Dimitris Saravakos (; born 26 July 1961), nicknamed "the Kid" (), is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a forward. Saravakos is widely considered to be one of the greatest Greek footballers of all time and a Panathinaikos legend. The IFFHS chose him in the best XI of all time of Greek football in 2021.
Saravakos started his professional career at Panionios where, at the age of 16, on 26 December 1977, he made his debut in the championship against Egaleo. In his second season at Panionios, he won the Greek Cup in 1979 defeating the then champion, AEK Athens by 3âÂÂ1. During the 1981âÂÂ82 season, Saravakos had the most productive year in the club as he scored 13 goals in the league, while his performances also made him an international. In his last year with Panionios he scored 10 goals in 28 appearances. On May 19, 1984, Panionios played a barrage match for their stay in the division against PAS Giannina, which was decided at the extra time with Saravakos scoring in the 104th minute and giving the lead to Panionios who prevailed by 2âÂÂ0. In total, he played in Panionios for seven years, recording 132 appearances and 35 goals in the league.
On 22 June 1984, Saravakos was transferred to Panathinaikos for 60 million drachmas. In addition to Saravakos, he also acquired Velimir Zajec and the addition of the latter in combination with the presence of Juan Ramon Rocha, made the midfield of the team particularly creative, thus the attacking virtues of Saravakos were fully exploited. During his first year at Panathinaikos, he was the second top scorer in the league. He scored his first goal for Panathinaikos on September 23, 1984, against OFI. On 25 November 1984 he scored his first goal in Athenian derby against AEK in a 3âÂÂ2 win. On 20 February 1985 he also scored in the derby of the eternal enemies against Olympiacos in a 2âÂÂ1 for the Cup. In the European Cup his presence was decisive for the qualification of Panathinaikos to the semi-finals of the institution. Panathinaikos, having qualified against Feyenoord, faced Linfield and in the rematch found themselves losing in Ireland by 3âÂÂ0. Saravakos' goal started the counterattack that led to the equalizer and the qualification. In the next round, Saravakos creating an excellent attacking duo with Thanasis Dimopoulos, scored against Göteborg in Gamla Ullevi giving Panathinaikos the victory. In the second leg, his goal at the 78th minute, equalized at 2âÂÂ2, leading his team to the semi-finals of the competition.
In the following season Saravakos won the domestic double. In the Cup he scored in the semi-final against AEK the goal that sent the "greens" to the final. There, he scored 2 goals in the imposing 4âÂÂ0 win over Olympiacos, which is also the biggest victory in a final of eternal enemies. In the UEFA Cup, his two goals in each leg, against Torino were not enough to qualify them for the next round.
On 3 May 1987, he scored his fastest goal in a derby, in the first minute of the match against AEK which ended 0âÂÂ3. In the European Cup, the "greens" were close to a big comeback against Red Star, when with goals from Saravakos and Dimopoulos, found themselves winning in the rematch with 2âÂÂ0, one goal away from the tie of the first match.
On 8 November 1987, he scored in a 1âÂÂ4 win against Olympiacos. In the UEFA Cup by scoring against Auxerre, he secured Panathinaikos' qualification to the second leg. In the first match of the next round, he scored a goal with an excellent shot outside the area, and gave Panathinaikos a 1âÂÂ0 victory against Juventus. On the rematch he opened the score and led the club to the next round. In fact, the big Italian team after their elimination showed interest in acquiring him, without proceeding with a proposal. In the next round, Panathinaikos found themselves losing with 5âÂÂ0 by Honvéd in Hungary. Saravakos did not give up the effort and reduced it to 5âÂÂ2 with 2 goals, resulting in Panathinaikos winning 5âÂÂ1 in the second leg and qualifying. In the quarter-finals his goal against Club Brugge was not enough for them to qualify. In the Cup, Saravakos scored three goals in total on both legs against the then champion, AEL and the "greens" qualified to the final. Facing Olympiacos again, the duo of Saravakos-Dimopoulos was successful again as with their 2 goals, Panathinaikos claimed the title on penalties, where they won 4âÂÂ3.
In June 1988 the then president of Olympiacos, George Koskotas, offered Saravakos the "unrealistic" amount for the Greek data of 600 million drachmas, but failed to dress the athlete in the red and white shirt. On 24 August 1988 he won the Super Cup against AEL winning 3âÂÂ1. At the end of the season, Panathinaikos emerged as the Cup winner again with Saravakos, scoring a goal in the final against Panionios.
In the summer of 1989, Panathinaikos acquired the striker Krzysztof Warzycha, who connected perfectly with Saravakos and the two of them led the club to the championship in 1990. On February 25, 1990, Saravakos played for the third time in his career in a match where Panathinaikos scored 4 goals against Olympiacos, winning 3âÂÂ4 in the Karaiskakis Stadium, with him as the captain. In the semi-final of the Greek Cup, Saravakos scored a hat trick against Olympiacos, but the final score of 3âÂÂ3 was not enough to overturn the 2âÂÂ1 score of the first match. In the Cup Winners' Cup he scored a goal in Panathinaikos' 3âÂÂ2 win over Swansea.
The next season, Saravakos emerged as the league's top scorer with 23 goals. Panathinaikos won another double by finishing first, while they were also crowned Cup winners with 10 goals by Saravakos.
The season 1991âÂÂ92 was the most prolific in goals in the league for Saravakos who scored 24 goals. On 26 January 1992, he scored in a 3âÂÂ0 victory over Olympiacos. On 9 February 1992, with his 2 goals in 2 minutes, Panathinaikos prevailed 2âÂÂ0 over AEK. In the quarter-finals of the Cup, Saravakos' goal gave Panathinaikos a qualifying score over Olympiacos, until the 90th minute, when they were equalized and eliminated on away goals. In Europe, Saravakos led Panathinaikos to the groups of the first edition of the Champions League. In the qualifying matches against Göteborg, he scored 3 of Panathinaikos' 4 goals. The first match ended in favor of Panathinaikos 2âÂÂ0 with Saravakos opening the score. In the rematch, the Swedish were leading 2âÂÂ0, equaling the result of the first match, but with 2 goals, Saravakos tied at 2-2 and led Panathinaikos to the quarter-finals. An important moment for Saravakos was his participation in World XI alongside Stratos Apostolakis in 1992 in a protest match due to the invasion of Kuwait.
In the 1992âÂÂ93 season, Saravakos won the Cup with Panathinaikos, while participating in the European competitions, where the "greens" set a goal record, both in one match and in the total of the 2 matches against Electroputere Craiova with 10 goals with him scoring once. On August 18 of 1993 he scored the decider against AEK for the Super Cup.
In the 1993âÂÂ94 season, he won for the 6th time in his career the Cup. On 2 November 1993, Saravakos played for the last time in his career with Panathinaikos in a European competition in the away victory against Bayer Leverkusen with 1âÂÂ2, opening the scoring in the 6th minute.
In the summer of 1994, since his contract was not renewed, Saravakos left Panathinaikos and joined their rivals, AEK Athens. On 10 August 1994, he played in his first official match with AEK, which was one of the most memorable with their shirt against Rangers securing the qualification to the Champions League group stage for the first time in their history. Saravakos with his 2 goals in the first match, gave the victory to AEK, which prevailed in the rematch. His presence in the league was equally satisfactory as he emerged as the second scorer with 21 goals. On 1 April 1995 he scored for the last time in the derby against Olympiacos. At the end of the season they lost the Cup in final against Panathinaikos, where he lost a crucial penalty.
In the following season with the "yellow-blacks", he won his third another Super Cup against his former club. On 3 December 1995 he scores his last goal for the yellow-blacks with a direct corner kick in a 4âÂÂ0 against OFI. His advanced age and the injuries he was facing had a result not to offer much at the club. AEK displayed impressive football and won the Cup but finished second in the league. At the end of the year, AEK, respecting his contribution to the club, released him by terminating his contract by mutual consent.
In the summer of 1997 after a year of absence from football Saravakos returned to Panathinaikos to end his career in his favorite club. He competed in just 2 league games before retiring in the summer of 1998.
He is the leading scorer in history with 16 goals in the Derby of the eternal enemies. He held the record for the Greek top scorer in UEFA competitions, with 25 goals, but he was surpassed by Demis Nikolaidis.
Saravakos was a key member of Greece, with whom he competed between 1982 and 1994. He is fourth top scorer in the history of the national team with 22 goals in 78 appearances. He was part of the team that claimed qualification for the UEFA Euro 1988 and contributed to the great success of qualifying for the 1994 FIFA World Cup in the United States.
He also played for the Mediterranean team in the 1983 Mediterranean Games in Casablanca, Morocco, where on 11/9/83 he scored the team's second goal in a 2âÂÂ1 against Libya. In 1983 he participated in 4 matches with the Olympic team.
Saravakos was one of the most popular and charismatic players of Greek football. He possessed excellent technical training and footballing intelligence, with a strong emphasis on finishing, game development and a keen ability to score goals, being regarded as one of the most effective takers in all foul and penalty kicks.
Since 2013 he serves as Strategic Adviser for Panathinaikos a position created especially for him.
His father Thanasis was also an international footballer of Panionios.
Panionios
Panathinaikos
AEK Athens