Demis Nikolaidis

Demis Nikolaidis
Personnel
Surname	Themistoklis Nikolaidis
birthday	17th September 1973
place of birth	Giessen ,  Germany
size	168 cm
position	striker
Men's
Years	station	Games (goals) 1
1992-1993	Ethnikos Alexandroupolis	39 (14)
1994-1996	Apollon Smyrni	80 (38)
1996-2003	AEK Athens	189 (125)
2003-2004	Atlético Madrid	22 (6)
National team
Years	selection	Games (goals)
1995-2004	Greece	54 (17)
1 Only league games are given.

Themistoklis "Demis" Nikolaidis ( Greek Θεμιστοκλής "Ντέμης" Νικολαΐδης , born September 17, 1973 in Giessen ) is a former Greek football player . He was president of AEK Athens .

Club career

Nikolaidis, considered one of the greatest Greek footballers, began his career in 1992 with Ethnikos Alexandroupolis . In 1993 he moved to Apollon Smyrnis . In 1996 he signed with AEK Athens , where he experienced his most successful period. With AEK Athens he won the Greek Cup four times (1996, 1997, 2000, 2002) and the Greek Supercup once. In 2001 Nikolaidis was the top scorer in the UEFA Cup , two years earlier he was the top scorer of Alpha Ethniki . In total, he played 189 games for AEK Athens, scoring 125 times. In 2003 he moved to Atlético Madrid , with whom he won the Trofeo Ramón de Carranza . In 2004, at the age of just 31, he retired from professional football and became president of his longtime club, AEK Athens.

National team

Nikolaidis played a total of 54 games for the Greek national football team between 1995 and 2004 . He got 17 hits. In 1999 he resigned from the national team together with Elias Atmatsidis and Michalis Kasapis in protest of injustices within the association. This was a great loss for the Greeks. After Greece delivered some disastrous results, Nikolaidis decided to play for Greece again in 2002. The team later qualified for the 2004 European Football Championship and won it sensationally.

Trivia

• Nikolaidis is married to the very successful Greek singer Despina Vandi . Together they have a daughter, Melina and a son named Giorgos.

successes

• Greek Cup Winner (3): 1997, 2000, 2002
• European Champion : 2004 (4 appearances / no goal)
• Greek top scorer : 1998/1999 (22 goals)