Kleanthis Vikelidis

Who was Kleanthis Vikelidis?

Kleanthis Vikelides was a Greek footballer who played for Aris Thessaloniki and the Greece national football team. He was also a manager, taking charge of Aris Thessaloniki, PAOK and Apollon Kalamaria.

Vikelides was born in 1916 in Thessaloniki and was the youngest of the three Vikelides brothers that played for Aris F.C., the others being Kostas and Nikiforos. He was instrumental in Aris winning the Greek Championship in 1932 and 1946, given the nickname 'Macedonian Tank'. During his career, Vikelides was capped 7 times by the Greek National Football Team, scoring 4 goals. Vikelidis coached Aris Thessaloniki twice in 1954 and 1959 and later continued his managing career with PAOK during the 1957 season and Apollon Kalamaria during the 1961 season. In his honour, Aris FC named the stadium at Charilaou, Thessaloniki Kleanthis Vikelides Stadium.