Dimitris Paridis was born on 20 September 1945 at Agios Andreas Kavala and made his first steps in football at the ranks of AE Kavala. The merger of AE Kavala with Iraklis and Filippos Kavala in 1965 saw him being left off, as just two players were picked from his side. He then went to Antonis Georgiadis himself and told him he deserved a place in the roster. He went through trials and eventually became a star player of AO Kavala.

Dimitris Paridis combined pace and skill. This “chemistry” is credited to his first coach at AE Kavala, Dimitris Tsakalos, but also his will to run 1.5 kms each day slaloming around the olive trees on the road from the city centre to Agios Andreas village. The distance from Kavala almost cost him his career, but Dimitris Tsakalos detected Paridis’s talent and spoke to the club officials, so that they would cover the fare of 10 drs he needed on a daily basis in order to attend trainings.

Aris came very close to signing him, but PAOK president Pantelakis stepped in and managed to bring him to Toumba. This move would eventually prove of historic importance.

His performances in the play-off games that secured promotion from the 1967-68 2nd Division were yet another step towards increasing the interest from major clubs of the top-flight league.

Here is how Paridis described in an interview the actions of PAOK president Giorgos Pantelakis to snatch him from Aris:

“The Aris administration sent club treasurer Melissaris to get me along with another teammate, Tasos Aslanidis. We were accommodated in a flat in Thessaloniki. A few days later we went to Kavala to seal the deal and stayed at “Panorama” hotel. Pantelakis learned about it and held a secret meeting with the Kavala administration. He made them an offer of 150.000 drs and included three players in the deal (Charalampidis, Tatsis, Macheridis). General manager of Kavala, Pavlos Kountouras, came to the hotel where Aris hada accommodated us and waved to me to come outside without drawing attention. We went directly to meet Pantelakis. He promised me 100.000 drs in order to sign on the spot. They had already reached a deal with Kavala. I signed.”.

A chance meeting with actor Dinos Iliopoulos in a Thessaloniki hotel was all but indicative of the huge repercussion of his move. When realising the diminutive stature of Paridis, the renowned actor, he told him: “It’s true that newspapers will write just about anything. How was I to know that you are the… giant Paridis?”

The talented winger was Giorgos Koudas’s alter ego and, along with the golden team of that era, they led PAOK to their first silverware. His contribution to the first Greek Cup trophy won by PAOK in 1972 was important. Equally important was his input in the success of 1974 in the same competition, as he netted a goal and earned the spot kick that led to the “Double-Headed Eagle’s” second goal in the final. In 1975-76, he featured just once in PAOK’s journey towards their first league trophy.

In the summer of 1975, his disagreement with the administration and the coach saw him sidelined. He randomly played and featured in the team’s official engagements until the summer of 1977, when he hang up his football boots.

He completed his career having 186 appearances and 49 goals in the top flight league for PAOK. He also conjured up 49 matches and 18 goals in the Greek Cup, while adding 11 matches and 3 goals in the European cups.

His displays for PAOK opened the gates of the Greece national team for him. He was called several times from 1972 to 1975 and had 6 caps. He made his international debut on 4 March 1972 in the friendly 2-1 victory over Italy.

He also sang professionally and interpreted the “Double-Headed Eagle’s” anthem that gets played to this day at Toumba Stadium during the award ceremonies of PAOK veterans.

The funeral service will be held on Sunday 23 August at 12.00 at Agios Andreas Kavala.

May he rest in peace…