Mimis Papaioannou

Early career

At the age of 15 he joined Nea Genea Nikomideia and competed in their offense. Word of his talent quickly spread across the capital of the prefecture and the officials of Veria. As a result, in 1959, the 17-year-old Papaioannou was eventually transferred to them. That period the manager of PAOK, Žarko Mihajlović selected him, alongside other youngsters from Northern Greece who weren't under contract with the club, to represent PAOK's academy at the Viareggio youth tournament. His appearances for the "Queen of North" attracted the interest of the major clubs of Thessaloniki, but also of the then manager of AEK Athens, Tryfon Tzanetis. The offers of the clubs of Thessaloniki failed to meet the demands of Veria with his transfer to PAOK collapsing over a difference of 20,000 drachmas. In 1962, Tzanetis suggested and persuaded the president of AEK, Nikos Goumas to offer 175,000 drachmas to the team and 25,000 drachmas to the 19-year-old player for his transfer to their club. The young striker of refugee origin was hesitant. On one hand there was his sporting sympathy for the Northern Greece, PAOK and the neighboring move to Thessaloniki, while on the other AEK Athens offered greater prestige and significantly more money, which was important for his family, despite requiring a move to the distant Athens. Eventually, after the advice of the president of Veria, Kostas Vorgiatzidis, Papaioannou chose the club of Athens.

AEK Athens

1962–1963…

Papaioannou was part of the Greek military team from 1962 to 1965. He won two consecutive times the World Military Cup in 1962 and 1963. Papaioannou was capped 61 times with Greece scoring 21 goals becoming their top scorer, at the time. His record was surpassed in 1986 by Anastopoulos surpassed him in 1986 and he remains among the top 5 goalscorers. His debut was on 27 November 1963 in a friendly away 3–1 loss against Cyprus, under Tzanetis. Although it was his first international match, he was the captain of the team.

Papaioannou, after two seasons as a footballer for New York Pancyprian-Freedoms, took over the wheel of the team as a player-manager in 1981 for a year and after retiring as a footballer in 1982, he continued as their manager. He remained at the club until 1986, where he won another domestic double in 1982 and a second consecutive National Challenge Cup in 1983. After his return to Greece in 1986, he coached Kerkyra, Edessaikos, Olympiacos Chalkida, AE Kos and Pannafpliakos, respectively within 5 seasons. In 1991 Papaioannou moved to Kefalonia, where he was active professionally and simultaneously coached the local club of Evgeros for a season, where they won promotion from the local championships to the fourth division. Afterwards, he coached divisions of the national team of Greece and from 1992 was at the side of Alketas Panagoulias in the men's team, as an assistant, until the end of the 1994 FIFA World Cup.

Papaioannou was born on 17 November 1942 at Nea Nikomideia of Imathia. His father, Kostas was the curator of the local football club, Nea Genea, thus the young Papaioannou came in touch with football from an early age. His football talent began to shine from early on, while his love for the sport was unquestionable. His love of football and the financial difficulties of his family forced him to leave school early and split his time between the pitch and the barber shop of the village, where he worked as an assistant.