Victoras Theofilopoulos

Victoras Theofilopoulos

Personal information
Full name	Victoras Theofilopoulos
Date of birth	1951 (age 74–75)[1]
Place of birth	Nea Smyrni, Athens, Greece[2]
Position	Left-back
Youth career
–1967	Panionios
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1967–1974	Panionios	92	(0)
1974–1975	AEK Athens	0	(0)
1975–1976	→ Kastoria (loan)	1	(0)
1976–1977	Apollon Athens	6	(0)
Total		99	(0)
International career
1970	Greece U19	1	(0)
1972	Greece Military
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Victoras Theofilopoulos (Greek: Βίκτωρας Θεοφιλόπουλος; born 1951) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a left-back.

Club career

Theofilopoulos began his football career when he joined the youth team of Panionios at the age of 16 and he was almost immediately promoted to the men's team. He became a key member of the team in an era that perhaps was the best in the history of the club, since in 1969 they made the historical record to have five players of their roster representing Greece simultaneously. He was in the squad of Panionios that won the Balkans Cup^[3] and finished in the second place of the Championship in 1971.^[4] The following season they competed in the UEFA Cup, where they eliminated the Atlético Madrid on away goals in the first round.^[5] However in the second round they played against Ferencváros and after the end of a heavy 6–0 defeat in the first leg, incidents occurred by their fans which led in their ejection from the competition.^[6]

In the summer of 1974, the new owner of AEK Athens, Loukas Barlos alongside the newly-hired manager of the club, František Fadrhonc were planning to form a full roster, with two equal line-ups. In the search for a both reliable and offensive left-back, they ended up in Theofilopoulos. Thus, alongside his teammates, Giorgos Skrekis and Georgios Dedes was transferred to the yellow-blacks.^[7][8] At AEK, he failed to impress and did not manage to establish himself in the squad. In the following summer was loaned to Kastoria, where he played for a season,^[9][10] before moving to Apollon Athens,^[11] where he ended his professional career in 1977.^[1]

International career

In 1970 Theofilopoulos played with Greece U19 against Turkey U19 at Ankara for a qualifying match for the UEFA European Under-19 Championship.^[12]

In 1972 he played with the Military team in the qualifying matches for the World Military Cup of that year, but did not play in the final phase.^[13][14]

After football

After finishing his football career, Theofilopoulos became actively involved again with his Panionios, serving as a curator and offering his services from various positions. In January 2011 he was honored by the Veterans Association of AEK Athens.^[1]

Honours

Panionios^[3]

• Balkans Cup: 1971

References

1. "Βίκτωρ Θεοφιλόπουλος". aekpedia.com.
2. "Βίκτωρας Θεοφιλόπουλος". football.aek.com.
3. "Balkan Cup 1970-79". RSSSF.
4. "Greece 1970/71". RSSSF.
5. ΣΥΡΙΩΔΗΣ, ΝΙΚΟΣ (6 October 2021). "Πανιώνιος: Πέρασαν 50 χρόνια από το έπος με την Ατλέτικο Μαδρίτης". sport24.gr.
6. ""Τα λεφτά, Θανάση, τα λεφτά", φώναζαν οι παίκτες του Πανιώνιου μετά τη πρόκριση κόντρα στην Ατλέτικο Μαδρίτης. Ήταν η πρώτη ελληνική ομάδα που απέκλεισε ισπανική σε ευρωπαϊκή διοργάνωση και ο πρόεδρος έπρεπε να πληρώσει". mixanitouxronou.gr. 24 November 2017.
7. "Πανιώνιος, ο παραδοσιακός αιμοδότης της ΑΕΚ". tovima.gr. 3 June 2011.
8. "Οι 5… Ενωσίτες του Πανιωνίου". aek-live.gr. 7 January 2024.
9. "Ποιούς κράτησε ποιούς έδωσε εφέτος η ΑΕΚ". Athletic Echo (in Greek). 1 August 1975. p. 5.
10. Κόκκινος (1 August 1975). "Η Καστοριά στο Πισοδέρι". Athletic Echo (in Greek). p. 4.
11. "Οι 50(!) παίκτες που ενώνουν ΑΕΚ – Απόλλωνα!". aek-live.gr. 6 February 2022.
12. "Digital Library - PDF Document". efimeris.nlg.gr.
13. "ΕΛΛΑΣ-ΓΑΛΛΙΑ". Athletic Echo (in Greek). 23 February 1972. p. 8.
14. "World Military Championship". RSSSF.