Greek Football Legends: Dimitris Saravakos

Greek Football Legends: Dimitris Saravakos

By Antonios Theodosis

The name Dimitris Saravakos is one that is known and respected amongst every Greek football fan both young and old. His natural ability to find the back of the net made him a prolific player, scoring nearly two-hundred goals in his career and winning silverware at every club he played for. The emphatic forward dubbed “the kid” took Greek football by storm, cementing his legacy as an all time great in the Greek football world. He is a player that deserves all praise as he consistently performed at a high level throughout the majority of his career both in domestic and in European competition.

 

The opening chapter of this legendary player’s career begins in the 1970’s, where the Athenian born Saravakos started his footballing career at local side Panionios, joining their academy in 1976. Saravakos was quickly promoted to the men’s side just one year later and had no problem acclimating to the men’s game. His naturally quick pace and astute technical ability on the ball allowed the young Saravakos to flourish with the Athenian based club. In fact, in his second season, Saravakos helped Panionios win the Greek cup in 1979. He would spend seven years at the club before finally making the move that would forever cement his legacy as a Greek football legend.

 

In 1984, fellow Athenian based club Panathinaikos came knocking on Saravakos’ door. The greens were infatuated with the young forward along with the rest of Greece’s biggest teams, but Panathinaikos would win the race to sign Saravakos and would ultimately become the most storied part of his career.

 

In his first season at Panathinaikos, Saravakos would hit the ground running, appearing twenty three times and scoring fifteen goals in the 1984-1985 Alpha Ethniki season. He continued to be a menace to Greek defenders in the league as he was able to fly past them with his pace and dribbling techniques. In his first season with the Greens he also played eight games in the famous European Cup run that saw the greens lose in the semi-finals to Liverpool. In that campaign Saravakos scored just two times, but played a part in the Athenian powerhouse club making the deep run in his first season.

 

In the ensuing 1985-1986, 1989-1990, and 1990-1991 seasons Saravakos would win the Greek championship scoring fifteen times in 1986, eleven times in 1990, and twenty three times in 1991. His goal tally in the Greek league for Panathinaikos by the end of the 1980’s was sixty four goals in just six years at the club.

 

The winning and scoring didn’t stop there during Saravakos’ time at Panathinaikos however, as he also won the Greek cup a staggering six times, 1986, 1988, 1989, 1991, 1993, and 1994. Along with this, Saravakos won the Greek Super cup with Panathinaikos in 1988 and 1993. Domestically he was glittered with success and represents one of the club’s most successful and cherished decades.

 

All of his success and glory in Greece coupled with his performances in Europe with Panathinaikos made Saravakos a superstar in Greece. He had led the scoring charts in the 1988 UEFA  Cup with six goals in eight appearances which immediately attracted the attention of some of Europe’s biggest clubs. The attention he was getting in Greece echoed over to neighboring Italy with Turin based giants Juventus taking up keen interest on the prolific forward. Panathinaikos refused to let their cherished star leave however and so Saravakos’ footballing story never got to leave the confines of his home, perhaps it was better that way. Greeks got to enjoy their homegrown talent and see their club’s put on some brave and dazzling performances on the big stage in Europe.

 

By the mid 90’s after a lot of success and over one hundred twenty goals scored with Panathinaikos, Saravakos would eventually leave the club he won so much with and moved to yet another Athenian team and rival by joining AEK in 1994. By then, Saravakos was thirty three years old and had a lot of games under his belt. He was not finished winning however as during his two year stint with the dikefaloi he won both the Greek cup and Greek Super Cup in 1996. He also helped AEK qualify for the UEFA Champions League group stages in his first season at the club. In total, he made forty-seven appearances for AEK, scoring twenty one times during his short stint there.

 

The 1990’s also signaled an historic moment for Greek football which saw the Greek national team qualify for the World Cup in 1994 in the USA. Saravakos served as captain of the team during that campaign serving as the veteran leader of a side that had not made it to the competition before. He amassed over seventy appearances and over twenty goals for the Greek national team from the 1980’s up to the end of the 1994 World Cup, and as of 2021 he remains in the top five scorers of the Greek national team.

 

By 1996 the storied career of Dimitris Saravakos was finally coming to its conclusion. The veteran player would return to the club he won it all with and eventually retire. This was a player who had immense talent, a strong mentality, and knew what it took to win big games.

 

Dimitris Saravakos is a player I urge all young Greek football fans to learn about and watch videos of. He was the hero of the generation that witnessed some of Greek football’s greatest moments and was a part of many of those incredible chapters. He is a player that all Greek football fans admire and respect.

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(Image borrowed from Pinterest)