The slow and terrible descent into hell Kostas Mitroglou

January 25, 2021. Almost two years ago, Olympique de Marseille formalized the final departure of Kostantinos Mitroglou. A relief for the Phocaeans since the Greek was a terrible casting error. But it must be said that on paper, recruiting him was a daring bet. It is in any case the feeling that one could have by browsing the CV of the attacker. It all started in Germany. It was there that the Kavala native settled with his family and started playing football at the age of six.

Benfica knew how to get the best out of it

Passed by several clubs, he joined the Borussia Mönchengladbach training center in 2005. He stayed there for two years before returning home. Direction Athens to defend the colors of Olympiakos from 2007. A club with which he won six national championship titles in two spells. The first was not a great success since he was notably loaned to Panionios (in 2011) and Atromitos (2011-12). On his return to the capital in 2012, Mitroglou showed a better face and imposed himself at the forefront of the attack where he chained the goals.

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Kostas Mitroglou would have stopped his professional career

It was enough for him to catch the eye of the English. And it was Fulham who drew a check for 15 million euros to recruit him in the winter of 2014. Appeared three times, he scored no goals. The time to play the World Cup with his country, the center-forward was then sent back to Olympiakos in the form of a loan. Then he continued with a new loan, this time to Benfica. And he was quickly like a fish in water with 24 goals in total. Recruited definitively against 7 million euros, he continued by registering 27 achievements.

The great OM striker, a suit that is too big

Impressed, OM made him their big striker in the summer of 2017. But the magic didn’t really work for the residents of the Orange Vélodrome where he gradually disappeared from the radar (16 goals in 50 appearances) . Loaned to Galatasaray and PSV Eindhoven to revive, Mitroglou did not really shine. He therefore left OM in January 2021 to join Aris Salonika. Back home, he wanted to relaunch. But the mayonnaise did not take since he only appeared ten times (2 goals). The last time was May 9, 2021 against PAOK (2-0 defeat, entry into play 8 minutes).

This is also his last representation as a professional footballer. After more than twenty months without playing, he decided to end his professional career. This was announced by the Greek and Portuguese media this weekend. Indeed, the player born in 88 decided to evolve within the amateur club of Rheurdt-Schaephuysen. It was therefore in Germany, where he was born as a footballer, that he decided to come full circle. A career made up of ups and downs, but also regrets. This is what Martial Debeaux, a journalist specializing in Greek football, tells us.

A discrete career ending

“For his career, he will probably remain the most talented Greek striker. He had a lot of great moments at Olympiakos and Benfica, plus a few more in the national team. But we will also remember the regrets of having failed at Fulham and from the moment he signed for OM even if he limited the damage a little. It’s hard to say if it’s a lack of seriousness or mentality, but he still had a great career. Especially since it’s not easy to impose yourself in Greece when you come from the diaspora, he came from Germany and you had to adapt. The transition to OM was a real turning point in his career to listen to him.

“From a sporting point of view, it was clearly the end, the beginning of the fall. But I think that the summer he signed, he arrived injured and that made the difference because he was never able to recover after that even during his loans or his return to Greece. Maybe he should have left in his first season at OM, for example at Olympiakos where he would have been sure to have playing time. But I don’t know if that would have changed much. The Greek has accumulated failures and galleys. At 34, he decided to play only for fun. “I don’t think he’s going to return to a professional career. He is a homebody and very family guy. He is well in Germany with his family and he will finish quietly without making any noise. It’s all the harm we wish him.