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Mimis Papaioannou

Mimis Papaioannou with AEK Athens.
Personal information
Full name	Dimitrios Papaioannou
Date of birth	(1942-08-23)23 August 1942
Place of birth	Nea Nikomideia, Veria, Greece
Date of death	15 March 2023(2023-03-15) (aged 80)
Place of death	Athens, Greece
Height	1.68 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s)	Forward, attacking midfielder
Youth career
1957–1959	Nea Genea
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1959–1962	Veria	84	(40)
1962–1979	AEK Athens	481	(236)
1979–1982	New York Pancyprian-Freedoms	17	(5)
Total		582	(281)
International career
1962–1965	Greece military	7	(4)
1963–1978	Greece	61	(21)
Managerial career
1982–1986	New York Pancyprian-Freedoms
1986–1987	Kerkyra
1987–1988	Edessaikos
1988–1989	Olympiacos Chalkida
1989–1990	AE Kos
1990–1991	Pannafpliakos
1991–1992	Evgeros
1992–1994	Greece (assistant)
Medal record Men's football Representing  Greece World Military Cup Winner 1962 Winner 1963
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Dimitrios "Mimis" Papaioannou (Greek: Δημήτριος "Μίμης" Παπαϊωάννου; 23 August 1942 – 15 March 2023) was a Greek professional footballer, who played as a forward, mostly for AEK Athens and a manager. Widely regarded as the greatest Greek footballer of his generation and one of the best players of all time in Greece, as he was named the best Greek footballer of the 20th Century by the IFFHS.

A skillful striker who was later converted into an attacking midfielder, due to technical abilities, Papaioannou was characterized by his technique, dribbling abilities, physical strength, versatility in his finishing and his jumping skills that allowed him to stay in the air longer than his opponents. Throughout his playing career, Papaioannou was never shown a single red card, while he was booked with a yellow card only three times. Papaioannou played for AEK for 17 seasons and won five league titles and three Greek cups, including a domestic double in 1978. He is the club's all-time top scorer and by the time he left AEK he was also the all-time top scorer of the Greek championship, but today he is the third place. He is the player of AEK with the second most appearances in all competitions and the first in league appearances. His nickname was "the Vlach" (Greek: "ο Βλάχος"), due to his family origins.

In his international career, Papaioannou was part of the Greek military team that won the World Military Cup in 1962 and 1963. With Greece he earned 61 caps and scored 21 goals, becoming their top scorer until 1986 and now he is the 5th place of the top scorer list. In 2021, the IFFHS also selected him in Greece's best XI of all time.

In 1982 Papaioannou, became the coach for New York Pancyprian-Freedoms, where he won both the league and the cup claiming the domestic double. From 1986 to 1991 he managed Kerkyra, Edessaikos, Olympiacos Chalkida, AE Kos and Pannafpliakos. In 1991 he coached the local club Evgeros at Kefalonia for a season. He also served as an assistant of Alketas Panagoulias in bench of Greece for 2 years.

Early life

Papaioannou was born on 23 August 1942 in Nea Nikomideia of Imathia. His father, Kostas was the curator of the local football team Nea Genea, thus the young Papaioannou came in touch with football from an early age. His football talent began to shine from early on, while his love for football was unquestionable. His love of football and the financial difficulties of his family forced him to leave school early and split his time between the stadium and the barber shop in the village, where he worked as an assistant.

Club career

Early career

At the age of 15 he joined Nea Genea and played in the team's offense. His name and abilities quickly became known in the capital of the prefecture, Veria and to the agents of the local club, as a result of which he transferred to them in 1959, at the age of 17. That period the coach of PAOK, Žarko Mihajlović selected him (along with other youngsters from North Greece who haven't contract with PAOK) to represent the club's academy in Viareggio's youth tournament. His appearances for the "Queen of North" aroused the interest of the big teams of Thessaloniki, but also of the then coach of AEK Athens, Tryfon Tzanetis. The offers of the clubs of Thessaloniki did not meet the requirements of Veria and in fact his transfer to PAOK failed for a difference of 20,000 drachmas. In 1961, Tzanetis suggested and persuaded the owner of AEK, Nikos Goumas to offer 175,000 drachmas to the team and 25,000 drachmas to the 19-year-old player for his transfer to their club. The young striker of refugee origin was hesitant, as on the one hand there was his sporting sympathy for the northern Greece, PAOK and the neighboring move to Thessaloniki, while on the other hand there was the greater name of AEK Athens and the money he was offered were more than an immediate need for his family, with prerequisite his move to the distant Athens, but eventually after the advice of the president of Veria, Kostas Vorgiatzidis, Papaioannou chose the club of Athens.

AEK Athens

1962–1963

In the summer of 1962, the 20-year-old Papaioannou was dressed in the yellow-black jersey, starting an integral course of 17 years that elevated him to one of the greatest players in the history of AEK Athens. He was the player that AEK was looking to pair up with Kostas Nestoridis and lead the club in claiming leagues. Alongside "Nestoras" they formed an incredible attacking duo that was proved deadly for the opposing defences. On 27 September 1962 he scored his first goal on his debut in a 7–2 triumph against Egaleo. He scored in the derby against Olympiacos at Karaiskakis Stadium, in the 1–3 victory on 23 December 1962, while he also scored in the same match of the second round. At the end of the season, AEK was tied on the 1st place with Panathinaikos and the title was judged in a play-off match on 23 June 1963. Papaioannou scored twice, Nestoridis also scored from a direct corner kick and after a 3–3 draw according to the regulations of the time, the title was awarded to the team with the best goal ratio in the regular season. The 39 goals scored by the two clubs and the total goal difference of 66–21, led AEK to win the league after 23 years. As Mimis Papaioannou had stated, after the end of the match, as he saw all the members of the team in the locker room crying for this success, he was grafted as a newcomer with the club's ideals, while he also cried and became a supporter of AEK.

1963–1965

The upcoming years for AEK and Papaioannou were almost ideal, as he showed that he was the one to take the leader role from Nestoridis in the team, pushing them as high as he could to lead them to success. His appearances and achievements put him quickly in the heart of the crowd. The fans adored him and he rewarded them with passion for the yellow-black jersey. On 29 September 1963 he scored a brace in the away defeat with 5–4 against Panathinaikos. He scored his first hat-trick on 16 October 1963 scoring all three goals against Aris at home. It did not take him long enough to score another one, as he did 2 months later against Ethnikos Piraeus in a 4–0 win. Papaioannou scored a goal in the imposing 6–1 against Olympiacos on 6 January 1964. He also scored 4 of the total of 7 goals of his team against Anagennisi Arta for the Cup, on 26 April 1964. At the end of the season he won his first Cup with AEK, even though the final was scratched due to the suspension of the semi-finalists, Panathinaikos and Olympiacos from the competition. In 1964 he ended the season as the league's top scorer with 29 goals, ending the 5-year winning streak of Nestoridis.

On 31 January 1965, Papaioannou scored a hat-trick against Panachaiki in a 6–0 home win for the league. He also scored the winner in an episodic derby against Olympiacos away from home, that ended 1–2 for AEK. He scored again with the same opponent, opening the score in a 3–3 draw at home, on the final matchday.

Career break and singing

Οn 12 May 1965, the legendary Real Madrid player, Ferenc Puskás, who saw Papaioannou scoring a brace against the Spanish "Queen" in the friendly 3–3 at Nea Filadelfeia, suggested to the management of Real the acquisition of the Greek forward. The proposal of Real Madrid to AEK was unrealistic for the Greek standards of the time. The Castigians offered AEK 4,000,000 drachmas and 750,000 drachmas to the player for his move to Madrid. The huge salary and the prospect of a football career far from Greece's standards in Spain ignited the desire of the player for the transfer, but that desire was never fulfilled, since the management of AEK declined due to their fear of the reaction of the fans to a possible departure of Papaioannou. Nevertheless, Papaioannou was willing to leave AEK under the given punishment of a one-year ban and then sign as free agent at Real, but the Spaniards refused, as they didn't want to disrupt their relations with the Greek club.

Papaioannou embittered with the attitude of the management withdrew from the club's activities and was about to abandon football. Afterwards, Papaioannou was approached by a folk composer and bouzouki player Christos Nikolopoulos, who brought him in contact with Stelios Kazantzidis. Papaioannou and Kazantzidis had mutual respect and admiration for each other's virtues with the latter discovering that Papaioannou, apart from his footballing skills, had also a very good singing voice and suggested him to join his tour in Germany with Marinella. Papaioannou accepted and traveled to Germany, singing to the Greek immigrants of the country. After two months and despite vocal competence of Papaioannou, Kazantzidis, realizing the "crime" of the departure of Mimis from football, persuaded him to return to AEK and mediated himself with the administration in order for the player to sign a very satisfactory contract of 500,000 drachmas per season at the start of December 1965. His singing career was limited to the recording of seven songs by Kazantzidis and Nikolopoulos between 1971 and 1972. Among them was the recording on 19 June 1971 of the famous "Hymn of AEK" to music by Stelios Kazantzidis and lyrics by Christos Kolokotronis.

1965–1966

Upon his return to his two great loves, AEK and football, Papaioannou became the leader of the team, following the departure of Nestoridis a few months later. In his first match after his return, on 19 December 1965, he scored in the 3–2 of the yellow-blacks against Panathinaikos at Leoforos Alexandras Stadium. Papaioannou scored five hat-tricks in this season: one in a 6–0 victory against Niki Volos on 6 March 1966, the other against PAOK in a 5–1 win, against Panionios with the same score against Egaleo with the score reaching 4–1 and against Edessaikos for the Cup. He also scored in the derby against Panathinaikos on 3 April 1966, but his goal didn't count as the game was suspended and eventually awarded to the greens. At the end of the season, he emerged again as the league's top scorer with 23 goals.

1966–1967

The next season Papaioannou led the double-headed eagle in the final of the Balkans Cup scoring 2 goals against Lokomotiv Sofia, 2 goals against Farul Constanța and 1 goal against Vardar. In the first leg of the final in October 1967 against Fenerbahçe, his goal in their 2–1 victory, was not enough in claiming the title, as the Turkish tied the score in the second leg and sent the tie to a decider match in 1968 which they also won by 3–1, where Papaioannou was the scorer for his team. Papaioannou also scored once in the away defeat against Braga, for the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup, on 5 October 1966. On 29 January 1967 he scored the decider against Olympiacos in the dying minutes, while in the same match of the second round, he opened the score in the final 1–1 away draw.

1967–1968

On 22 October 1967 he equalized the goal by Domazos and shaped the final 1–1 against Panathinaikos. On 12 November he scored a hat-trick against Panserraikos in a 4–0 win at home. Papaioannou scored a brace at the away 4–1 victory against Olympiacos. He scored his second hat-trick of the season, on 21 January 1968, against Vyzas Megara in a 6–1 home win. He also scored the winner in a 2–1 win over Panathinaikos. For the 1967–68 Balkans Cup, he scored in a 3–3 draw against Olimpija Ljubljana. Papaioannou celebrated his second championship with AEK at the end of the season, while also qualifying for the first time in their history to the European Cup.

1968–1969

On 18 September 1968, Papaioannou scored in AEK's first win in the European Cup, opening the score in the 3–0 over Jeunesse Esch. On 27 October 1968 in Faliro against Olympiacos, while they were leading 3–2 with Papaioannou scoring once, after dismissal of the goalkeeper, Serafidis for kicking Sideris, the coach of AEK at the time, Branko Stanković decided not to make a substitution, sending Papaioannou to play as the goalkeeper for the remaining 5 minutes of the match. Papaioannou kept the post intact, even making two great saves. On 3 November 1968 he scored the fastest hat-trick ever achieved by an AEK player within 12 minutes, in the 5–2 win against Chalkida. As AEK advanced in the second round of the European Cup, he scored with an impressive header, at their first away win in the institution by 2–0, for the 2nd leg against AB, securing the club's qualification to quarter-finals. After successfully leading the yellow-blacks to the European Cup quarter-finals, he scored equalizing the score in the second leg against Spartak Trnava, but the goal that would send them to the extra time after 2–1 loss at home, never came and AEK were eliminated. That was the greatest season of a Greek club at the time, in a European competition. On 14 May 1968 he scored another hat-trick at a Cup game against Lamia in a 5–0 win.

1969–1971

On 8 February 1970, Papaioannou won his team the match against Olympiacos at home, by scoring the only goal of the match. In the round of 32 of the Cup on 22 March, he opened the score against Panathinaikos, while also having a shot hit the crossbar, in an episodic 1–1 draw that was decided at the penalties with AEK losing by 3–5 and Papaioannou missing his penalty.

On 30 September 1970 he scored 4 goals in AEK's 10–0 triumph against the lower division side, Agia Eleousa for the Cup. The double-headed eagle made their highest scoring victory in the league on 4 December 1970, beating Veria by 8–2, with Papaioannou scoring a hat-trick to his former club. On 7 March 1971 he scored again a hat-trick against EPA Larnaca in a 3–0 win at home and three weeks later he scored another one in the 4–0 victory over OFI. Papaioannou led his club to the conquest of another championship, where he lost the top scorer award by a single goal from Georgios Dedes, scoring 27 goals in the league.

1971–1974

The following season, he scored in both league games against Olympiacos equalizing in the matches that both ended in 1–1. Papaioannou scored in the epic 3–2 home win against Internazionale on 29 September 1971, for the 2nd leg of the first round of the European Cup.

From the previous season AEK was beginning to struggle financially and the administrative disputes appeared within the club, resulted in a series of issues. Those issues marked the start of a declining period for AEK. In 1974 the club finished 5th and did not qualify for any European competition, while Stanković was sacked at the midseason. Papaioannou continued to lead the club during the hard times, as they had a decent presence in the UEFA Cup, where they reached the second round and were eliminated by the great Liverpool of Bill Shankly.

ΑΕΚ continued their bad campaigns, as they finished for the second consecutive year in 5th place for the league, while in the Cup they were eliminated at the round of 16. It was characteristic that the situation at the club was affecting the performances of Papaioannou as, he recorded his lowest until then performance, with 7 goals in all competitions.

1974–1976

As the presidency of the club passed to Loukas Barlos, the team entered a glorious period, with Papaiannou leading the club to titles and distinctions. In a competitive regeneration of the team under František Fadrhonc and with the transfers of Walter Wagner, Christos Ardizoglou, Tasos Konstantinou and Giorgos Dedes in their offense, Papaioannou raised his performances. He scored a 4–3 victory against Panathinaikos on 20 April 1975. AEK finished at the second place in the league, just 2 points behind Olympiacos.

In the next season, AEK faced Vojvodina in the first round of the UEFA Cup, where Papaioannou scored once in the 3–1 win in the second leg, on 1 October 1975. On 2 November 1975, he scored a hat-trick in the Cup game, where AEK prevailed over Agios Dimitrios with 7–0. One week later, with his 2 goals Papaioannou, formed the 2–0 win, in the away match against Olympiacos.

1976–1977

In the summer of 1976 after the yellow-blacks were strengthened by the additions of Nikos Christidis, Takis Nikoloudis and the great Thomas Mavros, they played amazing football. Fadrhonc, considering the playing intelligence and high technical qualities in the playing style of Papaioannou, decided to relocate him as a "classic number 10" in order to fit all the great attackers the club had to offer. Papaioannou responded successfully as a playmaker, while maintaining his scoring abilities. In the first round of the UEFA Cup, AEK faced Dynamo Moscow, where Papaioannou scored in the 2–0 of the first leg on 15 September 1976. In the episodic second leg on 29 September 1976 that was sent to the extra time, after AEK won a penalty in the last minute and Konstantinou who went to take it, given the order by Papaiannou to finish the job, calmly sent the ball into the net and the goalkeeper in the opposite direction. After beating Derby County in both legs of the second round and became the first club in the history of the European tournaments to achieve a victory in English ground, they faced Red Star Belgrade, where Papaioannou opened the score in the first leg on the 2–0 victory on 24 November 1976. On 30 January, before the home match against Atromitos, Barlos awarded him with the golden double-headed eagle, which was the team's highest honor in those years. In the quarter-finals he helped his team tie the 3–0 defeat of the first leg against QPR, scoring a goal in the regular time and sending the match to penalties. He scored the winning penalty leading the club to the semi-finals. AEK Athens glorious campaign in the UEFA Cup ended after losing to the legendary Juventus of Giovanni Trapattoni, who eventually won the tournament.

1977–1978

In the next season the acquisition of Dušan Bajević and the formation of an outstanding attacking duo with Thomas Mavros, while Papaioannou orchestrated the attack, made the team's offense unstoppable. Fadrhonc was sacked in the beginning of the season after 3 years of presence, but his replacement Zlatko Čajkovski also did an excellent job. On 28 September 1977 he scored in the second leg of the first round of the UEFA Cup against ASA Târgu Mureș, where AEK qualified with a score of 3–0, while at the second round their campaign was cut short by Standard Liège. At the end of the season, with Papaioannou as their captain, they reached in the conquest of the domestic double with relative ease as they won the league with just 2 defeats and they went undefeated in the Cup, beating Panathinaikos in the second round, tearing apart Olympiacos by 6–1 in the semi-finals and prevailing against PAOK by 2–0 in the final.

1978–1979

After a completely successful season, Barlos after taking the approval of Papaioannou added to the star roster of the club the other "Mimis", by sigining the legendary captain of Panathinaikos, Domazos alongside Ferenc Puskás, as a coach, who both led the "greens" to the European Cup Final in 1971. During the season AEK were unstoppable with only three defeats in the league and played some of the most spectacular football that the team had ever played, as they tore their opponents apart with large margin wins, achieving the league's best offense with a total of 90 goals. The advanced age of Papaioannou and the great performances of his teammates, did not allow him this time to be the lead player of the club. He passed that role to Mavros, who that season became the top scorer in the league with 31 goals and 40 in total in the season, winning the European Silver Shoe, just 3 goals behind Kees Kist. Papaioannou won his last championship with AEK after they were tied in first place with Olympiacos and the latter did not show up for the play-off match, that was set for the title. However, AEK lost the chance to win a second domestic double in a row as they lost the Cup Final AEK against Panionios who overturned the 1–0 lead of the "yellow-blacks" and won by 3–1 the first Cup of their history. That season was the last of Papaioannou at the club. On 6 June 1979, AEK organized a friendly match at Nea Filadelfeia against PAOK in his honour. Players from the elite of the Greek football, such as Vasilis Hatzipanagis, Antonis Antoniadis and Georgios Firos, as well as foreign players, such as Walter Schachner and Kurt Jara, wore the yellow-black shirt to honour Papaioannou, in a 3–2 loss by the team of Thessaloniki.

Papaioannou was an emblematic and the most effective leader of the club who led them to five Championships and three Cups, including a domestic double in 1978. He has been for AEK and Greek football a symbol of morale and loyalty to the team, as staying with the same team for over a decade and never seeing a red card in his entire career, while he was marked with a yellow card only three times. In his 17-year spell with AEK, he became the club's all-time top scorer and by the time he left AEK he was also the league's all-time top scorer, a record broken 11 years later by Mavros. Papaioannou today is the 3rd place of the all-time top scorers of the Greek Championship. He holds the club record of most goals scored in the derbies against Panathinaikos with 10 goals, while he is second, behind Mavros at the same record in the derbies against Olympiacos with 14 goals. He was the player with the most appearances in all official competitions with the double-headed eagle, until he was surpassed by Stelios Manolas, however Papaioannou holds record of the games played in league with 480 appearances. Until today, he is sixth in appearances for the Greek Championship.

Retirement

After leaving AEK in the summer of 1979, the 37-year-old Papaioannou went in the United States to play for the New York Pancyprian-Freedoms. He won the domestic double in 1980 with the conquest of Cosmopolitan Soccer League and National Challenge Cup. In 1981 he took over the wheel of the team as a player-coach. Even though he was approaching the age of 40, he attracted the interest of NASL clubs, but he had already decided to retire as a footballer at the end of the year, thus finishing his great career in 1982.

International career

Papaioannou was part of the Greek military team from 1962 to 1965. He won two consecutive times the World Military Cup in 1962 and 1963.

Papaioannou was capped 61 times with Greece scoring 21 goals becoming their top scorer, at the time, until Anastopoulos surpassed him in 1986 and now he is among the top 5 goalscorers. His debut was on 27 November 1963 in a friendly away 3–1 loss against Cyprus, under Tzanetis. Although it was the first international match of Papaioannou was the captain of Greece.

Managerial career

Papaioannou, after 2 seasons as a footballer for New York Pancyprian-Freedoms, took over the wheel of the team as a player-coach in 1981 for a year and after retiring as a footballer in 1982, he continued as their manager. He remained at the club as until 1986, where he won another double in 1982 and a second consecutive National Challenge Cup in 1983.

After his return to Greece in 1986, he coached Kerkyra, Edessaikos, Olympiacos Chalkida, AE Kos and Pannafpliakos, respectively within 5 seasons. In 1991 Papaioannou moved to Kefalonia, where he was active professionally and simultaneously coached the local team of Evgeros for a season, where they were promoted from the local championships to the fourth division.

Afterwards, he coached divisions of the national team of Greece and from 1992 was at the side of Alketas Panagoulias in the men's team, as an assistant, until the end of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

After football

In January 1999, the combination of all the virtues and talents of Papaioannou were recognized by the IFFHS, where he was named the Greatest Greek Footballer of the 20th Century.

On 11 October 2000 a friendly match was organised in his honour with the veterans of AEK Athens playing against those of Germany. In front of approximately 2,000 fans of AEK, big names such as Gerd Müller (as a coach), Bernd Schuster, Dieter Burdenski, Holger Fach, Alois Reinhardt, Thomas Berthold, Bernd Förster, Ulrich Borowka, Rüdiger Abramczik, Michael Schulz, Miroslav Votava, Rudi Bommer, Walter Kelsch and Günther Herrmann were present. From the Greek side, players from all generations of AEK such as Stelios Serafidis, Lakis Stergioudas, Giorgos Daditsos, Lakis Nikolaou, Stefanos Theodoridis, Stavros Letsas, Apostolos Toskas, Stelios Manolas, Lampros Georgiadis, Dimitris Saravakos, Christos Ardizoglou, Giorgos Kefalidis, Giorgos Peppes, Giorgos Karafeskos, Lysandros Georgamlis, Nikos Pias, Toni Savevski (as an active footballer), Michalis Simigdalas, Panagiotis Stylianopoulos, Takis Nikoloudis, Andreas Karakidis, Dimitris Kokkinopoulos and Giannis Theocharidis competed. The match ended 5–1 in favour of the Germans, where Papaioannou got to play for 35 minutes in a delirious atmosphere in his person. He was honored by then president of Panathinaikos, Angelos Filippidis, Giorgos Koudas from PAOK, the then presidents of AEK and the Amateur AEK, Cornelius Sierhuis and Giannis Granitsas, Ilias Atmatsidis from the football players and, the then Sport's Minister Giorgos Floridis.

In December 2011, the autobiography of Papaiannou, entitled "Date in the Air" (Greek: "Ραντεβού στον Αέρα") was published by NIKAS publications and edited by Dimitras Apostolias. He visited schools and gave speeches about football, while he presented in tournaments held for school students. Papaiannou also competed with the veterans of AEK and played football on a five-a-side football field to keep in shape. His wax figure is in the new Agia Sophia Stadium museum with other wax effigies of people who have connected their name with AEK from various positions. His name also is honoured on one of the four pillars of the Stadium, alongside other important figures of the club's history such as Kostas Nestoridis, Stelios Serafidis and Thomas Mavros.

Death

On 15 March 2023, Papaioannou died at the age of 80 after a long-term struggle with health issues. His funeral took place on 17 March at Nea Filadelfeia, where great figures of the past and the present of the Greek football attended to "farewell" him for the last time. At the same time, at the Agia Sophia Stadium, the flags were waving at half mast, while the figure of Papaioannou was placed on the external matrix of the stadium.

On 19 March, in the home match against Panathinaikos, the matrix of the stadium showed clips from old interviews, while the team's anthem was playing and before the start of the game the fans of AEK raised a card stunt in his memory. Afterwards, a minute of silence was held in the center of the field by the people of both teams.

Style of play

"I can include him into Europe's best players. He truly was such a quality player and that's not a compliment, that's the truth."

The playing style of Papaioannou was characterized by technique, dribbling, strength and versatility in his finishing, scoring spectacular goals, that made him a difficult opponent to play against. His strong foot was his left, but he scored with both legs. He had a unique jumping ability, staying in the air longer than his opponents and beat them in aerial duels. Despite his small stature of 1.68 meters, he scored over 50 headers in official matches. His headers were described as shots with the head. Οn 12 May 1965, at the 46th minute, during the 3–3 draw in a friendly match against Real Madrid, the central defender José Santamaría was stunned, not believing that the Greek player had just jumped "to the stars" and sent the ball into the net, making the score 3–1. Papaioannou was exceptionally good at free-kicks and he also scored twice from direct corner kicks. His leadership skills and ability to inspire his teammates resulted in making the team give everything they got on the pitch. His playing intelligence and technical ability got him to be converted from a striker to an attacking midfielder, considering his physical condition at the time and in order to fit in with all the great players in the team's offense. He adapted quickly in his new role, while the change of his position kept him in a high level, as despite his offensive skills, he also had good through passes and crosses, creating a lot of scoring chances for his teammates.

Singing career

The 7 songs with the voice of Mimis Papaioannou were recorded on Polyphone during the period 1971–1972 with the collaboration of Christos Nikolopoulos and Stelios Kazantzidis:

1. Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 19) (help) - St. Kazantzidis, G. Vassilopoulos (1971)
2. Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 1) (help) - St. Kazantzidis, Chr. Kolokotronis (recorded 19 June 1971)
3. Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 23) (help) - St. Kazantzidis, G. Vassilopoulos (1971)
4. Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 17) (help) - Chr. Nikolopoulos, Pythagoras (1971)
5. Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 17) (help) - St. Kazantzidis, Evag. Atraidis (1972)
6. Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 19) (help) - St. Kazantzidis, Evag. Atraidis (1972)
7. Error: {{Transliteration}}: transliteration text not Latin script (pos 24) (help) - Chr. Nikolopoulos, G. Vassilopoulos (1972)

Career statistics

Club

1. Includes play-off appearances.
2. His goal against Panathinaikos on 3 April 1966 did not count as the game was suspended.

International

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

List of international goals scored by Mimis Papaioannou

No.	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	12 February 1964	Stamford Bridge, London, England	Great Britain	1–2	1–2	1964 Summer Olympics qualification
2	8 April 1964	Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece	Great Britain	2–1	4–1	1964 Summer Olympics qualification
3				4–1
4	29 November 1964	Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece	Denmark	3–2	4–2	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
5				4–2
6	9 December 1964	Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece	Wales	1–0	2–0	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
7	17 March 1965	Ninian Park, Cardiff, Wales	Wales	1–0	1–4	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
8	23 May 1965	Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece	Soviet Union	1–1	3–1	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
9	3 October 1965	Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece	Soviet Union	1–2	1–4	1966 FIFA World Cup qualification
10	4 October 1967	Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece	Austria	4–1	4–1	UEFA Euro 1968 qualifying
11	21 November 1968	AEK Stadium, Athens, Greece	Egypt	1–0	4–1	Friendly
12	11 December 1968	Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece	Portugal	1–1	4–2	1970 FIFA World Cup qualification
13	27 July 1969	Olympic Park Stadium, Melbourne, Australia	Australia	2–0	2–0	Friendly
14	28 October 1970	La Romareda, Zaragoza, Spain	Spain	2–1	2–1	Friendly
15	9 December 1970	Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece	Cyprus	1–1	1–1	Friendly
16	9 December 1970	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	2–2	2–2	Friendly
17	13 October 1974	Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria	Bulgaria	3–2	3–3	UEFA Euro 1972 qualifying
18	15 November 1974	Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece	Cyprus	1–1	3–1	Friendly
19	4 June 1975	Toumba Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece	Malta	4–0	4–0	Friendly
20	9 October 1976	Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece	Hungary	1–0	1–1	1978 FIFA World Cup qualification
21	10 May 1977	Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece	Soviet Union	1–0	1–0	1978 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

As a player

AEK Athens

• Alpha Ethniki: 1962–63, 1967–68, 1970–71, 1977–78, 1978–79
• Greek Cup: 1963–64, 1965–66, 1977–78

New York Pancyprian-Freedoms

• Cosmopolitan Soccer League: 1980
• National Challenge Cup: 1980

Greece military

• World Military Cup: 1962, 1963

Individual

• Alpha Ethniki top scorer: 1963–64, 1965–66
• Best Greek footballer of the 20th Century

As a coach

New York Pancyprian-Freedoms

• Cosmopolitan Soccer League: 1982
• National Challenge Cup: 1982, 1983

References

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70. "AEK-Crvena zvezda UEFA Europa League 1976/77". UEFA.com.
71. "Μια μεγάλη τιμή για τον Μίμη Παπαϊωάννου" [en:A great honour for Mimis Papaioannou] (in Greek). Online. 30 January 2022.
72. "Όταν το όνειρο μετατράπηκε σε εφιάλτη για την ΑΕΚ, 6 Απριλίου του 1977 η Γιουβέντους ξεσπάει με 4-1 επί του «Δικεφάλου»" [en:When the dream turned into a nightmare for AEK, on 6 April 1977 Juventus broke out with a 4-1 victory over "Double-headed eagle"] (in Greek). Online. 6 April 2018.
73. "AEK-Tîrgu Mureş UEFA Europa League 1977/78". UEFA.com.
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75. "Greek Cup 1977/78". RSSSF.
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77. "Golden Boot Awards". RSSSF. 2 December 2021.
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80. "Το... οικουμενικό αντίο του Μίμη Παπαϊωάννου" [en:The... universal farewell to Mimis Papaioannou]. aek365.org (in Greek). Online.
81. "Ο ΜΙΜΗΣ ΠΑΠΑΪΩΑΝΝΟΥ, ΤΟ ΕΥ ΑΓΩΝΙΖΕΣΘΑΙ, Ο ΑΘΛΗΤΙΣΜΟΣ ΚΑΙ ΤΑ ΣΧΟΛΕΙΑ ΜΑΣ" [en:MIMIS PAPAIOANNOU, THE FAIR PLAY, SPORTS AND OUR SCHOOLS] (in Greek). Online. 3 March 2010.
82. ^ "Mimis Papaioannou". football.aek.com.
83. "ΘΕΜΑ: Το αθηναϊκό clasico των μεγάλων "ισορροπιών"" [en:SUBJECT: The Athenian clasico of the great "balances"]. amna.gr (in Greek). Online.
84. "Οι... βαριές "υπογραφές"!" [en:The... heavy "signatures"!]. kerkida.net (in Greek). Online.
85. "Τα "κιτρινόμαυρα" ρεκόρ" [en:The "yellow-black" records]. onsports.gr (in Greek). Online. 13 April 2012.
86. "Super League 1: Οι κορυφαίοι των κορυφαίων" [en:Super League 1: The best of the best]. makthes.gr (in Greek). Online.
87. "Μίμης Παπαϊωάννου: Οι ιδέες και οι θρύλοι πεθαίνουν μόνο αν ξεχαστούν!" [en:Mimis Papaioannou: Ideas and legends only die if they are forgotten!]. sdna.gr (in Greek). Online.
88. ^ "League Champions". Cosmopolitan Soccer League. 7 February 2017. Archived from the original on 19 November 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
89. "Μίμης Παπαϊωάννου - Όλα τα Βιβλία". skroutz.gr (in Greek). Online. Archived from the original on 30 November 2020.
90. "CISM - Football Cup". milsport.one. March 2016.
91. ^ "World Military Championship". RSSSF.
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94. "ΔΟΠΑΒΣ: Εκδόθηκε ο τόμος ΤΟ ΠΟΔΟΣΦΑΙΡΟ ΣΤΗΝ ΚΩ ΑΠΟ ΤΟ 1927 ΜΕΧΡΙ ΣΗΜΕΡΑ του συμπατριώτη μας κ. Ανδρέα Χατζημιχαήλ" [en:DOPABS: The volume "FOOTBALL IN KOS FROM 1927 UNTIL TODAY" by our compatriot Mr. Andreas Chatzimichail was published]. kosnews24.gr (in Greek). Online.
95. "Ο "κορυφαίος" πέρασε από την Κεφαλονιά!" [en:The "best" passed through Kefalonia!]. kefalonitis.com (in Greek). Online.
96. "Γεια σου Μίμη!" [en:Hello Mimis!]. tanea.gr (in Greek). Online. 12 October 2000.
97. "Οι κορυφαίοι τίμησαν τον τεράστιο Μίμη Παπαϊωάννου" [en:The best honoured the great Mimis Papaioannou]. enwsi.gr (in Greek). Online. 11 October 2019.
98. "Τι κάνει σήμερα ο Μίμης Παπαϊωάννου;" [en:What is Mimis Papaioannou doing today?]. newsbeast.gr. 11 July 2014.
99. "Η ΑΕΚ παρουσίασε τα κέρινα ομοιώματα Νεστορίδη, Παπαϊωάννου και Μπάρλου" [en:AEK presented the wax figures of Nestoridis, Papaioannou and Barlos]. protothema.gr. 26 September 2020.
100. "Δέος με τον πυλώνα του Μίμη Παπαϊωάνου στην "Αγιά Σοφιά-Opap Arena"" [en:Awe with the pillar of Mimis Papaioannou in "Agia Sophia-Opap Arena"]. naftemporiki.gr (in Greek). Online. 20 October 2021.
101. "Εφυγε από τη ζωή ο Μίμης Παπαϊωάννου" [en:Mimis Papaioannou passed away]. aekfc.gr (in Greek). Online. 15 March 2023.
102. "ΑΕΚ: Όλοι ήταν εκεί για το τελευταίο "αντίο" στον Μίμη Παπαϊωάννου" [en:AEK: Everyone was there for the last "farewell" to Mimi Papaioannou]. gazzetta.gr (in Greek). Online.
103. "Μίμης Παπαϊωάννου: Σε λαϊκό προσκύνημα η σορός του θρύλου της ΑΕΚ στο πλάι της "OPAP Arena"" [en:Mimis Papaioannou: Lie in state for the body of the AEK legend on the side of the "OPAP Arena"]. newsit.gr (in Greek). Online. 17 March 2023.
104. "ΑΕΚ-Παναθηναϊκός: Το κορεό και το ενός λεπτού σιγή στη μνήμη του Μίμη Παπαϊωάννου" [en:AEK-Panathinaikos: The choreo and a minute's silence in memory of Mimi Papaioannou]. gazzetta.gr (in Greek). Online. 19 March 2023.
105. ^ "Μίμης Παπαϊωάννου (αρχείο ΕΡΤ)" [en:Mimis Papaioannou (ERT archive)] (in Greek). Online: archive.ert.gr. 25 July 2016 – via youtube.com.
106. "Ποιός CR7; Ο PAP10! Ο Μίμης Παπαϊωάννου!" [en:CR7 who? PAP10! Mimis Papaioannou!]. aek-live.gr (in Greek). Online. 4 October 2021.
107. "Γκαρσία, Νεστορίδης, Παπαϊωάννου, Σαραβάκος και Τσιάρτας -Οι παίκτες της ΑΕΚ που έχουν σκοράρει απευθείας από κόρνερ" [en:Garcia, Nestoridis, Papaioannou, Saravakos and Tsiartas - AEK players who have scored directly corner kicks]. enwsi.gr (in Greek). Online. 19 December 2020.
108. Mimis Papaioannou on football.aek.com
109. Mimis Papaioannou eu-football.info
110. Mimis Papaioannou on epo.gr
111. "Mimis Papaioannou". eu-football.info.

External links

• Mimis Papaioannou at phantis.com
• Mimis Papaioannou at Soccerway.com
• Mimis Papaioannou at WorldFootball.net
• Mimis Papaioannou at National-Football-Teams.com
• Mimis Papaioannou at kicker (in German)
• Mimis Papaioannou at EU-Football.info

• 1942 births
• 2023 deaths
• Footballers from Veria
• Greek men's footballers
• Pontic Greeks
• Greece men's international footballers
• Men's association football forwards
• Super League Greece players
• Veria F.C. players
• AEK Athens F.C. players
• Cosmopolitan Soccer League players
• New York Pancyprian-Freedoms players
• Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States
• Greek expatriate sportspeople in the United States
• PAE Kerkyra managers
• Chalkida F.C. managers
• 20th-century Greek sportsmen