Antonios Nikopolidis

Antonis Nikopolidis (Αντώνης Νικοπολίδης; born 14 January 1971) is a Greek professional football manager and former player.

He was also listed as one of the best goalkeepers of the years 1987 to 2011.

Nikopolidis made his first steps at his local team of Anagennisi Arta, from which he was transferred to Panathinaikos in the summer of 1989.

He made his debut during the 1990–91 season in a match against his future club, Olympiacos.

In his first years as a Panathinaikos player he was a back-up for Józef Wandzik.

In 1995, he played five games as Panathinaikos won the championship and three as they retained it the following year.

However, it wasn't until the 1997–98 season that he established himself as a regular goalkeeper at the age of 26.

Nikopolidis made his debut for the Greece national football team on 18 August 1999 against El Salvador.

In the 2002 Champions league, he helped the club reach the quarter-finals but, in the 2003–04 season, he lost his place to Konstantinos Chalkias when his contract negotiations broke down.

Panathinaikos offered him €400K per year which, although a pay-rise, he thought was not in line with his contributions to the team over the past 15 years nor with his current market value.

He played in the qualifying rounds of the 2002 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2004 where he excelled as Greece qualified for the finals.

Nikopolidis was one of the cornerstones of the Greek win in Portugal, where he kept three clean sheets in the knockout stages.

As he did not immediately accept the offer the management became suspicious and decided to relegate him to the bench for the rest of the 2003–04 season.

The Greek sports media and Panathinaikos fans at first took his side in the conflict and criticised president Vardinogiannis.

After that, the fans' disappointment in him was displayed during the celebrations following the team's 2003–04 season double when Nikopolidis, while raising the trophy, was booed by the majority of the crowd.

He is regarded among the best Greek goalkeepers of all time having been awarded the most caps in the Greece national team and playing an integral part in the UEFA Euro 2004 triumph.

Just before UEFA Euro 2004, rumours were circulating that Nikopolidis had been approached by arch-rivals Olympiacos.

It was discovered later that he had signed an agreement just before the tournament begun earning him €600K per year for three years.

Soon after being instrumental in UEFA Euro 2004 helping Greece to lift the trophy, Nikopolidis joined Olympiacos, making an immediate impact for his once rival team.

Keeping a clean sheet in the first derby against his former club in the process, he went on to win two Doubles in a row, making him the only Greek player to win three consecutive doubles with two different clubs.

At his new team, Nikopolidis also earned a reputation for making game-winning saves in the most important games.

Displaying his penalty-saving abilities, Nikopolidis saved three penalty kicks against Roma, Real Madrid, and Rosenborg BK, making him undefeated from the penalty spot in UEFA Champions League football in the Olympiacos shirt.

He was also voted goalkeeper of the Euro 2004 All Star team.

In the 2007–08 season, he also equaled the Greek league record for the most penalty kicks saved in one season, which included saves against PAOK and former club Panathinaikos.

On 15 June 2008, Nikopolidis announced his retirement from international football after Euro 2008, claiming that he had made this decision before the tournament started, and also stating that it is about time for a major change in the Greece national team.

Nikopolidis announced his plans to retire at the end of the 2009–10 season.

However, he took back his decision to stop his career after Sokratis Kokkalis's insistence.

The veteran goalkeeper stated that he would delay his retirement for one more year, to retire as champion.

He signed an extension on 16 June that would keep him at Olympiacos for the 2010–11 season.

He also took part in the international match "8th Match Against Poverty", on 14 December 2010, in Karaiskakis Stadium in Greece, as the UNDP team's goalkeeper.

In January 2011, IFFHS released a list with the best goalkeepers of the first decade, and Nikopolidis was in.

On 20 March 2011, Olympiacos won the championship in a 6–0 win against rivals AEK Athens F.C., in Karaiskakis Stadium.

He made his final appearance on 17 April 2011 in a home 6–0 victory against Larissa F.C. in Karaiskakis Stadium.

As a final curtain call, he was replaced by Balázs Megyeri in the last minutes, so he could wave goodbye to the Olympiacos fans.

As the Olympiacos captain, he was the player to accept the championship trophy, after the match.

After retirement, Nikopolidis became the assistant manager of Olympiacos in 2012.

After the end of 2012–13 season, Nikopolidis left Olympiacos in order to start his career as a head coach.

He was promoted to manager in January 2013 on an interim basis following the dismissal of Leonardo Jardim.

After the arrival of Míchel, he remained in the team as his assistant.

On 1 October 2015, he was named as manager of the Greece national under-21 football team.