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]
 Nikolaou with Greece in 2019 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Dimitrios Nikolaou | ||
| Date of birth | 13 August 1998 | ||
| 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 | |||
Club career
editOlympiacos
editOn 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
editOn 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
editOn 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
editSince 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
editOn 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
editAs 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
editClub
editEmpoli
Olympiacos
References
edit- ^ "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 15 April 2019.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "NIKOLAOU IS ROSANERO". Palermo FC. 14 July 2024. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
- ^ "Dimitris Nikolaou". Soccerway. Retrieved 30 June 2017.
- ^ "Dimitris Nikolaou". superleaguegreece.net. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
External links
edit- Dimitrios Nikolaou at Soccerway
- Dimitrios Nikolaou – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Dimitrios Nikolaou at ESPN FC