Nikos Georgeas

Nikolaos "Nikos" Georgeas (, born 27 December 1976) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He was most recently administrative director of AEK Athens Academy.

Club career Georgeas started his football career at Mani Platsa. At the age of 19 he joined the Kalamata. On 17 January 2001 Georgeas was transferred to AEK Athens for a fee of 500 million drachmas. He spent almost his entire career playing for the club, where the supporters have a lot of respect on him, because of his passion and love the team. He is famous for the chant that the supporters have dedicated to him, with the lyrics "Georgea, Georgea, ta fyta stin Kalamata ine orea!" , which means "Georgeas, Georgeas, the plants in Kalamata are nice!", a reference to the footballer's birthplace, Kalamata, in southern Greece, and to the weed produced widely in the area. On 26 May 2008 Georgeas signed a new 2-year contract which will keep him at the club until 2010. Georgeas is also regarded to be one of the club's most loyal players and was voted in the top 10 legend list of AEK Athens history. On 27 February 2011, Georgeas scored his first goal against Ergotelis in a 2–3 away win. On 10 April, he also scored his second goal against AEL. In the following season, the manager Nikos Kostenoglou wanted to utilize his skills and experience and placed Georgeas as a defensive midfielder. Georgeas, who the previous season did not make AEK's starting eleven, tried to meet the expectations of his manager and he was used in various positions. Moreover, he was chosen to be the captain in some games, being the oldest player in the team. During his spell at the club, he won two Cups.

On 18 July 2012, after the expiration of his contract, Georgeas left the club after a spell of almost 12 years and signed for Veria. There he scored a total of 18 appearances several of which as a captain. After the end of the one-year contract with Veria, AEK decided to bring back Nikos Georgeas to play in the third division. He was considered one of the leaders in AEK's effort to return to the Super League. In July 2015, after the return of AEK Athens to the first division, Georgeas decided to finish his career.

After football Since September 2019, Georgeas has been heading the administration of the AEK Academy together with Konstantinos Papapostolou.

Controversy

Additional suspects include Veria Director of Football Giorgos Lanaris and former owner Giorgos Arvanitidis, regarding 6 January 2013 match of Olympiacos against Veria. Veria player Nikolaos Georgeas and club's manager Dimitris Kalaitzidis at the time, testified in March 2015 that Lanaris following Arvanitidis orders demanded from Veria players to lose with a 3–0 score, which eventually happened. According to Andreadis, both Marinakis and Arvanitidis had agreed on the match fixing.

The player of Veria, Alexandros Kalogeris confirmed Georgeas' testimony, at the Athens court houses, that he entered the game in the second half after being instructed by the team manager to lose the game 3–0. The scandal has seen revelations about a series of dramatic events including phone tapping by Greece's intelligence agency, the involvement of Interpol, the bombing of a referee's premises, and a row erupting between the new Greek government and UEFA and FIFA. Football violence has also spiralled out of control, with riot police regularly seen on the pitch. However, despite the long-running investigation into match-fixing, no one has yet been jailed. Five people have been sentenced to time in prison but were subsequently freed on appeal. Charges against a number of the accused have been dropped and there are fears that, like so many other investigations in Greece, they will fizzle out.

Career statistics

Season !! Club !! League Apps !! Goals Apps !! Goals Apps !! Goals Apps !! Goals

Kalamata Alpha Ethniki

PAS Giannina Beta Ethniki

1996–97

1997–98

1998–99 Beta Ethniki

1999–2000

2001–02

2002–03

2003–04

2004–05

2005–06

2006–07

2007–08

2008–09

2009–10

2010–11

2011–12

2012–13 Veria Super League

2013–14 AEK Athens Football League 2

2014–15 AEK Athens Football League

1 Includes 4 caps and 1 goal in the semi-pro Football League 2 Cup.

Honours AEK Athens Greek Cup: 2001–02, 2010–11 Football League: 2014–15 Football League 2: 2013–14 (6th Group)

Individual Best Super League Greece Team: 2011–12