Nikolaos Lyberopoulos
Encyclopedia
Nikolaos "Nikos" Liberopoulos (born on 4 August 1975 in Filiatra
) is a well known Greek
international football player currently playing as a centre forward for AEK and Greek national football team in the Greek Super League
. 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. Due to the tense rivalry between the Greek clubs, this happens very rarely. He is the first and only player to be recorded in the top ten scorers of all time for both these teams.
. 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.
he reached the semifinal 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.
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 Nuremberg worth 4 million euros, which he declined to remain with AEK Athens. Club president Demis Nikolaidis
has 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. German team Eintracht Frankfurt
announced his signing on 13 July 2008.
. Lyberopoulos has won 55 caps scoring 13 goals in all competitions.
club Sydney FC
on 25 July 2010, scoring one goal and setting-up two others. Liberopoulos also scored against Blackburn three day's later. He made his Superleague Greece against Kerkyra and scored his first official goal in a 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". 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, Liveropoulos signed a new 1-year deal keeping him at the club until 2012.
scoring 13 goals in the process. Liberopoulos is currently active as a forward in the national team. His most notable performance in the Euro 2008 qualifiers to date was a last-second goal 5 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 Euro 2008, but was surprisingly out of favour for Euro 2004
On 11 September 2009, Liberopoulos announced his retirement from international football, But he returned to the national squad about a year later when he was recalled by the new coach Fernando Santos.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan=2| Club
! colspan=2| UCL
! colspan=2| UEL
! colspan=2| Total
|-
! Apps
! Goals
! Apps
! Goals
! Apps
! Goals
|-
| Panathinaikos
| 33
| 6
| 15
| 5
| 48
| 11
|-
| AEK Athens
| 16
| 3
| 20
| 3
| 33
| 6
|-
| Total
| 49
| 9
| 35
| 8
| 84
| 17
|rowspan=2|1993–94
|Erani Filiatron
|Delta Ethniki
|8||5||?||?||?||?||8||5
|-
|rowspan=3|Kalamata
|rowspan=2|Beta Ethniki
|21||5||?||?||?||?||21||5
|-
|1994–95
|27||4||?||?||?||?||27||4
|-
|1995–96
|rowspan=11|Alpha Ethniki
|30||11||?||?||?||?||30||11
|-
|1996–97
|rowspan=7|Panathinaikos
|32||7||?||?||?||?||32||7
|-
|1997–98
|27||2||?||?||?||?||27||2
|-
|1998–99
|31||13||?||?||?||?||31||13
|-
|1999–00
|26||23||4||3||?||?||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
|rowspan=5|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
|rowspan=2|Super League
|29||18||1||0||9||2||39||20
|-
|2007–08
|30||13||1||0||8||0||39||13
|-
|2008–09
|rowspan=2|Eintracht Frankfurt
|rowspan=2|Bundesliga
|29||9||2||1||0||0||31||10
|-
|2009–10
|21||1||3||2||0||0||24||3
|-
|2010–11
|AEK Athens
|Super League
|23||7||6||3||5||2||34||12
435||166||46||20||52||7||533||193
50||10||5||3||0||0||55||13
485||176||51||23||52||7||588||206
| 3
| 0
|-
| 1998
| 3
| 1
|-
| 1999
| 14
| 4
|-
| 2000
| 9
| 2
|-
| 2001
| 7
| 1
|-
| 2002
| 2
| 0
|-
| 2003
| 1
| 0
|-
| 2005
| 4
| 1
|-
| 2006
| 5
| 1
|-
| 2007
| 7
| 2
|-
| 2008
| 10
| 1
|-
| 2009
| 2
| 0
|-
| 2011
| 4
| 0
|-
! Total
! 71
! 13
Individual
Filiatra
Filiatra , is a town and a former municipality in Messenia, Peloponnese, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Trifylia, of which it is a municipal unit. It is passed by Greek National Road 9 and is located south of Kyparissia and Pyrgos, W of Kalamata and...
) is a well known Greek
Greeks
The Greeks, also known as the Hellenes , are a nation and ethnic group native to Greece, Cyprus and neighboring regions. They also form a significant diaspora, with Greek communities established around the world....
international football player currently playing as a centre forward for AEK and Greek national football team in the Greek Super League
Super League Greece
The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
. 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. Due to the tense rivalry between the Greek clubs, this happens very rarely. He is the first and only player to be recorded in the top ten scorers of all time for both these teams.
Club career
He is one of the most popular footballers to come out of PeloponnesusPeloponnese
The Peloponnese, Peloponnesos or Peloponnesus , is a large peninsula , located in a region of southern Greece, forming the part of the country south of the Gulf of Corinth...
. 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 the summer 1996 he signed for PanathinaikosPanathinaikos
Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos is a multi-sport club based in Athens, Greece. It has the shamrock as its official emblem and green and white as its colours...
he reached the semifinal stage of the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
. Italian clubs, mainly Juventus and Hellas Verona showed interest in hiring him, but his loyalty to Panathinaikos kept him in Athens
Athens
Athens , is the capital and largest city of Greece. Athens dominates the Attica region and is one of the world's oldest cities, as its recorded history spans around 3,400 years. Classical Athens was a powerful city-state...
. 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 SochauxFC Sochaux-Montbéliard
Football Club Sochaux-Montbéliard is a French association football club based in the city of Montbéliard. The club was founded in 1928 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the top tier of French football. Sochaux plays its home matches at the Stade Auguste Bonal located within the city...
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
Lille OSC
LOSC Lille Métropole is a French association football club based in Lille. The club was founded in 1944 as a result of a merger and currently play in Ligue 1, the first division of French football. Lille plays its home matches at the Stade Lille-Metropole in nearby Villeneuve-d'Ascq. In 2012, the...
(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 Nuremberg worth 4 million euros, which he declined to remain with AEK Athens. Club president Demis Nikolaidis
Demis Nikolaidis
Themistoklis "Demis" Nikolaidis was the forty second president of AEK Athens F.C., and is considered one of the finest footballers Greece has ever produced. In his early childhood and teenage years he lived in the city of Alexandroupoli, in the north-east part of Greece...
has 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
Super League Greece
The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
. On 7 July 2008, Liberopoulos was released by AEK. German team Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt is a German sports club, based in Frankfurt, Hesse that is best known for its association football club.- Club origins :...
announced his signing on 13 July 2008.
Eintracht Frankfurt
Liberopoulos signed a 2-year deal giving the number 10 shirt. He made his German Bundesliga debut for Eintracht Frankfurt, playing the full 90 minutes against Hertha Berlin on 17 August 2008 at the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt. Liberopoulos scored his first goal against Mainz 051. FSV Mainz 05
1. Fußball- und Sportverein Mainz 05 e. V., usually shortened to 1. FSV Mainz 05, Mainz 05, or simply Mainz, is a 1905 founded German association football club based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. In addition to the football section the 1. FSV Mainz 05 has a handball and table tennis department...
. Lyberopoulos has 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-LeagueA-League
The A-League is the top Australasian professional football league. Run by Australian governing body Football Federation Australia , it was founded in 2004 following the folding of the National Soccer League and staged its inaugural season in 2005–06. It is sponsored by Hyundai Motor Company...
club Sydney FC
Sydney FC
Sydney FC is a professional football club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia and competes in the country's premier football competition, the A-League...
on 25 July 2010, scoring one goal and setting-up two others. Liberopoulos also scored against Blackburn three day's later. He made his Superleague Greece against Kerkyra and scored his first official goal in a 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". On 30 May 11 Liberopulos won his first trophy in his career with AEK winning the Greek Cup 2010-11
Greek football Cup
The Greek Football Cup , commonly known as the Greek Cup or for sponsorship reasons the Football Cup OPAP, is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation....
against Atromitos
Atromitos
Atromitos FC is a football club based in Peristeri, Athens that plays in the Super League Greece.-History:Atromitos FC was officially founded in May 1923 when Kalomvounis, Petos, Glykofridis, Stathopoulos, Synodinos, Rigopoulos, Stamatopoulos, and other students living in Victoria Square decided...
0-3 while also scoring the first goal and was awarded MVP of the match.
On 16 June 2011, Liveropoulos signed a new 1-year deal keeping him at the club until 2012.
International career
Liberopoulos has appeared 70 times for GreeceGreece national football team
The Greece national football team represents Greece in association football and is controlled by the Hellenic Football Federation, the governing body for football in Greece. Greece's home ground is Karaiskakis Stadium in Piraeus and their head coach is Fernando Santos...
scoring 13 goals in the process. Liberopoulos is currently active as a forward in the national team. His most notable performance in the Euro 2008 qualifiers to date was a last-second goal 5 minutes into stoppage time to grant Greece a 2-1 victory over Moldova
Moldova national football team
The Moldova national football team represents Moldova in association football and is controlled by the Football Association of Moldova, the governing body for football in Moldova. Moldova's home ground is Zimbru Stadium in Chişinău and their head coach is Gavril Balint...
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
Otto Rehhagel
Otto Rehhagel is a German football coach and former football player. Along with Helmut Schön, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Udo Lattek and Hennes Weisweiler, he is considered one of the most successful German managers....
for Euro 2008, but was surprisingly out of favour for Euro 2004
On 11 September 2009, Liberopoulos announced his retirement from international football, But he returned to the national squad about a year later when he was recalled by the new coach Fernando Santos.
Records
- He has a total 83 appearances in European competitions which is a record for a Greek forward.
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"
|-
! rowspan=2| Club
! colspan=2| UCL
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
! colspan=2| UEL
! colspan=2| Total
|-
! Apps
! Goals
! Apps
! Goals
! Apps
! Goals
|-
| Panathinaikos
| 33
| 6
| 15
| 5
| 48
| 11
|-
| AEK Athens
| 16
| 3
| 20
| 3
| 33
| 6
|-
| Total
| 49
| 9
| 35
| 8
| 84
| 17
Club
|-|rowspan=2|1993–94
|Erani Filiatron
|Delta Ethniki
|8||5||?||?||?||?||8||5
|-
|rowspan=3|Kalamata
|rowspan=2|Beta Ethniki
Beta Ethniki
Football League, former Beta Ethniki, is the second highest professional football league in Greece.-History:In its first years, the system of conduct was very intriguing. It began in 1954 as regional championship, separated in two groups, North and South. Then, the participating teams were the...
|21||5||?||?||?||?||21||5
|-
|1994–95
|27||4||?||?||?||?||27||4
|-
|1995–96
|rowspan=11|Alpha Ethniki
Super League Greece
The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
|30||11||?||?||?||?||30||11
|-
|1996–97
|rowspan=7|Panathinaikos
|32||7||?||?||?||?||32||7
|-
|1997–98
|27||2||?||?||?||?||27||2
|-
|1998–99
|31||13||?||?||?||?||31||13
|-
|1999–00
|26||23||4||3||?||?||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
|rowspan=5|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
|rowspan=2|Super League
Super League Greece
The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
|29||18||1||0||9||2||39||20
|-
|2007–08
|30||13||1||0||8||0||39||13
|-
|2008–09
|rowspan=2|Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt
Eintracht Frankfurt is a German sports club, based in Frankfurt, Hesse that is best known for its association football club.- Club origins :...
|rowspan=2|Bundesliga
Fußball-Bundesliga
The Fußball-Bundesliga is a professional association football league in Germany. At the top of Germany's football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. It is contested by 18 teams and operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the 2. Bundesliga...
|29||9||2||1||0||0||31||10
|-
|2009–10
2009–10 Fußball-Bundesliga
The 2009–10 Fußball-Bundesliga was the 47th season of the Fußball-Bundesliga, Germany's premier football league. The season commenced on 7 August 2009 with the traditional season opening match involving the defending champions VfL Wolfsburg and VfB Stuttgart. The last games were played on 8 May 2010...
|21||1||3||2||0||0||24||3
|-
|2010–11
2010–11 Super League Greece
The 2010–11 Superleague Greece was the 52nd season of the highest football league of Greece and the fifth under the name Superleague. The league consisted of 16 teams, the 13 best teams of the 2009–10 season and three teams that had been promoted from the 2009–10 Beta Ethniki.The season began on 27...
|AEK Athens
|Super League
Super League Greece
The Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
|23||7||6||3||5||2||34||12
435||166||46||20||52||7||533||193
50||10||5||3||0||0||55||13
485||176||51||23||52||7||588||206
International
| 1996| 3
| 0
|-
| 1998
| 3
| 1
|-
| 1999
| 14
| 4
|-
| 2000
| 9
| 2
|-
| 2001
| 7
| 1
|-
| 2002
| 2
| 0
|-
| 2003
| 1
| 0
|-
| 2005
| 4
| 1
|-
| 2006
| 5
| 1
|-
| 2007
| 7
| 2
|-
| 2008
| 10
| 1
|-
| 2009
| 2
| 0
|-
| 2011
| 4
| 0
|-
! Total
! 71
! 13
Honours
AEK Athens- Greek CupGreek football CupThe Greek Football Cup , commonly known as the Greek Cup or for sponsorship reasons the Football Cup OPAP, is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation....
: 1
-
- 20112010–11 Greek CupThe 2010–11 Greek Cup is the 69th season of the Greek Football Cup. A total of 67 clubs were accepted to enter, after the withdrawal of Egaleo, Kalamata and Pyrsos Grevena and their relegation to Delta Ethniki....
- 2011
Individual
- Greek Young Footballer of the year: 1
-
- 1996
- Greek Footballer of the year: 3
- 2000, 2006, 2007
- Greek Super LeagueSuper League GreeceThe Superleague Greece is the highest professional football league in Greece. It was formed on July 16, 2006 and replaced Alpha Ethniki at the top of the Greek football league system. The league consists of 16 teams and runs from August to May, with teams playing 30 games each...
top scorer: 2
- Greek Super League
- 2003, 2007
- 1996