Nikos Anastopoulos

Nikos Anastopoulos

Anastopoulos in 1987
Personal information
Full name	Nikolaos Anastopoulos
Date of birth	(1958-01-22) 22 January 1958 (age 66)
Place of birth	Dafni, Athens, Greece
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Striker
Youth career
	Dafni
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1976–1980	Panionios	117	(25)
1980–1987	Olympiacos	187	(115)
1987–1988	Avellino	16	(0)
1988–1989	Panionios	11	(5)
1989–1992	Olympiacos	72	(30)
1992–1993	Ionikos	19	(7)
1993–1994	Olympiacos	3	(0)
Total		425	(182)
International career
1977–1988	Greece	74	(29)
Managerial career
1993–1994	Olympiacos (assistant)
1995–1996	Panelefsiniakos
1997–1998	Panetolikos
1998–1999	PAS Giannina
1999	Panelefsiniakos
1999–2000	Panserraikos
2001	PAS Giannina
2002	Panachaiki
2002	Kallithea
2002–2003	PAS Giannina
2003–2005	Kerkyra
2005–2006	Aris
2006–2007	PAS Giannina
2008	Ethnikos Asteras
2008	Ionikos
2008–2009	Kavala
2010	PAS Giannina
2010–2012	OFI
2012–2013	Atromitos
2013–2014	Platanias
2014	Panionios
2015	OFI
2015–2017	Aris
2019	Kerkyra
2020–2022	Kalamata
2022–2023	Kalamata
2024	Kalamata
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nikos Anastopoulos (Greek: Νίκος Αναστόπουλος; born 22 January 1958) is a Greek former footballer and manager. He was one the most prolific strikers in the Greek league during the 1980s and is widely regarded as one of the best players in the history of Greek football.

Anastopoulos began his career at Panionios in 1976, where he quickly became a high profile player, winning the cup in 1979. After impressive performances in the following season's Cup Winners' Cup campaign, he was reached out by a number of european clubs, eventually signing with Olympiacos. He quickly became a fan favourite with Olympiacos fans and, despite a slow start, became a prolific goal scorer for the club and won the Bronze Boot as the third scorer in Europe in the 1982–83 season. He became central to the club's success in the 1980's, winning four league championships before departing for Serie A side Avellino in 1987. An ambitious signing, his tenure at the Italian club was ultimately unsuccessful, with him returning to Panionios in 1988. After a moderately successful year with Panionios, he returned to Olympiacos in 1989. With the club in dire financial situation, he became a vital part of the club, despite falling out with manager Oleg Blokhin, winning two Greek Football Cups before leaving for Ionikos in 1992. After a successful season with the Athenian side, Anastopoulos returned to Olympiacos, retiring from professional football in 1993 to become assistant manager of returning manager Nikos Alefantos.

Anastopoulos earned his first cap with Greece in 1977, amassing a record (at the time) of 74 caps until 1988. With 29 goals, he is the all-time top scorer for the Greek national team. He also scored Greece's first goal at a major international tournament, scoring against Czechoslovakia at the 1980 European Championship.

His style of play was highly regarded and commonly noted for his acrobatic goals and headers, positioning, and sense of goal. He is considered one of the greatest players in Olympiacos history,^[1] where he scored 159 goals in 291 official games for the club.

Since retiring as a player he has become a football manager, achieving notable success at PAS Giannina, Panachaiki, Aris, OFI and Kalamata, becoming a fan favourite in these clubs. He became known for his outspoken attitude, tactical flexibility, and success under pressure, having achieved promotions with Aris and avoiding relegation on numerous occasions.