Thomas Mavros

Thomas Mavros

Mavros in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Thomas Mavros
Date of birth	(1954-05-31) 31 May 1954
Place of birth	Kallithea, Greece
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position	Striker
Youth career
1970	Panionios
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1970–1976	Panionios	135	(35)
1976–1987	AEK Athens	277	(174)
1987–1991	Panionios	89	(51)
Total		501	(260)
National team
1972–1984	Greece	36	(11)
Honours Alpha Ethniki 1978 Greek Cup 1978 Alpha Ethniki 1979 Greek Cup 1983
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.

Thomas Mavros (Greek: Θωμάς Μαύρος) (born on 31 May 1954 in Kallithea, Greece) is a retired Greek international football player who played as a striker. He is regarded as one of the best players to play club football in Greece having scored a record number of 260 goals in Alpha Ethniki.

Club career

Panionios

Having grown up in Nea Smyrni, Mavros joined Panionios' youth ranks and soon made his way to the first team. He soon managed to become the youngest player ever to score in the Greek Super League. He was also capped by the Greek national football team at a very young age whilst playing for one of the less glamorous Greek clubs. He made his debut in continental competitions on 16 September 1971 against Atlético Madrid. His appearance made him the then youngest player of a Greek football club to have ever played in a European competition.

AEK Athens

In 1975, AEK Athens' president Loukas Barlos wanted to sign the young striker but Panionios board refused to trade his team's best player. It was then revealed that when Mavros signed his contract with Panionios he was still underage, thus making the contract invalid. Panionios still blocked the transfer leading to a litigation between the two sides which lasted for the entire 1975-76 season. During this time, Mavros was unable to play for either side. After the dispute was resolved Mavros was finally transferred to AEK Athens in 1976. He immediately became an integral part of the team helping them reach the UEFA Cup 1976-77 semi-finals, winning two championships: (1977-78 and 1978-79) and two cups (1978, 1983). He also managed to become Greek Superleague's Top Goalscorer three times (1978 with 22 goals, 1979 with 31 goals, 1985 with 27 goals). In 1979, he was also second goalscorer in Europe, three goals behind AZ's Kees Kist.He, as a striker and Bajevic, as a creator were the club's best scoring couple and one of the best in Europe. The AEK Athens fans loved him because he was one of the few players who stayed with the club after Barlos left and because of his tendency to score against rivals Olympiacos F.C.. They called him by the nickname "The God" and whenever he scored the whole stadium chanted "Who, who, who? Mavros the God" (Greek: "Ποιος, ποιος, ποιος; ο Μαύρος ο Θεός"). On 22/6/84 Mavros had the honour to be called to join World's XI alongside his countryman Vassilis Hatzipanagis and other legends like Franz Beckenbauer, Ruud Krol, Johan Neeskens, Peter Shilton, Kevin Keegan, Mario Kempes, Hugo Sanchez and Felix Magath.^[1] 20.000 Greek fans were in the Giants Stadium to watch World's XI playing against New York Cosmos in a 3-1 win. In fact, according to his statement, in the game, Beckenbauer told him "At last, you came.", meaning the constant interest of his team, New York Cosmos for Mavros.^[2]

Back to Panionios

In 1987, AEK Athens' manager Nikos Alefantos asked the club's president Andreas Zafiropoulos not to renew Mavros' contract as he thought the player was too old to play for a team of that level. Zafiropoulos agreed and Mavros was released from the club and returned to his former club, Panionios. With Panionios he finished top scorer in Greek Superleague once (1990 with 22 goals) and, until his retirement in 1991, scored a total of 51 goals in 89 matches surpassing his former teammate at AEK Athens Mimis Papaioannou as the Greek Super League's all-time top goalscorer. A notable moment was when during a match against AEK Athens in Nikos Goumas Stadium on 28 October 1989 he scored against them but the AEK Athens fans chanted his name as if he had just scored for AEK Athens showing how much they loved and respected him.

International career

He had a total of 36 appearances with Greece scoring 11 goals in the period of 1972-1984. His most notable moment was his appearance in UEFA Euro 1980.

Records

• He is the Greek Super League's all-time top goalscorer having scored 260 goals in 501 matches.
• He is the youngest player to have scored in the Greek Super League. He scored the winning goal in Panionios' 1-0 win against Pierikos on 17 February 1971 when he was just 16 years, 8 months, and 17 days old.
• He is one of the few player who have scored five goals in a single Greek Super League game. He did so in AEK Athens' 5-2 win against Egaleo during the 1984–85 season.

Statistics

Club

International

National team	Season	Apps	Goals
Greece	1972	01	00
	1973	01	00
	1974	02	00
	1975	01	01
	1976	01	00
	1977	05	00
	1978	08	06
	1979	02	00
	1980	06	01
	1981	03	02
	1982	04	01
	1984	02	00
Total		36	11

Thomas Mavros: International goals

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	1975-06-04	Toumba Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece	Malta	1–0	4–0	1976 UEQ
2	1978-04-05	Poznań, Poland	Poland	5–2	5–2	Friendly
3	1978-10-11	Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, Athens, Greece	Finland	4–0	8–1	1980 UEQ
4	1978-10-11	Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, Athens, Greece	Finland	5–0	8–1	1980 UEQ
5	1978-10-11	Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, Athens, Greece	Finland	7–1	8–1	1980 UEQ
6	1978-10-28	Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece	Hungary	4–0	4–1	1980 UEQ
7	1978-11-15	Gradski Stadium, Skopje, SFR Yugoslavia	Yugoslavia	0–1	4–1	1980 Balkan Cup
8	1980-02-27	Parc des Princes, Paris, France	France	1–1	5–1	Friendly
9	1981-03-11	Stade Municipal, Rumelange, Luxembourg, Luxembourg	Luxembourg	0–2	0–2	1982 WCQ
10	1981-11-29	Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus, Greece	Yugoslavia	1–0	1–2	1982 WCQ
11	1982-10-27	Makario Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus	Cyprus	0–1	1–1	Friendly

Honours

AEK Athens

• Alpha Ethniki: 2

1978, 1979

• Greek Cup: 2

1978, 1983

Individual

• Alpha Ethniki top scorer: 4

1978, 1979, 1985, 1990

• European Golden Boot 1979 (2nd Place)
• UEFA Jubilee Awards
  • Greece's Golden Player: 1954-2003

References

1. ↑
2. ↑ http://www.newsit.gr/default.php?pname=Article&art_id=120880&catid=1

Greece squad – UEFA Euro 1980
1 Konstantinou 2 Kyrastas 3 Iosifidis 4 Kapsis 5 Firos 6 Livathinos 7 Terzanidis 8 Nikoloudis 9 Ardizoglou 10 Galakos 11 Damanakis 12 Gounaris 13 Xanthopoulos 14 Koudas (c) 15 Mavros 16 Kouis 17 Ravousis 18 Nikolaou 19 Kostikos 20 Anastopoulos 21 Poupakis 22 Papafloratos Coach: Panagoulias