Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos (

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

: Δημήτριος Ελευθερόπουλος; born 7 August 1976) is a Greek professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

and former player.

Club career

Greece

Eleftheropoulos was born in

Piraeus Piraeus ( ; ; , Ancient: , Katharevousa: ) is a port city within the Athens urban area ("Greater Athens"), in the Attica region of Greece. It is located southwest of Athens city centre along the east coast of the Saronic Gulf in the Ath ...

, and was an ardent supporter of major Greek club

Olympiacos Olympiacós Sýndesmos Filáthlon Peiraiós (, Olympic Association of Fans of Piraeus) is a major multi-sport club based in Piraeus, Greece. Olympiacos is parent to a number of different competitive departments which participate in football, ...

, where he started playing as a goalkeeper at a very young age. Except for 1996, when he was loaned to

Proodeftiki Proodeftiki Football Club, also known as Proodeftiki Piraeus, simply as Proodeftiki, or with its full name as A.O. Proodeftiki Neolea (, transliterated "Athlitikós Όmilos Proodeftiki Neolea", ''Athletic Club Progressive Youth''), is a Greek fo ...

, he played for Olympiakos from

1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

, winning seven championships in a row. He was the young third goalkeeper in 1997's Olympiacos roster behind

Foto Strakosha Fotaq "Foto" Strakosha (born 29 March 1965) is an Albanian retired goalkeeper and current goalkeeping coach of Lazio Youth. Strakosha is regarded as one of Albania's most popular and greatest goalkeepers. In his 20-years playing career he pla ...

and

Alekos Rantos Alekos Rantos (; born on 29 October 1966) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper and he is currently the goalkeeping coach of Aris. Career Rantos won the Greek Superleague with Olympiakos two times, on 1997 and 199 ...

but injuries and bad games from the previous two made coach

Dusan Bajevic Dusan may refer to: * Dušan, a Slavic given name * Dusan, a son of Ra's al Ghul * Stefan Dušan (1308–1355), emperor of Serbia See also *Doosan Group Doosan Group () is a South Korean multinational conglomerate corporation. In 2009, the cor ...

give him a chance. His astonishing performances, which included impossible saves and penalty stops eventually lifted Eleftheropoulos to the level of an idol earning the nickname of "The Eagle", being one of the masterpieces for Olympiakos championship after ten years of disappointments. He lost nearly all the 1998 season due to a severe knee injury, which was worsened by a badly treated arthrosis that also affected his shoulder. This did not prevent a glorious comeback in the 1999

UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (UCL) is an annual club association football competition organised by the UEFA, Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) that is contested by List of top-division football clubs in UEFA countries, top-divisio ...

, with Olympiacos advancing to the quarterfinals for the first time and being chosen as the best goalkeeper in the competition. On 23 October 2001, Eleftheropoulos made a sensational penalty save to

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (; born 1 July 1976), commonly known as Ruud van Nistelrooy (), is a Dutch professional Association football, football manager and former player who is the current manager of EFL Championship club Leic ...

in the 65th minute between

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

and

for Champions League, in

Old Trafford Old Trafford () is a football stadium in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, England, and is the home of Manchester United. With a capacity of 74,197, it is the largest club football stadium (and second-largest football stadium overall after W ...

. It was the only penalty missed by the Dutch international striker for that season. He is also remembered by some for being the goalkeeper present during the worst loss of any Greek team in the Champions League, when on 10 December 2003 Olympiakos lost to Juventus 7–0.

Italy

In 2004, Eleftheropoulos transferred to newly promoted

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

side

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

, where, despite some great performances, he could not unseat

Marco Storari Marco Storari (born 7 January 1977) is an Italian former footballer who played as a goalkeeper. After a lengthy spell in Italy's lower leagues, he arrived in Serie A aged 27. Steady performances for Messina prompted his signing by A.C. Milan i ...

in the starting eleven. In 2005, he was signed by

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

. Even though, due to a series of subpar performances in friendlies against Chelsea and Chicago Fire during a summer tour in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, coupled with Milan's heavy surplus of goalkeepers, he was sold to

Roma Roma or ROMA may refer to: People, characters, figures, names * Roma or Romani people, an ethnic group living mostly in Europe and the Americas. * Roma called Roy, ancient Egyptian High Priest of Amun * Roma (footballer, born 1979), born ''Paul ...

where he remained game-less for the entire season. Eleftheropoulos signed for Ascoli for the '06–07 Championship and on 25 February 2007 he played his first Serie A match for Ascoli against

Livorno Livorno () is a port city on the Ligurian Sea on the western coast of the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Livorno, having a population of 152,916 residents as of 2025. It is traditionally known in English as Leghorn ...

. On 11 June 2007, he was signed by

A.C. Siena Siena Football Club Società Sportiva Dilettantistica, commonly referred to as Siena, is an Italian football club based in Siena, Tuscany. The club was re-incorporated in 2020 after the bankruptcy of the previous legal entity Robur Siena, which ...

on free transfer, for a 2-year deal, where although beginning the season in the starting eleven, he finished as the substitute goalkeeper behind

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n international

Alex Manninger Alexander Manninger (born 4 June 1977) is an Austrian former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. He played internationally for the Austria national team on 33 occasions, including at UEFA Euro 2008, and has represented football ...

. According to

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

's official website, on 28 May 2009, Eleftheropoulos decided to leave the club for family reasons.

Return to Greece

On 30 May 2009, Eleftheropoulos signed with

PAS Giannina PAS Giannina Football Club (), or with its full name Panipirotikós Athlitikós Síllogos Giánnina (, ''Panepirotic Athletic Club Giannina'') is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in the city of Ioannina, the capita ...

br>
a team locally known as "Ajax of Epirus" which in the past had formed players like

Giourkas Seitaridis Georgios "Giourkas" Seitaridis ( ; born 4 June 1981) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a right-back and occasionally as a centre-back. He has last played in 2013 for Greek Superleague side Panathinaikos, having played pr ...

, that has promoted to 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 ...

. He started his new season becoming the most experienced player for his new club. Great saves during matches against

Kavala Kavala (, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the A2 motorway, a one-and ...

, his former team

and

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 ...

contributed to achieve victory for

and himself to be elected as

Man of the Match In team sport, a player of the match award (also known as man of the match or woman of the match) is often given to the most outstanding player in a particular match. This can be a player from either team, although the player is generally chose ...

. Eleftheropoulos after 5 years reached again the semi-final of the

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 ...

with his new club against

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

. On 3 August 2010, Eleftheropoulos signed a contract with Iraklis In the summer 2011, signed with

Panionios Panionios G.S.S. Football Club (Greek: ΠΑΕ Πανιώνιος Γ.Σ.Σ.), the ''Pan-Ionian Gymnastics Club of Smyrna'' (Πανιώνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Σμύρνης, ''Panionios Gymnastikos Syllogos Smyrnis''), ...

. He announced the end of his career on 21 December 2011.

International career

Eleftheropoulos got his first of twelve senior international caps for Greece in a friendly against Belgium in 1999. From these caps, three were in the

2002 FIFA World Cup qualification The 2002 FIFA World Cup qualification competition was a series of tournaments organised by the six FIFA confederations. Each confederation — the AFC (Asia), CAF (Africa), CONCACAF (North, Central America and Caribbean), CONMEBOL (South Americ ...

rounds for the European zone; where although having brilliant performances in both games against Germany, he was left aside from the national team after a strong cross with coach Vassilis Daniil. For the

Euro 2004 The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2004, was the 12th edition of the UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football competition contested by the men's national teams of UEFA member associations. Th ...

, coach

Otto Rehhagel Otto Rehhagel (; born 9 August 1938) is a German former Association football, football coach and player. Rehhagel is one of only two people who, as player and manager combined, has participated in over 1,000 Bundesliga matches (the other bein ...

chose

Antonis Nikopolidis Antonis Nikopolidis (; born 14 January 1971) is a Greek professional Association football, football Manager (association football), manager and former player. He is regarded among the best Greek Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeepers of ...

as his starting keeper and Konstantinos Chalkias and

Fanis Katergiannakis Fanis Katergiannakis (, born 16 February 1974) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Club career Ethnikos Pylaias Katergiannakis started his career in the young team for Ethnikos Pylaias a team in his town in Tr ...

as substitutes, leaving Eleftheropoulos out of the roster.

Style of play

In his prime, Eleftheropoulos was an agile and athletic goalkeeper with quick reflexes and tremendous shot-stopping skills, both in short and long-range shots. Furthermore, he was known for his brave and risky style, which he used effectively while rushing off his line in one on one situations. Furthermore, he was a skilled penalty-stopper, making crucial saves, especially in European matches (notably, against

in an

match in 2001). Despite being effective while playing on goal, though, he faced several problems while handling crosses and his performances were negatively affected from time to time due to serious injuries.

Managerial career

Eleftheropoulos started his managerial career at Panionios. He most recently managed

Super League Super League (also known as the Betfred Super League for sponsorship reasons, and legally Super League Europe Ltd.) is a professional rugby league competition, and the highest level of the British rugby league system, which consists of twelve t ...

side

Asteras Tripolis Asteras Tripolis Football Club (), currently known as Asteras AKTOR for sponsorship reasons, commonly referred to as Asteras, is a Greek professional football club based in the city of Tripoli in Arcadia, Peloponnese, Greece. Asteras Tripolis ...

, as he was appointed to replace Makis Chavos on 27 September 2016. For the third consecutive time he teamed up with his former club teammate Stylianos Venetidis who served as assistant manager. His contract was terminated on 17 February 2017 by mutual consent, on grounds of successive poor results culminating to a 0-5 heavy home defeat against

Managerial statistics

Honours

Club

;

Greek Superleague 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 ...

: 1996–97, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2002–03 *

: 1998-1999 , Runner-up 2000-2001, 2001-2002

International

; Greece U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

runner-up:

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for Lunar water, frozen water, in soil i ...

References

;Notes ;Bibliography
Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos signed for Pas Giannina F.C.Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos signed for Pas Giannina F.C.Dimitrios Eleftheropoulos decided to leave A.C. SienaDimitrios Eleftheropoulos leave A.C. Siena

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eleftheropoulos, Dimitrios 1976 births Living people Footballers from Piraeus Greece men's international footballers Greece men's under-21 international footballers Olympiacos F.C. players ACR Messina players AC Milan players AS Roma players Ascoli Calcio 1898 FC players Siena FC SSD players Serie A players Expatriate men's footballers in Italy Men's association football goalkeepers Proodeftiki F.C. players PAS Giannina F.C. players Iraklis F.C. (Thessaloniki) players Greek expatriate men's footballers Greek expatriate sportspeople in Italy Super League Greece players Greek football managers Greek expatriate football managers Panionios F.C. managers AEK Larnaca FC managers Olympiacos Volos F.C. managers Veria F.C. managers Panserraikos F.C. managers A.E. Kifisia F.C. managers Niki Volos F.C. managers Super League Greece managers Expatriate football managers in Cyprus Greek men's footballers