# Nikos Anastopoulos

Nikos Anastopoulos (Greek: Νίκος Αναστόπουλος; born 22 January 1958) is a Greek former footballer and manager. He was one the most prolific strikers in the Greek league during the 1980s and is widely regarded as one of the best players in the history of Greek football.
Anastopoulos began his career at Panionios in 1976, where he quickly became a high-profile player, winning the cup in 1979. After impressive performances in the following season's Cup Winners' Cup campaign, he was reached out by a number of European clubs, eventually signing with Olympiacos. He quickly became a fan favourite with Olympiacos fans and, despite a slow start, became a prolific goal scorer for the club and won the Bronze Boot as the third scorer in Europe in the 1982–83 season. He became central to the club's success in the 1980s, winning four league championships before departing for Serie A side Avellino in 1987. An ambitious signing, his tenure at the Italian club was ultimately unsuccessful, with him returning to Panionios in 1988. After a moderately successful year with Panionios, he returned to Olympiacos in 1989. With the club in dire financial situation, he became a vital part of the club, despite falling out with manager Oleg Blokhin, winning two Greek Football Cups before leaving for Ionikos in 1992. After a successful season with the Athenian side, Anastopoulos returned to Olympiacos, retiring from professional football in 1993 to become assistant manager of returning manager Nikos Alefantos.
Anastopoulos earned his first cap with Greece in 1977, amassing a record (at the time) of 74 caps until 1988. With 29 goals, he is the all-time top scorer for the Greek national team. He also scored Greece's first goal at a major international tournament, scoring against Czechoslovakia at the 1980 European Championship.
His style of play was highly regarded and commonly noted for his acrobatic goals and headers, positioning, and sense of goal. He is considered one of the greatest players in Olympiacos history, where he scored 159 goals in 291 official games for the club.
Since retiring as a player he has become a football manager, achieving notable success at PAS Giannina, Panachaiki, Aris, OFI and Kalamata, becoming a fan favourite in these clubs. He became known for his outspoken attitude, tactical flexibility, and success under pressure, having achieved promotions with Aris and avoiding relegation on numerous occasions.

## Club career

Anastopoulos was born on 22 January 1958. He started his career at Dafni before transferring to Panionios with whom he debuted in the Alpha Ethniki in the 1977–78 season. Thanks to Anastopoulos, Panionios won the Greek Cup in 1979 upsetting AEK Athens 3–1. His debut in European competition was also impressive as he scored twice against FC Twente and once against IFK Göteborg in the Cup-winners' Cup. His performance brought an immediate transfer offer from Twente as well as other Greek and foreign clubs. Finally, in 1980, he went to Olympiacos.
As an Olympiacos player, Anastopoulos, also known as "Moustakias" (the moustachioed one), won top scorer honours in 1982–83 season (29 goals), 1983–84 season (18 goals), 1985–86 season (19 goals) and 1986–87 season (16 goals). His goal-scoring exploits in 1982–83 won him the Bronze Boot as third scorer across Europe.
Ahead of the 1987–88 season, Anastopoulos left Greece to play for Avellino in Italy. Though he performed well in the Italian Cup, he failed to score a single goal in Serie A and returned to Greece the following season.
After coming close to signing with AEK Athens, Anastopoulos chose to return to Panionios. He later played for Olympiacos, Ionikos and closed out his career with Olympiacos (once more) after the 1993–94 season.

## International career

On 21 September 1977, Anastopoulos made his debut for Greece and during his playing career he was capped 75 times scoring 29 goals – more than any other Greek international. He was a member of the Greek squad in the finals of Euro 1980 and scored the only Greek goal of that competition with a header against Czechoslovakia.

## Career statistics
### Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | National Cup | National Cup | Europe | Europe | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Panionios | 1976–77 | 32 | 11 | ? | ? | – | – | 32+ | 11+ |
| Panionios | 1977–78 | 27 | 3 | ? | ? | – | – | 27+ | 3+ |
| Panionios | 1978–79 | 28 | 4 | ? | ? | – | – | 28+ | 4+ |
| Panionios | 1979–80 | 30 | 7 | ? | ? | 4 | 3 | 34+ | 10+ |
| Panionios | Total | 117 | 25 | ? | ? | 4 | 3 | 121+ | 28+ |
| Olympiacos | 1980–81 | 20 | 4 | ? | ? | – | – | 20+ | 4+ |
| Olympiacos | 1981–82 | 33 | 14 | ? | ? | 2 | 1 | 35+ | 15+ |
| Olympiacos | 1982–83 | 31 | 29 | ? | ? | 4 | 1 | 35+ | 30+ |
| Olympiacos | 1983–84 | 30 | 18 | ? | ? | 4 | 3 | 34+ | 21+ |
| Olympiacos | 1984–85 | 28 | 15 | ? | ? | 4 | 2 | 32+ | 17+ |
| Olympiacos | 1985–86 | 24 | 19 | ? | ? | – | – | 24+ | 19+ |
| Olympiacos | 1986–87 | 21 | 16 | ? | ? | 4 | 3 | 25+ | 19+ |
| Olympiacos | Total | 187 | 115 | ? | ? | 18 | 10 | 205+ | 125+ |
| Avellino | 1987–88 | 16 | 0 | ? | ? | – | – | 16+ | 0+ |
| Panionios | 1988–89 | 11 | 5 | ? | ? | – | – | 11+ | 5+ |
| Olympiacos | 1989–90 | 22 | 7 | ? | ? | 6 | 2 | 28+ | 9+ |
| Olympiacos | 1990–91 | 26 | 17 | ? | ? | 4 | 2 | 30+ | 19+ |
| Olympiacos | 1991–92 | 24 | 6 | ? | ? | – | – | 24+ | 6+ |
| Olympiacos | Total | 72 | 30 | ? | ? | 10 | 4 | 82+ | 34+ |
| Ionikos | 1992–93 | 19 | 7 | ? | ? | – | – | 19+ | 7+ |
| Olympiacos | 1993–94 | 3 | 0 | ? | ? | 1 | 0 | 4+ | 0+ |
| Career total | Career total | 425 | 182 | ? | ? | 33 | 17 | 458+ | 199+ |
* ↑ Includes a Championship play-off match against Panathinaikos in which he scored one goal

### International

Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Greece | 1977 | 1 | 0 |
| Greece | 1979 | 2 | 0 |
| Greece | 1980 | 5 | 2 |
| Greece | 1981 | 6 | 2 |
| Greece | 1982 | 9 | 4 |
| Greece | 1983 | 9 | 3 |
| Greece | 1984 | 10 | 5 |
| Greece | 1985 | 6 | 2 |
| Greece | 1986 | 8 | 4 |
| Greece | 1987 | 8 | 3 |
| Greece | 1988 | 9 | 4 |
| Total | Total | 73 | 29 |

### International goals

    Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Anastopoulos goal.
List of international goals scored by Nikos Anastopoulos :
| No. | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition |
| 1 | 16 January 1980 | GSP Stadium, Strovolos, Cyprus | Cyprus | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 2 | 14 June 1980 | Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy | Czechoslovakia | 1–1 | 1–3 | UEFA Euro 1980 |
| 3 | 23 September 1981 | Charliaou Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece | Sweden | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 4 | 14 October 1981 | Charliaou Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece | Denmark | 1–2 | 2–3 | 1982 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 5 | 20 January 1982 | Nikos Goumas Stadium, Athens, Greece | Portugal | 1–0 | 1–2 | Friendly |
| 6 | 9 October 1982 | Stade Municipal, Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 1–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying |
| 7 | 9 October 1982 | Stade Municipal, Luxembourg | Luxembourg | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying |
| 8 | 1 December 1982 | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece | Switzerland | 1–1 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| 9 | 15 May 1983 | Népstadion, Budapest, Hungary | Hungary | 1–0 | 3–2 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying |
| 10 | 3 December 1983 | Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece | Hungary | 1–0 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying |
| 11 | 3 December 1983 | Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece | Hungary | 2–2 | 2–2 | UEFA Euro 1984 qualifying |
| 12 | 15 February 1984 | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece | East Germany | 1–0 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| 13 | 11 April 1984 | Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Athens, Greece | Cyprus | 1–0 | 1–1 | Friendly |
| 14 | 1 September 1984 | Tsirio Stadium, Limassol, Cyprus | Cyprus | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 15 | 5 December 1984 | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece | Romania | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 16 | 5 December 1984 | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece | Romania | 2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly |
| 17 | 9 January 1985 | Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel | Israel | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 18 | 19 May 1985 | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece | Poland | 1–1 | 1–4 | 1986 FIFA World Cup qualification |
| 19 | 26 March 1986 | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece | East Germany | 1–0 | 2–0 | Friendly |
| 20 | 15 October 1986 | Lech Stadium, Poznań, Poland | Poland | 1–1 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying |
| 21 | 12 November 1986 | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece | Hungary | 2–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying |
| 22 | 3 December 1986 | Makario Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus | Cyprus | 4–2 | 4–2 | UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying |
| 23 | 14 January 1987 | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece | Cyprus | 1–0 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying |
| 24 | 14 January 1987 | Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece | Cyprus | 3–1 | 3–1 | UEFA Euro 1988 qualifying |
| 25 | 7 October 1987 | Steaua Stadium, Bucharest, Romania | Romania | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 26 | 21 May 1988 | Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada | Canada | 2–0 | 3–0 | 1988 Matthews Cup |
| 27 | 21 May 1988 | Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada | Canada | 3–0 | 3–0 | 1988 Matthews Cup |
| 28 | 23 May 1988 | Varsity Stadium, Toronto, Canada | Chile | 1–0 | 1–0 | 1988 Matthews Cup |
| 29 | 21 September 1988 | BJK İnönü Stadium, Istanbul, Turkey | Turkey | 1–1 | 1–3 | Friendly |

## Managerial statistics

| Team | From | To | Record | Record | Record | Record | Record |
| Team | From | To | Played | W | D | L | Win % |
| Panelefsiniakos | July 1995 | June 1996 | 39 | 12 | 15 | 12 | 030.77 |
| Panetolikos | February 1997 | February 1998 | — | − | − | − | — |
| PAS Giannina | November 1998 | May 1999 | 19 | 11 | 5 | 3 | 057.89 |
| Panelefsiniakos | August 1999 | October 1999 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 050.00 |
| Panserraikos | November 1999 | March 2000 | — | − | − | − | — |
| Panetolikos | August 2000 | January 2001 | 24 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 037.50 |
| PAS Giannina | January 2001 | June 2001 | 18 | 7 | 5 | 6 | 038.89 |
| Panachaiki | February 2002 | June 2002 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 5 | 016.67 |
| Kallithea | September 2002 | November 2002 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 042.86 |
| PAS Giannina | November 2002 | June 2003 | 26 | 5 | 7 | 14 | 019.23 |
| Kerkyra | September 2003 | January 2005 | 48 | 27 | 9 | 12 | 056.25 |
| Aris | October 2005 | June 2006 | 28 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 050.00 |
| PAS Giannina | August 2006 | January 2007 | 19 | 9 | 6 | 4 | 047.37 |
| Ionikos | May 2008 | June 2008 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 040.00 |
| Kavala | December 2008 | January 2009 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 033.33 |
| PAS Giannina | January 2010 | June 2010 | 16 | 5 | 2 | 9 | 031.25 |
| OFI | September 2010 | December 2012 | 90 | 42 | 20 | 28 | 046.67 |
| Atromitos | December 2012 | April 2013 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 4 | 030.77 |
| Platanias | November 2013 | February 2014 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 028.57 |
| Panionios | February 2014 | May 2014 | 9 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 033.33 |
| OFI Crete | January 2015 | March 2015 | 16 | 4 | 1 | 11 | 025.00 |
| Aris | September 2015 | February 2017 | 55 | 39 | 11 | 5 | 070.91 |
| Kerkyra | February 2019 | April 2019 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 020.00 |
| Kalamata | January 2020 | February 2022 | 40 | 21 | 8 | 11 | 052.50 |
| Kalamata | September 2022 | January 2023 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 050.00 |
| Kalamata | March 2024 | October 2024 | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 030.77 |
| Total | Total | Total | 546 | 241 | 135 | 170 | 044.14 |

## Honours
### As player

Olympiacos
* Greek First Division: 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83, 1986–87
* Greek Cup: 1989–90, 1991–92
* Greek Super Cup: 1992
Panionios
* Greek Cup: 1978–79

### As coach

PAS Giannina
* Greek Second Division: 2001–02
Aris
* Greek Second Division third–place promotion: 2005–06
* Greek Third Division Group 1: 2015–16
Kalamata
* Third Division (South Group): 2020–21
OFI Crete
* Football League promotion play–offs: 2010–11