Christos Karipidis

Christos Karipidis (Greek: Χρήστος Καρυπίδης; born 2 December 1982) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a centre back.

Christos Karipidis
Personal information
Date of birth (1982-12-02) 2 December 1982
Place of birth Thessaloniki, Greece
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Centre back / Defensive midfielder
Club information
Current team
 PAOK (Team Manager)
Youth career
1999–2001 PAOK
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2001–2006 PAOK 63 (2)
2001–2002 → Kavala (loan) 40 (0)
2002–2003 → Kerkyra (loan) 25 (2)
2006–2009 Heart of Midlothian 62 (3)
2009–2012 Omonia 72 (2)
2012–2013 APOEL 18 (0)
2013–2014 Apollon Limassol 26 (4)
2014–2016 Skoda Xanthi 38 (1)
2016–2018 Platanias 43 (2)
2018–2019 Lamia 10 (0)
Total 397 (16)
National team‡
2004 Greece Olympic 0 (0)
Teams managed
2019– PAOK (Team Manager)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 May 2019
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 7 January 2009

Club career

Early Career (PAOK, Kerkyra and Kavala)

Karipidis started his career in U20 PAOK in 2000 to be promoted the next season in the first team. PAOK has given him to Kavala (2001–2002) and to Kerkyra (2002–2003). He returned to PAOK, where he stayed until 2006 (69 appearances, 3 goals in all competitions) when he made the big step to play abroad accepting the proposal of Hearts.

Hearts

He joined Hearts from PAOK on 3 August 2006 for a fee of around £200,000.[1] Karipidis made his Hearts debut against AEK Athens in a third-round UEFA Champions League qualifier at Murrayfield on 9 August 2006[2] in a defensive midfield role, Hearts lost the game 2–1.[3]

In August 2008 Karipidis looked set for a return to his former club PAOK following an indifferent start to his Hearts career and the birth of his daughter. Hearts negotiated a fee in the region of £200,000 as they looked to recoup the fee they paid to sign him from the Greek club 2 years earlier and he was offered a four-year deal by PAOK.[4] However, newly appointed manager Csaba László convinced Karipidis to stay and decided to use him as a holding midfielder, an idea which was initially met with a negative reaction by Hearts fans. Karipidis himself insisted he was happy to play anywhere László decided.[5] Despite having played most of his career as either a central defender or occasionally a right-back Karipidis performed well in his new role, prompting László to say "Karipidis, at the moment, is the discovery of the year in the number six position."[6]

In February 2009, captain Christophe Berra signed for Wolves and Karipidis was made Hearts' vice-captain after teammate Robbie Neilson was given the captaincy.

On 27 April 2009 Hearts announced that Karipidis had a pre-contract agreement with Omonia Nicosia which would see him join the Cypriot side on a three-year deal at the end of the season. He stated that although he had enjoyed his time in Scotland, the move was motivated by his desire to be closer to his home and relatives in Greece.[7][8] His final appearance at Tynecastle came in a 3–0 victory over Dundee United which confirmed Hearts' place in the Europa League for the following season and third place in the SPL. He was replaced by Jason Thomson in the closing stages of the match and received a standing ovation from the Hearts fans.[9]

Cyrpus (Omonia / APOEL / Apollon)

Omonia announced the signing of Karipidis on 1 June 2009. His first season wasn't good enough with Christos having problems to settle, but he had a solid second season and he became the defensive leader of the team. After the end of the season he was named new season's vice captain. On 22 August 2012, his contract at Omonia terminated by mutual consent.

On 26 August 2012, Karipidis signed a two-year contract with APOEL.[10] At the end of the season, he became a champion after helping APOEL to win the 2012–13 Cypriot First Division. On 10 July 2013, his contract with APOEL was mutually terminated.[11]

On 11 July 2013, Karipidis signed a one-year contract with the option of a further season with Apollon Limassol.[12]

Rerurn to Greece

After five years playing among the top clubs in Cyrpus, Karipidis returned to Greece signing a two years' contract with Skoda Xanthi.[13][14] After two years he mutually solved his contract with the club.

On 4 June 2016, he signed a year contract with Platanias for an undisclosed fee.[15]

International career

Karipidis was a part of the Greek squad at the 2004 Summer Olympics, but he didn't play any single match in the competition.

Following Karipidis' good start to the 2008-09 season former Hearts player and current technical director of the Hellenic Football Federation Takis Fyssas announced that he was in the plans of the Greek national team.[16]

Honours
Omonia
2009–10
2010–11, 2011–12
2010
APOEL
2012–13

References
  1. Karipidis completes Hearts transfer, BBC Sport, 3 August 2006
  2. Christos Karipidis Archived 29 December 2008 at the Wayback Machine, heartsfc.co.uk, 26 December 2008
  3. Hearts 1-2 AEK Athens, ESPNsoccernet, 9 August 2006
  4. Hearts star Karipidis set for Greece return, Edinburgh Evening News, 1 August 2008
  5. Karipidis desperate for derby delight Archived 19 September 2012 at Archive.today, teamtalk.com, 26 December 2008
  6. Hearts' Karipidis factor proves Laszlo's worth, Scotsman.com Sport, 18 December 2008
  7. Christos: Total focus Archived 30 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine Heartsfc.co.uk, 27 April 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2009
  8. Hearts' Kari on his way to Cyprus Edinburgh Evening News, 27 April 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2009
  9. Hearts 3-0 Dundee United BBC Sport, 16 May 2009. Retrieved 16 May 2009
  10. Γαλαζοκίτρινος και ο Καρυπίδης [Karipidis in blue and yellow] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 26 August 2012. Retrieved 26 August 2012.
  11. Ανακοίνωση [Announcement] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 10 July 2013. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2013.
  12. Στα μπλε και ο Χρίστος Καρυπίδης [Karipidis in blue also] (in Greek). apollon.com.cy. 11 July 2013. Retrieved 11 July 2013.
  13. Καρυπίδης: «Με έλκυσε το πλάνο της Ξάνθης», 1 August 2014
  14. Καρυπίδης: «Καλύτερα από οτι είχα στο μυαλό μου» Archived 8 August 2014 at the Wayback Machine, 1 August 2014
  15. Ανακοίνωσε Καρυπίδη ο Πλατανιάς, 4 June 2016
  16. Hearts' Karipidis on Greece radar thanks to old mate Fyssas, Edinburgh Evening News, 1 October 2008
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