Themistoklis "Demis" Nikolaidis is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker.
18 Facts About Demis Nikolaidis
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Demis Nikolaidis was the forty second president of AEK Athens, and is considered one of the greatest forwards Greece has produced.
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Demis Nikolaidis made his professional debut at the age of 20 at Apollon Athens.
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Demis Nikolaidis's performances sparked a bidding war between Panathinaikos and Olympiacos, as well as the striker's childhood favorite club, AEK Athens.
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Demis Nikolaidis refused to join Olympiacos and forced his club president to sell him to AEK for 288 million drachmas and Pantelis Konstantinidis as an exchange.
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At AEK, Demis Nikolaidis linked up with some of the Greek international players of his generation, including Vasilios Tsiartas, Theodoros Zagorakis, Michalis Kapsis, Grigoris Georgatos, Traianos Dellas, Vasilios Lakis.
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Demis Nikolaidis is the top scorer of Greek clubs in European competitions having scored 26 goals in 51 games.
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Demis Nikolaidis has scored five goals in a match twice and is the only Greek player to have scored 4 goals in a European match.
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On 24 March 2002, the International Committee for Fair Play awarded him with the Fair Play Award, an honorary diploma for his conduct in the Greek Cup Final on 8 May 2000, between the teams of AEK Athens and Ionikos, when Demis Nikolaidis informed the referee he had used his hand to score a goal that had been allowed as valid.
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Demis Nikolaidis left the team in a mutual consent free transfer, although he was already paid for the rest of his contract.
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Demis Nikolaidis made his debut for Greece on 26 April 1995 against Russia.
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In 1999 along with Michalis Kasapis and Ilias Atmatsidis, Demis Nikolaidis retired from the national team, protesting for injustice in the Greek football.
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Greece's new strike force, Zisis Vryzas and Angelos Charisteas, played well enough, but Demis Nikolaidis still figured consistently in the team, coming off the bench in all three group games before starting against France, and leading Greece to a tremendous shock victory.
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Demis Nikolaidis amassed 54 caps, netting 17 times for the national team and is among the top 6 goalscorers ever for Greece.
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Demis Nikolaidis's next move, supported by all AEK fans, was to establish a consortium of businessmen and purchase AEK on 27 May 2004, as he had always dreamed.
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Apart from the improvement of the economic standards and the athletic performance of AEK, Demis Nikolaidis called upon the league to do more to reduce violence and hooliganism.
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On 2 November 2008, Demis Nikolaidis decided that he would quit as chairman of AEK after continuously poor results, stating that he had not achieved his goal in the 5 years plan.
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Demis Nikolaidis was born in Germany and emigrated to Alexandroupoli when he was just 3.