Antonios Nikopolidis (given name also rendered as Andonis; Greek: Αντώνιος Νικοπολίδης, born 14 October 1971 in Arta) is a Greek football player, a goalkeeper for Olympiacos and the Greek national football team. He's mostly known for being the goalkeeper of the Euro 2004 winners. October 14 is the 287th day of the year (288th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1971 (MCMLXXI) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1971 calendar). ... Arta (Greek: Άρτα) is a city in north-western Greece, capital of the Arta Prefecture. ... Football (soccer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... A football goalkeeper leaves the ground to parry a shot on goal In many team sports, a goalkeeper (termed goaltender, or goalie in some sports) is a designated player that is charged with directly preventing the opposite team from scoring by defending the goal. ... Olympiacos CFP is the largest and the most popular Greek multisport club, based in Piraeus, Athens. ... First international Greece 1 - 4 Italy (Athens, Greece; 7 April 1929) Largest win Greece 8 - 0 Syria (Athens, Greece; 25 November 1949) Worst defeat Greece 1 - 11 Hungary (Budapest, Hungary; 25 March 1938) World Cup Appearances 1 (First in 1994) Best result Round 1, 1994 European Championship Appearances 2 (First... Euro 2004 Logo The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly called EURO 2004, was held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. ...

The first years and the move to Panathinaikos

His first team was Anagennisi Artas, that he left in 1989 in order to join Panathinaikos FC where he waited patiently to take his place in the team, most of the time behind Polish goalkeeper Józef Wandzik.It took six years for Nikopolidis to reach the first team at Panathanaikos after his move from third division Anagennisi Arta as an 18-year old in 1989. See also: Panathinaikos PAE Panathinaikos AO (Greek: Παναθηναϊκός Αθλητικός Όμιλος - Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos), the Pan-Athenian Athletic Club (also known as PAO), is the football team of Panathinaikos, the Athens-based Greek sport club. ... Józef Wandzik is a Polish association football player, in the goalkeeper position. ...

He made his debut during 1990/1991 season in a match agaist his current club ,Olympiacos, as Josef Wandzik's replacement. He played well until he had to leave the pitch due to an head injury inflicted by a brick! In 1995 played five games as the Greens won the championship in 1994/95 and three as they retained it the following year and gradually became a regular. Since then has gained a reputation as one of the best goalkeepers in the Greek league. It is a common joke among fans that the premature fading of his hair colour (much like that of Fabrizio Ravanelli) happened due to the long wait for Wandzik's retirement. Olympiacos CFP is the largest and the most popular Greek multisport club, based in Piraeus, Athens. ... 1. ... 1. ... The Alpha Ethniki (Greek: ; First National Division) is the highest professional football league in Greece. ... Fabrizio Ravanelli (born in Perugia, December 11, 1968) is a former Italian soccer player. ...

Taking the No71 jersey, representing the year of his birth, he helped Olympiacos to two consecutive doubles - making him the first player in the Greek league to do that three years running. Along with the Euro 2004 success it meant Nikopolidis had won seven honours in 25 months. Euro 2004 Logo The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly called EURO 2004, was held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. ...

Problems with Panathinaikos

In 2002 helped the club reach the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals but in 2003/04 he lost his place to Konstantinos Chalkias when contract negotiations broke down. The season 2001-02 of the European UEFA Champions League football club tournament was won by Real Madrid. ... The UEFA Champions League (which used to be named and is often called the European Cup) is an annual club football competition organized by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for the most successful football clubs in Europe. ... Standings 1. ... Konstantinos Chalkias is a Greek Association Football (soccer) player, born May 30, 1974 in Larissa, Greece. ...

Although at the final year of his contract (2004) Panathinaikos offered him a big rise, amounting to €500,000 per annum, he did not immediately accept, raising doubt about his future in the team. Panathinaikos management found this behavior suspicious and decided to bench him for almost all the second half of the season 2003-04.

Rumors were circulating among Panathinaikos fans that he had already agreed to move to arch-rivals Olympiacos. Such was the disappointment of the fans that at the festivities for the 2003-04 season double (won by Panathinaikos), when Nikopolidis raised the trophy he was booed by the majority of the crowd. Panathinaikos did the double but Nikopolidis went to Olympiacos on a three-year contract that provoked much comment in Greece Olympiacos CFP is the largest and the most popular Greek multisport club, based in Piraeus, Athens. ... The Double is a term in football, meaning to win a countrys top division and its main cup competition in the same season. ...

The move to Olympiacos

Nikopolidis has indeed changed teams after Euro 2004 and went to Olympiakos CFP for €800,000 per annum, although it is unclear when exactly he had made up his mind. At Olympiacos, he wears the #71 jersey, which represents his year of birth, 1971. Upon signing his new contract he stated that, although he was not a fan of Olympiacos, his former club acted so unprofessionally, that he had no ethical dilemma in becoming a private member of his new club. Euro 2004 Logo The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly called EURO 2004, was held in Portugal between 12 June and 4 July 2004. ... Olympiacos CFP is a Greek football club, part of the Olympiacos sports club founded in 1925, which plays in the port city of Piraeus. ...

Greek national team

He made his debut for the Greece national football team on August 18, 1999 against El Salvador. Two years after making his debut, Nikopolidis had become the undisputed choice in Greece's goal. First international Greece 1 - 4 Italy (Athens, Greece; 7 April 1929) Largest win Greece 8 - 0 Syria (Athens, Greece; 25 November 1949) Worst defeat Greece 1 - 11 Hungary (Budapest, Hungary; 25 March 1938) World Cup Appearances 1 (First in 1994) Best result Round 1, 1994 European Championship Appearances 2 (First... August 18 is the 230th day of the year (231st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1999 (MCMXCIX) was a common year starting on Friday, and was designated the International Year of Older Persons by the United Nations. ...

He played in qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup and excelled as Greece qualified for UEFA EURO 2004™, keeping six clean sheets and not letting in a goal in the three knockout games as he claimed a winners' medal and a place in the All-Star Squad, as he was voted the goalkeeper of the Euro 2004 All Star team. In UEFA Euro 2004 he played in every game and conceded 4 goals. Nikopolidis was one of the cornerstones of the Greek triumph in Portugal. However, Greece missed out on the 2006 World Cup finals. He has become team captain after the retirement of Theodoros Zagorakis. He also featured in a World XI game in 2002, a then rare honour for a Greek player. Listed below are the dates and results for the 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification rounds for the European zone (UEFA). ... (Redirected from 2006 World Cup) The final stages of Football World Cup 2006 are scheduled to take place in Germany between 9 June and 9 July. ... Theodoros Zagorakis (Greek: ) (born October 27, 1971 in Kavala) is the captain of PAOK and the Greece national football team that won the 2004 European Football Championship. ...

Trivia

He is married with Vaso Stasinou, retired basketball player and they have three children. The family lives in Nea Penteli, Athens, Greece. Nickname: City of Athena or Cradle of Democracy Location of the city of Athens (red dot) within the Prefecture of Athens and Periphery of Attica Coordinates: Country Greece Peripheries Attica Prefecture Athens Founded circa 2000 BC Mayor Nikitas Kaklamanis Area    - City 38. ...

His nickname is Clooney, because of his striking resemblance with the American actor. George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an Academy Award-winning American actor, director, producer and screenwriter, known for his role in the first five seasons of the long-running television drama ER (1994–99), and his rise as an A-List movie star in contemporary American cinema. ... Actors in period costume sharing a joke while waiting between takes during location filming An actor is a person who acts, or plays a role, in a dramatic production. ...

	Greece squad - UEFA EURO 2004 Champions
1 Nikopolidis | 2 Giourkas | 3 Venetidis | 4 Dabizas | 5 Dellas | 6 Basinas | 7 Zagorakis | 8 Giannakopoulos | 9 Charisteas | 10 Tsiartas | 11 Nikolaidis | 12 Chalkias | 13 Katergiannakis | 14 Fyssas | 15 Vryzas | 16 Kafes | 17 Georgiadis | 18 Goumas | 19 Kapsis | 20 Karagounis | 21 Katsouranis | 22 Papadopoulos | 23 Lakis | Coach: Rehhagel Image File history File links Flag_of_Greece. ... First international Greece 1 - 4 Italy (Athens, Greece; 7 April 1929) Largest win Greece 8 - 0 Syria (Athens, Greece; 25 November 1949) Worst defeat Greece 1 - 11 Hungary (Budapest, Hungary; 25 March 1938) World Cup Appearances 1 (First in 1994) Best result Round 1, 1994 European Championship Appearances 2 (First... The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly called Euro 2004, was held in Portugal between June 12 and July 4, 2004. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Greece. ... Yourkas Seitaridis (born June 4, 1981 in Athens), also known as Giourkas Seitaridis (Giourkas is his grandfathers name, which he uses in both national team and Dynamo Moscow shirts), is a member of the national football team of his country, Greece. ... Stylianos Venetidis (born November 19, 1976) is a Greek football (soccer) player in defender role who currently played for Olympiakos. ... Nikos Dabizas (3rd August1973-) is a former Newcastle United, Leicester City and Olympiakos footballer, who now plays for AEL 1964 in Greece. ... Traianos Dellas (Τραϊανός Δέλλας) (born January 31, 1976 in Thessaloniki) is a Greek football player. ... Angelos Basinas (born January 3, 1976) is a central midfielder who plays for the Greece national football team, and Panathinaikos FC. He has played for PAO since joining its youth academy as a teenager and has been a key figure in all of Panathinaikos domestic and European success; the influential... Theodoros Zagorakis (Greek: ) (born October 27, 1971 in Kavala) is the captain of PAOK and the Greece national football team that won the 2004 European Football Championship. ... Stylianos Giannakopoulos (popularly known as Stelios) (born July 12, 1974 in Athens, Greece) is a Greek football player who currently plays for Bolton Wanderers F.C. as a midfielder. ... Angelos Charisteas (Greek: ; IPA: ) (born February 9, 1980 in Strimoniko,Serres) is a Greek football striker who currently plays for Feyenoord Rotterdam. ... Tsiartas: Vassilios Tsiartas has been labelled by many as perhaps one of the most naturally talented Greek footballers of his generation. ... Demis (Themistoklis) Nikolaidis (September 17, 1973, Gießen, West Germany) is considered one of the finest footballers Greece has ever produced. ... Konstantinos Chalkias is a Greek Association Football (soccer) player, born May 30, 1974 in Larissa, Greece. ... Theofanis Katergiannakis (Θεοφάνης Κατεργιαννάκης) (born February 16, 1974) is a football (soccer) player in goalkeeper role. ... Panagiotis Takis Fyssas (born 12 June 1973 in Athens) is a Greek left-back, currently playing for Heart of Midlothian and the Greek national football team, for whom he has been capped nearly 50 times. ... Zisis Vryzas (born November 9, 1973 in Kavala) is a strong striker who plays for the Greece national football team. ... Pantelis Kafes (born on June 24, 1978 in Veria, Greece) is a Greek football player who plays for AEK Athens FC. Being a talented defensive midfield player, Pantelis Kafes has won acclaim for his creative abilities and excellent passing skills. ... Giorgios Georgiadis (born in Kavala, March 8, 1972) is a Greek footballer in midfielder role. ... Yiannis Goumas was born in 24 May of 1975 in Larisa. ... Michalis Kapsis(born on October 18, 1973) is a Greek football player who currently plays for Olympiacos Piraeus and Greek national football team at the position of central defender. ... Giorgos Karagounis (Greek: Γιώργος Καραγκούνης; born March 6, 1977, in Pirgos, Greece) is a midfielder for SL Benfica and Greece. ... Konstantinos “Kostas” Katsouranis (Greek: Κώστας Κατσουράνης; born June 26, 1979 in Patras, Greece) is a Greek football player currently playing for SL Benfica, having joined them from AEK Athens FC in June 2006. ... Dimitrios Papadopoulos is a Greek footballer. ... Vassilis Lakis (born September 9, 1976 in Thessalonika) is a Greek footballer. ... Otto Rehhagel (born August 9, 1938 in Essen) is a German football coach and former football player. ...