Georgios Iordanidis (, ; born 17 October 1989) is a Greek professional football coach and former player. He was most recently the head coach of the Greece Amputee FA of the

European Amputee Football Federation The European Amputee Football Federation (EAFF) is the administrative body for amputee football in Europe representing the national amputee football associations. History The European Amputee Football Federation was established by ten countries in ...

(EAFF).

Early life, coaching career, and education

He was born in

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

into a middle-class household as the younger son of an auto electrician and his wife, a secondary school principal. He played senior-level football for

Eleftheroupoli Eleftheroupoli (, katharevousa: Ελευθερούπολις - ''Eleftheroupolis'', until 1929 Πράβι - ''Pravi'', ; Kanchov, Vasil, , Sofia, 1900, p. 182. (in Bulgarian) ) is a town and a former municipality in the Kavala regional unit, East ...

, PAO Kalyvion, IFA Blackpool,

Sholing Sholing, previously Scholing, is a suburb on the eastern side of the city of Southampton, in the ceremonial county of Hampshire, England. It is located between the districts of Bitterne, Thornhill and Woolston. Various explanations fr ...

, Cosmos Giants, and QK Southampton, but several injuries terminated his career. In July 2014, he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in Football Studies from

Southampton Solent University Southampton Solent University (formerly and commonly known as Solent University) is a public university based in Southampton, United Kingdom. It has approximately 10,500 students (2019/20). Its main campus is located on East Park Terrace near ...

, and earlier that year, he received the FA Level 2 coaching badge from the

English FA The Football Association (the FA) is the governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest football association in the world and is responsibl ...

. On February 12, 2016, the Greece Amputee FA appointed him as the national team's head coach. In his debut, the Greece Amputee FA drew 3-3 with

AEK Futsal AEK Futsal Club is a Greek futsal club established in 2008 by a merger with the O.F. Geraka Futsal team. They participated in the B'Ethniki (second division) that year, where they finished 1st in the regular season and 2nd in the playoffs. AE ...

in a friendly game. In June 2016, he led the national team in its inaugural participation in the

EAFF The East Asian Football Federation (EAFF), founded on 28 May 2002, is an international governing body of football in East Asia. Presidents Member associations EAFF has 10 member associations. All of them are members of the Asian Football Confe ...

Amputee Football Week camp. In January 2017, he organized a charity event to collect food supplies for homeless people in Athens. On January 11, 2017, he resigned from his position due to military service obligations. In an effort to raise the awareness of young offenders on road culture and safety issues, RSI invited him to visit the Avlonas juvenile detention center on January 18, 2017, as an experiential guest. He has also worked as a talent identification scout for

GKS Górnik Łęczna Górniczy Klub Sportowy Górnik Łęczna (), commonly referred to as Górnik Łęczna, is a sports club based in Łęczna, Poland. It is best known for its men's professional football team, which competes in I liga, the second division in the ...

and

Wisła Kraków Towarzystwo Sportowe Wisła Kraków Spółka Akcyjna, commonly referred to as Wisła Kraków (), is a Polish professional football club based in Kraków. They currently compete in the I liga, the second level of Polish football league system, ...

in the Lotto Ekstraklasa for two straight

seasons A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

( 2016–17, 2017–18). In October 2022, he received his

Master of Science A Master of Science (; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree. In contrast to the Master of Arts degree, the Master of Science degree is typically granted for studies in sciences, engineering and medici ...

in Football Coaching from the

University of East London University of East London (UEL) is a public university located in the London Borough of Newham, London, England, based at three campuses in Stratford, London, Stratford and London Docklands, Docklands, following the opening of University Squar ...

's Global Institute of Sport. In October 2023, he obtained the UEFA B coaching license from the

Hellenic Football Federation The Hellenic Football Federation (HFF), (), is the governing body of football in Greece. It contributes in the organisation of Super League Greece 2. It is also responsible for the organization of the Greek Cup, Gamma Ethniki (3rd ranked men's f ...

. Apart from his native Greek, he speaks English, Spanish, and French to varying degrees of fluency.

Career statistics

Managerial statistics

Honours

Manager

QK Southampton Youth * Southampton & District Tyro Football League runner-up: 2012 ''(Division 5)'' Greece Amputee FA * Greece Amputee Football Association Charity Cup: 2017

Popular culture

Clubs support

He is a supporter of Super League 1 club

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 ...

and an admirer of Primera División club

Boca Juniors Club Atlético Boca Juniors () is an Argentine professional sports club based in La Boca, a neighbourhood of Buenos Aires. The club is best known for its men's professional Association football, football team which, since its promotion in 1913 ...

Relatives

The engineer, Alex Sinoyannis, who worked as a dynamic vehicle engineer for

Team Penske Team Penske (formerly Penske Racing) is an American professional auto racing organization, competing in the IndyCar Series, NASCAR Cup Series, IMSA SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship. Debuting at the 1966 24 Hours of Day ...

No. 22 in the

NASCAR Cup Series The NASCAR Cup Series is the top racing series of the NASCAR, National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), the most prestigious stock car racing series in the United States. The series began in 1949 as the Strictly Stock Division, ...

from 2013 to 2016, is his cousin. The referee, Alexandros Dimitropoulos, who officiated forty Super League 1 and seven

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 ...

matches from 2011 to 2016, is his half-cousin. He has also served as a fourth official in twenty Super League 1 games and as a referee in twenty-seven

Super League 2 Stones Bitter Super League II was the official name for the year 1997's Super League championship season, the 103rd season of top-level professional rugby league football in Britain, and the second to be played in summer. Teams Twelve teams were ...

games. The basketball player Georgios Moschos, who played for

Panellinios Athens Panellinios G.S. (Greek: Πανελλήνιος Γ.Σ.), full name, Panellinios Gymnastikos Syllogos (Greek: Πανελλήνιος Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος), is a Greek multi-sport club that is located in Athens and was founded i ...

Iraklis Thessaloniki Gymnastikos Syllogos Thessalonikis "Iraklis" (), commonly referred to as Iraklis Thessaloniki, is a multi–sporting club based in the city of Thessaloniki, Macedonia, Greece. G.S. Iraklis Thessalonikis was founded on 29 November 1908 and i ...

, and

, and won the GBL five times, was his great-uncle-in-law. The guitarist, songwriter, and composer Dimitris Sinoyannis, who has collaborated with top artists in the music industry (e.g.,

Goran Bregović Goran Bregović ( sr-Cyrl, Горан Бреговић; born 22 March 1950) is a recording artist born in Bosnia and Herzegovina. He is one of the most internationally known modern musicians and composers of the Slavic speaking countries in the ...

Thanos Mikroutsikos Athanasios "Thanos" Mikroutsikos (; 13 April 1947 – 28 December 2019) was a Greece, Greek composer and politician. He is considered one of the most important composers of the recent Greek musical scene. Biography Personal life He was born on ...

Manolis Mitsias Manolis Mitsias (Greek: Μανώλης Μητσιάς, ; born 26 February 1946) is a Greek singer. He has been a significant artistic presence in the laïko, light laïko and entekhno genres of modern Greek music. Early life Mitsias was born i ...

George Dalaras George Dalaras (, born 29 September 1949) is a Greek singer and musician. He is one of the most prominent figures of Greek music. In October 2006, he was selected as a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. He was born in Piraeus. His ...

Haris Alexiou Haris Alexiou (, ; born 27 December 1950 in Thebes, Greece as Hariklia Roupaka, , ) is a Greek singer whose career has spanned over 5 decades. She is one of the most popular singers in Greece. She has worked with important Greek songwriters and c ...

Marinella Kyriaki Papadopoulou (; born 19 May 1938), known by her stage name Marinella (), is a Greek singer whose career has spanned several decades. She is well regarded due to her impressive vocal range.Dragoumanos, Petros (2009). ''Elliniki Diskogr ...

Dimitris Mitropanos Dimitris Mitropanos (; 2 April 1948 – 17 April 2012) was a Greek singer. He was renowned for his mastery of Laïkó, a Greek music style. Biography Mitropanos lived in his native city of Trikala in northwest Thessaly until the age of 16, beg ...

Vasilis Karras Vasilis Karras (; born Vasilis Kesoglidis, 12 November 1953 – 24 December 2023) was a Greek laïko singer. Early life Karras was born on 12 November 1953 in Kokkinohori, Kavala, Greece, to Pontian parents. At the age of 10, his family moved ...

, and

Vasilis Papakonstantinou Vasilis Papakonstantinou (Βασίλης Παπακωνσταντίνου) (born 21 June 1950) is a Greek singer known mostly for his work in Greek rock. Many of his songs have gained considerable popularity, mainly in Greece and Cyprus. Early ...

), is his uncle. The opera singer Meropi Jordano, née Iordanidou, who performed in

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 ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, is his great-aunt.

Sport video games

He is featured as a scout for

of the Lotto Ekstraklasa in the

2018 Events January * January 1 – Bulgaria takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European Union, after the Estonian presidency. * January 4 – SPLM-IO rebels loyal to Chan Garang Lual start a raid against Juba, capital of ...

edition of the

Football Manager ''Football Manager'', also known as ''Worldwide Soccer Manager'' in North America from 2004 to 2008, is a series of football management simulation video games developed by British developer Sports Interactive and published by Sega. The game beg ...

simulation video game.

References

External links

Georgios Iordanidis
at sortitoutsi.net {{DEFAULTSORT:Iordanidis, Georgios 1989 births Living people Footballers from Athens Men's association football central defenders Agia Paraskevi F.C. players A.O. Nea Ionia F.C. players Eleftheroupoli F.C. players Sholing F.C. players Southern Football League players Greek expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Greek expatriate sportspeople in England Greek football managers Alumni of Southampton Solent University Alumni of the University of East London Greek men's footballers 21st-century Greek sportsmen