Georgios Iordanidis (, ; born 17 October 1989), also known as George I. Iordanidis, is a Greek professional football coach, former player, and author. He played as a centre-back during his football career and has published works of childrenâÂÂs and adult fiction. He most recently served as head coach of the Greece Amputee Football Association, which is a member of the European Amputee Football Federation (EAFF).
He was born in Athens into a middle-class household as the younger son of an auto electrician and his wife, a secondary school principal. He played senior-level football for Eleftheroupoli, PAO Kalyvion, IFA Blackpool, Sholing, Cosmos Giants, and QK Southampton, but several injuries terminated his career. In July 2014, he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Football Studies from Southampton Solent University, and earlier that year, he received the FA Level 2 coaching badge from the English FA. On February 12, 2016, the Greece Amputee FA appointed him as the national team's head coach. In his debut, the Greece Amputee FA drew 3-3 with AEK Futsal in a friendly game. In June 2016, he led the national team in its inaugural participation in the EAFF Amputee Football Week camp. In January 2017, he organized a charity event to collect food supplies for homeless people in Athens. On January 11, 2017, he resigned from his position due to military service obligations. In an effort to raise the awareness of young offenders on road culture and safety issues, RSI invited him to visit the Avlonas juvenile detention center on January 18, 2017, as an experiential guest. He has also worked as a talent identification scout for GKS Górnik à ÂÃÂczna and Wisà Âa Kraków in the Lotto Ekstraklasa for two straight seasons (2016âÂÂ17 and 2017âÂÂ18). In October 2022, he received his Master of Science in Football Coaching from the University of East London's Global Institute of Sport. In October 2023, he obtained the UEFA B coaching license from the Hellenic Football Federation. Apart from his native Greek, he speaks English, Spanish, and French to varying degrees of fluency.
QK Southampton Youth
Greece Amputee FA
He is a supporter of Super League 1 club AEK Athens and an admirer of Primera División club Boca Juniors.
The engineer, Alex Sinoyannis, who worked as a dynamic vehicle engineer for Team Penske No. 22 in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2013 to 2016, is his cousin.
The referee, Alexandros Dimitropoulos, who officiated forty Super League 1 and seven Greek Cup matches from 2011 to 2016, is his half-cousin. He has also served as a fourth official in twenty Super League 1 games and as a referee in twenty-seven Super League 2 games.
The football player, Konstantinos Sinoyannis, who played as a goalkeeper for Smyrnaikos Polygono, among others, was his great-uncle.
The basketball player Georgios Moschos, who played for Panellinios Athens, Iraklis Thessaloniki, and AEK Athens, and won the GBL five times, was his great-uncle-in-law.
The guitarist, songwriter, and composer Dimitris Sinoyannis, who has collaborated with top artists in the music industry (e.g., Goran BregoviÃÂ, Thanos Mikroutsikos, Manolis Mitsias, George Dalaras, Haris Alexiou, Marinella, Dimitris Mitropanos, Vasilis Karras, and Vasilis Papakonstantinou), is his uncle.
The opera singer Meropi Jordano, née Iordanidou, who performed in Austria, Switzerland, and Germany, is his great-aunt.
He is featured as a scout for Wisà Âa Kraków of the Lotto Ekstraklasa in the 2018 edition of the Football Manager simulation video game.