Christos Ardizoglou

Club career Apollon Athens In 1966 Ardizoglou became a member of the infrastructure departments of Apollon Athens. Despite his great performances with the reserve team of Apollon the manager of the men's team, Dezső Bundzsák refused to promote him. As a result he quit football and began working in a factory for six months, until he was urged to return to the club. Ardizoglou, who in the meantime has been converted to the position of wide midfielder, was amongst the players who had major contribution in the club's return to the first division. From that moment on he became one of their star players. Afterwards he was very close in signing to Olympiacos, coming to their training ground. Nevertheless on 7 August with his quick actions and in a surprising move the new president of AEK Athens, Loukas Barlos got him to dress in the colours of his club. The transfer cost the exorbitant sum for the time of 12 million drachmas and 4 players as an exchange, while Ardizoglou got an apartment as a transfer gift. His greatest moment was reaching the semi-finals of UEFA Cup in 1977 even though he wasn't eligible to compete, due to the punishment with Greece U19. At the end of that season AEK won the domestic double. He also contributed in the great 6–1 win over Porto on 13 November 1978 for European Cup, where he scored the second goal for his team. He played for AEK for 11 consecutive years, winning 2 Championships and 2 Greek Cups including a double. In 1985 Ardizoglou came into conflict with the major shareholder of the club, Andreas Zafiropoulos and in the summer of the same year he and with the urge of the then manager Antonis Georgiadis, he terminated his contract with the yellow-blacks. but this time he did not manage to establish himself. In January 1986 he moved to the second division side, Atromitos, where he played for one year and then moved to Olympiacos Chalkida. There he retired as a footballer and later started coaching at the level of amateur football clubs and academies. A few days later, a group of Greek internationals met the referee of the match by accident which they attacked. Amongst his attackers, the referee identified Ardizoglou and Voulgaris of Olympiacos Volos and filed a report, which resulted in his punishment with a two-year ban from the club and international competitions of UEFA. He was member of the squad that participated in UEFA Euro 1980, which consisted Greece's debut in a major tournament. He played 43 times in total scoring 2 goals. He has also been invited once to the World XI.

After football Ardizoglou is now retired from the Greek Police, in which he joined in the context of the search for a stable job in the State, as was customary for athletes of his time. He continuously participates in the events of the Veterans' Association of AEK Athens.

Style of play The distinctive athletic skills of Ardizoglou complemented his unconventional and idiosyncratic character and contributed to a distinctive presence on the pitch, both positively and negatively. His appearance with his tall and slender physique, playing with his socks pulled down to his ankles and his shirt outside his shorts, made him easily recognizable on the pitch. His appearance was complemented by his distinctive movements and playing style. He primarily played on the wings, with a preference for the left side, in a role that allowed him to start from deeper positions, allowing him to exploit space to sprint and penetrate the opposing defenses, while he was also capable of playing as a full-back. He was an accurate passer, with good free kicks, power shots, but was particularly noted for his pace. His pace enabled him to advance towards the opposition area with minimal resistance. He was technically skilled, although he relied less on close dribbling, as he preferred to exploit open space by pushing the ball forward and accelerating, overtaking his marker. Despite his evident talent, at the same time was he was also capable of highly inconsistent performances. When he had the ball he could be unpredictable in his decision-making, capable of dribbling past multiple opponents to score, while at other times losing possession or carrying the ball out of play.

Honours

AEK Athens Alpha Ethniki: 1977–78, 1978–79 Greek Cup: 1977–78, 1982–83

Individual Greek Cup top scorer: 1975–76