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Dimitris Salpigidis
Personal information
Full name	Dimitrios Salpigidis
Date of birth	August 18, 1981 (1981-08-18) (age 28)
Place of birth	Thessaloniki, Greece
Height	1.72 m (5 ft 7+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Striker / Right winger
Club information
Current club	Panathinaikos
Number	14
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1999-2006 1999-2000 2000-2002 2006-	PAOK → Larissa (loan) → AO Kavalas (loan) Panathinaikos	103 0(50) 007 00(0) 043 0(25) 093 0(40)
National team2
2005-	Greece	31 (2)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 6 April 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 14 October 2009. * Appearances (Goals)

Dimitris Salpigidis or Salpingidis (Greek: Δημήτρης Σαλπιγγίδης born 18 August 1981 in Thessaloniki, Greece) is a Greek footballer currently playing for Panathinaikos FC and Greece. He is among the UEFA Top-10 unsung heroes for the Champions League, season 2008/2009.^[1]

[edit] Playing career

Salpigidis started his career through the youth ranks of PAOK FC, the team he supported as a child. Acknowledging his potential and in order to gain much needed experience, the team soon loaned him for two successive seasons to Kavala FC where he finished top scorer of the Second Division. His plea for a return to PAOK FC was materialized by his mentor, Angelos Anastasiadis who in the coming years built the team around him.

Salpigidis showed his determination and strong work ethic, when despite playing out of position as a right midfielder he managed to earn a place in the starting line-up, just a few months after returning from loan. The next season as the team, plagued with financial problems, experienced an exodus of its top players such as striker Ioannis Okkas and prolific ex-Newcastle United forward Giorgos Georgiadis, Salpigidis, at the age of 21, not only got the chance to show his predator instincts as a Striker but he was made captain of the team as well. The 2003-2004 season proved to be the best in many years for the team as it finished an unexpected 3rd, qualifying for Champions league, despite running on a very low budget with Salpingidis establishing himself as its most valuable asset . His significance for PAOK FC was so great that in the summer 2004 he was given permission to miss a match with the Greek Olympic team so that he could participate in the UEFA Champions League qualifiers against Maccabi Tel Aviv. The elimination at the hands of the Israeli team, followed by the sack of coach Anastasiadis and subsequent financial turmoil hit the team badly, resulting in his exodus less than 2 years later. He went onto score 50 goals in 103 games for PAOK FC becoming the league's top scorer in his final season.

In the summer of 2006, as the team's president Giannis Goumenos was desperate to cash in, he was openly chased by Olympiakos, AEK and Panathinaikos. Due to his affiliation with PAOK Thessaloniki FC Salpigidis publicly refused the offer of bitter rivals Olympiakos despite being the most profiting one among the three. On August 16th, after a lengthy negotiation period, he agreed to sign a 4-year contract to Panathinaikos. His transfer worth of 1.8 million € in cash and with PAOK Thessaloniki FC additionally receiving 3 players (Sandor Torghelle, Kostas Chalarambidis and Athanasios Tsigas) is the third most expensive of all time between Greek teams as it was estimated at 5 million € in total. On August 20, 2006, during his debut with Panathinaikos in the Super League, he scored a hat-trick, helping his new team win 1-4 against Aigaleo.

[edit] International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	5 February 2008	Nicosia, Cyprus	Czech Republic	1-0	Win	Friendly Match
2.	1 April 2009	Heraklion, Greece	Israel	2-1	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier

[edit] Honours

• Greek Cup: 2002/3
• Greek Superleague Top Goalscorer: 2006

[edit] References

v • d • e Greece squad – 2004 Summer Olympics 1 Ambaris • 2 Galanopoulos • 3 Lagos • 4 Moras • 5 Vallas • 6 Stoltidis • 7 Agritis • 8 Nebegleras • 9 Salpigidis • 10  • 11 Papadopoulos • 12 Karipidis • 13 Goundoulakis • 14 Fotakis • 15 Sapanis • 16 Vyntra • 17 Taralidis • 18 Giannou • 21 Manousakis • Coach: Apostolakis

v • d • e Greece squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Nikopolidis • 2 Seitaridis • 3 Patsatzoglou • 4 Spiropoulos • 5 Dellas • 6 Basinas • 7 Samaras • 8 Giannakopoulos • 9 Charisteas • 10 Karagounis • 11 Vyntra • 12 Chalkias • 13 Tzorvas • 14 Salpigidis • 15 Torosidis • 16 Kyrgiakos • 17 Gekas • 18 Goumas • 19 Antzas • 20 Amanatidis • 21 Katsouranis • 22 Tziolis • 23 Liberopoulos • Coach: Rehhagel