Kostas Davourlis

Kostas Davourlis
Personal information
Full name	Konstantinos Davourlis
Date of birth	4 January 1948
Place of birth	Agyia, Patras, Greece
Date of death	23 May 1992 (aged 44)
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
1962–1964	Panionios Patron
Senior career*
Years	Team
1965–1974	Panachaiki
1974–1977	Olympiacos
1977–1981	Panachaiki
1981–1982	Panegialios
1982–1985	Panachaiki
1985–1986	Korinthos
International career
1969–1977	Greece
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Kostas Davourlis (

attacking midfielder.^[1]

A gifted and talented player, he was voted by the Greek sports magazine "Ethnosport" as one of the 50 best Greek football players ever.

Having gained fame in Greece as the creative

1974 UEFA Cup).^[2]

Davourlis was famed for his technical ability, his ball skill, his creative passes and his powerful shot in or outside the box; furthermore, his leadership was exemplary.[3] He was also a notable free kick taker, as demonstrated by his numerous goals from outside the penalty area.

In spite of the fact that his career had a rather bitter end for a player of his caliber, he is still worshiped by fans all over the Peloponnese. The Panachaiki Stadium bears his name since 1992, when he died due to a heart attack.^[3]

Club career

Early career, Panionios Patron and Panachaiki 1962–1971

Davourlis was born in

first division. His most notable achievement at that time was that he became the first Greek football player to be selected for the national team while playing for a second division team.^[4]

Finally, after several unsuccessful attempts, Panachaiki made it to the "big" division in 1969 and Davourlis' talent shone. However, the team was involved in a bribery scandal and sunk again to the lower division. Fortunately enough for Davourlis, they were back a year later and the Black Prince of Patras led Panachaiki's rise towards glory.

Panachaiki and Olympiacos 1971–1978

In the 1972 season, Davourlis scored 15 goals and Panachaiki finished sixth. The best was still to come though. After an amazing 1973 season in which he scored again 15 goals, including a

UEFA Cup, Davourlis was transferred to Olympiacos. The transfer fee was 9.25 million Drachmas, the highest in Greek football history at the time.^[4]

At Olympiacos, Davourlis was one of the top players of the team, along with

Greek Cup finals, winning thanks to his goal in 1975 and losing in 1976.^[5]^[6]

Nevertheless, his heart was travelling somewhere else.

Panachaiki 1978–1985

In 1978, when Davourlis was transferred back to Panachaiki, almost nothing in Patras remained of the glorious team that fascinated Greece in the first half of the decade. Davourlis' presence increased the level of the team, but the results remained poor, leading to the club's relegation to the

Korinthos FC in 1986. Later on he worked for Panachaiki as a scouter discovering many talents until the year he died, the most famous of whom is Grigoris Georgatos

.

International career

Davourlis earned his first cap with the

Australia. Had Davourlis spent more years playing for a Greek powerhouse, the number of his national team selections would have been undoubtedly higher.^[3]

Appearances for the Greece national football team

1. 23 July 1969 Αustralia – Greece 2–2 (substitute 75’) – friendly match

2. 18 June 1971 Greece – Malta 2–0 (90 minutes) – scored in the 60’-

1972 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying

3. 6 July 1971 Mexico – Greece 1–1 (substitute 45’) – scored in the 86’- friendly match

4. 30 September 1971 Greece – Μexico 0–1 (90 minutes) – friendly match

5. 1 December 1971 Greece – England 0–2 (substitute 73’) –

1972 UEFA European Football Championship qualifying

6. 16 February 1972 Greece – Holland 0–5 (substitute 45’) – friendly match

7. 19 November 1972 Yugoslavia – Greece 1–0 (substitute 73’) – 1974 FIFA World Cup qualification
8. 6 May 1976 Greece – Poland 1–0 (90 minutes) – friendly match
9. 22 September 1976 Greece – Ιsrael 0–1 (90 minutes) – friendly match
10. 9 October 1976 Greece – Hungary 1–1 (substitute 58’) – 1978 FIFA World Cup qualification (UEFA)
11. 26 January 1977 Ιsrael – Greece 1–1 (substitute 85’) – friendly match

Statistics

1
Greek Championship
Title (1975)
1
Greek football Cup
(1975)
He scored a total of 95 goals in his career
He scored a total of 22 goals by free kick in his career, second best record behind the one of Kostas Frantzeskos

Notes

^ Bakounakis, Nikos. "There are still some ethical heroes left", Το Vima, 12 January 2003.[1] Archived 13 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
^ ^a ^b Rsssf, website about football statistics
^ ^a ^b ^c Bogonikolos, Nikos. "The black diamond", Peloponnisos, 22 May 2006
^ ^a ^b ^c Ethnosport, "The top 50"
^ Kolokotsios, Lambros (13 February 2010). Αθλητικοί Φάκελοι (ΔΑΒΟΥΡΛΗΣ) [Sporting Capsules (Davourlis)] (in Greek). Evrytania News. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2012.
^ Rsssf, website about football statistics

References

Bakounakis, Nikos., "There are still some ethical heroes left", Το Vima, 12 January 2003. [2]
Bogonikolos, Nikos., "The black diamond", Peloponnisos, 22 May 2006.
Ethnosport, "The top 50".
Western sports, volume 2, July 2005.
Rsssf, website about football statistics.[3]

[1] Bakounakis, Nikos. "There are still some ethical heroes left", Το Vima, 12 January 2003.[1] Archived 13 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine

[rsssf.com-2] Rsssf, website about football statistics

[ReferenceA-3] Bogonikolos, Nikos. "The black diamond", Peloponnisos, 22 May 2006

[Ethnosport,_The_top_50-4] Ethnosport, "The top 50"

[Ev-5] Kolokotsios, Lambros (13 February 2010). Αθλητικοί Φάκελοι (ΔΑΒΟΥΡΛΗΣ) [Sporting Capsules (Davourlis)] (in Greek). Evrytania News. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011. Retrieved 4 May 2012.

[6] Rsssf, website about football statistics

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