Greek footballer
Ieroklis Stoltidis
(
Greek
:
Ιεροκλ?? Στολτ?δη?
; born 2 February 1975), also known as "Iero", is a Greek
football
manager
and former professional
footballer
who played as a
central midfielder
. He was known as a passionate, determined anchorman with mental and physical courage.
[
citation needed
]
Club career
[
edit
]
Stoltidis started out with Pontioi Kozanis FC in the
fourth division
before signing for
Iraklis FC
, where he spent eleven years. He made his
Alpha Ethniki
debut for the
Thessaloniki
-based club in December 1992 but did not become a regular until
1995?96
. The following term he played
UEFA Cup
football for the first time. Stoltidis stood out in
2002?03
and was named the club's player of the season. In June, after 234
league
matches, he left for Olympiacos CFP, signing a two-year contract. He was signed to replace
Ze Elias
at Olympiacos.
Crucial goals against eventual champions
Panathinaikos
and
AEK Athens
in
2003?04
endeared him to supporters. Stoltidis also relished his first taste of
UEFA Champions League
football, scoring twice in five appearances. A regular in
Dusan Bajevic
's side in
2004?05
, he played 25 league matches and scored twice. He appeared in all 540 minutes of the Champions League campaign and scored the winner at home against eventual champions
Liverpool
. In the same season, he won the
Alpha Ethniki
as well as the
Greek Cup
with Olympiacos.
During the
2005?06 season
, he started in the first eleven in the Greek
El Clasico
,
Panathinaikos
vs
Olympiacos
, and went on to score in Olympiacos' 2?0 victory. On 23 November 2005, during a Champions League fixture against
Rosenborg
, he made a reckless challenge on 18-year-old opponent
Per Ciljan Skjelbred
, breaking both bones in the teenager's lower leg just above the ankle.
[1]
[2]
Stoltidis finished the season with another Olympiacos double as well as the award for
Greek Footballer of the Year
.
The
2007?08 season
would once again prove successful for Stoltidis. One half of
Takis Lemonis'
defensive midfield duo, Akis formed a strong partnership with
Argentine international
Cristian Raul Ledesma
. Stoltidis also continued his streak of Champions League success, this time helping Olympiacos finish second and gaining entry into the Round of 16. Finishing the group stages with three goals and two assists, Stoltidis pulled off some of the most memorable performances of his career, notably the 3?1 (away) and 3?0 (home) victories against
Werder Bremen
where Stoltidis found the back of the net three times.
In 2010, he signed with
Kerkyra
on a one-year contract where he would finish his career a year later in 2011.
International career
[
edit
]
Stoltidis was a member of the Greece side defeated in the
1998 UEFA European Under-21 Championship
final by
Spain
. In November 1999, he made his debut for the
senior national team
and he went on to represent Greece at the
Athens Olympics in 2004
.
[3]
Despite performing at a high rate for his club Olympiakos, he was left out of the
UEFA Euro 2004
championship winning squad
[4]
and the
FIFA World Cup 2006
or
UEFA Euro 2008
campaigns.
Finally, after years of media speculation, Stoltidis was called to the National Team under Rehhagel for a friendly against the
Czech Republic
. He declined the invitation stating
"I'm no longer at an age where I can perform on all those fronts at the required level. Apart from my gratitude to the fans for their support, I want to assure them that, had this call come earlier in my career, when I was capable of competing on all fronts at a high level, I would have put myself at the disposal of the coach without hesitation."
[1]
Career statistics
[
edit
]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club
|
Season
|
Apps
|
Goals!
|
Iraklis
|
1992?93
|
1
|
0
|
1993?94
|
6
|
1
|
1994?95
|
17
|
0
|
1995?96
|
27
|
0
|
1996?97
|
28
|
1
|
1997?98
|
27
|
7
|
1998?99
|
30
|
6
|
1999?00
|
32
|
5
|
2000?01
|
13
|
1
|
2001?02
|
25
|
6
|
2002?03
|
28
|
6
|
Total
|
234
|
33
|
Olympiacos
|
2003?04
|
25
|
5
|
2004?05
|
26
|
2
|
2005?06
|
27
|
5
|
2006?07
|
26
|
4
|
2007?08
|
26
|
3
|
2008?09
|
9
|
1
|
2009?10
|
3
|
0
|
Total
|
142
|
20
|
Kerkyra
|
2010?11
|
27
|
2
|
Career total
|
403
|
55
|
Honours
[
edit
]
Olympiacos
Individual
References
[
edit
]
External links
[
edit
]