Name: Dimitrios Papaioannou

Nickname: "Mimis", "The Vlach"



Country: Greece
Club: AEK Athens
Position: *CF, SS
Side: LF/BS
Age: 22-29 years (23/8/1942)

Height: 168 cm
Weight: 70(?) kg

Attack: 89
Defence: 41
Balance: 81
Stamina: 82
Top Speed: 83
Acceleration: 85
Response: 87
Agility: 84
Dribble Accuracy: 83
Dribble Speed: 82
Short Pass Accuracy: 80
Short Pass Speed: 77
Long Pass Accuracy: 77
Long Pass Speed: 75
Shot Accuracy: 87
Shot Power: 82
Shot Technique: 84
Free Kick Accuracy: 73
Curling: 78
Header: 91
Jump: 93
Technique: 85
Aggression: 86
Mentality: 81
Goalkeeper Skills: 50
Team Work: 79

Injury Tolerance: B
Condition/Fitness: 6
Weak Foot Accuracy: 6
Weak Foot Frequency: 5
Consistency: 7
Growth type: Standard/Lasting

CARDS:
S01 - Marauding
S03 - 1-On-1 Finish

SPECIAL ABILITIES: Positioning - Reaction - Scoring - 1-On-1 Scoring

Attack/Defence Awareness Card: Attack Minded

INFO:

Mimis Papaioannou was a legend of Greek football. He's usually considered the best player in the history of AEK Athens and has also been voted Greece's greatest ever player. Papaioannou was an excellent forward with a complete set of skills. He was quick and agile, direct with his dribbling and tough despite his short size. He was a clinical finisher with a very precise shot, and could also supply his teammates with good passes, something which helped him transition into an attacking midfielder later in his career. He had a resilient personality and was captain of AEK. And most famous of all was his fantastic aerial ability, he could jump high and stay in the air, and his headers were powerful and accurate. Most famously he scored a great header in a 3-3 draw with Real Madrid in 1965. The Spanish club actually made an offer to sign him after that game and Papaioannou wanted to go but AEK rejected the offer. This frustration led Papaioannou to abandon football and embark on a singing career, but he returned after a few months. By the time of his retirement, he was the top scorer of AEK Athens, the Greece national team and the Greek top division, although the last 2 records have since been broken. He's currently 3rd in the Greek top division list of scorers and 6th in appearances, and to this day is AEK's top scorer and leader in league appearances. He scored 301 goals in 583 for AEK and 21 goals in 61 games for Greece.

Updated.

Updated.

Wow, I'm stunned to see a Greek rated 89 value at attack or defense. U think he was that good indeed?? Judging by some clips I've always expected him to be more of a technical player, thus his great legacy, rather than excelling for his goal-poaching skills. Also I've decided to take these fancy transfer rumours with a pinch of salt, because Greek league was semi-professional back then, so it wouldn't be easy for the players to endure the demands of top-level leagues, first and foremost physically. Anyways thanks for your work on the club collectively.

greek players here have insane stats, the all stars team is full of 90+ players

I think what made him so great was that he was both, he could be the dangerous striker in the box or he could drop deeper and run with the ball and supply his teammates or go direct towards the goal. He was certainly a more complete player than Mavros or Sideris for example, who were more pure goalscorers. I think the combination of these traits justifies the Attack rating, I'd say he should have the highest score in this stat of any Greek player, while the other two should have higher Response and Aggression. If we compare him to players from similar countries like Romania and Turkey, I don't think 89 is too crazy a value.



Usually I wouldn't consider these stories as they appear quite often especially for eastern European players, but I definitely believe this story. The timing makes sense, as he'd just scored 2 goals against Real Madrid, then took a break soon after (he wanted to wait a year then join Madrid as a free agent). Also he was recommended by Puskas who later coached him at AEK.



Those players all need updates. I probably wouldn't give any of them such high stats although Greece did produce some great players, especially strikers in particular. Even Panathinaikos could reach the European Cup final with a full team of Greek players (and AEK won the league that same year).