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