Greece Mourns Iconic Footballer Mimis Domazos
Source: Balkan Insight
Mimis Domazos (centre). Photo: Mimis Domazos/Facebook.
The funeral of Mimis [Dimitris] Domazos, a player who changed the history of Greek football, enjoying huge admiration and respect even from among his opponents, was held on Monday in Athens.
Former Panathinaikos captain Domazos, nicknamed the “General” for his creative skills on the field, died on January 24, aged 83, in a hospital in the Greek capital.
“Mimis Domazos was a true icon of Greek football who inspired us with his extraordinary talent and leadership on the pitch. On behalf of UEFA, I extend my deepest condolences to his family, friends and the entire Greek football community mourning this profound loss,” said the secretary general of European football governing body UEFA, Theodore Theodoridis.
Relatives, friends and fans came to the Athens Metropolitan Cathedral to pay their respects as Domazos’ body lay in state. Politicians including Nikos Dendias, Minister of Defence, the centre-left PASOK party’s leader, Nikos Androulakis, and business people such as Yiorgos Vardinogiannis, former owner and president of the Panathinaikos football club, and Giannis Alafouzos, ship owner and current president of Panathinaikos attended his funeral, which was also televised.
Domazos was born in 1942 and joined Panathinaikos in 1959 as an attacking midfielder at the age of 17.
He captained Panathinaikos for 15 years, winning 13 titles, nine championships, three Cups and one Balkan Cup. The highlight of his “golden” era was PAO’s participation in the UEFA European Cup final in 1971, which they lost 2-0 to Ajax at Wembley. In 1978-1980 he played for AEK Football Club, winning a championship. In 1980 he returned to Panathinaikos, where he completed his career at the age of 35.
“The Panathinaikos family mourns today the loss of the greatest of the best, Mimis Domazos. It is a day of mourning for the club. The iconic General of Panathinaikos has passed away. He will remain immortal in the memory of all of us and his achievements will remind future generations that Mimis Domazos was one and only,” Panathinaikos said in a press release on January 24.
In 2003, he was voted the second-best Greek footballer ever by the Hellenic Football Federation. The International Federation of Football History & Statistics ranked him in the top 11 Greek footballers of all time in 2021.
The original article: belongs to Balkan Insight .
