Nikos Machlas
Personal information
Full name Nikolaos Machlas
Date of birth (1973-06-16) 16 June 1973
Place of birth Heraklion, Crete, Greece
Height 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Position(s) Striker
Youth career
0000 OFI Crete
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1990–1996 OFI Crete 154 (48)
1996–1999 Vitesse 92 (60)
1999–2003 Ajax 74 (38)
2003 → Sevilla (loan) 14 (2)
2003–2004 Iraklis 26 (10)
2004–2006 OFI Crete 52 (21)
2006–2008 APOEL 51 (17)
Total 463 (196)
International career
1993–2002 Greece 61 (18)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Nikos Machlas (Greek: Νίκος Μαχλάς, born 16 June 1973) is a retired Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker.

Club career

OFI Crete

Machlas began his career with OFI Crete, where he made his debut in February 1991 against Panionios. He stayed at the club for six seasons.[1] He had the Dutchman Eugène Gerards as a coach at OFI Crete.

Vitesse

Machlas signed for Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem in 1996 from Greece.[2] He scored a disappointing 8 goals in 29 games in his first season in the Eredivisie, but in his second season he scored 34 goals in just 32 games, a feat which earned him the European Golden Boot for the 1997–98 season. He scored 60 goals in 92 matches for Vitesse.

Ajax

Machlas joined Eredivisie giant Ajax Amsterdam in June 1999 for a then-club record $8.6 million. Despite netting 38 goals in 74 Eredivisie league games spread over three seasons, Machlas' goalscoring record was not deemed prolific enough for the demanding Ajax fans and coaching staff. The team went through a transition as poor results meant Machlas had to endure three coaches in as many years. His place as striker became threatened by coach Ronald Koeman's preference for the younger strikers Zlatan Ibrahimović and Mido. His 12 goals in the 2001–02 season were nevertheless important in the run toward the first league title for Ajax in four years. Ajax also won the KNVB Beker that season, meaning they achieved the "double". At the start of the 2002–03 season, Koeman made it clear to Machlas that there was no future for him anymore in the first team of Ajax and was thus relegated to training and playing matches with the youth team. Eventually, the Greek striker and Ajax Amsterdam had split. "By mutual consent, Ajax and Nikos Machlas have terminated their contract. The termination takes effect immediately," Ajax said in a statement, adding that "the player could now join another club on a free transfer". [3]

After a brief (and frustrating) period in the Ajax youth team, he joined Spanish side Sevilla on loan for the rest of the season, with the Spanish club had an option to sign him on a three-year contract at the end of the season. The former Vitesse striker, who was the highest-paid player at Ajax, suffered further misery in Spain, after he was arrested for traffic offences. He made things worse by 'insulting and injuring' police officers who tried to arrest him after the offence had been committed.[4] He scored just 2 goals in 14 appearances. Upon returning to Ajax, his contract was terminated in July 2003. Before returning to Greece Machlas has emerged as a possible transfer target for Twente. Twente was in desperate need of an experienced striker capable of leading their attacking line next term. "We don't just want any striker," Tukkers chairman Herman Wessels told. "We need someone that fits in with us and makes us better." [5]

Iraklis

The 30-year-old Greek international forward signed a one-year contract with Iraklis with the option of a further two seasons. He played under the man he calls his "footballing father", Dutch coach Eugène Gerards, who gave Machlas his break aged 18 at OFI Crete. He scored 10 goals in 26 appearances.[6]

Return to OFI Crete

He returned to his first club, OFI Crete and stayed there for two seasons. Upon the termination of his contract and after conflict with the club's chairman, he moved to APOEL, in Cyprus and signed a two years contract.

APOEL

In his first year at APOEL Machlas helped his team to win the Championship. On 17 May 2008, he announced his retirement after the end of the Cypriot Cup final, where APOEL beat 2–0 Anorthosis and clinched the title.[7]

In 2009, he returned to his first club OFI Crete to take up the role of Sporting Director as they bid to return to the Greek Superleague.

International career

Machlas won 61 caps for the Greece national team and scored 18 goals. He also scored a crucial goal against Russia that led Greece to 1994 FIFA World Cup at only 20 years of age. He started each of Greece's group games in the USA though they lost all three, to Argentina, Nigeria and Bulgaria and failed to score a goal. He played his last game for Greece against Cyprus in May 2002.

Career statistics

International

Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first, score column indicates score after each Machlas goal.[8]
List of international goals scored by Nikos Machlas
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
110 March 1993Ernst Happel Stadion, Wien, Austria Austria1–21–2Friendly
212 October 1993Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg Luxembourg1–03–11994 FIFA World Cup qualifier
317 November 1993Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece Russia1–01–01994 FIFA World Cup qualifier
427 April 1994Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece Saudi Arabia1–05–1Friendly
52–0
612 October 1994Kaftanzoglio Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece Finland3–04–0UEFA Euro 1996 qualifier
74–0
816 November 1994Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece San Marino1–02–0UEFA Euro 1996 qualifier
915 November 1995Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium, Heraklion, Greece Faroe Islands3–05–0UEFA Euro 1996 qualifier
1019 August 1997Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium, Heraklion, Greece Cyprus1–12–1Friendly
116 September 1997Bežigrad Stadium, Ljubljana, Slovenia Slovenia3–03–01998 FIFA World Cup qualifier
126 September 1998Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece Slovenia1–12–2UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier
1314 October 1998Olympic Stadium, Athens, Greece Georgia1–03–0UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier
145 June 1999Boris Paichadze Dinamo Arena, Tbilisi, Georgia Georgia2–12–1UEFA Euro 2000 qualifier
1513 November 1999National Stadium, Kilkis, Greece Nigeria1–02–0Friendly
162–0
172 June 2001Theodoros Vardinogiannis Stadium, Heraklion, Greece Albania1–01–02002 FIFA World Cup qualifier
1810 November 2001Nikos Goumas Stadium, Athens, Greece Estonia4–04–2Friendly

Honours

Ajax

APOEL

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Kolokotsios, Lambros (27 September 2010). Αθλητικοί Φάκελοι (ΜΑΧΛΑΣ) [Sporting Capsules (Machlas)] (in Greek). Evrytania News. Archived from the original on 18 October 2011.
  2. ↑ Nikos Machlas over zware jaren met zijn zoon en de kip van Mido vice.com
  3. ↑ "Ajax split with Machlas". espnfc.com. 31 July 2003.
  4. ↑ "Machlas and Ajax part company". skysports.com.
  5. ↑ "Twente linked with Machlas". skysports.com.
  6. ↑ "Machlas back in Greece". uefa.com. 1 August 2003. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  7. ↑ "Αντίο" στα γήπεδα είπε ο Μαχλάς (in Greek). contra.gr. 18 May 2008. Archived from the original on 24 May 2008. Retrieved 19 May 2008.
  8. ↑ http://eu-football.info/_player.php?id=12756 Football PLAYER: Nikolaos "Nikos" Mahlas
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