Stavros Sarafis (; 17 January 1950 – 13 October 2022) was a Greek international footballer who spent his entire career at PAOK FC, playing mainly as a midfielder and occasionally as a forward. A versatile midfielder and prolific goalscorer, he was mostly renowned for his excellent abilities in the air, being able to deliver powerful headers towards goal. Regarded as one of the club's most iconic figures, Sarafis is PAOK record top goalscorer. His nickname was "Ceasar" ().
Club career
Sarafis was born in
Epanomi, on the outskirts of
Thessaloniki in 1950 and at the age of 13 he began his football career with Anagennisi Epanomi, while when he turned 16, he was called up for a match with the Greek Youth National Team. In the summer of 1967, at the age of 17, he was transferred to
PAOK FC, who fought with city rivals Aris for his acquisition.
He made his PAOK debut in the league match against Egaleo (October 8, 1967) and in the 72nd minute, he scored his first goal and paved the way for the 2–0 victory. Sarafis spent his entire football career at the
Double-headed eagle of the North and wore the No 8 white-black jersey for 14 years, retiring in 1981. In the summer of 1976, when his contract was expiring, AEK Athens president
Loukas Barlos offered him 5 million
Modern drachma to join the
Double-headed eagle of the South, however Sarafis turned down the offer and decided to stay at his beloved PAOK despite the fact that he was informed by PAOK president Giorgos Pantelakis that the club could afford to offer him only 1 million drachmas.
Sarafis was a prolific goalscorer with an incredible heading ability, netting 136 goals in 358 league matches with PAOK. He also scored 26 goals in the
Greek Cup and 7 in
UEFA competitions, for 169 goals in total.
His partnership with
Giorgos Koudas was one of the most prominent midfield duos in Greek football during the 1970s, winning one league title (1976) and two Cups (1972, 1974). After retiring, he continued serving the club from various positions, including caretaker and assistant manager.
International career
Sarafis had 32 caps for the Greece national team between 1969 and 1977, scoring 7 goals.
[ List of Greek internationals, rsssf.org]
Death
Sarafis died on 13 October 2022, at the age of 72.
Career statistics
Club career
| + Career total statistics |
|
|
| PAOK FC | 1967–1981 | 169 |
International career
| + Apps and goals with Greece |
|
| 0 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
| 1 |
| 1 |
| 3 |
| 2 |
| 0 |
| 0 |
|
| + List of international goals scored by Stavros Sarafis |
|
| 1 | | Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus | | 1–1 | 1–3 | Friendly |
| 2 | | Nikos Goumas Stadium, Athens | | 1–0 | 2–2 | Friendly |
| 3 | | Stadionul Național, Bucharest | | 1–1 | 1–3 | Balkan Cup |
| 4 | | Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus | | 2–1 | 3–1 | Friendly |
| 5 | | Karaiskakis Stadium, Piraeus | | 1–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 1976 qualifying |
| 6 | | Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki | | 1–1 | 1–1 | Balkan Cup |
| 7 | | Stadio Comunale, Florence | | 2–2 | 2–3 | Friendly |
Honours
PAOK
-
Alpha Ethniki: 1975–76
-
Greek Cup: 1971–72, 1973–74
See also
-
List of one-club men in association football
External links
