Dimitrios Nikolaou
Dimitrios Nikolaou (Greek: Δημήτριος Νικολάου; born 13 August 1998) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Serie B club Spezia and the Greece national team.[2][3]
 Nikolaou with Greece in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dimitrios Nikolaou | ||
| Date of birth | 13 August 1998 | ||
| Place of birth | Chalkida, Greece | ||
| Height | 1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)[1] | ||
| Position(s) | Centre-back | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Spezia | ||
| 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– | Spezia | 73 | (1) |
| 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 15 July 2023 ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 13 October 2020 | |||
Club career
Olympiacos
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
On 28 January 2019, the 20-year-old Dimitris Nikolaou departed Piraeus, signing for Serie A club Empoli on a 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
On 2 June 2019, Empoli activate 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, besides 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 with the young international Dimitris Nikolaou from Olympiacos." [7]
Spezia
Since the end of 2020-21 season, it was obvious that Dimitris Nikolaou performance 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 the 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]
Career statistics
As of 22 May 2022 (UTC)..[10][11]
| 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 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 73 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 77 | 2 | ||
| Career Total | 133 | 2 | 18 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 153 | 5 | ||
Honours
References
- "Dimitrios Nikolaou". Spezia Calcio. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
- "ΔΗΜΗΤΡΗΣ ΝΙΚΟΛΑΟΥ, ΟΛΥΜΠΙΑΚΟΣ Σ.Φ.Π." Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- "Dimitris Nikolaou - Uefa.com". Retrieved 17 September 2016.
- 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.
- "Και επίσημα στη Έμπολι ο Νικολάου". sportsroom.gr. 28 January 2019.
- "Empoli, Nikolaou: "Ero pronto per l'esordio. Ora penso solo a crescere" - TUTTOmercatoWEB.com". www.tuttomercatoweb.com (in Italian). Retrieved 2019-04-15.
- "Ολυμπιακός: Η Έμπολι ενεργοποίησε την οψιόν αγοράς του Νικολάου". sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 2 June 2019.
- "Νικολάου: Επίσημα παίκτης της Σπέτσια για πέντε χρόνια". sport24.gr (in Greek). Retrieved 9 August 2021.
- "Coppa Italia, Pordenone-Spezia 1-3, cronaca e tabellino del match". www.fantacalcio.it (in Italian). Retrieved 13 August 2021.
- "Dimitris Nikolaou". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- "Dimitris Nikolaou". superleaguegreece.net. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
External links
- Dimitrios Nikolaou at Soccerway
- Dimitrios Nikolaou – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Dimitrios Nikolaou at ESPN FC