Aleko Yordan (born Alekos Iordanou; ; 10 January 1938 – 21 September 2019) was a Turkish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

who played as a

center back In the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categories: centre-backs, full-backs, sweepers ...

and a later manager.

Club career

Yordan from a very young age showed his football talent playing at

Prasina Poulia Prassina Poulia Football Athletic Club () is one of the oldest football clubs in Kalamata, Greece, being founded in 1938. Its colors are green and white and its name literally means "green birds". History The team was founded during the interwar ...

, where he was noticed by a former

AEK Athens A.E.K. (; Athlitikí Énosis Konstantinoupόleos, ''Athletic Union of Constantinople'') is a major Greek multi-sport club based in Nea Filadelfeia, Attica. The club is more commonly known in European competitions as A.E.K. Athens. Establishe ...

legend,

Kleanthis Maropoulos Kleanthis Maropoulos (; 1919 – 3 January 1991) was a Greek footballer who played as a striker for AEK Athens. He was a star footballer during the 1930s and 1940s and arguably the greatest Greek player of his generation. He was affectionately ...

, who had also played in the Messinian team. At the age of 17, he moved to

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

to play for

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 9 km2, and its population is 225,920 (2022). It is on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, separated from the o ...

(also known as Pera Club), where for three years had very good performances, that caused the interest of

Beykoz Beykoz () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 310 km2, and its population is 247,875 (2022). It lies at the northern end of the Bosphorus on the Anatolian side. The name i ...

, which at the time were in the top positions of the league. In 1959 he signed a professional contract with Beykoz in the newly founded Turkish

Süper Lig The Süper Lig (, ''Super League''), also known as Trendyol Süper Lig for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Turkey and the highest level of the Turkish football league system. In the 2023–2024 season, twen ...

. His amazing performances at the club, as well as the Turks intention to prevent him from playing for

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, resulted in his call-up from

at the age of 18. He played at Beykoz for three seasons, until he was offered to return to

and play for AEK Athens, who were the continuation of Pera Club for the old Constantinopolitans. At the same time, he had offers from Fenerbahçe and

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

, but his desire was play for the yellow-blacks of Greece. He agreed to sign for AEK in 1962 despite the ban from the HFF, as at that time it was forbidden for a professional footballer to compete in the

first division 1st Division or First Division may refer to: Military Airborne divisions *1st Parachute Division (Germany) *1st Airborne Division (United Kingdom) * 1st Airmobile Division (Ukraine) * 1st Guards Airborne Division Armoured divisions *1st Armoure ...

, thus he was forced to wait for the appeals and legal disputes to end. It was once again Maropoulos, now an agent of the club, who did everything possible in order for Yordan to play in the team. He adapted immediately, putting in some terrific performances, which attracted the interest of

Bayern Munich Fußball-Club Bayern München e. V. (FCB, ), commonly known as Bayern Munich (), FC Bayern () or simply Bayern, is a German professional sports club based in Munich, Bavaria. They are most known for their men's professional football team, ...

, who asked AEK for signing him. AEK's demands were exorbitant, they rejected the Germans twice as they did with

Beşiktaş Beşiktaş () is a district and municipality of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 18 km2 and its population is 175,190 (2022). It is located on the European shore of the Bosphorus strait. It is bordered on the north by Sarıyer and ...

in 1965. Yordan did not want to return to Turkey and in 1968 he again refused a transfer to Beşiktaş, even though he was already 30 years old, he wanted to continue playing for AEK. He was one of their key players at AEK and won 2 Championships. 2 Greek Cups and was a member of the squad that reached the

Balkans Cup The Balkans Cup was an international football competition for clubs from Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, and Yugoslavia. It was introduced in 1961 and was very popular in the 1960s (the 1967 final attracted 42,000 spectators), being ...

final in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

, as well as the

quarter-finals A single-elimination knockout, or sudden-death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of a match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final match-up, w ...

of the

European Cup The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by top-division European clubs. The competition begins with a round robi ...

in 1969. He left the club at the behest of

Branko Stanković Branko "Stane" Stanković ( sr-Cyrl, Бранко "Стане" Станковић, ; 31 October 1921 – 20 February 2002) was a Bosnian Serb footballer and manager, from Sarajevo. Playing career Club He started his career in SK Slavija Sarajev ...

in the summer of 1969 as part of the Yugoslavian manager's radical overhaul and at the age of 32 he moved to

Egaleo Aigaleo or Egaleo ( ) is a town and a suburban municipality in the western part of the Athens urban area, belonging to the West Athens regional administrative unit. It takes its name from Mount Aigaleo, whose name comes from the words αίγα/a ...

, which he led to a stunning 4th place finish in the 1970–71 league. He ended his huge career competing in the lower divisions of Greece, with the complaint that he was not called to play for Greece.

International career

At the age of 18 Yordan became an international with

, where he played 3 times, despite the hostile atmosphere from his teammates. However, the manager,

Sandro Puppo Sandro Puppo (; 28 January 1918 – 16 October 1986) was an Italian football manager and former player who played as a midfielder. Club career During his playing days, Puppo played for Italian clubs Piacenza, Ambrosiana, Venezia and Roma in the ...

ignored the whole situation and wanted the Greek players such as him and

Lefter Küçükandonyadis Lefter Küçükandonyadis (, ''Lefteris Antoniadis''; 22 December 1924 – 13 January 2012) was a Turkish professional footballer of Greek descent, who played as a forward. He is often recognized as one of the greatest strikers to play for Fe ...

in the national team at all costs.

Managerial career

Yordan took over as player-coach of Fokikos, where he won three local cups. He then took over as coach of Asteras Itea, where he had settled permanently, even after the end of his football career.

Personal life

After Yordan retired from football, he lived in

Itea, Phocis Itea ( meaning willow), is a town and a former municipality in the southeastern part of Phocis, Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it sha ...

with his family. He had a son named Diamantis, who was also a footballer. On 21 September 2019, he died after a long battle with cancer.

Honours

AEK Athens *

Alpha Ethniki The Super League Greece 1 (), or Stoiximan Super League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Greece and the highest level of the Greek football league system. The league was formed on 16 July 2006 and repla ...

: 1962–63, 1967–68 *

Greek Cup The Greek Football Cup (), commonly known as the Greek Cup or Betsson Greek Cup for sponsorship reasons is a Greek football competition, run by the Hellenic Football Federation. The Greek Cup is the second-most important domestic men's footba ...

: 1955–56, 1963–64, 1965–66 Fokikos * Phthiotis FCA League: 1973–74, 1975–76 * Phthiotis FCA Cup: 1974–75, 1975–76, 1976–77

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yordan, Aleko 1938 births 2019 deaths Deaths from cancer in Greece Constantinopolitan Greeks Footballers from Istanbul Turkish men's footballers Turkey men's international footballers Turkey men's B international footballers Turkish people of Greek descent Men's association football defenders Beyoğluspor footballers Beykoz S.K.D. footballers AEK Athens F.C. players Egaleo F.C. players Koropi F.C. players Fokikos A.C. players Süper Lig players Super League Greece players Football League (Greece) players Turkish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in Greece Turkish expatriate sportspeople in Greece Greek football managers Fokikos F.C. managers 20th-century Turkish sportsmen