Nikos Sevastopoulos

Nikos Sevastopoulos (Greek: Νίκος Σεβαστόπουλος; 26 February 1945 – 2 October 2026) was a Greek professional footballer who played as a forward. His nickname was "the Greek Pelé" (Greek: "ο Έλληνας Πελέ").

Sevastopoulos was involved in football from a young age, playing with his peers in the arenas of Tavros. At the age of 11 in 1956, he joined the local Panthisaikos, where he played for a season. Afterwards, he went for a trial in the youth departments of AEK Athens with the people in charge there, Christos Ribas and Georgios Daispangos. Both were impressed by the potential and abilities of the 12-year-old Sevastopoulos and immediately enrolled him in the academy of the club, where he continuously participated as a main player in the youth divisions. In 1963, they won the youth league, alongside the conquest of the league by the senior team, while he was already playing as a key player in the youth national team.

In the summer of 1963, Heinrich Müller promoted him to the senior team. On 13 October, he made his debut in a 0–0 away draw against Iraklis. However, his refusal in the proposal of Kleanthis Maropoulos to work as an employee in the sporting goods store he maintained alongside Tryfon Tzanetis put him out of favor. Maropoulos, who was the selector of the national team and General Captain of AEK, removed him from the senior team and sent him back to the youth team, which frustrated Sevastopoulos. His disappointment made him display provocative behavior on the pitch. In a match against the youth team of Ethnikos Piraeus, his constant dribbling resulted in him conceding a harsh tackle, by Chatziioannidis. Sevastopoulos engaged in a fight with his opponent, which resulted in his punishment with a four-month ban.

During this period, the president of Hellenic from Cape Town came to Greece in order to get the player of Fostiras, Giorgos Deimezis, join his club for another season. Deimezis refused and as he was looking for a replacement, he found Sevastopoulos, who was punished and could not compete in Greece. Moreover, since the professional South African League was a non-FIFA competition, made the move eligible. Sevastopoulos moved to Cape Town initially for four months, but his spell eventually lasted nine months. On 19 September 1964, the club arranged a friendly match against Real Madrid of Ferenc Puskás, Amancio Amaro, Francisco Gento and Pirri. Despite losing 4–0, Sevastopoulos impressed the people of the Blancos, who arranged through their agent for him to visit Madrid in the following year for a trial. However, his trip to Spain never occurred, as οn 9 November he returned to Greece to do his military service.

His spell in South Africa increased the spite of Maropoulos towards him and his sideline from AEK continued throughout his military service. In April 1967, after he completed his service in the military, he returned to the senior team. The Coup d'état of 21 April and the consolidation of the military dictatorship, resulted in the removal of Maropoulos as selector of the national team. Sevastopoulos once again left for South Africa, planning for a permanent stay. However, the change of the regime in Greece delayed the process of issuing a green card for his stay in South Africa and after months of waiting in Zimbabwe and Zambia, he returned to Greece on 9 June 1968.

The manager of the yellow-blacks, Branko Stanković, was impressed by his skills and gave him a place in the squad. He quickly became part of the main squad and was one of their main players in their course to the quarter-finals of the European Cup, scoring in the first quarter-final against Spartak Trnava at Spartak Stadium on 26 February 1969, the day he celebrated his 24th birthday. The difficulty in the payment of the players by the administration caused a new reaction by Sevastopoulos, who again sought to leave for Cape Town. The junta commissioner who had been placed by the regime in the club initially withheld his passport, preventing him from leaving until April 1969. He eventually left and stayed in South Africa until 15 September. However, his return to Nea Filadelfeia was met with closed doors. Stanković had realized that he was dealing with an unprofessional and undisciplined footballer and despite his performances, he decided in the termination of his contract with the club.

On 24 September, Sevastopoulos signed Vyzas Megara alongside his teammates at AEK, Christos Antonopoulos and Dimitris Kyrmizas. In the summer of 1974, he moved to Canada to play for Toronto Homer, under the name "Gus Hatoupis". In 1975, he was acquired by league rivals Windsor Stars, where he appeared in eight matches. He was shortly released by Windsor as the Ontario Soccer Association notified the club of the confusion of his playing name. In 1976, he signed with Toronto Metros-Croatia of the North American Soccer League, where he had the chance to play alongside Eusébio and made three appearances. Throughout his short tenure with Toronto, he was deemed an ineligible player by the Canadian Soccer Association as he was registered under his legal name, which caused a problem with the HFF, as he failed to get permission to play abroad. After the impeachment of Vyzas to FIFA, he returned back to the club of Megara, where he played until 1981 when he retired, at the age of 36.

Sevastopoulos played for Greece U19 four times in the qualifiers and the group stage of the European Championship in 1963. He scored his only goal in the 7–2 triumph over West Germany at home, on 13 April.

From 1974, Sevastopoulos started working as a bartender at the Hilton Hotel of Athens, alongside his football obligations at Vyzas Megara. He stayed at the Hilton bar until 1997, without missing a break in between, traveling to Canada or Brazil to compete in 5X5 or 6X6 football tournaments with famous veterans from abroad. He later worked in a cosmetics company with his wife.

Sevastopoulos died in Athens on 2 October 2026, at the age of 81.

AEK Athens

• Greek Cup: 1963–64