Nikos Liberopoulos

Nikolaos "Nikos" Liberopoulos (Greek: Νίκος Λυμπερόπουλος; born on 4 August 1975) is a retired Greek international footballer who played as a striker. He is famous for his aim-to-goal shot, his innate in-play instincts, and his technical attacking skills. Liberopoulos is a unique player in Greek domestic football, as he is equally adored by fans of both AEK Athens and Panathinaikos. He is the only player to be recorded in the top ten scorers of all time for both these teams. Indeed, after seven seasons at Panathinaikos Liberopoulos scored 103 goals. On 10 May 2012, he reached a milestone 100 goals for AEK Athens after a brace against Atromitos, making him the only player in history to score a hundred goals for both Athens clubs (NOTE: this contradicts the tabulated data below, which gives 101 goals for AEK Athens and 87 goals for Panathinaikos. The latter is also in disagreement with data on the Elite Football website: 92 goals at AEK Athens and 76 goals at Panathinaikos[1]). On 08 September 2017, he became the Technical Director of AEK.[2]

Nikos Liberopoulos
Liberopoulos in 2012
Personal information
Full name Nikolaos Liberopoulos
Date of birth (1975-08-04) 4 August 1975
Place of birth Filiatra, Greece
Height 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Playing position(s) Striker / Attacking midfielder
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1993 Erani Filiatra 53 (33)
1993–1996 Kalamata 78 (20)
1996–2003 Panathinaikos 185 (72)
2003–2008 AEK Athens 142 (66)
2008–2010 Eintracht Frankfurt 50 (10)
2010–2012 AEK Athens 53 (18)
Total 561 (219)
National team
1996–2012 Greece 76 (13)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Club career

He is one of the most popular footballers to come out of Peloponnesus. Liberopoulos started off his career with Erani Filiatra, he then moved to Kalamata in 1994. After an impressive debut season in Greece's top division, AEK Athens and Olympiacos tried to sign him during the summer of 1996 yet Panathinaikos managed to snap him up.

Panathinaikos

In summer 1996, he signed for Panathinaikos. With them he reached the semi-final stage of the UEFA Champions League. Italian clubs, mainly Juventus and Hellas Verona showed interest in hiring him, but his loyalty to Panathinaikos kept him in Athens. In 2003, Liberopoulos clashed with Panathinaikos' board which eventually led to him leaving the club.

AEK Athens

Following his departure from Panathinaikos he was ready to join Sochaux but he finally chose his childhood club AEK Athens where he became a formidable offensive player and inspirational leader. He went to score several times against his former team but never celebrated earning the fans' applause and a standing ovation for his action. He helped AEK Athens scoring 79 times in his 195 appearances and earning a top scorer award during the 2006–07 season. His most important goals originated from two long range shots, the one against Lille OSC (AEK Athens won 1–0) and the other against Olympiakos F.C. (AEK Athens won 4–0). During June 2007, Liberopoulos was offered a lucrative contract with 1. FC Nürnberg worth 4 million euros, which he declined to remain with AEK Athens. Club president Demis Nikolaidis had publicly announced his intent to retain Lymperopoulos at all costs in an effort to bolster AEK Athens' chances at achieving dominance in the Greek Super League. On 7 July 2008, Liberopoulos was released by AEK.[3] German team Eintracht Frankfurt announced his signing on 13 July 2008.

Eintracht Frankfurt

Liberopoulos signed a two-year deal and received the number 10 shirt. He made his German Bundesliga debut for Eintracht Frankfurt, playing the full 90 minutes against Hertha BSC on 17 August 2008 at the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt. Liberopoulos scored his first goal against Mainz 05. He won 55 caps scoring 13 goals in all competitions.

AEK Athens

Liberopoulos again signed for AEK Athens in the summer of 2010 and put in an impressive display in AEK's 5–3 win against Australian A-League club Sydney FC on 25 July 2010, scoring one goal and setting up two others. Liberopoulos also scored against Blackburn three days later. He made his Superleague Greece debut against Kerkyra and scored his first official goal in a UEFA Europa League match against Hajduk Split. On 19 January 2010, in a Greek Cup match against Panathinaikos he scored two goals leading his team to victory. Liberopoulos was applauded during his substitution later in that game by some of Panathinaikos' fans despite their team's defeat. After the match Liberopoulos said "I have spent seven nice years in Panathinaikos in which I matured as a player. I keep only the positive things, but now for me AEK is my family and I will do everything for the team." and about the Panathinaikos' fans ovation "It means a lot to me. It's a great feeling to be applauded during your substitution. There were some hoots also but even if the whole stadium was hooting at me that would not have changed what I have said earlier about my feelings for Panathinaikos".[4] On 30 May 11, Liberopulos won his first trophy in his career with AEK winning the Greek Cup 2010–11 against Atromitos 0–3 while also scoring the first goal and was awarded MVP of the match.

On 16 June 2011, Liberopoulos signed a new one-year deal keeping him at the club until 2012.[5] Also, his teammate Traianos Dellas decided to stay for one year in AEK in order to stop his professional career with his best friend, Nikos Liberopoulos.

On 20 May 2012, he had his last match with AEK against Panathinaikos. A lot of Panathinaikos and AEK fans respected him with a standing ovation when he was exiting the stadium.

International career

Liberopoulos appeared 76 times in total for Greece scoring 13 goals in the process. His most notable performance in the Euro 2008 qualifiers to date was a last-second goal five minutes into stoppage time to grant Greece a 2–1 victory over Moldova on 6 June 2007, which placed Greece at the top of their qualifying division. Liberopoulos has been known on the international scene as a "super sub", coming off the bench many times in the final quarter of games and scoring the decisive goal.

He was a member of the 23-man squad formed by coach Otto Rehhagel for UEFA Euro 2008.

On 11 September 2009, Liberopoulos announced his retirement from international football,[6] But he returned to the national squad about a year later when he was recalled by the new coach Fernando Santos.

He was also called for UEFA Euro 2012 by the coach Fernando Santos. Liberopoulos announced his retirement from international football after Greece lost to German 4–2 in the Euro 2012 quarter finals on 22 June 2012.[7]

Records
  • He had a total 88 appearances in European competitions which was a record for a Greek striker, till the end of his career.
Club UCL UEL Total
Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Panathinaikos 33 6 15 5 48 11
AEK Athens 16 3 24 3 40 06
Total 49 9 39 8 88 17

Last updated: May 2012
Source: uefa.com

Statistics

Club
Club performance League Cup Continental Total
SeasonClubLeague AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals AppsGoals
Greece League Greek Cup Europe Total
1991–94 Erani Filiatra Delta Ethniki 5333----5333
Kalamata Beta Ethniki 2152000235
1994–95 2744200316
1995–96 Alpha Ethniki 301142003413
1996–97 Panathinaikos 3276200389
1997–98 2724100313
1998–99 311352003615
1999–00 262343003026
2000–01 261163703914
2001–02 1703181282
2002–03 271642103218
2003–04 AEK Athens 271373614017
2004–05 28993614313
2005–06 271452203416
2006–07 Super League 291810923920
2007–08 301310803913
Germany League DFB-Pokal Europe Total
2008–09 Eintracht Frankfurt Bundesliga 29921003110
2009–10 2113200243
Greece League Greek Cup Europe Total
2010–11 AEK Athens Super League 23763523412
2011–12 301010403510
Total Greece 51120972298817671255
Germany 501053005513
Career total 56121977328817726268

International
Greece national team
YearAppsGoals
1996 03 00
1998 03 01
1999 14 04
2000 09 02
2001 07 01
2002 02 00
2003 01 00
2005 04 01
2006 05 01
2007 07 02
2008 10 01
2009 02 00
2011 07 00
2012 02 00
Total 76 13

Last updated: 22 June 2012
Source: Nikos Liberopoulos at National-Football-Teams.com

Nikos Liberopoulos: International goals
GoalDateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
0114 October 1998Athens Olympic Sports Complex, Athens, Greece Georgia2–03–02000 UEQ
0218 August 1999Kavala Stadium, Kavala, Greece El Salvador1–03–1Friendly
0318 August 1999Kavala Stadium, Kavala, Greece El Salvador2–13–1Friendly
0420 August 1999Kavala Stadium, Kavala, Greece El Salvador2–03–0Friendly
0518 December 1999Trikala Stadium, Trikala, Greece Estonia2–22–2Friendly
063 June 2000Stadionul Steaua (1974), Bucharest, Romania Romania2–12–1Friendly
077 October 2000Athens Olympic Sports Complex, Athens, Greece Finland1–01–02002 WCQ
0814 November 2001Athens, Greece Cyprus1–11–2Friendly
097 September 2005Almaty Central Stadium, Almaty, Kazakhstan Kazakhstan1–21–22006 WCQ
102 September 2006Zimbru Stadium, Chişinău, Moldova Moldova0–10–12008 UEQ
116 June 2007Pankritio Stadium, Heraklion, Greece Moldova2–12–12008 UEQ
1213 October 2007Athens Olympic Sports Complex, Athens, Greece Bosnia and Herzegovina3–13–22008 UEQ
1324 May 2008Stadium Puskás Ferenc, Budapest, Hungary Hungary3–23–2Friendly

Honours

AEK Athens

  • Greek Cup: 1
2011

Greece

  • UEFA Euro U21: Runner-up 1998

Individual

1996
2000, 2006, 2007
2003(16 goals),2007(18 goals)
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References
  1. http://www.elitefootball.com/player/nikos-liberopoulos/22599
  2. https://www.aekfc.gr/newsdetails/neos-technikos-defthyntis-o-nikos-lymperopoulos-50990.htm?lang=en&path=463335758
  3. "AEK FC release Liberopoulos". aekfc.gr. Archived from the original on 8 July 2008.
  4. Athanasiou, Nikos (19 January 2010). "Λύμπε": "Πιο συγκεντρωμένοι στη ρεβάνς" (in Greek). gazzetta.gr. Archived from the original on 23 January 2011. Retrieved 20 January 2011.
  5. Ανακοίνωση [Liberopoulos renews contract] (in Greek). aekfc.gr. 16 June 2011. Archived from the original on 16 June 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  6. "Λυμπερόπουλος: "Αποχωρώ από την Εθνική ομάδα"" [Liberopoulos retires from Greek national team] (in German). sport-fm.gr. 11 September 2009. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  7. "Greece Duo Announce Retirements". Fox Soccer. Retrieved 23 June 2012.
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