Stelios Skevofilakas
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 Skevofilax with AEK | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Stylianos Skevofilakas | ||
| Date of birth | 6 January 1939[1] | ||
| Place of birth | Nea Ionia, Greece[2] | ||
| Date of death | 10 June 2009 (aged 70)[1] | ||
| Place of death | Athens, Greece[3] | ||
| Height | 1.80 m (5 ft 11 in)[1] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 1955–1958 | Eleftheroupoli | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1958–1961 | Eleftheroupoli | ||
| 1961 | → AEK Athens (loan) | 0 | (0) |
| 1961–1972 | AEK Athens | 308 | (16) |
| 1972–1973 | Atromitos | 29 | (2) |
| International career | |||
| 1962 | Greece military | 8 | (2) |
| 1963–1966 | Greece | 11 | (0) |
| Managerial career | |||
| 1974–1975 | Koukouvaounes | ||
| 1977–1978 | Marko | ||
| 1979–1980 | Ionikos | ||
| 1982–1983 | Kerkyra | ||
| 1983–1984 | Olympiacos Chalkida | ||
| 1996–1997 | Niki Volos | ||
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals | |||
Stelios Skevofilakas (Greek: Στέλιος Σκευοφύλακας; 6 January 1939 – 10 June 2009) was a Greek professional footballer who played as a midfielder mostly for AEK Athens and later a manager.
Skevofilakas started his football career in 1955 at one of his neighborhood teams, Eleftheroupoli,[4] where in 1961 he was transferred to AEK Athens at the age of 21.[5] He played in the midfield positions with and especially as a wide midfielder.[6] His official debut with the yellow and black jersey was at Rizoupoli Stadium on 9 September 1961, in the victory of AEK over Egaleo by 8–0, where he provided three assists in the two goals of Nestoridis at the 40th and 43rd minute and a goal of Stamatiadis at the 65th minute.[7] Skevofilakas won 3 championships and 2 Greek Cups, while he was a member of the team that played in the European Cup quarter finals in 1969 against Spartak Trnava, losing by a margin the opportunity to face Johan Cruyff's Ajax in the semi-finals.[8] The intention of the club's then manager, Branko Stanković to renew the club's roster, brought Skevofilakas to leave AEK among other players, in 1972 and move to Atromitos.[9][10]
On 21 May 1973, Skevofilakas alongside Balopoulos, Psychogios and Kefalidis, who were all released from AEK and signed for Atromitos, started in the game against their former club at Peristeri Stadium, where the match ended with a 1–0 victory for the hosts.[11] It was the first time that they played against AEK, while Lakis Nikolaou, made his maiden participation against his former club, with the yellow-blacks.[12] He retired as a footballer in the summer of 1973, at the age of 34.[13][14]
International career
Skevofilakas was part of the Greek military team, with whom he won the World Military Cup in 1962.[15][16]
Skevofilakas made 11 appearances for the Greece,[17] playing in qualifying matches for the 1966 FIFA World Cup and UEFA Euro 1968.[18] He made his debut in May 1963 at an away friendly match against Poland, which ended 4–0.[19]
Managerial career
After his playing career was over, Skevofilakas began coaching, mainly with lower division clubs. On 24 July 1977 he signed for Marko.[20] In the summer of 1979 he took over as the new manager of Ionikos.[21] In 1982 he was the manager of Kerkyra for a season.[22] In the summer of 1983 he became the manager of Olympiacos Chalkida.[23][24] In 1996, Skevofilakas took charge of the bench of newly promoted second division club, Niki Volos for a season,[25] where he managed to finish in the seventh place of the league.[26]
Personal life
Skevofilakas was the cousin of former AEK footballer, Giannis Vlantis whose son, Giorgos, also played for the club.[27] After the end of his career he participated in the events of the Veterans Association of AEK Athens, which he served as president for 8 consecutive years.[1][28] On 21 January 2009, he made a deeply emotional and unexpected visit to the gathering for the New Year's Eve of the Veterans of AEK, in his capacity as their president, to wish all of them health. It was his last public appearance,[29] since a few months later, on 10 June 2009, Skevofilakas died from stomach cancer after a struggle of 18 months.[30][31] On 20 January 2016, AEK organized a football tournament in his memory.[32]
