Kostas Chatzimichail (Greek: Κώστας Χατζημιχαήλ; 29 January 1932 – 10 May 2024) was a Greek footballer who played as a forward and a later manager.
Club career
Chatzimichail started playing football at the academies of AEK Athens. He was promoted to the men’s team in 1956, where he played for three seasons. In the summer of 1959 he was given as an exchange, as a part of the transfer of Manolis Kanellopoulos from Egaleo, after the suggestion of Tryfon Tzanetis. At the club from Aigaleo, he won the Athens FCA Championship. The following season he moved to Prasina Poulia, where he served as a player-manager until 1967. There, he managed to win the Messinia FCA Championship and the promotion to the second division in 1961.[1]
Managerial career
Chatzimichail served as the assistant of Lefter Küçükandonyadis at Egaleo. In 1969 he was the manager of Achaiki for a season.
On 26 August 1970 Chatzimichail returned to AEK Αthens, where he was hired to replace Giorgos Gasparis as the assistant of Branko Stanković.[2] In 1971 he also replaced Georgios Daispangos in the technical leadership of the club’s academies, after the latter’s retirement. Chatzimichail served as the manager of the reserve team, for four years continuing the work of Daispangos. On 7 February 1973 after the elimination by Apollon Kalamarias in the Cup, Stanković was fired and Chatzimichail was anointed the interim manager of the men’s team.[3] He sat on the bench of AEK once, on 11 February in the 2–0 away defeat against Panserraikos. He remained within the club as an assistant of the next manager, Billy Bingham, while coaching the club’s academies until 1975, when he departed from the club.[4][5]
He continued his career at Doxa Drama, which he took over in the summer of 1975 and left in November 1976. He returned to Doxa in 1978, where he promoted the club in the first division after 14 years of absence. He left at the beginning of the following season and worked in Veria for one season,[6] the Greek military team, in Kalamata and Niki Volos,[7] before returning to Doxa Drama with whom he made an admirable run until 1983. His move to Kavala in 1983 was also admirable, where he managed to keep the team in the division, despite the 10-point penalty in the start of the season. In fact, under his instructions, he achieved the best defense in the division and collected just two points less from the two teams that won the promotion to the first division. His last spell was at Pierikos in 1985.[8]
Death
Chatzimichail died on 10 May 2024, at the age of 92.[9]
Honours
Player
Egaleo
- Athens FCA Championship: 1959–60
Prasina Poulia
- Messinia FCA Championship: 1960–61
Manager
Doxa Drama
- Beta Ethniki: 1978–79
References
- ^ a b “Κώστας Χατζημιχαήλ”. football.aek.com.
- ^ “Ο Χατζημιχαήλ βοηθός του Στάνκοβιτς”. Athletic Echo (in Greek). 27 August 1970. p. 6.
- ^ “Στάνκοβιτς τέρμα”. Athletic Echo (in Greek). 8 February 1973. pp. 1, 6.
- ^ “Κώστας Χατζημιχαήλ”. football.aek.com.
- ^ “ΑΕΚ: “Παπούτσια” από τον τόπο της!”. sportday.gr. 16 October 2021.
- ^ “Ο Χατζημιχαήλ ανέλαβε χθες την Βέροια”. Athletic Echo (in Greek). 2 August 1979. p. 3.
- ^ Δ. Μπάτσος (16 July 1977). “Ο κ. Χατζημιχαήλ νέος προπονητής στη Νίκη Βόλου”. Athletic Echo (in Greek). p. 6.
- ^ “Κωνσταντίνος Χατζημιχαήλ”. aekpedia.com.
- ^ “Πέθανε ο πρώην προπονητής του ΑΟΚ Κώστας Χατζημιχαήλ”. proininews.gr. 10 May 2024.