Tasos Vasiliou

Tasos Vasiliou
Tasos Vasiliou with AEK Athens
Personal information
Full name Anastasios Vasiliou
Date of birth (1938-08-04)4 August 1938
Place of birth Nikaia, Piraeus, Greece
Date of death 30 September 2018(2018-09-30) (aged 80)
Place of death Nikaia, Piraeus, Greece
Position Center back
Youth career
–1953 Atlantida
1953–1956 Aris Nikaia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1956–1958 Aris Piraeus
1958–1965 Apollon Athens
1965–1970 AEK Athens 120 (2)
1970–1973 Ionikos
International career
1960–1966 Greece 10 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Tasos Vasiliou (Greek: Τάσος Βασιλείου; 4 August 1938 – 30 September 2018) was a Greek professional footballer who played as a center back.[1] His nickname was "the Rock" (Greek: "ο Βράχος") or "the Lion" (Greek: "το Λιοντάρι").

Club career

Vasiliou started football from the streets of his neighborhood, at the club of Atlantida. In 1953 he moved to Aris Nikaia and in 1956 he signed to Aris Piraeus. In 1958 he was transferred to Apollon Athens, where he stood out with his talent, as a result of which in 1965 he got the big transfer for AEK, with the huge at the time fee of 1.5 million drachmas.[2]

Vasiliou was quickly established as a regular for four years, while during his spell at the club he also became an international. In his first season he won a Greek Cup.[3] The following season, under Jenő Csaknády they reached the finals of the Balkans Cup.[4] and won the championship in 1968.[5] He was also a member of the squad that reached the quarter-finals of the European Cup in 1969.[6] However, his last two years at the club were not as equally good. Vasiliou originated from a "left-wing" family and asked the manager of the national team, Lakis Petropoulos to stop calling him to the representative group, as a sign of protest against the exile his father had suffered in Gyaros from the dictatorial government.[7] Since then, the junta exerted pressure to keep the player out of the competitive activities of the club. On 11 June 1969, after a 4–2 away defeat against Panachaiki, which resulted in their elimination from the Cup, eventually found the pretext it needed to target both Vasiliou and Balopoulos because of their political beliefs. Initially, by decision of the manager Branko Stanković and the board of the club, they were punished with suspension from the club's activities until the end of the season, reportedly for deliberately underperforming in the match.[8][9] Afterwards, both players remained sidelined from the club for the entire following season, mainly due to repeated conflicts with Stanković.[10]

In the summer of 1970 Vasiliou left the club and initially agreed with Vyzas Megara, but when his fellow townspeople in Nikaia found out about the deal, they pressured him to cancel the transfer and move to Ionikos, which he eventually did.[11][12] He played at Ionikos until 1973, when he ended his career. Towards the end of his tenure at Ionikos, he also served as the team's manager.[13]

International career

Vasiliou played a total of 10 times with Greece, between 1960 and 1966.[14] He made his debut on 20 November 1960 in a home match against West Germany, as part of the 1962 FIFA World Cup qualifiers, under Tryfon Tzanetis.[15]

After football

Vasiliou, after the end of his career, created a sausage production business that started in Nikaia and then created facilities based in Corinth.[2] He died on 30 September 2018.

Honours

AEK Athens

References

  1. ↑ "Tasos Vasiliou". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  2. 1 2 "Τάσος Βασιλείου". aekpedia.com.
  3. ↑ "Greek Cup 1965/66". RSSSF.
  4. ↑ "Balkans Cup 1966/67". RSSSF.
  5. ↑ "Greece 1967/68". RSSSF.
  6. ↑ Καζαντζόγλου, Σταύρος (15 June 2019). "1968/69: Η πρώτη ελληνική ομάδα σε ευρωπαϊκή οκτάδα, η απογοήτευση εντός συνόρων". enwsi.gr.
  7. ↑ ""Εφυγε" ο Τάσος Βασιλείου". rizospastis.gr. 2 October 2018.
  8. ↑ "Θύελλα εις την ΑΕΚ - Στάνκοβιτς:Τα είχα προβλέψει". Athletic Echo (in Greek). 13 June 1969. pp. 1, 6.
  9. ↑ Αργύρης Κοκκινάκης (14 June 1969). "Μπαγιώργος προς Στάνκοβιτς : Προχώρα στο δρόμο που χάραξες". Athletic Echo (in Greek). p. 5.
  10. ↑ "Όταν η χούντα των συνταγματαρχών έβαζε στον γύψο τη χώρα και διέλυε την ΑΕΚ". enwsi.gr. 21 April 2020.
  11. ↑ M. Εφραιμίδης (19 August 1970). "Ο Τάσος Βασιλείου οριστικά στον Ιωνικό". Athletic Echo (in Greek). p. 5.
  12. ↑ "Ο Βασιλείου οριστικά στον Ιωνικό - Η ΕΠΟ δεν ενέκρινε μεταγραφή του στο Βύζαντα". Athletic Echo (in Greek). 18 September 1970. pp. 1, 4.
  13. ↑ "Interview with " Social"". Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 24 March 2015.
  14. ↑ "Tasos Vasiliou". eu-football.info. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
  15. ↑ "Greece matches 1956–1960" (PDF). epo.gr.
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