Kleanthis Maropoulos (; 1919 – 3 January 1991) 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 ...

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 striker 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 ...

. He was a star footballer during the 1930s and 1940s and arguably the greatest Greek player of his generation. He was affectionately known as the ''"Blonde Eagle of AEK"'' ''()''.

Club career

Early years

Born in 1919 to Greek parents in

Tuzla Tuzla (, , ) is the List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, third-largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the administrative center of Tuzla Canton of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. As of 2013, it has a population of 110,979 inha ...

, near

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, Maropoulos came to

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 ...

with his family at the age of 3, during the population exchanges, after the Greco-Turkish War in 1922. Having settled in

Kalamata Kalamata ( ) is the second most populous city of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece after Patras, and the largest city of the Peloponnese (region), homonymous administrative region. As the capital and chief port of the Messenia regiona ...

, at the age of 12 he joined the local football club Prasina Poulia. When his parents moved to Kalogreza 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 ...

, he played for Ethnikos Kalogreza. In 1934, he and

Tryfon Tzanetis Tryfon Tzanetis () was a Greeks, Greek Association football, footballer and a later manager. He was best known as a great figure for AEK Athens F.C., AEK Athens during the 30's and 40's, partnering Kleanthis Maropoulos in AEK's front line. Tzane ...

, were spotted by people of

, who placed them in their youth team. In 1936, he was promoted to the men's team.

AEK Athens

Maropoulos played in AEK's attack and he was the fear of the opposing goalkeepers with his deadly shot. The slogan ''"You cannot, Maropoulos!" ()'' was originally chanted by the opponent fans, but later on came to be a chant of the fans shouted at him to make him bitter or stubborn and make him tear the opponent nets. Led by Maropoulos and under the instructions of the club's former glory,

Kostas Negrepontis Kostas Negrepontis (; 31 October 1897 – 19 February 1973) was a Greek footballer who played as a center forward in the 1920s and 1930s and a later manager. He was considered a great virtuoso of the ball, a football intelligence and a great sho ...

, AEK won their first two Panhellenic Championships in 1939 and 1940, including the first domestic double ever won by a Greek club. Unfortunately, the glory years of AEK and Maropoulos were interrupted by 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 ...

. During

The Occupation ''The Occupation'' is a single-player adventure video game developed by White Paper Games and released on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Microsoft Windows on 5 March 2019. The game takes place in a single government building, in real-time over f ...

, he actively participated in the Union of Greek Athletes. The objectives of the UGA were to maintain athletic activity (albeit substandard) and to support athletes in difficulty due to illness or hunger. Maropoulos continued his career after the war, playing until the early 1950s. Maropoulos last played for AEK in 1952, having spent 18 years of active service at the club. He may have continued for a while, but he fell seriously ill and was bedridden for many months. Overall, he played in 144 official matches and scored a total of 89 goals.

International career

Maropoulos was capped 10 times international with

, including 6 as captain, from 1938 to 1950, with which he scored 1 goal. He made his debut on 22 January 1938 in a 3–1 victory over

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

in the 1938 World Cup qualifiers. His only goal came in the largest victory of the team with 8–0 over

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

in a friendly match on 25 November 1949. His last international match was on 17 February 1950, in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

against

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, for the

Mediterranean Cup On 11 July 1998 the first ever 13 a side rugby league match was played between Italia and Lebanon, which took place at Leichhardt Oval - Sydney - Australia, the match was known as 'The Mediterranean Cup'. A crowd of almost 10,000 watched as thes ...

After football

After leaving the field, Maropoulos was for many years an agent of AEK and a selector for the Greece national team. He worked for AEK and HFF as a member of administration, all while being one of the pioneers of the movement for professional football in Greece. Maropoulos was also elected municipal councilor of

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 ...

. He and his teammate, Tryfon Tzanetis had a strong friendship and they collaborated professionally, maintaining a joint sporting goods store in the center of Athens. The "Blonde Eagle" died on 3 January 1991, at the age of 72.

Honours

AEK Athens *

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 ...

: 1938–39, 1939–40 *

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 ...

: 1938–39, 1948–49, 1949–50 * Athens FCA League: 1940, 1946, 1947, 1950 Individual *Panhellenic Championship top scorer: 1939–40 *Panhellenic Championship qualifiers top scorer (South Group): 1938–39, 1939–40

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Maropoulos, Kleanthis 1919 births 1991 deaths Footballers from Istanbul AEK Athens F.C. players AEK Athens F.C. non-playing staff Greece men's international footballers Constantinopolitan Greeks Men's association football forwards Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece Footballers from Kalamata Footballers from Athens Greek men's footballers People from Tuzla, Istanbul 20th-century Greek sportsmen