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Giorgos Donis (Greek: Γεώργιος Δώνης) born on 22 October 1969 in Frankfurt, West Germany) is a retired professional football player and the current manager of APOEL in the Cypriot First Division. He was the first ever Greek to play in the English Premier League. In England, he was also known as George Donis.
Playing career
Giorgos Donis started his career with PAS Giannina in 1990, and after one successful year he moved to Panathinaikos. On 5 June 1996, after helping the Greek club reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, Donis moved to Blackburn Rovers on a free transfer, making use of the then recent Bosman ruling signing for 1.1 billion drachmas, a record amount for Greek players at the time. He had an erratic season with Blackburn, scoring twice against Everton.[1] and Coventry City,[2] before signing for Sheffield United. At United he scored once against Ipswich Town.[3] He then headed back home to play for AEK Athens. Later he moved to England again, this time for Huddersfield Town where he ended his career.
Managerial career
After the end of his playing career, he turned to coaching. In 2003 he managed the Zografou's team Ilisiakos for one season and then made the move to Larissa, where after one season he managed to bring the team to the Greek Superleague from the second division and finish them in 8th place the following year. In 2007, Larissa finished only 10th in the league but he managed to bring them the Greek Cup after defeating Panathinaikos 2–1 in the final.[4] In his first taste of European football management, his team Larissa defeated his former team Blackburn Rovers to reach the 2007–08 UEFA Cup group stages.[5] He finished a great year in 6th place in the league, missing out on the season play-off's on goal difference.
On 25 April 2008, Donis stepped down as manager of Larissa and on May 14 he was appointed as head coach of AEK Athens.[6] On 17 November 2008, AEK parted company with Giorgos Donis just six months after appointing the former Larissa manager, due to a string of poor performances and early knock out from the UEFA Cup.[7]
In 2009, Giorgos Donis was appointed by Atromitos and at season 2010–11 he reached again the Greek Cup Final to lose 0–3 from his former team AEK Athens. Next year, Atromitos enjoyed another successful spell under his guidance, reaching the Greek Cup Final for a second consecutive time (losing 1–2 from Olympiacos at extra time), as well as participating at the Greek Superleauge play-offs.
On 31 May 2012, PAOK appointed Giorgos Donis as the new manager of the club, on a two-year contract, with immediate effect.[8] On 28 April 2013, after a crucial defeat 0–2 and the elimination in the semi-final of Greek Cup by Asteras Tripolis, he sacked from being PAOK's manager by chairman Ivan Savvidis.[9]
On 11 October 2013, Giorgos Donis signed a contract until the end of the 2013–14 season with the reigning Cypriot champions APOEL, replacing Paulo Sérgio who was fired on 4 October 2013.[10]
Managerial statistics
As of 7 May 2014
Team Nation From To Record
G W D L Win %
Ilisiakos Greece 1 July 2002 30 June 2004 47 29 11 7 61.70
Larissa Greece 1 July 2004 24 April 2008 152 63 40 49 41.45
AEK Athens Greece 14 May 2008 17 November 2008 13 4 7 2 30.77
Atromitos Greece 1 July 2009 30 May 2012 111 40 38 33 36.04
PAOK Greece 1 June 2012 29 April 2013 42 26 9 7 61.90
APOEL Cyprus 11 October 2013 present 40 27 7 6 67.50
Total 405 189 112 104 46.67
International career
He made his debut for the Greek national football team on 22 December 1991, in his team 1–1 draw against Malta for the UEFA Euro 1992 qualifying round.[11] He appeared in 24 matches and scored 5 goals during his international career with Grecce.
Honours
As a Player:
Panathinaikos
Greek Championship: 1994–95, 1995–96
Greek Cup: 1992–93, 1993–94, 1994–95
Greek Super Cup: 1993, 1994
As a Coach:
Larissa
Greek Cup: 2006–07
Greek Second Division: 2004–05
Atromitos
Greek Cup: Runner-up 2010–11, 2011–12
Ilisiakos
Gamma Ethniki: 2003–04
Delta Ethniki: 2002–03
References
Edwards, Steve (21 September 1996). "Donis fills the void in attack". London: The Independent. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
"Blackburn 4 – 0 Coventry". 4TheGame. 11 January 1997. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
Daley, Kieran (9 May 1999). "Dejected Ipswich head for play-off lottery". London: The Independent. Retrieved 6 November 2009.
Unlikely Larissa take Greek Cup
Larissa explain it all
Donis handed AEK post
Donis's brief tenure at AEK is over
"Νέος προπονητής της ομάδας ο Γιώργος Δώνης" (in Greek). paokfc.gr. 31 May 2012. Retrieved 6 June 2012.
Λύνεται το συμβόλαιο με Δώνη, παίζει και του Ιβάν
"Υπέγραψε ο Δώνης" (in Greek). APOEL FC. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 11 October 2013.
UEFA EURO 1992 - History - Malta-Greece
External links
Giorgos Donis at National-Football-Teams.com
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