Giorgos Sideris

Giorgos Sideris is a retired Greek football striker and is considered one of the greatest forwards in Olympiacos and Greek soccer history. An inside-right forward that no-one or nothing could stand in his way (his nickname was "the Bulldozer"). Very quick with the ball on his feet and a player that had the instinct and charisma to score. Born in 1938, he transferred to Olympiacos from Atromitos Piraeus in the summer of 1959. He scored 225 goals for his club, placing him at the top of Olympiacos' all-time scorers' table. Three times he was the top scorer in the Greek First Division. He became leading scorer three times in the Greek championship with: 29 goals in 1965, 22 goals in 1967. In 1970, he transferred to Belgium's Royal Antwerp FC^[1] after having finished second to Bulgaria's Petar Zhekov of CSKA Sofia (36), for the European Golden Boot competition in 1969, scoring 35 goals in that season. On 6 February 1972, Giorgos Sideris rejoins Olympiakos (in a match against Panachaiki, 3-2) after his return from Belgium where he played for Antwerp (1971). He was the first Greek player to play for another European team outside Greece. On 20 February 1972 he played his last game against Panathinaikos at Karaiskaki Stadium. After his football career ended, Sideris established a successful insurance company. Sideris was also one of the key offensive players of the Greek national team. Despite only being capped 28 times (including once while a player with Atromitos), he scored 14 goals.^[2]

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