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Dimitrios Nikolaou

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Dimitrios Nikolaou
Nikolaou with Greece in 2019
Personal information
Full name Dimitrios Nikolaou
Date of birth (1998-08-13) 13 August 1998 (age 26)
Place of birth Chalkida, Euboea, Greece
Height 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position(s) Centre-back
Team information
Current team
 Palermo
Number 43
Youth career
2007–2016 Olympiacos
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2019 Olympiacos 11 (0)
2019 → Empoli (loan) 4 (0)
2019–2021 Empoli 45 (0)
2021–2024 Spezia 107 (1)
2024– Palermo 0 (0)
International career‡
2013–2014 Greece U16 2 (0)
2014–2015 Greece U17 13 (0)
2015–2017 Greece U19 13 (1)
2017–2020 Greece U21 21 (1)
2018– Greece 1 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 9 June 2024
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 October 2020

Dimitrios Nikolaou (Greek: Δημήτριος Νικολάου; born 13 August 1998) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie B club Palermo and the Greece national team.[2][3]

Club career

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Olympiacos

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On 29 January 2017, Nikolaou made his debut with the club in a 2–1 away Super League win against Veria. A month later, he scored his first goal in a 2–0 Greek Cup win game against Aris.

On 18 October 2017, Nikolaou scored an own goal and headed goal for his team in a 3–1 away loss in the 2017–18 UEFA Champions League group stage against Barcelona.[4]

Loan to Empoli

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On 28 January 2019, the 20-year-old Dimitris Nikolaou departed Piraeus, signing for Serie A club Empoli on loan for the remainder of the 2018–19 season, with a purchase option at the range of €3.5 million. This season, Nikolaou has largely been sitting on the sidelines with Olympiacos, only participating in one Greek Cup match. The young defender is regarded as a prospect for the future and will hope to receive regular playing time with Empoli.[5] On 15 April 2019, he made his debut with the club in a 0–0 away draw game against Atalanta.[6]

Empoli

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On 2 June 2019, Empoli activated the option of the 20-year-old international defender, who reportedly was worth €3.5 million. Nikolaou played in four games at Campionato, and the leaders of the Italian club decided to activate the option of the young Greek defender despite their relegation. Nikolaou signed for four years for an undisclosed fee. The announcement from the Italian club stated: "Empoli announces that he has exercised the right to buy, and signed the young international Dimitris Nikolaou from Olympiacos." [7]

Spezia

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Since the end of the 2020–21 season, it was obvious that Dimitris Nikolaou's performances with the Empoli jersey, leading it to the Serie B title and the promotion to Serie A, would hardly keep the 23-year-old central defender in the Azzurri, especially since he was in the last year of his contract. His coach, Alessio Dionisi, wanted him in Sassuolo since he became head coach at the beginning of summer 2021, while at the same time, the technical director who brought him to Empoli, Riccardo Pecini, wanted him in his own new team Spezia Calcio, with which he will sign a five-year contract and will increase more than double his current earnings. [8] On 13 August 2021, he scored his first goal with the club in a Coppa Italia away 3-1 win game against Pordenone Calcio.[9]

Palermo

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On 14 July 2024, Serie B club Palermo announced the signing of Nikolaou from Spezia on a four-year contract, with the player reuniting with his former coach Alessio Dionisi.[10]

Career statistics

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As of 1 May 2024 (UTC)..[11][12]

Club performance League Cup Continental Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Greece League Greek Cup Europe Total
2016–17 Olympiacos Super League Greece 2 0 4 1 0 0 6 1
2017–18 9 1 7 0 3 1 19 2
Total 11 1 11 1 3 1 25 3
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
2018–19 Empoli Serie A 4 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
2019–20 Serie B 16 0 3 0 0 0 19 0
2020–21 29 0 0 0 0 0 29 0
Total 49 0 3 0 0 0 52 0
2021–22 Spezia Serie A 36 0 1 1 0 0 37 1
2022–23 37 1 2 0 0 0 39 1
2023–24 Serie B 33 0 2 0 0 0 35 0
Total 106 1 5 1 0 0 111 2
Career Total 166 2 19 2 3 1 188 5

Honours

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Club

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Empoli

Olympiacos

References

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  1. ^ "Dimitrios Nikolaou". Spezia Calcio. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  2. ^ "ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ ΝΙΚΟΛΑΟΥ, ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΟΣ Σ.Φ.Π." Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  3. ^ "Dimitris Nikolaou - Uefa.com". Retrieved 17 September 2016.
  4. ^ Unwin, Will (18 October 2017). "Barcelona 3-1 Olympiakos: Lionel Messi scores 100th European goal as Gerard Pique sees red". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
  5. ^ "Και επίσημα στη Έμπολι ο Νικολάου". sportsroom.gr. 28 January 2019.
  6. ^ "Empoli, Nikolaou: "Ero pronto per l'esordio. Ora penso solo a crescere" - TUTTOmercatoWEB.com". www.tuttomercatoweb.com (in Italian). Retrieved 15 April 2019.
  7. ^ "Ολυμπιακός: Η Έμπολι ενεργοποίησε την οψιόν αγοράς του Νικολάου". sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Νικολάου: Επίσημα παίκτης της Σπέτσια για πέντε χρόνια". sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 9 August 2021.
  9. ^ "Coppa Italia, Pordenone-Spezia 1-3, cronaca e tabellino del match". www.fantacalcio.it (in Italian). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
  10. ^ "NIKOLAOU IS ROSANERO". Palermo FC. 14 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
  11. ^ "Dimitris Nikolaou". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
  12. ^ "Dimitris Nikolaou". superleaguegreece.net. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
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