Kleanthis Maropoulos
| File:Kleanthis-maropoulos.jpg | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Kleanthis Maropoulos | ||
| Date of birth | 1919 | ||
| Place of birth | Istanbul, Turkey | ||
| Date of death | 1991 | ||
| Place of death | Athens, Greece | ||
| Position(s) | Striker | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1931–1933 | Prasina Poulia | ||
| 1933–1934 | Ethikos Kalogreza | ||
| 1934 | AEK Athens | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1934–1952 | AEK Athens | 144 | (89) |
| Total | 144 | (89) | |
| International career‡ | |||
| 1938–1950 | Greece | 10 | (9) |
|
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 12 June 2007 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 18 June 2006 | |||
Kleanthis Maropoulos (Greek: Κλεάνθης Μαρόπουλος; 1919–1991) was a Greek former footballer. A star footballer for AEK Athens FC and Greece during the 1930s and 1940s. Arguably the finest Greek football player of his period, he was affectionately known as the "Blonde Eagle of AEK".
Career
Born in 1919 to Greek parents in Tuzla, near Istanbul, Maropoulos came to Greece with his family at age 3 during the population exchanges after the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922). Having settled in Kalamata, at age 12 he joined the local football club Prasina Poulia, the Green Birds. When his parents moved to Kalogreza in the Athens area, he signed for Ethnikos Kalogreza. In 1934, he was spotted by AEK who placed him in their youth team. In 1936, he was promoted to the first team. Led by Maropoulos, alongside players like Tryfon Tzanetis and Kostas Negrepontis, AEK won their first two Greek Championships in 1939 and 1940 - the first domestic double by a Greek club. Unfortunately, the glory years of AEK and Maropoulos were interrupted by World War II, but he did continue his career after the war, playing until the late 1940s. He is credited with scoring 253 goals, 97 of which he attained prior to the war.
Honours
AEK Athens
- Greek Cup: 3
- 1940, 1946, 1947, 1950
Individual
- Panhellenic Championship top scorer (South Group): 2
See also
References