Nikos Spyropoulos (; born 10 October 1983) is a Greek former 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

left-back In the sport of association football, a defender is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield player whose primary role is to stop attacks during the game and prevent the opposition from scoring. Defenders fall into four main categ ...

Club career

Early career

Spyropoulos began his career with

PAS Giannina PAS Giannina Football Club (), or with its full name Panipirotikós Athlitikós Síllogos Giánnina (, ''Panepirotic Athletic Club Giannina'') is a Greek professional Association football, football club based in the city of Ioannina, the capita ...

in 2001, where he celebrated a promotion to the

Alpha Ethniki 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 repla ...

during his first season. In three years, he made a total of 33 appearances for the club, all of which in the

Beta Ethniki The Football League () was the second highest professional football league in Greece since its inception in 1962 as ''Beta Ethniki'' and until 2019. It then served as a third tier after the creation of the Super League 2 as the new second tier ...

Panionios

In summer 2004 he signed for

Greek Superleague 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 repla ...

side

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''), ...

. Eight months later, and while he was about to be transferred to

Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Athlitikos Omilos (, literally in English: "Panathenaic Athletic Club" or Panathinaikos A.C.), also known simply as Panathinaikós , is a major Greek multi-sport club based in the City of Athens. Panathinaikos is one of the mos ...

along with his teammates

Alexandros Tziolis Alexandros Tziolis (; born 13 February 1985) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He was a Greek international from 2005 until his international retirement in 2018. He won 75 caps, scoring twice. He ap ...

and

Evangelos Mantzios Vangelis Mantzios (; born 22 April 1983) is a Greek former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Forward (association football), forward. He is the current technical director of Agios Ierotheos F.C. Academies. Club caree ...

, he tested positive for elevated

testosterone Testosterone is the primary male sex hormone and androgen in Male, males. In humans, testosterone plays a key role in the development of Male reproductive system, male reproductive tissues such as testicles and prostate, as well as promoting se ...

and was initially suspended for two years. This was later attributed to natural causes, but his transfer was cancelled nevertheless. He returned to action one year later and went on to play for 3.5 years for

, earning the reputation of being one of the best left-backs in the Greek championship. During the summer transfer period of 2007 and the winter period of 2008, Spyropoulos attracted the interest of clubs such as

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 ...

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

Werder Bremen Sportverein Werder Bremen von 1899 e. V. (), commonly known as Werder Bremen, Werder or simply Bremen, is a German professional sports club based in Bremen. Founded on 4 February 1899, Werder are best known for their professional association foo ...

– however a move did not materialize.

Panathinaikos

In January 2008, Spyropoulos moved to

for a reported fee of €2 million Εuros. After some impressive displays during the second half of 2007–08 season, Spyropoulos has started the 2008–09 season as the main left back for Panathinaikos.

Henk Ten Cate Hendrik Willem ten Cate (born 9 December 1954) is a Dutch football coach and former player. In the 2005–06 season, he was assistant to Frank Rijkaard at Barcelona when the team won the UEFA Champions League and La Liga titles. He then serve ...

, the manager had praised his ability by asking a "Spyropoulos for the right side" too, during the pre-season. Spyropoulos main assets are his speed, stamina and the ability to go forward whenever possible. Due to a clause he was not able to play against his previous team

for two years after his transfer to Panathinaikos.

Chievo Verona

Two days before the winter transfer window closed Spyropoulos signed for

Serie A The Serie A (), officially known as Serie A Enilive in Italy and Serie A Made in Italy abroad for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Italy and the highest tier of the Italian football league system. Establish ...

side A.C. Chievo Verona. He made two appearances for the club before missing the remainder of the season through injury.

PAOK

An announcement on

PAOK PAOK (, Πανθεσσαλονίκειος Αθλητικός Όμιλος Κωνσταντινοπολιτών, ''Panthessalonikeios Athlitikós Ómilos Constantinopoliton'', ''Pan-Thessalonian Athletic Club of Constantinopolitans''), commonly ...

's official Twitter profile confirmed the acquisition of Spyropoulos. He made his debut with the club in December 2013 in a 2–0 away win against

. On 15 April 2015, his contract was terminated.

International career

On 17 November 2007, Spyropoulos made his Greece national team debut in the 5–0

Euro 2008 The 2008 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2008 or simply Euro 2008, was the 13th UEFA European Championship, a quadrennial football tournament contested by the member nations of UEFA (the Union of European ...

qualifier defeat of

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

coming on for

Vasilis Torosidis Vasilis Torosidis (Greek language, Greek: Βασίλης Τοροσίδης, born 10 June 1985) is a Greek former professional Association football, footballer who played as a right-back. Club career Skoda Xanthi Torosidis made his senior debut ...

in the 46th minute.

Career statistics

Club

International

:''Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Spyropoulos goal.''

Honours

Panathinaikos *

Super League Greece 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 repla ...

: 2009–10 *

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 ...

: 2009–10 PAOK *

runner-up: 2013–14

References

External links

2010 FIFA World Cup profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spyropoulos, Nikos 1983 births Living people Footballers from Ioannina Men's association football defenders Men's association football midfielders Greek men's footballers Greece men's international footballers Greek expatriate men's footballers Panionios F.C. players Panathinaikos F.C. players PAS Giannina F.C. players AC ChievoVerona players PAOK FC players Super League Greece players Serie A players Football League (Greece) players UEFA Euro 2008 players 2010 FIFA World Cup players Expatriate men's footballers in Italy 21st-century Greek sportsmen