Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Kleanthis Vikelidis | ||
Date of birth | 15 September 1915 | ||
Place of birth | Thessaloniki, Greece | ||
Date of death | 4 November 1988 | (aged 73)||
Place of death | Thessaloniki, Greece | ||
Position(s) | Forward | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
1933–1949 | Aris | 131 | (72) |
International career | |||
1936–1948 | Greece | 7 | (5) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals |
Kleanthis Vikelidis (Greek: Κλεάνθης Βικελίδης; 15 September 1915 – 4 November 1988) was a Greek footballer who played for Aris and Greece. He was also a manager, taking charge of Aris, PAOK and Apollon Kalamarias.
Vikelidis was born in 1916 in Thessaloniki and was the youngest of the three Vikelidis brothers that played for Aris, the others being Kostas and Nikiforos. He was instrumental in Aris winning the Panhellenic Championship in 1932 and 1946, given the nickname "Macedonian tank" (Greek: "Μακεδονικό τανκ").[1] During his career, Vikelidis was capped 7 times by the Greece National Football Team, scoring 4 goals.[2] Vikelidis coached Aris twice in 1954 and 1959 and later continued his managing career with PAOK during the 1957 season and Apollon Kalamarias during the 1961 season. In his honour, Aris FC named their stadium at Charilaou, Kleanthis Vikelidis Stadium.