Andreas Stamatiadis

Stamatiadis was born on 16 August 1935 in the refugee slum of Petralona. Child of a poor family, with an Asia Minor refugee father and mother from Mani, he met and experienced the German Occupation and its aftermath at a young age. Like many children of his generation, he too found a way out of the problems of everyday life by playing football in the abundant playgrounds of the neighborhood.

The former manager of Stamatiadis at AEK, Jenő Csaknády, with whom he shared mutual respect and family friendship, having recognized his abilities and high level of perception, encouraged him to get involved in coaching and helped him attend coaching schools and obtain a diploma. The first team he undertook was Rodos in 1969, where he spent one season. The following season, he became the manager of Trikala, where under his instructions they got the promotion to the first division.^[11] In the summer of 1971, Stamatiadis took the wheel of Lamia and he guided them semi-finals of the Cup, which is their best campaign in the tournament.^[12] In 1973 signed at Anagennisi Karditsa, where he spent a year^[13] before joining Chalkida.^[14][15]

On 19 June 1975 Stamatiadis returned to AEK and took charge of the club's academies.^[16] On 19 July 1976 he was promoted to the assistant of František Fadrhonc.^[17][18] In his first season in his new position, AEK reached the semi-finals of the UEFA Cup.^[19] On 23 September 1977, when the Czech was fired, Stamatiadis took charge of the team's bench until a replacement was found,^[20] achineving 3 wins in the same number of matches. On 11 October, when Zlatko Čajkovski was hired as the replacement for Fadrhonc, he kept his position as the assistant manager.^[21] At the end of the season AEK reached the conquest of the domestic double.^[22] In the following season Stamatiadis continued working as his assistant manager next to Ferenc Puskás. When the Hungarian manager was removed from the technical leadership of the club on 17 March 1979,^[23] he stepped at again as the head coach until the end of the season with the task of keeping the team at the top of the standings, something that he eventually achieved, while at the same time he reached the Cup final, losing 3–1 to Panionios.^[24]

In the summer of 1979, after his tenure at AEK was over, Stamatiadis took over as the manager of Atromitos, where he secured the league title in second division, while in 1980 he sat for the first time on the bench of Egaleo in the second division, keeping them in the category. The following season, he claimed the promotion to the first division, which he did not secure in the end, as he was defeated by Rodos of Michalis Bellis in a draw, at the stadium of Heraklion, with 1–0 loss in at the extra time. In 1981 Stamatiadis was the coach of Diagoras for a year and in the summer of 1982 he returned to Egaleo. The team from the western suburbs won the last championship of the South and were promoted to the first division. In 1985 he returned to Atromitos for a season and then coached Acharnaikos.^[25]

In 1986, he was the manager of Greece U21 for six years. During his years they reached the final of the 1988 European U21 Championship, against France.^[26] From 1992 on, he worked time to time the infrastructure departments of AEK, while for several years he was the director of these departments, a position from which he left in 2013, when he was replaced by Akis Zikos.^[27]

Stamatiadis continuously participated in the events of the Veterans Association of AEK Athens, where he also served as their president, while bequeathing his adoration for the club to his two sons, Dimitris and Kostas, who are actively involved with AEK Amateur sections offering from administrative positions their services to the club.^[28] On 28 February 2024 at Agia Sophia Stadium, before the match of AEK against PAS Giannina, he was honoured with the "golden double-headed eagle" by Dimitris Melissanidis for his services to the club.^[29]

Stamatiadis was married and had two sons.^[30] He died after series of health issues in Athens, on 23 January 2025, at the age of 89.^[31][32]

Stamatiadis was a fast and technically proficient winger, operated mainly close to the touchline. He was capable of cutting inside and threatening the opposition goal with powerful shots. He was also a key provider of assists for AEK Athens, with many goals scored by the team's main strikers, which came from his passes. Furthermore Stamatiadis was a natural leader, was known for his composure and clear thinking in difficult situations. He inspired confidence in his teammates and earned the respect of his opponents. With strong awareness of the game, he was able to quickly identify mistakes and often guided his teammates on the pitch like a manager.^[33]

• List of one-club men in association football