Mimis Papaioannou

Mimis Papaioannou

Mimis Papaioannou with AEK Athens.
Personal information
Full name	Dimitrios Papaioannou
Date of birth	(1942-08-23)23 August 1942
Place of birth	Nea Nikomideia, Veria, Greece
Date of death	15 March 2023(2023-03-15) (aged 80)
Place of death	Athens, Greece
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s)	Forward, attacking midfielder
Youth career
1957–1959	Nea Genea
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1959–1962	Veria	84	(40)
1962–1979	AEK Athens	481	(236)
1979–1982	New York Pancyprian-Freedoms	17	(5)
Total		582	(281)
International career
1962–1965	Greece military	7	(4)
1963–1978	Greece	61	(21)
Managerial career
1982–1986	New York Pancyprian-Freedoms
1986–1987	Kerkyra
1987–1988	Edessaikos
1988–1989	Olympiacos Chalkida
1989–1990	AE Kos
1990–1991	Pannafpliakos
1991–1992	Evgeros
1992–1994	Greece (assistant)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Greece World Military Cup Winner 1962 Winner 1963
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Dimitrios "Mimis" Papaioannou (Greek: Δημήτριος "Μίμης" Παπαϊωάννου; 23 August 1942 – 15 March 2023) was a Greek professional footballer, who played as a forward, mostly for AEK Athens and a manager. Widely regarded as the greatest Greek footballer of his generation and one of the best players of all time in Greece, as he was named the best Greek footballer of the 20th Century by the IFFHS.^[1]

A skillful striker who was later converted into an attacking midfielder, due to technical abilities, Papaioannou was characterized by his technique, dribbling abilities, physical strength, versatility in his finishing and his jumping skills that allowed him to stay in the air longer than his opponents. Papaioannou played for AEK for 17 seasons and won five league titles and three Greek cups, including a domestic double in 1978. He is the club's all-time top scorer and by the time he left AEK he was also the all-time top scorer of the Greek championship, but today he is the third place.^[2] He is the player of AEK with the second most appearances in all competitions and the first in league appearances. His nickname was "the vlach" (Greek: "ο βλάχος"), due to his origins from a rural area.^[3]

In his international career, Papaioannou was part of the Greek military team that won the World Military Cup in 1962 and 1963. With Greece he earned 61 caps and scored 21 goals, becoming their top scorer until 1986 and now he is the 5th place of the top scorer list.^[4] In 2021, the IFFHS also selected him in Greece's best XI of all time.^[5]

In 1982 Papaioannou, became the coach for New York Pancyprian-Freedoms, where he won both the league and the cup claiming the domestic double.^[6] From 1986 to 1991 he managed Kerkyra, Edessaikos, Olympiacos Chalkida, AE Kos and Pannafpliakos. In 1991 he coached the local club Evgeros at Kefalonia for a season. He also served as an assistant of Alketas Panagoulias in bench of Greece for 2 years.