Youlielmos Arvanitis

Youlielmos Arvanitis
Youlielmos Arvanitis in 1950
Personal information
Full name Youlielmos Arvanitis[1]
Date of birth 1920[1]
Place of birth Athens, Greece
Date of death 1987 (aged 66–67)[2]
Position(s) Midfielder, defender
Youth career
1936–1938 Ethnikos Kamaras
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1938–1946 PAOK
1946–1954 AEK Athens 11 (0)
International career
1952 Greece Military
1948–1952 Greece 5 (0)
1952 Greece Olympic 1 (0)
Managerial career
1973–1974 Ionikos
1974–1975 Pannafpliakos
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Youlielmos Arvanitis (Greek: Γουλιέλμος Αρβανίτης; 1920 – 1987), also known as "Youlios" (Greek: "Γούλιος") was a Greek footballer who played as a midfielder and a manager.[3]

Club career

Arvanitis started football at Ethnikos Kamaras in 1936. 2 years later moved to PAOK, where he remained after the end of World War II. In 1946 he transferred to AEK Athens. The fans called him "Youlios", a nickname that the press of the time often used in place of his first name. The original position of Arvanitis was the left back, to be converted to that of central midfielder or centre-half when the role acquired more defensive duties in the football of the time and before he definitively became a centre-back. Due to his timely placements against opposing forwards and his education, he was also known as "the Wise One". He played for 8 years, before retiring as a footballer in 1954. Arvanitis participated in 5 finals of the Greek Cup. With PAOK in 1939 in the 1–2 defeat by AEK and with the latter in 1948, 1949, 1950 and 1953. He won the trophy twice and scored the second goal in a 4–0 win over Aris in 1950.[4]

International career

Arvanitis was called to play for Greece, with only 5 appearances, being in that generation of players who lost the opportunity for more because of World War II. He made his debut on 23 April 1948 in Greece's first post-war match after ten years, a 1–3 loss to Turkey at Leoforos Alexandras Stadium and 3.5 years later, he played as the captain in a friendly match against France B at Marseille, in a 0–1 defeat.

He was selected in the squad for the 1952 Olympic Games, where he played in a 1–2 defeat by Denmark in Tampere that was also his last international appearance.[5] He also played with the military team and won the World Military Cup in 1952.[6]

After football

Arvanitis was one of the few athletes of the first post-war period with a high educational level. After his retirement as a football player, he enacted with coaching. He worked in several clubs, including Ionikos[7] and Pannafpliakos.[8]

Persomal life

Arvanitis died in 1987. On 19 December 2022 his son, Konstantinos donated his golden medal from the 1949 Greek Cup final to the History Museum of AEK Athens.[9]

Honours

AEK Athens

Greece military

References

  1. ^ a b "Official Report of the Organising Committee for the Games of the XV Olympiad Helsinki 1952" (PDF). Organising Committee for the Games of the XV Olympiad Helsinki 1952. p. 714 (717 of PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 April 2008. Retrieved 2 September 2020.
  2. ^ Karystinos, Nikos (7 December 2012). "Γούλιαμ Αρβανίτης (Γούλιος), ο "σοφός"" [Youlielmos Arvanitis (Youlios), the "wise man"]. aek-live.gr (in Greek). Archived from the original on 10 December 2012.
  3. ^ "Youlielmos Arvanitis". Olympedia. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  4. ^ "Κύπελλο Ελλάδος 1941–1950" (PDF). epo.gr.
  5. ^ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Stellas Arvanitis Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 18 April 2020. Retrieved 12 October 2018.
  6. ^ "World Military Championship". RSSSF.
  7. ^ "Youlios was hired by Ionikos Nikaias", newsp. Sports Voice, 13 August 1973, page 5
  8. ^ newsp. Athletic Echo, 9 March 1974, page 4
  9. ^ "Ένα ακόμα πολύ σημαντικό κειμήλιο στη συλλογή του Μουσείου Ιστορίας της ΑΕΚ". aek365.org. 19 December 2022.