Sokratis Papastathopoulos

Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Sokratis playing for Arsenal in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1988-06-09) 9 June 1988
Place of birth Kalamata, Greece
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current team
 Arsenal
Number 5
Youth career
Aiantas Kalamatas
Apollon Petalidiou
– AEK Athens
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2005–2008 AEK Athens 58 (1)
2006 → Niki Volou (loan) 11 (0)
2008–2010 Genoa 51 (2)
2010–2012 Milan 5 (0)
2011–2012 → Werder Bremen (loan) 30 (1)
2012–2013 Werder Bremen 29 (1)
2013–2018 Borussia Dortmund 130 (7)
2018– Arsenal 6 (0)
National team‡
2003–2005 Greece U17 11 (2)
2005–2007 Greece U19 13 (2)
2007–2010 Greece U21 7 (2)
2008– Greece 82 (3)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19:24, 23 September 2018 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20:54, 12 October 2018 (UTC)

Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Greek: Σωκράτης Παπασταθόπουλος, pronounced [soˈkratis papastaˈθopulos]; born 9 June 1988), commonly known by the singular name Sokratis,[1] is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Premier League club Arsenal.

Club career

AEK Athens

Papastathopoulos joined AEK Athens from Apollon Petalidiou after being scouted by Toni Savevski. On 26 October 2005, he made his debut for AEK in a Greek Cup match against PAS Giannina, scoring in the seventh minute of the game to help lead AEK to a 3–0 win.

Niki Volou (loan)

In January 2006, he was loaned to Greek Second Division club Niki Volou for six months in order to gain first-team football and gather valuable experience. He made a total of 15 appearances for Niki Volou.

AEK Athens return

During the 2006-07 Superleague Greece, Papastathopoulos managed to make 14 appearances whilst competing against the likes of Bruno Cirillo, Traianos Dellas and Vangelis Moras. In AEK Athens' 2006–07 UEFA Champions League campaign, Papastathopoulos managed to play in three out of six group games. In these three games, AEK managed one win (the famous 1–0 victory over Milan, where he man-marked Filippo Inzaghi), one draw (the 2–2 away draw with Anderlecht) and one loss (the 3–1 away defeat to Lille). During the 2007–08 Superleague Greece, he was a mainstay in AEK's defence, keeping out competition from Geraldo Alves. He also played in the 2007–08 Champions League campaign, and in a Superleague match, he became AEK's youngest-ever captain, at age 19, in a game against local Athens rivals Panathinaikos in 2008.

Genoa

On 1 August 2008, Papastathopoulos agreed to transfer to Genoa of the Italian Serie A for an undisclosed fee.[2] He also played a club friendly against Genoa on the same day.[3]

He made his debut for Genoa on 27 September 2008 against Fiorentina, followed by a start against Ravenna in the Coppa Italia a few days later. His first goal for Genoa came on 5 October 2008 at home against Napoli. Genoa won the game 3–2, but Papastathopoulos was sent off in the 89th minute[4][5] During the 2009–10 season, he managed to play in most games and became somewhat of a fan favourite.

Milan

On 20 July 2010, it was confirmed on Milan's website that Papastathopoulos had joined the team, after Genoa and Milan reached an agreement to transfer Papastathopoulos to the club for €14 million, with the following payment schedule: Gianmarco Zigoni (half of his registration rights, valued at €3.75 million), Nnamdi Oduamadi (half of his rights, valued at €3.5 million) and Rodney Strasser (half of his rights, valued at €2.25 million) in a co-ownership deal, plus €4.5 million in funds.[6][7][8] Papastathopoulos was the club's first arrival under new manager Massimiliano Allegri.[9]

Genoa return

On 24 May 2011, Milan and Genoa executives Adriano Galliani and Enrico Preziosi, respectively, formed a verbal agreement to solve the player ownerships (subject to player agreements) of Kevin-Prince Boateng, Alberto Paloschi, Marco Amelia and Giacomo Beretta. The deal entailed that Milan bought back Gianmarco Zigoni, Rodney Strasser and Nnamdi Oduamadi (all under original price),[10] while Genoa bought back Papastathopoulos for €13 million, which effectively made the de facto loan cost for Milan €1 million.[10][11][12]

Werder Bremen

Papastathopoulos with Werder Bremen in 2012

On 21 July 2011, Papastathopoulos moved to German club Werder Bremen on a loan deal until the end of the 2011–12 season, with the option to purchase outright.[13][14][15] Following impressive performances on loan, on 16 April 2012, it was announced that Papastathopoulos would join Bremen on a permanent basis for a €5 million transfer fee.[16][17][18] The 2012–13 season, however, was not a good one for the club. In March 2013, in the midst of a relegation battle and with tensions high, Papastathopoulos engaged in a training ground brawl with teammate Marko Arnautović.[19] Bremen would ultimately finish the year in 14th, staving-off relegation.

Borussia Dortmund

On 24 May 2013, the eve of the 2013 Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, Papastathopoulos completed a €9.5 million transfer to Dortmund, agreeing to a five-year contract through to 2018.[20][21][22] Upon signing, he spoke about the deal, saying, "Money did not play a role in my decision to join Dortmund. My own future was all that mattered and I am convinced that I made the right decision."[23] With centre-back Felipe Santana departing Dortmund for Schalke 04, Papastathopoulos began as the effective third-choice behind tandem Neven Subotić and Mats Hummels. Borussia Dortmund Sporting Director Michael Zorc expressed his satisfaction with the deal: "We are delighted that Sokratis has decided to join Borussia Dortmund. He is a flexible player capable to play in a variety of positions in defence who we believe has tremendous potential."[24]

On 10 July 2013, Papastathopoulos made his debut for Dortmund in a pre-season friendly away to Swiss club Basel at St. Jakob-Park, along with fellow BVB debutants Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan. On 27 July, he won his first title with the club after entering the match as a substitute in a 4–2 win over Bayern Munich for the 2013 DFL-Supercup.[25] On 1 November 2013, he scored his first goal for Dortmund in a 6–1 win over VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga.[26]

Papastathopoulos' strong first year with Dortmund was rewarded with his selection to the best XI of the 2013–14 Bundesliga campaign. The selection was organized in a worldwide fan vote by the governing body of the Bundesliga through its official website. The description of his play following his nomination was, "The definition of defense falls on him. The Greek stopper took advantage of the opportunities given to him by the absence of Neven Subotić and Mats Hummels. Stable, with leadership characteristics and tendency to win the ball without making easily a mistake."[27][28]

In November 2014, Papastathopoulos was ruled out of action for two weeks with a broken fibula. He suffered the injury to his right leg in Dortmund's 1–0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, a result that ended a five-match Bundesliga losing streak for the club. After recovering early, he was deemed fit for BVB's Champions League match against Arsenal on 26 November.[29] On 3 January 2015, football news website Goal.com assessed statistics to determine which players maintained the highest tackle success rate in the first half of the 2014–15 season across Europe's top five leagues; Papastathopoulos finished joint-third, alongside Hamburger SV's Matthias Ostrzolek, having won 92.59 percent of all tackles.[30]

In the summer of 2015, Papastathopoulos was linked with moves to various English Premier League clubs as Dortmund prepared for a new start following long-time manager Jürgen Klopp's departure. Dortmund Sporting Director Michael Zorc, however, said Papastathopoulos would still have a part to play for BVB in new manager Thomas Tuchel's debut season with the club.[31] On 26 October 2015, Papastathopoulos extended his contract with Borussia Dortmund until 2019.[32]

"The defensive work that Sokratis puts in is just unbelievable."

German defender Mats Hummels on Papastathopoulos[33]

After the extension, Zorc said, "We are very pleased that we have been able to sign with Sokratis, another top performer, on a long term."[34] During Tuchel’s tenure, Papastathopoulos was promoted to be partner-in-chief to Mats Hummels over Neven Subotic.

On 19 December 2015, Papastathopoulos scored his first goal in the 2015–16 Bundesliga in an eventual 2–1 away loss to 1. FC Köln, giving his club the lead in the first-half from a header from a corner.[35] On 30 January 2016, in a league game against Ingolstadt 04, Papastathopoulos reached his 100th Bundesliga appearance with Dortmund. On 22 February 2016, Papastathopoulos missed the second leg of the UEFA Europa League round-of-32 tie against FC Porto and the Bundesliga clash with Bayern Munich due to an adductor injury, as tests confirmed that the 27-year-old would be out for up to three weeks. The Greek centre back picked up the injury during Dortmund's 1–0 win against Bayer Leverkusen and was replaced 13 minutes from time at the BayArena.[36][37] On 21 May 2016, Papastathopoulos featured in his third DFB-Pokal in a row, putting in a tremendous performance despite a missed penalty, but he did not succeed in winning the DFB-Pokal for first time in his career.[38]

He started the 2016–17 season as the undisputed leader in BVB defence. On 15 September 2016, he netted the second goal in an away crashing 6–0 against Legia Warsaw on a Group Champions League match.[39] On 4 January 2017 the German magazine "Kicker" listed the Greek international as one of the best players in the German Bundesliga. The magazine paid a tribute to the best players currently playing in the German Bundesliga, separating them out into different categories. In the first category (World Class) no defenders were listed, however, Papastathopoulos was one of three defenders listed in the second category, International Class. The other two defenders included Mats Hummels of Bayern Munich and Jonathan Tah of Bayer Leverkusen.[40]

Papastathopoulos (right) training with Borussia Dortmund in 2017

On 8 February 2017, in a DFB Pokal home win on penalties' game against Hertha Berlin, Papastathopoulos' two quickfire (in a minute) bookings for dissent saw Dortmund finish extra time with 10 men before Fabian Lustenberger, Vladimir Darida and Salomon Kalou all erred from the spot, rendering Christian Pulisic's miss irrelevant.[41] On 25 February 2017, Dortmund made three changes from last weekend's 3–0 win over VfL Wolfsburg and it was two of those, Papastathopoulos and Raphael Guerreiro, who combined to open the scoring in the 13th minute in a 3–0 away win against SC Freiburg. Papastathopoulos looked to be offside as Guerreiro swung in a free-kick from the right, which the Greece defender met with a header planted inside the right-hand post.[42][43] On 16 April 2017, Papastathopoulos was the one who had a quick reaction to a Eintracht Frankfurt equalizing, by scoring a goal after Sven Bender's assist giving a lead to the score in his team in a final 3–1 home win.[44] On 26 April 2017, helped Borussia Dortmund to a 3–2 win over Bayern Munich and their fourth consecutive DFB-Pokal final. On 20 May 2017, Papastathopoulos reached 100 appearances with Dortmund in Bundesliga in a home game against SV Werder Bremen and secured automatic qualification to the group stage of next season's UEFA Champions League. On 27 May 2017, in his fourth DFB-Pokal in a row, Borussia Dortmund claimed a first DFB-Pokal win since 2012 as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang's penalty defeated Eintracht Frankfurt 2–1.[45][46]

On 5 August 2017, as the captain of the club, he lost the 2017 DFL-Supercup on penalties' game against Bayern Munich. On 17 September 2017, he scored at the end of the first half against 1. FC Köln, giving a lead of two goals in his club. It was his first goal for the 2017–18 season and was secured with the use of VAR (Video Assistant Referee) method.[47] On 14 October 2017, Borussia Dortmund's unbeaten start to the season was ended by RB Leipzig's 3–2 away win, as the Greek defender initially in trying to push the ball away helped Leipzig winger Yussuf Poulsen to score, while at the beginning of second half, was sent off for a foul in the box and Jean-Kevin Augustin scored the penalty.[48] On 17 October 2017, after losing its UEFA Champions League opening games in Group H to Tottenham and Real Madrid, Dortmund needed a win to kick-start its campaign in Europe's premier club competition, but they succeeded only to seal an away draw against Cypriot champions APOEL, as the Greek defender equalized with a header to Mario Götze's cross.[49][50] On 4 November 2017, in the derby against rivals Bayern Munich he suffered a leg injury, during the first half, and was substituted by Jeremy Toljan,[51] and two weeks later in an away game against VfB Stuttgart has received a heavy blow and replaced at the end of the first half from Dan-Axel Zagadou.[52]

Arsenal

On 2 July 2018, Arsenal announced that Papastathopoulos has agreed a long-term contract with the club for a reported fee £17.6 million and will wear the number 5 shirt.[53][54] On 12 August 2018, he made his official debut with the club as a starter, at Emirates in a 2-0 loss against champions Manchester City. On 4 October 2018, Papastathopoulos scored his first for the club, setting the Gunners on their way to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Qarabag in the 2018-19 UEFA Europa League group stage. After just four minutes of play in Baku, the centre-back was left unmarked inside the opposing penalty area, deflecting the ball home after the initial header fell into his path. [55] Papastathopoulos, was named to the UEFA Europa League Team of the Week. [56]

International career

Papastathopoulos playing for Greece in 2013

Papastathopoulos was called up for the Greek senior team on 1 February 2008[57] and made his debut on 5 February 2008 in the 1–0 friendly victory against the Czech Republic. The Greece squad for UEFA Euro 2008 was announced by Otto Rehhagel on 27 May 2008, and Papastathopoulos was the unfortunate player to be cut from the provisional squad of 24 to the final 23-man selection.[58]

Papastathopoulos became the first player to be sent off at UEFA Euro 2012 during the opening game of the tournament against co-hosts Poland after receiving two yellow cards, following what pundits decried as two poor decisions by referee Carlos Velasco Carballo.[59]

In June 2014, Papastathopoulos was named to Greece's squad for the 2014 FIFA World Cup.[60] He started in each of the team's group matches, helping them to a clean sheet against Japan.[61] In the round of 16, Papastathopoulos scored his first international goal, equalising in second half stoppage time against Costa Rica. However, the Greeks were eventually defeated 5–3 in a penalty shootout by the Central American champions.[62]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 4 October 2018[63]
Team Season Domestic
League		 Domestic
Cup		 Continental
Competition1		 Other
Tournaments2		 Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
AEK Athens 2005–06 002100–21
Niki Volou (loan) 2006 11000––110
AEK Athens 2006–07 1401040–190
2007–08 241108040371
Total[64]3814112040582
Genoa 2008–09 21220––232
2009–10 3001050–360
Total 512305000592
Milan 2010–11 502000–70
Total 5020000070
Werder Bremen 2011–12 3011000–311
2012–13 2911000–301
Total 592200000612
Borussia Dortmund 2013–14 281508010421
2014–15 211406110322
2015–16 2515010000401
2016–17 262509110413
2017–18 302309110433
Total 13072204234019810
Arsenal 2018–19 6000210081
Career total 300123316148040217

1Continental competitions include the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup.
2Other tournaments

International

As of 12 October 2018[65]
SeasonAppsGoals
200850
200950
201080
201170
2012120
201390
201471
201591
201690
201771
201840
Total823

International goals

Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first.
#DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition
129 June 2014Arena Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil Costa Rica1–11–12014 FIFA World Cup
213 June 2015Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands Faroe Islands1–21–2UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying
39 November 2017Stadion Maksimir, Zagreb, Croatia Croatia1–21–42018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Milan

Borussia Dortmund

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Somma, Francesco (3 August 2010). "Sokratis o Papastathopoulos? Questo è il dilemma". milannews.it (in Italian). Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  2. ↑ Ανακοίνωση [Communication] (in Greek). AEK Athens F.C. 1 August 2008. Archived from the original on 5 August 2008. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  3. ↑ "IL GENOA DA' LEZIONE DI GRECO" (in Italian). Genoa C.F.C. 1 August 2010. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  4. ↑ "Genoa vs. Napoli – Football Match Report – October 5, 2008". ESPN FC. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  5. ↑ "Genoa 3–2 Napoli". ESPN Soccernet. 5 October 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  6. ↑ "Welcome Sokratis!". A.C. Milan. 20 July 2010. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
  7. ↑ "Milan pick up Genoa starlet Papastathopoulos". UEFA. 20 July 2010. Retrieved 22 July 2010.
  8. ↑ "AC Milan Group 2010 Annual Report" (PDF) (in Italian). A.C. Milan. April 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 May 2012. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  9. ↑ "Milan pick up Genoa starlet Papastathopoulos". 20 July 2010.
  10. 1 2 Genoa CFC SpA Report and Accounts on 31 December 2011 (in Italian). registroimprese.it/ CCIAA Archive. April 2012.
  11. ↑ "Relazione e Bilancio al 31 Dicembre 2011" (in Italian). Ac milan. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  12. ↑ "Boateng e del Milan Riscatto da 7 milioni". La Gazzetta dello Sport (in Italian). 25 May 2011. Retrieved 11 June 2011.
  13. ↑ "Sokratis introduced". SV Werder Bremen. 21 July 2011. Archived from the original on 18 May 2014. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  14. ↑ "Official: Sokratis Papastathopoulos joins Werder Bremen on loan from Genoa". Goal.com. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  15. ↑ "Bremen swoop for Papastathopoulos". ESPN Soccernet. 21 July 2011. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  16. ↑ "Papastathopoulos makes Bremen move permanent". FIFA. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  17. ↑ "Papastathopoulos completes Bremen switch". Fox News Channel. 16 April 2012. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  18. ↑ Genoa CFC SpA Report and Accounts on 31 December 2012 (in Italian). registroimprese.it/ CCIAA Archive.
  19. ↑ "Werder Bremen stars show strain of relegation battle with petulant training ground brawl". Metro. London. 29 March 2013.
  20. ↑ "BVB sign "Sokratis"". Borussia Dortmund. 28 May 2013. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  21. ↑ "Υπέγραψε στην Ντόρτμουντ ο Σωκράτης!". sport-fm.gr. 23 May 2013.
  22. ↑ "Sokratis Papastathopoulos vs Msakni – Football VS – Real football face to face". Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  23. ↑ Coerts, Stefan (5 June 2013). "Sokratis: I did not join Dortmund for the money". Goal.com. Retrieved 28 July 2013.
  24. ↑ "Sokratis Papastathopoulos joins Borussia Dortmund". sportsmole.co.uk. 28 May 2013.
  25. ↑ "DFL SuperCup Final 2013". footballzz.com.
  26. ↑ "Lewandowski shines as Stuttgart hit for six". Archived from the original on 5 November 2013.
  27. ↑ "Στην καλύτερη 11άδα του Γερμανικού Πρωταθλήματος ο Σωκράτης Παπασταθόπουλος". protothema.gr. 28 April 2014.
  28. ↑ "Team of the season". Bundesliga. 23 April 2014.
  29. ↑ "Dortmund's Sokratis sidelined for two weeks". fourfourtwo.com. 10 November 2014.
  30. ↑ "Who is the best tackler in Europe this season?". Goal.com. 5 January 2015.
  31. ↑ "MIchael Zorc quells rumours over Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Sven Bender". pulse.ng. 21 June 2015.
  32. ↑ "Sokratis Papastathopoulos extends Borussia Dortmund contract". Goal.com. 26 October 2015. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  33. ↑ "Sokratis Papastathopoulos".
  34. ↑ "Greek defender Sokratis extends contract with Dortmund".
  35. ↑ "BLMD17 - 1. FC Köln 2-1 Borussia Dortmund - Report". Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  36. ↑ "Injured Sokratis to miss key Dortmund clashes – Soccer News". Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  37. ↑ "Papastathopoulos to miss crucial BVB ties – Fox Sports". 23 February 2016. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  38. ↑ "Νταμπλούχος στα πέναλτι η Μπάγερν". sport24.gr. Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  39. ↑ UEFA.com. "UEFA Champions League - Legia-Dortmund - Dortmund six-shooters wreck Legia's comeback - UEFA". Retrieved 25 October 2016.
  40. ↑ "Νέα διάκριση για Παπασταθόπουλο". sport24.gr. Retrieved 4 January 2017.
  41. ↑ "Dortmund reach Pokal quarters after shootout with Hertha; Schalke win". ESPN FC. Retrieved 11 February 2017.
  42. ↑ "Το κόλλησε ο Σωκράτης". gazzetta.gr. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  43. ↑ "Freiburg vs Dortmund 0–3". kicker.de. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  44. ↑ "Dortmund vs Eintracht 3–1". kicker.de. Retrieved 16 April 2017.
  45. ↑ "DFB Pokal Match Report: Dortmund wins a title". fearthewall.com. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  46. ↑ "Borussia Dortmund gewinnt DFB-Pokal". tagesschau.de. Retrieved 27 May 2017.
  47. ↑ "Γκολ του Παπασταθόπουλου κόντρα στην Κολωνία με χρήση του VAR!". sport24.gr. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  48. ↑ "Με γκάφα Παπασταθόπουλου ανατροπή η Λειψία". contra.gr. Retrieved 14 October 2017.
  49. ↑ "APOEL vs Borussia Dortmund 1–1". Goal.com. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  50. ↑ "Champions League roundup: Borussia Dortmund held to draw by Apoel". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 October 2017.
  51. ↑ "Τραυματίστηκε ο Παπασταθόπουλος, αγωνία για την Εθνική Ελλάδας". sport24.gr. Retrieved 4 November 2017.
  52. ↑ "As it happened: Stuttgart 2–1 Borussia Dortmund". dw.com. Retrieved 17 November 2017.
  53. ↑ "Sokratis Papastathopoulos signs".
  54. ↑ "Sokratis Papastathopoulos Completes Arsenal Transfer for Reported £17.6M Fee".
  55. ↑ "Qarabag FK 0-3 Arsenal: Trio score first goals as Gunners cruise in Azerbaijan".
  56. ↑ "Who makes our Europa League Team of the Week?".
  57. ↑ "Greece Squad call up". UEFA. Archived from the original on 2 February 2008.
  58. ↑ "Greece's Papastathopoulos drops out". UEFA. 28 May 2008. Retrieved 2 November 2012.
  59. ↑ Glendenning, Barry (8 June 2012). "Euro 2012: Poland 1–1 Greece – as it happened". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 June 2012.
  60. ↑ "Greece World Cup 2014 squad". The Daily Telegraph. London. 2 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  61. ↑ "Japan 0–0 Greece". BBC Sport. 20 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  62. ↑ "Costa Rica 1–1 Greece". BBC Sport. 29 June 2014. Retrieved 30 June 2014.
  63. ↑ "Sokratis Papastathopoulos » Club matches". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 12 July 2018.
  64. ↑ Παπασταθόπουλος Σωκράτης (in Greek). AEK Athens F.C. Archived from the original on 29 September 2011. Retrieved 12 August 2010.
  65. ↑ Sokratis Papastathopoulos at National-Football-Teams.com
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