Mimis Papaioannou

At the age of 15 he joined Nea Genea and played in the team's offence. His name and abilities quickly became known in the capital of the prefecture of Veria and to the agents of the local club, as a result of which he transferred to it with a promising 1959 at the age of 17. His appearances in the "Queen of the North" aroused the interest of the big teams of Thessaloniki but also of the then-coach of AEK Athens, Tryfon Tzanetis.[2] The offers of the teams of Thessaloniki do not meet the requirements of his team and in fact his transfer to PAOK breaks for a difference of 20,000 drachmas. In 1961, Tzanetis suggested and persuaded Nikos Goumas to offer 175,000 drachmas to his team and 25,000 drachmas to him for the acquisition of 19-year-old Papaioannou. The young striker of refugee origin is 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 and most of the money that was more than an immediate need for his family, with the almost expatriate in the distant Athens, a prerequisite but eventually Papaioannou choose the Athenian club.[3]

Thus, in the summer of 1962, the 20-year-old Mimis Papaioannou dressed in the yellow and black jersey, starting an integral course of 18 years that elevated him to one of the greatest players in the history of AEK Athens. For AEK, "The Vlach" (Greek: "Βλάχος"), as was the nickname they gave him, was the last piece of the puzzle that Kostas Nestoridis had been trying to match for years and lead the club to the title of Champion. With "Nestoras" they create an incredible attacking duo, flooded with technique, passion, strength and pluralism in execution that proves deadly for the opposing defenses. At the end of the 1962-63 season, AEK is tied for 1st place with Panathaikos and the conquest of the title is judged in a draw. Papaioannou scored twice, Nestoridis scored from a direct corner kick and a 3–3 draw according to the then regulations gives the title to the team with the best goal ratio in the regular season. The 39 goals scored by the two of them and the total goal difference of 66–21 lead AEK to win the league after 23 years. As Mimis Papaioannou himself has narrated ,after the end of that barrage and seeing all the members of the team in the locker room crying for this success, he was grafted as a newcomer with the yellow and black ideals, he also cried and "became a supporter of AEK".[3] In 1964 he became the top scorer of the league ending Nestoridis' 5-year-streak.

The continue for AEK and Papaioannou was almost magical as he showed that he will be the one to take the lead from Nestoridis, taking AEK as high as he could. His appearances and achievements quickly put the short attacker in the heart of the people of the club. The fans adored him and he rewarded them with passion for the jersey with the Double-Headed Eagle. His high technique and continuous scoring with spectacular goals, while his extraordinary ability to "stand" in the air more than any opponent defender and shoot with his head the opposition goalkeepers and gave the admiration of not only the Greek fans, but also of foreigners that happened to watch him play. One of these foreigners was to be the legendary "Galloping Major", Ferenc Puskás who as a Real Madrid player on 12 May 1965 saw Papaioannou scoring a brace against the Spanish "Queen" in the friendly 3-3 on Nea Filadelfeia. "Pancho" immediately suggested to the management of Real the acquisition of the Greek striker. Real's proposal to AEK was unrealistically mythical for the Greek data of the time. The Castigians offered 4 million drachmas to AEK and 750,000 to the player for Papaioannou to move to Madrid. The fabulous amount and the prospect of a career in the football light years away from Greece's standards, Spain ignites Mimis' desire for a transfer, but that desire was never fulfilled due to the fear of the club at the thought of the fans' reactions to a possible sale of Papaioannou.[4][3]

His anger was such, that he was about to leave football.[2] Afterwards, Papaioannou was approached by a folk composer and bouzouki player, Christos Nikolopoulos which brought him in contact with Stelios Kazantzidis. Mimis and Stelios have unlimited mutual respect and admiration for each other's abilities and Kazantzidis finds that Papaioannou, in addition to his footballing skills, also has a very good singing voice and suggests that he follow him to concerts in Germany with Marinella.[5] Mimis accepted and went to Germany, singing to the Greek immigrants there. After two months and despite Papaioannou's vocal competence, Kazantzidis, realized the "crime" of the departure of Mimis from the football stadiums, persuading him to return to AEK and mediated himself with the administration in order for Papaioannou to sign a very satisfactory contract. Papaioannou's singing career was limited to the recording of seven songs by Stelios Kazantzidis and Christos 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.[6]

Papaioannou returned to his two great loves, AEK and football and became the undisputed leader of the team, after the departure of Nestoridis. A leader who proved to be the most effective of all as he manages to lead the "Union" to 4 more Championships, 2 Greek Cups, 1 Double, a European Cup Quarterfinal and a UEFA Cup Semifinal. His leadership skills and ability to inspire his teammates were what counted on 27 October 1968 in Faliro against Olympiacos, when the "master of psychology", Branko Stanković decided not to make the substitution, even after dismissal of Stelios Serafidis for hitting Sideris, sending Papaioannou to defend as a goalkeeper the yellow and black goalpoast for the remaining 5 minutes of the match. Papaioannou, after first made sure to score the third goal for AEK in the 78th minute, giving it a 2–3 lead, kept the goalpost untouched with absolute success, even making two great saves. His unparalleled football intelligence and high technical training led in 1976 the other great "guru" of coaching, František Fadrhonc to relocate him as a classic "10" in the great team of Loukas Barlos, and having in front of him players like Mavros, Wagner, Ardizoglou and Tasos Konstantinou. Papaioannou responded excellently as a provider, never neglecting his favorite goal scoring habbits. In his last years at AEK he was happy to be a member of the teams of the periods 1976-1980 that for many have presented on the field the most complete and spectacular image that the Greek fans have ever seen.[3] He became the club's ever top scorer and when he left AEK he was the league's all-time top scorer, a record broken 11 years later by his teammate, Thomas Mavros. Today, Papaioannou can be found in the 3rd place of all-time top scorers of Greek 1st division. [7] Papaioannou left AEK in the summer of 1979 in order to play for the New York Pancyprian-Freedoms and where after a successful 3-year spell, he ended his great career as a football player, at the age of 40.

The component of all these virtues and talents, was given to perfection by the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) in January 1999 when he was named the Top Greek Footballer of the 20th Century.[8][3]

AEK Athens

• Greek Championship: 5

1963, 1968, 1971, 1978, 1979

• Greek Cup: 3

1964, 1966, 1978

New York Pancyprian-Freedoms

• Cosmopolitan Soccer League: 1

1980

• National Challenge Cup: 1

1980

Greece

• World Military Cup: 2

1962, 1963

Individual

Greek Championship Top Goalscorer: (2) 1964, 1966

Greek football player of the 20th Century

New York Pancyprian-Freedoms

• Cosmopolitan Soccer League: 1

1982

• National Challenge Cup: 2

1982, 1983