Angelos Anastasiadis Explained

Angelos Anastasiadis
Height:1.77 m
Birth Date:1953 3, df=yes
Birth Place:Neoi Epivates, Thessaloniki, Greece
Position:Midfielder
Years1:1973–1981
Clubs1:PAOK
Caps1:176
Goals1:25
Years2:1981–1984
Clubs2:Panathinaikos
Caps2:34
Goals2:5
Years3:1984–1986
Clubs3:Korinthos
Years4:1986–1987
Clubs4:Diagoras
Caps4:13
Goals4:0
Nationalyears1:1975–1980
Nationalcaps1:12
Nationalgoals1:1
Nationalteam1:Greece
Manageryears1:1994
Managerclubs1:Kavala
Manageryears2:1995–1997
Managerclubs2:Edessaikos
Manageryears3:1997–1999
Managerclubs3:PAOK
Manageryears4:1999–2000
Managerclubs4:Iraklis
Manageryears5:2000–2001
Managerclubs5:Panathinaikos
Manageryears6:2001–2002
Managerclubs6:Iraklis
Manageryears7:2002–2004
Managerclubs7:PAOK
Manageryears8:2004–2011
Managerclubs8:Cyprus
Manageryears9:2011–2012
Managerclubs9:PAS Giannina
Manageryears10:2012–2013
Managerclubs10:Platanias
Manageryears11:2014–2015
Managerclubs11:PAOK
Manageryears12:2016
Managerclubs12:AEL
Manageryears13:2018–2019
Managerclubs13:Greece

Angelos Anastasiadis (; born 8 March 1953) is a Greek football manager and former international footballer. He previously coached numerous clubs in Greece including PAOK, Panathinaikos, Platanias and PAS Giannina as well as the Greece and Cyprus national teams.

Playing career

Club

Anastasiadis began his playing career in his hometown with PAOK. After eight years at the Thessalonian club, he moved to Athens to play for Panathinaikos in 1981. In 1984, he transferred to Korinthos before finishing his playing career at Diagoras F.C. in 1987.

International

Between 1975 and 1980, Anastasiadis earned 12 caps for the Greece national team.

Coaching career

Early management

Anastasiadis began his managerial career in July 1994 at Kavala F.C. but left after three months following a seven-game run that included one draw and six losses.[1] In 1995, he was appointed as manager of Edessaikos F.C., leading the club to a ninth-place finish in the 1995–96 Alpha Ethniki. After a poor run midway through the 1996–97 season that included two wins and four draws in 14 matches, Anastasiadis left the club in January 1997.

PAOK and Iraklis

Within a month of leaving Edessaikos, Anastasiadis took over PAOK for the remainder of the 1996–97 season, leading the club to a fourth-place finish in the league with 13 victories in 15 matches, along with a spot in the second qualification round for the 1997–98 UEFA Cup. Under his leadership the following season, PAOK finished in fourth place in the 1997–98 Alpha Ethniki while overcoming Arsenal F.C. before losing to Atlético Madrid in the first two rounds of the UEFA Cup. After being briefly succeeded by Oleg Blokhin for the 1998–99 Alpha Ethniki season, Anastasiadis returned to PAOK in September 1999 before leaving the following February. During his second tenure, he managed 10 victories and one draw in 13 matches.

Anastasiadis moved to Iraklis in 1999 leading the club to a sixth-place finish and an opportunity to qualify for the 2000–01 UEFA Cup. Iraklis qualified for the first round of the UEFA Cup, overcoming Aris and Panionios in the league playoffs.

Panathinaikos

Following his success at Iraklis, the Thessaloniki native moved to Athens to manage Panathinaikos in 2000. Managing in his first UEFA Champions League, the club finished second after facing Deportivo La Coruña, Hamburger SV, and Juventus in the first group stage. In the second group stage, Panathinaikos lost the first two matches to Sturm Graz, prompting Anastasiadis to resign in February 2001.[2]

Return to Thessaloniki

The next month, Anastasiadis returned to his home town to lead Iraklis for a second time but managed two wins and a draw in the last ten matches of the 2000–01 Alpha Ethniki season to a fifth-place finish.[3] He stayed on for the following season and the club finished in sixth place in the league, earning a place in the 2001–02 UEFA Cup qualification round.

Anastasiadis returned to PAOK a month after leaving Iraklis in May 2002.[4] The club finished the 2002–03 Alpha Ethniki season in fourth place, earning a spot in the 2003–04 UEFA Cup. The same season, Anastasiadis led PAOK to the Greek Cup, overcoming league champions Olympiacos and cup holders AEK, before defeating Aris in the final. The following season, the club finished in third place domestically, earning direct qualification to the 2003–04 UEFA Champions League.

After failing to qualify for the 2004–05 UEFA Champions League and facing elimination from the 2004–05 UEFA Cup, PAOK announced their decision to sack Anastasiadis in September 2004.[5]

Cyprus

Three months later, Anastasiadis ventured into international management, replacing Momčilo Vukotić as Cyprus national team manager, in December 2004.[6] [7] Taking over midway through the 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification campaign, the Greek coach managed just one victory, a 3–0 win over the Faroe Islands, in the last five qualification matches, finishing in fifth place and failing to qualify from a group that also included France, Switzerland, Israel, and the Republic of Ireland.

During the UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers, Anastasiadis led the team to a 5–2 victory over the Republic of Ireland, a 2–1 victory over Hungary, a 3–1 victory over Wales, and a 1–1 draw with Germany before finishing sixth in Group D, which also included the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Despite failing to qualify for the tournament, the Cyprus Football Association renewed the Greek's contract in November 2007.[8]

Cyprus did not qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa but Anastasiadis led the team to a fourth-place finish that included a 4–1 victory over Bulgaria.

In his fourth international campaign, Anastasiadis led the island nation in their quest to UEFA Euro 2012. After a 4–4 draw with Portugal, the side only managed two points in their first four qualification matches, leading to Anastasiadis's dismissal from the post.[9]

Return to club management

Following his experience in Cyprus, Anastasiadis returned to club management in November 2011 to lead PAS Giannina in the Greek Super League. The club finished in eighth place with ten wins and eight draws out of 30 matches, including a 2–1 away victory over PAOK.

Moving to Crete, Anastasiadis succeeded Giannis Chatzinikolaou at Platanias F.C. Despite managing to defeat Panathinaikos both times during the league season as well as in the Greek Cup, the club finished in ninth place. Though initially leaving in May 2013, Anastasiadis return to the club to oversee the final ten matches of the 2013–14 season, leading the club to finish in 14th place, saving the club from relegation.

Anastasiadis returned to PAOK for the third time in May 2014.[10] Despite a successful start to the season, the club gradually relinquished its first-place position in the league and was eliminated in the group stage of the 2014–15 UEFA Europa League. The club dismissed Anastasiadis in March 2015 after managing just one victory in his last seven matches.

In June 2016, A.E. Larissa president Alexis Kougias announced Anastasiadis as the club's new manager, replacing Sakis Tsiolis.[11] The appointment generated controversy as fans expressed their unhappiness due to Anastasiadis's past association with PAOK FC.[12]

Greece national team

After being out of management for two years, Hellenic Football Federation president Vangelis Grammenos appointed Anastassiadis, in October 2018, to lead the Greece national team, becoming the first Greek manager to hold the post on a permanent basis since Vassilis Daniil in 2001. With the team gaining six points in four matches in the UEFA Nations League and sitting behind first placed Finland, Grammenos added that the federation took a conscious decision to hire a Greek coach "to instill the characteristics required in a national squad."[13] [14]

With the objective to earn promotion in the 2018–19 UEFA Nations League, Anastasiadis introduced several new players into the squad including Odisseas Vlachodimos, Spyros Risvanis, Manolis Siopis, and Georgios Masouras. Greece resumed the campaign in November 2018 with a 1–0 victory over Finland but failed to earn a promotion after a 1–0 defeat to Estonia following an own goal from Vassilis Lambropoulos.[15]

Greece faced Italy, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland, Armenia, and Liechtenstein for the UEFA Euro 2020 qualifiers. In March 2019, Anastasiadis opened the campaign with a 2–0 victory over Liechtenstein before a 2–2 draw with Bosnia and Herzegovina witnessed the team level the score after falling behind by two goals.[16]

Anastasiadis's position came under question following 3–0 and 3–2 defeats to Italy and Armenia respectively, resulting in a public conflict with team captain Sokratis Papastathopoulos.[17] On 15 July 2019, Grammenos announced the dismissal of Anastasiadis as manager.[18]

Managerial statistics

TeamFromToRecord
KavalaJuly 1994October 199470160.00
EdessaikosJuly 1995January 19974814122229.17
PAOKFebruary 1997February 19996645111068,18
IraklisJuly 1999June 2000361661444.44
PanathinaikosJuly 2000February 2001341610847.06
IraklisMarch 2001May 20024718111838.30
PAOKAugust 2002September 20049147232151.65
CyprusDecember 2004April 2011471292625.53
PAS GianninaDecember 2011June 20122294940.91
PlataniasNovember 2012May 2013351541642,85
PAOKJuly 2014March 2015381961350.00
AELJune 2016October 2016822425.00
GreeceNovember 2018 July 2019721428.57
Total48621510017144.24

Honours

As a player

PAOK

1976

1974

Panathinaikos

1984

1982, 1984

As a manager

PAOK

Notes and References

  1. News: Nicolaides . Shaun . 10 November 2018 . AGONA Profile: Angelos Anastasiadis, the new Greek leader. Agona Sport .
  2. News: . Panathinaikos boss quits. BBC . 21 February 2001 .
  3. News: . Anastasiadis gets Iraklis job . ESPNSoccerNet . Reuters . 22 March 2001 .
  4. News: . Anastasiadis back at PAOK . UEFA.com . 22 June 2002 .
  5. News: . Anastasiadis given push at PAOK . UEFA.com . 27 September 2004 .
  6. News: . Anastasiadis appointed by Cyprus . UEFA.com . 16 December 2004 .
  7. News: . Ousted PAOK soccer coach set to take on job at Cyprus . Kathimerini . 16 December 2004 .
  8. News: . Anastasiadis to stick with Cyprus . UEFA.com . 26 November 2007 .
  9. News: . Cyprus part company with Anastasiadis . UEFA.com . 30 April 2011 .
  10. News: . Anastasiadis returns as PAOK coach . USA Today . 19 May 2014 .
  11. News: Kallona . Elias . 6 June 2016 . Επίσημο: Στην ΑΕΛ ο Αναστασιάδης! . Contra.gr .
  12. News: Samolis . Dmitris . 6 June 2016 . Δεν θέλουν Αναστασιάδη οι οργανωμένοι της ΑΕΛ . Sport 24 .
  13. News: Tziobanoglou . Savvas . 25 October 2018 . Εθνική Ελλάδας: Εποχή Αναστασιάδη στην γαλανόλευκη! . Sport 24 .
  14. News: . Soccer-Greece sack coach Skibbe after bad Nations League run. Reuters . 25 October 2018 .
  15. News: Georgakopoulos . George . 15 November 2018 . Anastasiadis era begins for Greece with win over Finland . Kathimerini .
  16. News: TNH Staff . Greece Strikes Back from Nightmare Start, Earns a 2-2 Draw in Bosnia . The National Herald . 27 March 2019 .
  17. News: Georgakopoulos . George . 12 June 2019 . Open clash between Greece manager Anastasiadis and captain Sokratis . Kathimerini .
  18. News: Georgakopoulos . George . 15 July 2019 . Greece coach Anastasiadis is shown the door . Kathimerini .