Mimis Papaioannou, one of the most important and iconic footballers in the history of Greek football, died at the age of 81.
The legend of AEK left today, leaving behind him an indelible mark of his career on and off the field in the consciousness of the fans and beyond.
The IFFHS recognized him in 2000 as the greatest Greek footballer of the 20th century, while in 2003 he was voted the third best Greek footballer by the UEFA to celebrate 50 years of UEFA.
His story in “Monachokori”
He played as a player for AEK for 17 consecutive seasons (1962-1979), scored 234 goals and together with them won five championships of the First National League (1963, 1968, 1971, 1978, 1979) and three Greek cups (1964, 1966, 1978).
He was also twice top scorer (1964, 1966) and was a key contributor to the team’s two impressive runs in the 1968-69 Champions Cup and 1976-77 UEFA Cup.
The Union said goodbye to him in its own way with a lengthy post on Instagram.
The Greek National Team and the USA
In 1977 he moved to the other side of the Atlantic, where he competed for a period in Pancyprios New York as a player-coach and managed to win the double.
He played in the Greek National Team from 1963 to 1978, setting records for appearances (61) and goals (21) for that time. Today, he ranks 5th in the all-time scorers list with our representative group.
The anthem of AEK through his voice
In addition, he worked for a few years as a professional folk singer alongside Stelios Kazantzidis. In fact, Papaioannou also sang the anthem of AEK, with Kazantzidis writing the music.