Savvas Kofidis

Savvas Kofidis

Personal information
Date of birth	(1961-02-05) 5 February 1961
Place of birth	Alma-Ata, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union
Height	1.77 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s)	Midfielder
Team information
Current team	Panserraikos (academy manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1981–1988	Iraklis Thessaloniki	206	(18)
1988–1992	Olympiacos	93	(9)
1992–1997	Aris Thessaloniki	126	(7)
1997–1999	Iraklis Thessaloniki	69	(3)
Total		494	(37)
International career
1982–1994	Greece	67	(1)
Managerial career
2004–2006	Iraklis Thessaloniki
2007	Skoda Xanthi
2009–2010	Iraklis Thessaloniki
2012–2013	Anagennisi Giannitsa
2023–	Panserraikos (academy manager)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Savvas Kofidis (Greek: Σάββας Κωφίδης; born 5 February 1961) is a Greek professional football manager and former player. He is regarded as one of the best football players of his generation in Greece, and is most famous for his successful partnership with Vasilis Hatzipanagis at Iraklis Thessaloniki and his flamboyant haircuts which he has kept to this day. He also appeared 67 times for the Greece national team, scoring once and being a vital part of the team's qualification to the 1994 World Cup in the United States.

Playing career

Club

Born in modern-day Kazakhstan to Pontic Greek parents, he started his career in Iraklis, debuting on 18 January 1981 when Iraklis was participating in the Beta Ethniki. In Iraklis's team he played seven seasons before heading to Olympiacos. In 1992, he joined Aris Thessaloniki F.C., the city rivals of Iraklis, where he played until rejoining Iraklis in the 1996–97 season.

International

His three appearances at the 1994 World Cup rounded off his national team career, which lasted from 1982 to 1994, giving him 67 caps and 1 international goal (9 January 1985, against Israel). He retired from professional football in 1999.

Managerial career

During the 2002–2003 period he was the assistant coach of Ivan Jovanovic in Iraklis, as well as the next period, assisting head coach Sergio Markarián. After Markarián resigned, Kofidis took in charge as the head coach. The next year, with Kofidis taking the reins, was hugely successful as "The Old One", against all expectations, finished 4th in the 2005–2006 Alpha Ethniki championship, and qualified for the UEFA Cup. During the summer, however, many key players were sold as the team was in heavy debt, and the following year was anything but successful. After a string of 10 league matches without a win, and an early exit from the UEFA Cup against Polish team Wisła Kraków, Kofidis resigned. In January 2007 he became head coach in Skoda Xanthi following Takis Lemonis's resignation, but soon left the job. On 30 October 2009 Iraklis F.C. club officials have sacked coach Oleg Protasov to replace him with Kofidis.

Career statistics

Season	Club	Country	Matches	Goals
1981–82	Iraklis	Greece	31	1
1982–83	Iraklis	Greece	34	1
1983–84	Iraklis	Greece	29	4
1984–85	Iraklis	Greece	29	5
1985–86	Iraklis	Greece	28	1
1986–87	Iraklis	Greece	26	4
1987–88	Iraklis	Greece	29	2
1988–89	Olympiacos	Greece	16	2
1989–90	Olympiacos	Greece	26	3
1990–91	Olympiacos	Greece	33	4
1991–92	Olympiacos	Greece	18	0
1992–93	Aris Thessaloniki F.C.	Greece	19	0
1993–94	Aris Thessaloniki F.C.	Greece	33	0
1994–95	Aris Thessaloniki F.C.	Greece	30	6
1995–96	Aris Thessaloniki F.C.	Greece	31	1
1996–97	Aris Thessaloniki F.C.	Greece	13	0
1996–97	Iraklis	Greece	18	1
1997–98	Iraklis	Greece	20	1
1998–99	Iraklis	Greece	31	1

Managerial statistics

Managerial record by team and tenure

Team	From	To	Record
			P	W	D	L	Win %
Iraklis	21 December 2004	6 November 2006	63	26	11	26	041.3
Skoda Xanthi	22 December 2006	26 February 2007	10	3	5	2	030.0
Iraklis	30 October 2009	25 January 2010	11	3	3	5	027.3
AEP Paphos	3 February 2010	28 March 2010	8	2	1	5	025.0
Anagennisi Giannitsa	2 February 2013	20 June 2013	22	3	4	15	013.6
Total			114	37	24	53	032.5

External links

• Savvas Kofidis – FIFA competition record (archived)
• Savvas Kofidis at National-Football-Teams.com