Theologis Papadopoulos

Greek footballer

Theologis PapadopoulosPersonal information

Full name|  Theologis Papadopoulos
Date of birth|  (1960-01-12) 12 January 1960 (age 65)
Place of birth|  Thessaloniki, Greece
Height|  1.82 m (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)|  Goalkeeper
Youth career
1974–1979|  Eleftheriakos Eleftherion
Senior career*
Years|  Team|  Apps|  (Gls)
1979–1984|  AEL|  54|  (0)
1984–1988|  AEK Athens|  80|  (0)
1988–1992|  Panionios|  103|  (0)
1992–1993|  Ionikos|  10|  (0)
Total|  |  237|  (0)
International career
1986–1992|  Greece|  24|  (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Theologis Papadopoulos (Greek: Θεολόγης Παπαδόπουλος; born 12 January 1960) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper.

## Club career

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Papadopoulos started playing football in 1974 from the amateur team Eleftheriakos Eleftherion, while he became more widely known competing in the AEL from 1979. In 1984, he moved to AEK Athens, where after a few seasons, he became the main goalkeeper of the club. During his tenure at AEK, he also became an international. In 1988, even though he was a key player in the team for years, his career at AEK suddenly came to an end. On the eve of the cup rematch against Olympiacos, former AEK footballer Dinos Ballis visited the AEK team's hotel, offered a bouquet to Papadopoulos and was eventually suspected of attempted bribery. The match took place, Olympiacos won 1–3 and Papadopoulos had a poor performance. The continuation was given to the courts, even after Papadopoulos finally reported that there was indeed an attempted bribery. The owners of Olympiacos, the Koskotas brothers and Dinos Balis, as an intermediary, were accused of attempting to bribe the AEK players, Papadopoulos and Vasilakos. Finally, in an unexpected court decision, everyone was acquitted, except Ballis.[1]

After those incidents, Papadopoulos left AEK on bad terms[2] and joined Panionios.[3] He played for the club of Nea Smyrni until 1992 and eventually ended his career in 1993 at Ionikos.[4]

## International career

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Papadopoulos appeared in 24 matches for the Greece from 1986 to 1992.[5][6][7]

## References

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1. ^ "Η δωροδοκία: Ο Θεολόγης, ο Κοσκωτάς και η επιταγή". contra.gr.
2. ^ Γ. Χατζηευστρατίου (7 July 1988). "Οριστικά ελεύθερος με 4-1 έμεινε ο Θ. Παπαδόπουλος". Athetic Echo (in Greek). p. 8.
3. ^ Λάζαρος Μ. Πατσουράκος (12 July 1988). "Μπαμ και κάτω για δυο άσους!". Athetic Echo (in Greek). p. 8.
4. ^ "Θεολόγης Παπαδόπουλος". aekpedia.com.
5. ^ "Greece matches 1986–1990" (PDF). epo.gr.
6. ^ "Greece matches 1990–1995" (PDF). epo.gr.
7. ^ Mastrogiannopoulos, Alexander. "Greece - International Matches 1991–2000". RSSSF. Retrieved 29 December 2008.

*[Apps]: League appearances
*[Gls]: League goals