Stelios Serafidis

Stelios Serafidis (Greek: Στέλιος Σεραφείδης; 6 August 1935 – 4 January 2022) was a Greek international footballer who played as a goalkeeper for AEK Athens. Serafidis was among the most reliable and consistent goalkeepers in the history of the club. Gifted with agility and excellent reflexes, he was famous for his high diving saves under tough conditions. Despite being short, he managed to become one of the top players in the 1950s and 1960s and he is considered as one of the top Greek goalkeepers of all time.^[2][3]

Early life[]

Born on 6 August 1935 in Gazi, Athens, to refugee parents from Pontus and raised in Aigaleo, Serafidis had a particularly difficult childhood like most children of that time before, during and after World War II. Before playing football he did various small jobs to make a living. He worked as a water carrier, baker, porter, shoe polisher and peddler. His older brother Lampis, who was international striker of Apollon Athens, took him at the age of 14 to Apollon. He stayed there for a very short time and then, at the age of 16, was transferred to AEK Athens.

Club career[]

After two years with the reserve team, followed by a year in the second team of AEK and from 1954 onwards, Serafidis became the main goalkeeper of the team for almost 20 years, with 323 appearances in all competitions (of which 243 for the Greek championship, 37 for the cup, 40 for the Athens Championship and 3 for the UEFA competitions)^[4] with many titles and distinctions. He was the main goalkeeper of AEK in the final of the Balkans Cup of 1967 against Fenerbahçe, where AEK Athens won the silver medal.^[5] He retired at the age of 37.^[6]

International career[]

Serafidis was a permanent member of the Greece national team, even though he had only one appearance in an official match against Poland in 1963. He did not make more appearances, because he was the back up keeper to Theodoridis and Ikonomopoulos.^[7]

After football[]

After he retired, Serafidis went on to offer his services to AEK for a number of consecutive years as coach. He returned in 1973 as a goalkeeping coach and remained in that position for over 2 decades. He worked for many years with the club's goalkeepers and later on he undertook similar duties for the AEK Athens Academy. Although he was in his eighties, Serafidis was always close to his beloved AEK in both home and away matches, whereas he was the president of AEK Athens' Veteran Players Association.^[8][9] His name is honoured on one of the four pillars of AEK Athens' new stadium, Agia Sophia Stadium, alongside other important figures of the club's history such as Kostas Nestoridis, Mimis Papaioannou and Thomas Mavros. Furthermore the name "Serafidion" was given to the AEK Athens' training ground in his honour.^[10] He died after a long battle with cancer on 4 January 2022, at the age of 86.^[11][12]

Honours[]

AEK Athens

• Greek Championship: 1962–63, 1967–68, 1970–71
• Greek Cup: 1963–64, 1965–66, 1977–78

See also[]

• List of one-club men in association football

References[]