Mimis Domazos, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest Greek football players of all time, died in hospital on Friday at the age of 83. The legendary veteran football player, nicknamed the "The General" of Panathinaikos, had been admitted to an ICU of Erythros Stavros Hospital in Athens three days earlier after suffering a heart attack.
According to an announcement issued by the hospital, the veteran football player died in spite of every effort made for his recovery, at 10:20, due to multiple organ failure.
"Unfortunately, the length of time between the out-of-hospital cardiac arrest until his resuscitation at our hospital's outpatient clinic proved conclusive. We express our deepest condolences to his excellent family, his three daughters, his wife of 40 years and all the people who loved him," the hospital announcement concluded.
Dimitris "Mimis" Domazos was born 22 January 1942 and played as an attacking midfielder. His nickname was "The General" and he is considered to be one of the best footballers that Greece has ever produced. He was famed for his dribbling ability, his creative playstyle, especially his through balls of pinpoint accuracy and his leadership skills. He was the Panathinaikos captain for over 15 years. The International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS) picked him for the best XI of all time of Greek football in 2021.
Domazos was born in Ampelokipoi, and grew up next to the Leoforos Alexandras Stadium (Panathinaikos Stadium). His father was a health worker originally from Samos and his mother a nurse of Asia Minor origin. From a young age, he played ball in the fields of the area and at the age of 13 he took out a sport's card for the Amyna Ampelokipoi in 1953, declaring a false age in order to be able to compete. Soon his fame began to spread and he attracted the interest of Panathinaikos. In 1958, the then coach of the "greens", Svetislav Glišović, saw him play and was impressed by his moves on the pitch, recommending his acquisition.
Domazos had played 502 matches with Panathinaikos and scored 134 times, something that brought him first in the list in the history of Panathinaikos. He led Panathinaikos, under Ferenc Puskás, to the Final of the European Cup at Wembley Stadium against Ajax on June 2, 1971 where they lost 2-0.
Domazos made his debut with Greece's national team on 2 December 1959 against Denmark in a 3-1 defeat at Leoforos. His last match was on 11 November 1980, at the same stadium, in a friendly match against Australia, in a 3-3 draw, in which he was honoured for his many years of contribution to the national team and Greek football in general. In this specific match he scored his last goal, which makes him the oldest player to ever score for Greece, since in less than three months he would have turned 39. He was the National team captain throughout these years. In total, he was capped 50 times and scored four goals for Greece.
Domazos was one of the final torchbearers for the Opening Ceremony of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games.
Since retirement he had been a businessman and often wrote opinion columns for Greek sports newspapers.
