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Soulis Papadopoulos (Greek: Σούλης Παπαδόπουλος; born 19 July 1967) is a Greek professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Super League 2 club Panachaiki.

Soulis Papadopoulos

Personal information
Full name	Anastasios Papadopoulos
Date of birth	(1967-07-19) 19 July 1967 (age 55)
Place of birth	Nikaia, Attica, Greece
Height	1.70 m (5 ft 7 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current team	Panachaiki (manager)
Youth career
–1987	Proodeftiki
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1987–1995	Proodeftiki
1995–1996	Atromitos
1996–1997	Doxa Vyronas
1997–1999	Proodeftiki
Teams managed
2000–2004	Proodeftiki
2004	Apollon Limassol
2005	Paniliakos
2005–2007	Proodeftiki
2007	Vyzas
2007–2008	Olympiacos Volos
2008–2009	Pierikos
2009	Egaleo
2009–2010	Pierikos
2010	Diagoras
2010–2011	Veria
2011–2012	Pierikos
2012	Iraklis
2012	Pierikos
2012	Doxa Drama
2012–2013	Olympiacos Volos
2013	Aris
2013–2014	Aris
2014	Chania
2015	Chania
2015	AEL
2015	Lamia
2015	Olympiacos Volos
2017	Ergotelis
2017–2018	Asteras Amaliada
2018	Aittitos Spata
2019	Diagoras
2019–2020	Olympiacos Volos
2021	Trikala
2021–	Panachaiki
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Career

Playing career

Papadopoulos began his football career at the infrastructure segments of his local Proodeftiki and was promoted to the first team in 1987. He spent the majority of his career in Proodeftiki, with brief tenures at Atromitos and Doxa Vyronas towards the end of his playing career. Papadopoulos retired in 1999, last playing for Proodeftiki in the Greek Alpha Ethniki.

Managerial career

Several months after his retirement, Papadopoulos began his coaching career as an assistant manager at Proodeftiki in the Greek Alpha Ethniki. He took on as interim manager during coaching staff replacements and eventually, was appointed head coach of the club in 2000. Despite the club's relegation at the end of the 1999–2000 Alpha Ethniki season, Papadopoulos was entrusted to lead the team back to top-flight, which he managed after managing the club for two seasons in the Beta Ethniki. He would remain manager of Proodeftiki for the following two seasons in the Alpha Ethniki until the end of the 2003–04 Alpha Ethniki season, when he resigned from his post after a loss from Panionios, thus failing to avoid relegation to the Beta Ethniki.

Papadopoulos moved to Cyprus and was appointed head coach of Cypriot First Division side Apollon Limassol. His stay however was brief, as he resigned from his post in September 2004 after a 6–1 loss from Alki Larnaca.[1] He returned to Greece to take over Kastoria in the Beta Ethniki, but terminated his contract in just two days, due to personal reasons. Early in 2005, Papadopoulos took over as manager of Paniliakos, also in the Beta Ethniki before returning to Proodeftiki in the summer of 2005, managing the club for two seasons in the Beta Ethniki. At the end of the 2006-07 Beta Ethniki season, Proodeftiki finished in 16th place, thus being relegated to the Gamma Ethniki (the third tier of the Greek football league system) and Papadopoulos' contract with the club was terminated.

Papadopoulos moved to Vyzas in 2007, and then Olympiacos Volos until March 2008. A month later, he was hired by Pierikos where he managed to avoid relegation at the end of the season. He thus renewed his stay at Pierikos, until April 2009.

In September 2009, Papadopoulos took over management of Egaleo, resigning after managing no win in three consecutive matches. He returned to Pierikos in October 2009, where he managed to enter the promotion play-offs. After Pierikos failed to promote to the Superleague in the process, Papadopoulos' contract was terminated.

At the start of the 2010–11 season, he moved to Rhodes to take over local club Diagoras. He resigned after three games, and was appointed head coach by fellow Football League side Veria until January 2011. In March, he once again returned to Pierikos. He left the club in January 2012, and was appointed head coach of Iraklis in the Football League 2 Northern Group. In May 2012 he was hired a fourth time by Pierikos until the end of the season. In the summer of 2012, he moved to Doxa Drama.

At the start of the 2012–13 season, in October 2012 and after consecutive bad results during the championship, Papadopoulos resigned as coach of Doxa Drama and was subsequently hired again by Olympiacos Volos, where he stayed until January 2013. Papadopoulos then returned to the Superleague to take over management of former league powerhouse Aris in March 2013. Given the club's financial situation and struggling nature, Papadopoulos successfully managed to stay clear of relegation at the end the season, but terminated his contract in June, only to be re-appointed in December that same year to replace Zoran Milinković. His second tenure with Aris was less successful however, and after a loss against Ergotelis in March 2014, which solidified Aris' relegation to the Football League, Papadopoulos resigned.

In July 2014, he took over management of Cretan club Chania in the Football League but was replaced in October that same year. He was re-appointed in January 2015 and stayed in Chania for one more month. In March, he moved to AE Larissa until the end of the season.

In August 2015, Papadopoulos was hired by Lamia, departing after a loss against his former club AE Larissa during the opening match of the 2015–16 Football League season.[2] In October 2015 Papadopoulos returned for a third time in his career to Olympiacos Volos, departing in December.

After a one-year break, Papadopoulos was hired by former Superleague club Ergotelis in the Gamma Ethniki in January 2017.[3] Although considered a title contender, Ergotelis trailed 7 points behind Ionikos when Papadopoulos took over. Nevertheless, Papadopoulos achieved a remarkable unbeaten record (12 wins, 3 draws) to narrowly finish on top of the 2016–17 Gamma Ethniki Group 4 Table, achieving promotion to the Football League.[4] His stay was not renewed for the next season however, due to the departure of former club president Georgios Vrentzos, and an eventual change in club leadership.[5]

In December 2017, Papadopoulos was hired by Gamma Ethniki side Asteras Amaliada,[6] with whom he won his second Gamma Ethniki title in a row, leading the club to the top of the Group 5 Table and the Football League promotion play-offs. However, he was fired after a 3–0 away loss to Irodotos in the opening match of the play-offs.[7]

Honours

As a manager

Ergotelis

• Gamma Ethniki: 2016–17

Asteras Amaliada

• Gamma Ethniki: 2017–18

References

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