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Kostas Negrepontis (; 31 October 1897 – 19 February 1973) 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
center forward In the sport of association football, a forward (attacker or striker) is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position which primarily plays further up the pitch than Midfielder, midfielders and Defender (association football), d ...
in the 1920s and 1930s and a later manager. He was considered a great virtuoso of the ball, a football intelligence and a great shooter. He was a figure and was so dear to his fellows that never left their memory. Those who lived near him, those who worked with him, spoke with admiration about "Negro", as the fans called him. Calm, likeable and always optimistic, Negrepontis was the idol of fans and opponents. Negrepontis was one of the pillars of Greek football in his first steps and contributed to it both as a footballer, as a coach and as well as a football teacher for prospective coaches. He was distinguished for his passion, selflessness in terms of the progress of the Greek football, but especially for his beloved AEK.


Club career

Negrepontis became an official member of the sports family for the first time in 1912. He started his football career as a young player in
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 ...
, playing for Enosis Tataoulon, where he stayed for four years. In 1916 he moved to the "Greek football team", the football department of
Pera Club Pera may refer to: Places * Pera (Beyoğlu), a district in Istanbul formerly called Pera, now called Beyoğlu ** Galata, a neighbourhood of Beyoğlu, often referred to as Pera in the past * Pêra (Caparica), a Portuguese locality in the district ...
, where in 1918 he became the team's captain. He also played for Fenerbahçe in the period 1917–18. Negrepontis was a pole of attraction and for the Greek youth of the region, as his influence was great. The kids were playing in the arenas with canvas balls full of shavings and trying to imitate "Negro's" shots, dribbles and moves. It was remarkable that whenever Pera Club played, the expression "Children, today Negrepontis is playing" prevailed, with the young people going to the stadium to admire him. With Pera Club he won a Turkish Championship in 1922. After the Greco-Turkish War in 1922, Negrepontis, as the team's captain, took the initiative to take Pera Club on a tour in
Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
, 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 ...
being one of their stops and in a total of 47 games they achieved 43 wins, 2 draws and 2 defeats. Both the team and Negrepontis were admired by European fans for their achievements. In 1923 after Pera Club was dissolved, he moved to CASG Paris, where he became their captain in 1925. In 1925 he joined Sporting Douai, where he also became their captain. In 1926 Negrepontis returned to Greece and joined
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 ...
. In 1932 he led AEK to the conquest of the first
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 ...
, which was also the first trophy in their history, beating
Aris Aris or ARIS may refer to: People * Aris (surname) Given name * Aris Alexandrou, Greek writer * Aris Brimanis, ice hockey player * Aris Christofellis, Greek male soprano * Aris Gavelas, Greek sprinter * Aris Konstantinidis, Greek architect * ...
by 5–3, with Negrepontis scoring the last goal for his team. In the same year, AEK won the Acropolis Cup, defeating the Austrian club, Wacker 4-2, from which both
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, ...
and Panathinaikos had been defeated. In 1933 Negrepontis ended up his career as a footballer, at the age of 36.


International career

In June 1929, Negrepontis became a member of
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 ...
. He made his debut against
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
in a friendly match that ended 1–1 coming of the bench at the 46th minute. That was the second ever Greece's game and the first game that didn't lose. His second and last game was in March 1930 on a friendly match against Italy B in 3–0 defeat. Since the establishment of the HFF occurred at the dawn of his career, he did not make any more appearances for Greece.


Managerial career

Even before the end of his football career Negrepontis also enacted with coaching. He became the first coach in the history of AEK Patras, from their foundation in 1929, until their promotion to the Achaea first division in 1931. In 1933, when AEK Athens were playing a qualifying match against Goudi. Their coach at the time was Emil Rauchmaul and Negrepontis was on holiday at
Samos Samos (, also ; , ) is a Greek island in the eastern Aegean Sea, south of Chios, north of Patmos and the Dodecanese archipelago, and off the coast of western Turkey, from which it is separated by the Mycale Strait. It is also a separate reg ...
. The importance of the occasion brought him to prepare AEK for this crucial match and thus he was the first Greek coach of a big club, at a period when mostly foreign coaches were selected. AEK were the first club to work as a coach and the services he offered to the club lasted 16 years. During this period AEK won once the Greek Cup in
1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...
and two Panhellenic championships, while Negrepontis gave to AEK and Greek football players such as Maropoulos, Tzanetis, Goulios, Delavinias, Kontoulis, Magiras, Manettas and Xenos. After leaving AEK in 1948, he joined Fostiras, while in September 1949 he took over the technical leadership of
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, ...
. In September 1950 he became the coach of
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''), ...
. Negrepontis also worked as the coach of
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 ...
in four different periods between 1933 and 1953. He was the coach who achieved Greece's biggest victory of 8–0 against
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 match which took place on 25 November 1949 at
Leoforos Alexandras Stadium Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium (), commonly known as Leoforos Alexandras Stadium or Leoforos Stadium, is a football stadium and multi-sport center in Athens, Greece. It was inaugurated in 1922 and is the oldest currently active football stadium in ...
. He won as the manager of the Greek military team the
World Military Cup The World Military Cup is an international association football competition contested by national military teams. Organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM), the tournament was first held in 1946 under the title World Military ...
in 1952. In 1955 after a brief spell at Olympiacos, Negrepontis returned to AEK, where he won the Greek Cup in
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan after 57 years. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian Missionary, missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, E ...
. In February 1957 Negrepontis left AEK, but returned to their bench in 1958. In 1959 he took over the wheel of Atromitos. He also managed teams of the likes of Panelefsiniakos,
Apollon Athens Apollon Smyrnis Football Club () is a professional football club based in Athens, Greece, which competes in the Athens FCA first division. It is part of GS Apollon Smyrnis (Γυμναστικός Σύλλογος Απόλλων Σμύρνης), ...
, Ethnikos Piraeus, Panegialios and
Panachaiki Panachaiki G.E. (Greek: Παναχαϊκή Γυμναστική Ένωση, ''Panachaiki Gymnastiki Enosi'', "Pan- Achaean Gymnastic Union") is a Greek multi-sport club based in the city of Patras, Greece. The history of Panachaiki began in 1891, ...
.


Personal life

In 1965 Negrepontis retired from football, but did not stop watching his beloved AEK, even when he fell ill. Due to his great sporting activity in Greece, was honored by King Paul and by the Association of Sports Editors.


Death

Οn 19 February 1973 at 11pm, Negrepontis died after a 2-year struggle with illness. The former president of AEK Athens and author of the first history book about the club, Panos Makridis wrote in the Greek newspaper, ''"Athletic Echo"'' about the death of Negrepontis: ''"As a former president, but also as one of the founders of AEK, together with the whole world of the fans, I mourn the loss of Kostas Negrepontis. He was one of the creators of the glory of AEK, but also a brave and honest fighter in the stadiums, whether Greek or foreign. With the death of Kostas Negrepontis, perhaps the last of the old honest football fighters is lost, who fought only for the idea and the honor and the colors of Greece as an international football player, but also of the club he served. Kostas Negrepontis left an era as a moral footballer without wages and "bonuses". He was the creator of a football school, the coach of the National team and the Military team."''


Honours


As a player

Pera Club * Turkish Championship: 1922 AEK Athens *
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 ...
: 1931–32


As a coach

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: 1938–39, 1955–56 * Athens FCA Championship: 1940, 1946, 1947 Panionios *Athens FCA Championship: 1951 Greece military *
World Military Cup The World Military Cup is an international association football competition contested by national military teams. Organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM), the tournament was first held in 1946 under the title World Military ...
: 1952


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Negrepontis, Kostas 1897 births 1973 deaths Greek men's footballers Constantinopolitan Greeks Emigrants from the Ottoman Empire to Greece Greek football managers Greece men's international footballers Greece national football team managers AEK Athens F.C. players Fenerbahçe S.K. footballers AEK Athens F.C. managers Ethnikos Piraeus F.C. managers Panionios F.C. managers Olympiacos F.C. managers Atromitos F.C. managers Panachaiki F.C. managers Panegialios F.C. managers Panelefsiniakos F.C. managers Turkish people of Greek descent Footballers from Istanbul Beyoğluspor footballers Men's association football forwards SC Douai players Turkish expatriate football managers