Antonis Nikopolidis: Greece's George Clooney goalkeeper fallen from grace

Antonis Nikopolidis is something of a football cult hero. The former goalkeeper became world-famous during Greece's shock victory at Euro 2004, but seems to have an ambiguous relationship with his country. Let's take a look at Nikopolidis' career and his life after football. All stats are sourced from Transfermarkt.

Nikopolidis was born on January 14, 1971 in Arta, where he would join local Anagennisi Arta and spark interest from the big boys of Greek football.

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In 1989, he moved to Athens to play for Panathinaikos, one of the Greek capital's top clubs. It was the beginning of a long and fruitful relationship, but one that would leave a bitter aftertaste.

That same season, Nikopolidis made his debut for the 'Greens', although he struggled to win a starting place and would not establish himself as Panathinaikos' first-choice goalkeeper until the 1997/98 season. However, his time at the club was very successful, with five titles and five cups.

Just before Euro 2004, Nikopolidis found himself in a conflict with Panathinaikos' management, as he wanted to earn more.

According to The Sportsman, the goalkeeper was rumoured to have been approached by arch-rivals Olympiacos, who were willing to pay him more and managed to sign him officially on 1 July 2004. Panathinaikos fans were heartbroken.

However, during that period, Nikopolidis, then aged 34, focused on his international commitments with the Greek national team, which was to play in Euro 20004, hosted by Portugal.

The Greeks travelled to Portugal without high expectations, and no one was giving a single penny for their hopes of winning the tournament. However, Nikopolidis and his compatriots proved everybody wrong by proceeding into the final, beating France and Czech Republic along the way.

The final obstacle for Nikopolidis and Greece was Portugal, the hosts, with a young Cristiano Ronaldo in their ranks. The two countries had already met in the group stage, where the Greeks stunned with a 2-1 victory, and they repeated in the final. It was Angelos Charisteas' header that sent the Greeks into euphoria.

Nikopolidis played a key role in Greece's success, keeping a clean sheet in every match after the group stage. He and his compatriots were greeted as true Greek heroes in their home country.

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After the tournament, Nikopolidis would focus on his next adventure at Olympiacos, where he made an instant impact. He helped the Red-Whites win back-to-back doubles, having already finished with a double at Panathinaikos, further cementing his name in the history of Greek football.

Nikopolidis eventually retired as a player with Olympiacos, having won six titles and four cups with the club and achieving legendary status.

That status was further underlined when the IFFHS included the Greek in its list of the world's best goalkeepers of the decade 2001-2010, where he was ranked 23rd.

Aside from his goalkeeping skills, what drew attention to Nikopolidis was his resemblance to actor George Clooney. It's the aura of the silver fox, isn't it?

After hanging up his boots, Nikopolidis returned to the world of football as assistant and caretaker manager of the Olympiacos first team, and he also played a role in the club's youth academy. He also worked for the Greek U-21 team and Proodeftiki.

Remarkably, Nikopolidis once took a job as a gardener in the public sector to earn some extra money while still playing for Olympiacos, according to The Sportman. He was allowed to according to the Greek law, but the news did not go down well in Greece, which at the time was hard hit by the economic crisis.

Nikopolidis reacted on the Olympiacos website. "The government gives the opportunity for sports people who have succeeded to be appointed on public duty. Since 2005 I can use this right because I became European champion in Portugal during 2004. Many of my colleagues can use this right as well. According to the active law I have the right to accept or deny the appointment in two weeks’ time. I will do that and I will inform the people of the reasons for my decision," he explained.

The former Greek footballer is also committed to the cause of refugees, and has helped found a football team for refugees in his native Greece, according to TRT World. In this way, he is trying to improve the world, after a successful but controversial career that divided opinion among Greeks.

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