Takis Loukanidis (, 25 September 1937 – 11 January 2018) 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 ...

of the 1950s–60s.

Club career

Born in Paranesti, a village in the broader area of

Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

, Loukanidis' father was killed by

Bulgarian armed forces The Bulgarian Army (), also called Bulgarian Armed Forces, is the military of Bulgaria. The commander-in-chief is the president of Bulgaria. The Ministry of Defense is responsible for political leadership, while overall military command is in ...

and soon after he was placed in an orphanage at age 10. He began playing football with the youth side of AEK Komotini, and joined the senior team of Doxa Drama F.C. in 1955. He soon attracted the interest of major clubs in Greece and abroad, including

Juventus FC Juventus Football Club (; from , ), commonly known as Juventus or colloquially as Juve (), is an Italian professional Association football, football List of football clubs in Italy, club based in Turin, Piedmont, who compete in Serie A, the ...

Finally, Antonis Mantzevelakis brought him to Panathinaikos via APOEL in Cyprus. Takis Loukanidis made his debut on 28 March 1962 against

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 ...

(score: 2-3). In the following match, on 1 April 1962, he scored his first goal with Panathinaikos, helping them beat

Proodeftiki Proodeftiki Football Club, also known as Proodeftiki Piraeus, simply as Proodeftiki, or with its full name as A.O. Proodeftiki Neolea (, transliterated "Athlitikós Όmilos Proodeftiki Neolea", ''Athletic Club Progressive Youth''), is a Greek fo ...

5–0. He ended his career at

Aris Thessaloniki Athlitikos Syllogos Aris Thessalonikis, means Athletic Club Aris Thessaloniki (), is a major Greece, Greek multi-sport club founded on 25 March 1914 in Thessaloniki. Nicknamed ''God of War'', Aris was one of the strongest Greek clubs during t ...

, where he won the Greek Cup in 1970.

International career

Loukanidis made 23 appearances and scored three goals for the Greece national team from 1958 to 1967. He made his debut in a 1-7

1960 European Nations' Cup The 1960 European Nations' Cup was the inaugural tournament of the UEFA European Championship, held every four years and organised by UEFA. The first tournament was held in France. It was won by the Soviet Union, who beat Yugoslavia 2–1 in Par ...

qualifying defeat to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

on 1 October 1958.

Death

Loukanidis died on 11 January 2018 in Athens due to a myocardial infarction. He was 80. Panathinaikos released a statement on their official website, paying tribute:

Honours

;Panathinaikos *

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 ...

: 1961–62, 1963–64, 1964–65, 1968–69 *

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 ...

: 1966–67, 1968–69 ;Aris *Greek Cup: 1969–70

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loukanidis, Takis 1937 births 2018 deaths Greek men's footballers Greece men's international footballers Super League Greece players Doxa Drama F.C. players Panathinaikos F.C. players Aris Thessaloniki F.C. players Men's association football midfielders Panserraikos F.C. managers Greek football managers People from Drama (regional unit) Footballers from Eastern Macedonia and Thrace 20th-century Greek sportsmen