Pieros Sotiriou

Pieros Sotiriou
Personal information
Full name Pieros Sotiriou
Date of birth (1993-01-13) 13 January 1993
Place of birth Nicosia, Cyprus
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current team
 APOEL
Number 20
Youth career
2008–2009 Olympiakos Nicosia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2009–2013 Olympiakos Nicosia 55 (10)
2013– APOEL 52 (21)
National team‡
2010–2012 Cyprus U19 7 (5)
2011–2014 Cyprus U21 12 (2)
2012– Cyprus 19 (1)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 28 November 2016.

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 November 2016

Pieros Sotiriou (Greek: Πιέρος Σωτηρίου; born on 13 January 1993 in Nicosia, Cyprus) is a Cypriot international footballer who plays as a striker for APOEL in the Cypriot First Division.

Career

Olympiakos Nicosia

Sotirou is a product of Olympiakos Nicosia academies. He made his official debut with Olympiakos in the 2009–10 season, when the club was competing in the Cypriot Second Division, appearing in four matches and scoring one goal. On 19 March 2011, he made his Cypriot First Division debut, playing the last 11 minutes in a match against Doxa Katokopias and he added a further five appearances in the 2010–11 season. The next season (2011–12), he made 16 league appearances (2 at starting line-up, 14 as a substitute) and scored his first Cypriot First Division goal on 18 September 2011, in the third matchday against APOEL where Olympiakos lost by 1–4. On June 2012, it was rumoured that Sheffield Wednesday[1] was interested in him and also on 5 August 2012, he was trialled at S.L. Benfica,[2] but finally stayed at Olympiakos. On 16 November 2012, he renwed his contract with Olympiakos, signing a three-year contract extension.[3] His most productive season with Olympiakos came in 2012–13, when he appeared in 29 league matches (28 at starting line-up, 1 as a substitute) and scored 8 goals.

At the end of the 2012–13 season, he has been awarded the "Young player of the season" award by Cyprus Football Association.

APOEL

On 24 December 2012, it was announced that Sotiriou transfer from Olympiakos to APOEL was already agreed by the two clubs (for a transfer fee of €70,000), but he stayed to Olympiakos until the end of the 2012–13 season and his four-year contract with APOEL activated in June 2013.[4]

He made his debut on 29 August 2013, in the 2013–14 UEFA Europa League play-off match against Zulte Waregem at GSP Stadium, coming on as a 68th-minute substitute in APOEL's 1–2 defeat.[5] During the 2013–14 season, he appeared in three 2013–14 UEFA Europa League group stage matches for APOEL and won all the titles in Cyprus, the Cypriot League,[6][7] the Cypriot Cup[8][9] and the Cypriot Super Cup.[10][11]

He scored his first official goal for APOEL on 20 September 2014, netting the second goal in APOEL's 3–1 away victory against Ayia Napa for the Cypriot First Division.[12] On 10 December 2014, he made his first UEFA Champions League group stage appearance, coming on as an 65th-minute substitute in APOEL's 4–0 defeat against Ajax at Amsterdam Arena.[13] On 15 December 2014, he scored twice in APOEL's enthralling 4–4 home draw against AEK Larnaca for the Cypriot First Division.[14] In the 2014–15 season, he managed to add two more titles to his collection, as APOEL won again both the Cypriot championship and the cup.[15]

On 28 April 2016, Sotiriou scored the opening goal against title rivals AEK Larnaca and sealed the victory which secured APOEL's fourth consecutive Cypriot First Division title.[16]

He scored his first goal in the European competitions on 19 July 2016, netting the second goal in APOEL's 3–0 home win against The New Saints for the second qualifying round of the UEFA Champions League.[17] On 24 August 2016, Sotiriou opened the scoring in APOEL's 1–1 home draw against FC Copenhagen for the play-off round of the UEFA Champions League, but his goal wasn't enough as his team defeated 1–2 on aggregate and dropped down to the UEFA Europa League group stage.[18]

On 19 September 2016, Sotiriou signed a three-year contract extension with APOEL, running until 31 May 2020.[19]

On 29 September 2016, he scored the only goal in APOEL's 1–0 away victory against Greek giants Olympiacos for the group stage of the UEFA Europa League.[20] On 3 November 2016, he scored again in the group stage of the UEFA Europa League, netting the winning goal in APOEL's 1–0 home victory against Swiss side BSC Young Boys.[21]

International career

On 10 October 2012, Sotiriou was called for the first time into the Cyprus national football team[22] for the 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification matches against Slovenia and Norway, but he remained on the bench in both matches. He made his debut for the national team on 14 November 2012, in a friendly match against Finland at GSP Stadium, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute in Cyprus' 0–3 defeat.[23] He scored his first international goal on 13 November 2016, netting the second goal in Cyprus' 3–1 home victory against Gibraltar for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.[24][25]

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 13 November 2016 GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus  Gibraltar 2–1 3–1[26] 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification

Honours

Club

APOEL

Individual

References

  1. ↑ Η Σέφιλντ Γουένσντεϊ θέλει τον Πιέρο Σωτηρίου [Sheffield Wednesday wants Pieros Sotiriou] (in Greek). sigmalive. 1 June 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  2. ↑ "Δοκιμαστικά σε Benfica" [Trials in Benfica] (in Greek). kerkida. 5 August 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  3. ↑ Πιέρος για άλλα τρία χρόνια [Pieros for another three years] (in Greek). CFA. 16 November 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  4. ↑ Γαλαζοκίτρινος ο Πιέρος [Pieros in blue and yellow] (in Greek). APOEL. 24 December 2012. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  5. ↑ "APOEL 1–2 Zulte Waregem". UEFA. 29 August 2013. Retrieved 29 August 2013.
  6. ↑ "Sheridan strike hands APOEL Cypriot title". UEFA. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  7. ↑ "AEL vs. APOEL 0–1". Soccerway. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014.
  8. ↑ ΕΡΜΗΣ ΑΡΑΔΙΠΠΟΥ 0–2 ΑΠΟΕΛ (in Greek). APOEL FC. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  9. ↑ "APOEL vs. Ermis 2–0". Soccerway. 21 May 2014. Retrieved 21 May 2014.
  10. ↑ "APOEL FC 1–0 APOLLON". APOEL FC. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  11. ↑ "APOEL vs. Apollon 1–0". Soccerway. 17 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  12. ↑ Α.Ο. ΑΓΙΑΣ ΝΑΠΑΣ 1-3 ΑΠΟΕΛ [A.O. Agia Napa 1-3 APOEL] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 20 September 2014. Retrieved 20 September 2014.
  13. ↑ "Ajax thrash APOEL to finish third in Group F". UEFA. 10 December 2014. Retrieved 10 December 2014.
  14. ↑ ΑΠΟΕΛ 4-4 ΑΕΚ [APOEL 4-4 AEL] (in Greek). APOEL FC. 15 December 2014. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  15. ↑ "APOEL secure league to wrap up Cypriot double". UEFA.com. 24 May 2015. Retrieved 24 May 2015.
  16. ↑ ΑΠΟΕΛ 2-0 ΑΕΚ Λάρνακας [APOEL 2-0 AEK Larnaca] (in Greek). apoelfc.com.cy. 28 April 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  17. ↑ "APOEL through to next round after TNS win". sigmalive.com. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  18. ↑ "København in group stage after late goal at APOEL". uefa.com. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  19. ↑ "Επέκταση συνεργασίας με τον Πιέρο Σωτηρίου". APOEL FC. 19 September 2016. Retrieved 19 September 2016.
  20. ↑ "Olympiacos 0–1 APOEL". UEFA.com. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
  21. ↑ "APOEL 1–0 Young Boys". UEFA.com. 3 November 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2016.
  22. ↑ Και ο Πιέρος στην Εθνική [Pieros at national team] (in Greek). kerkida.net. 9 October 2012. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
  23. ↑ Φιλική ήττα της Εθνικής από τη Φινλανδία [Friendly defeat from Finland] (in Greek). CFA. 14 November 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2012.
  24. ↑ Cyprus wins despite poor performance. cyprus-mail.com. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  25. ↑ Cyprus 3–1 Gibraltar. uefa.com. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.
  26. ↑ Cyprus 3–1 Gibraltar. fifa.com. 13 November 2016. Retrieved 13 November 2016.

External links

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