Georgios Simos or Charalampous (; 1919 – 12 February 1994), commonly known as "Magiras" (which meant "Cook" in Greek), was a

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 ...

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

midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in t ...

for

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 a later manager. Throughout his career he was known by his nickname that came, due to his grandfather owining a cooking restaurant in

Naxos Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...

Early life

Magiras was born in 1919 at Urla of

Smyrna Smyrna ( ; , or ) was an Ancient Greece, Ancient Greek city located at a strategic point on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, Turkey. Due to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence, and its good inland connections, Smyrna ...

. He migrated with his family at

Nea Ionia Nea Ionia (, meaning New Ionia) is a town and a northern suburb of the Athens agglomeration, Greece, and a municipality of the Attica region. It was named after Ionia, the region in Anatolia from which many Greeks migrated in the 1920s as a part ...

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 ...

in 1922, during the Asia Minor Diaster. At the age of 9 he started playing football at his local club,

. In 1931 he moved to Eleftheroupoli and in 1933 he joined

, at the age of 14 and in the first years, was a member of their academies and their reserve team, with teammates such as Kleanthis Maropoulos and Tryfon Tzanetis, with whom he later coexisted in the first team.

Club career

In 1937 Magiras was promoted to the first team and quickly established himself as a regular. He was part of the club that won the

Panhellenic Championship 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 repl ...

and

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 ...

in 1939, making them the first Greek club to ever win the domestic double. The following season he won the second consecutive championship with AEK. He stayed at AEK despite the events of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1949 Magiras retired from football after a serious injury in the Cup final against Panathinaikos on 19 June. With the "yellow-blacks" he won 2 Panhellenic Championships and 2 Greek Cups.

International career

He played a total of 4 times with

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 ...

from 1948 to 1949. His debut came on 23 April 1948, in a friendly at home against

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 ...

, the first to be played after

, under the instructions of Kostas Negrepontis.

Managerial career

After his retirement from as a footballer, Magiras became involved in coaching. He coached Olympiacos Chalkida in the first division in 1960. He also worked at

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 ...

in 1961. In the 1960's he was a partner of Lakis Petropoulos in the technical leadership of Greece. In 1972, he was also the coach of Pierikos. Magiras returned to

Chalcis Chalcis (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: , ), also called Chalkida or Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief city of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

to coach

Chalkida Chalcis (; Ancient Greek and Katharevousa: , ), also called Chalkida or Halkida (Modern Greek: , ), is the chief city of the island of Euboea or Evia in Greece, situated on the Euripus Strait at its narrowest point. The name is preserved from ...

, in 1972 for a year and led them to 4th place in the standings.

Personal life

Magiras lived at Nea Ionia with his wife and 2 children and worked at the Water Company. He died from cancer in 12 February 1994 at the age of 75.

Honours

AEK Athens *

: 1938–39, 1939–40 *

: 1938–39, 1948–49

References

External links

*
List of men's players
at Hellenic Football Federation {{DEFAULTSORT:Magiras, Georgios 1919 births 1994 deaths Deaths from cancer in Greece Greek men's footballers Greece men's international footballers Eleftheroupoli F.C. players AEK Athens F.C. players Egaleo F.C. managers Proodeftiki F.C. managers Vyzas F.C. managers Apollon Smyrnis F.C. managers S.F.K. Pierikos (football) managers AEK Athens F.C. non-playing staff Men's association football midfielders Turkish emigrants to Greece People from Urla, Izmir Footballers from İzmir Province 20th-century Greek sportsmen