season	Club	League[a]		Cup		Europe		Balkans Cup		National Team		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
1962–63	AEK Athens	30	16	2	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	32	17
1963–64		28	29	4	5	1	0	0	0	4	3	37	37
1964–65		30	13	3	1	1	1	0	0	5	5	39	20
1965–66		25	23[b]	3	5	0	0	0	0	1	1	29	29
1966–67		22	10	3	3	2	1	9	8	3	0	39	22
1967–68		27	19	3	1	0	0	4	1	3	1	37	22
1968–69		33	20	2	4	6	3	0	0	8	3	49	30
1969–70		32	18	1	1	0	0	0	0	2	0	35	19
1970–71		34	27	8	10	2	0	0	0	9	2	53	39
1971–72		28	12	3	4	2	1	0	0	5	1	38	18
1972–73		21	7	3	3	4	0	0	0	5	0	33	10
1973–74		24	7	2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	23	7
1974–75		33	10	3	1	0	0	0	0	5	3	41	14
1975–76		30	11	4	3	4	1	0	0	3	0	41	15
1976–77		30	3	2	2	10	3	0	0	5	2	47	10
1977–78		31	7	5	1	3	1	0	0	3	0	42	9
1978–79		22	2	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	25	2
Career total		480	234	54	45	35	11	13	9	61	21	643	320

Last updated: 2022-07-19
Source: Mimis Papaioannou

a. ^{^} Also includes the games for the play-off matches.

b. ^{^} His goal against Panathinaikos on 3 April 1966 did not count as the game was suspended.

Honours

As a player

AEK Athens

• Alpha Ethniki: 1962–63, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1978–79
• Greek Cup: 1963–64, 1965–66, 1977–78

New York Pancyprian-Freedoms

• Cosmopolitan Soccer League: 1980
• National Challenge Cup: 1980

Greece

• World Military Cup: 1962, 1963

Individual

• Alpha Ethniki Top scorer: 1963–64, 1965–66
• Greek football player of the 20th Century

As a coach

New York Pancyprian-Freedoms

• Cosmopolitan Soccer League: 1982
• National Challenge Cup: 1982, 1983

Style of play

"I can include him into Europe's best players. He truly was such a quality player and that's not a compliment, that's the truth."

Branko Stanković on Papaioannou.

The playing style of Papaioannou was characterized by technique, dribbles, strength and versatility in his executions and scoring spectacular goals, that made him a difficult opponent to play against. His strong foot was his left but he scored with both legs. He had a unique jumping ability, staying in the air longer than his opponents and beat them in aerial duels. Despite his small stature of 1.68 meters, he scored over 50 headers in official matches. His headers were described as shots with the head. Οn 12 May 1965, at the 46th minute, during the 3–3 draw in the friendly match against Real Madrid, the central defender José Santamaría was stunned, not believing that the Greek player had just jumped "to the stars" and sent the ball into the net, making the score 3–1. Papaioannou was exceptionally good at free-kicks and he had also scored twice from direct corner kicks. His leadership skills and ability to inspire his teammates resulted in making this team give everything they got on the pitch. His playing intelligence and technical skills led him to be converted from a striker to an attacking midfielder, considering his physical contidion and in order to fit all the great players in the team's offense. He adapted quickly in his new role, while the change of his position kept him in high level. He had good though passes and crosses creating a lot of chances for his teammates.

Singing career

The 7 songs with the voice of Mimis Papaioannou were recorded on Polyphone during the period 1971–1972 with the collaboration of Christos Nikolopoulos and Stelios Kazantzidis:

1. Mes ti fotia mou (Μες τη φωτιά μου) - St. Kazantzidis, G. Vassilopoulos (1971)
2. Α.Ε.Κ.-Hymn of AEK (Α.Ε.Κ.-Ύμνος της ΑΕΚ) - St. Kazantzidis, Chr. Kolokotronis (recorded 19 June 1971)
3. San pouli kinigimeno (Σαν πουλί κυνηγημένο) - St. Kazantzidis, G. Vassilopoulos (1971)
4. Eho elattomata (Έχω ελαττώματα) - Chr. Nikolopoulos, Pythagoras (1971)
5. San theatrinos (Σαν θεατρίνος) - St. Kazantzidis, Evag. Atraidis (1972)
6. Ftanoun i pikres (Φτάνουν οι πίκρες) - St. Kazantzidis, Evag. Atraidis (1972)
7. Martyres i pikres mou (Μάρτυρες οι πίκρες μου) - Chr. Nikolopoulos, G. Vassilopoulos (1972)

External links

• Profile at phantis.com