Nikos Liberopoulos

Nikos Liberopoulos
	Liberopoulos in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Nikolaos Liberopoulos
Date of birth	4 August 1975 (age 49)
Place of birth	Filiatra, Greece
Height	1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Striker / Attacking midfielder
Team information
Current team	AEK Athens (Technical Director)
Senior career*
Years	Team
1991–1993	Erani Filiatrion
1993–1996	Kalamata
1996–2003	Panathinaikos
2003–2008	AEK Athens
2008–2010	Eintracht Frankfurt
2010–2012	AEK Athens
Total
International career
1996–2012	Greece
Medal record
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

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]

Club career

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

Panathinaikos F.C.

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
Club	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
Season	Club	League	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Greece			League		Greek Cup		Europe		Total
1991–94	Erani Filiatron	Delta Ethniki	53	33	-	-	-	-	53	33
1991–94	Kalamata	Beta Ethniki	21	5	2	0	0	0	23	5
1994–95		Beta Ethniki	27	4	4	2	0	0	31	6
1995–96		Alpha Ethniki	30	11	4	2	0	0	34	13
1996–97	Panathinaikos		32	7	6	2	0	0	38	9
1997–98			27	2	4	1	0	0	31	3
1998–99			31	13	5	2	0	0	36	15
1999–00			26	23	4	3	0	0	30	26
2000–01			26	11	6	3	7	0	39	14
2001–02			17	0	3	1	8	1	28	2
2002–03			27	16	4	2	1	0	32	18
2003–04	AEK Athens		27	13	7	3	6	1	40	17
2004–05			28	9	9	3	6	1	43	13
2005–06			27	14	5	2	2	0	34	16
2006–07		Super League	29	18	1	0	9	2	39	20
2007–08		Super League	30	13	1	0	8	0	39	13
Germany			League		DFB-Pokal		Europe		Total
2008–09	Eintracht Frankfurt	Bundesliga	29	9	2	1	0	0	31	10
2009–10	Eintracht Frankfurt	Bundesliga	21	1	3	2	0	0	24	3
Greece			League		Greek Cup		Europe		Total
2010–11	AEK Athens	Super League	23	7	6	3	5	2	34	12
2011–12	AEK Athens	Super League	30	10	1	0	4	0	35	10
Total	Greece		511	209	72	29	88	17	671	255
Total	Germany		50	10	5	3	0	0	55	13
Career total			561	219	77	32	88	17	726	268