Savvas Poursaitidis

Savvas Poursaitidis

Personal information
Date of birth	(1976-06-23) 23 June 1976 (age 48)[1]
Place of birth	Eleftheroupoli,[2][3] Greece
Height	1.74 m (5 ft 9 in)[4]
Position(s)	Right back/Right winger
Team information
Current team	Volos (manager)
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1994–1996	Doxa Drama	67	(6)
1996–1998	Veria	39	(10)
1998–2000	Olympiacos	19	(2)
2000–2002	Skoda Xanthi	32	(5)
2002–2003	Digenis Morphou	11	(2)
2003–2004	Ethnikos Achna	19	(10)
2004–2008	Anorthosis	86	(2)
2008–2012	APOEL	97	(1)
International career
2010–2011	Cyprus	12	(0)
Managerial career
2016–2017	Anagennisi Deryneia
2017	Doxa Katokopias
2017–2020	Nea Salamis Famagusta
2021	APOEL
2022–2023	Nea Salamis Famagusta
2024	Volos
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Savvas Poursaitidis (Greek: Σάββας Πουρσαϊτίδης, born 23 June 1976) is a former professional footballer who is the manager of Super League Greece club Volos.

Poursaitidis played football, mainly as a right back, in his native Greece from 1994 to 2002 before moving to Cyprus where his playing career continued for a further ten years. In 2009 he received Cypriot citizenship and represented that country at international level. In 2016, he began his senior managerial career, also in Cyprus.

Early life

Savvas Poursaitidis was born in Eleftheroupoli, in the Kavala district of Greece.^[2][3] He has a twin brother, Sakis, and his parents kept a taverna in Orfani.^[2]

Club career

Poursaitidis started his senior career at Doxa Drama. He also played for Veria, Olympiacos and Skoda Xanthi in Greece. Later, he moved to Cyprus to play for Digenis Morphou, Ethnikos Achna, Anorthosis and APOEL.^[5]

APOEL

APOEL signed Poursaitidis in June 2008, after the player was released from Anorthosis as a result from a failure in negotiations with his former club to renew his contract. In his first year with APOEL he continued to impress Cypriot football fans with his high level performances. In the end, he helped APOEL to be crowned champions after one unsuccessful season.

The next season (2009–10) Poursaitidis helped APOEL to achieve the greatest success in its history and reach the UEFA Champions League group stage. He appeared in five group stage matches with APOEL.

After he won the championship again in 2010–11 with APOEL, the Board of Directors renewed his contract, as they recognized that Poursaitidis was one of the key players that contributed greatly towards winning the Championship.

In summer 2011, he appeared in nine 2011–12 UEFA Champions League matches for APOEL, in the club's surprising run to the quarter-finals of the competition.

In May 2012, Poursaitidis decided to retire from professional football, ending his four-year successful spell with the club.

International career

In August 2009 he gained Cypriot nationality and made his debut with Cyprus national team in March 2010 in a friendly match against Iceland. He made 12 appearances with the national team.^[5][4]

Scouting career

On 31 July 2012, after retiring from his football career, Poursaitides became Chief Scout in APOEL's newly created Scouting Department.^[6] On 7 June 2013, APOEL announced that the club were not renewing his contract.^[7]

Managerial career

Poursaitidis started his managerial career on 23 October 2016, when he was appointed as the manager of the Cypriot First Division side Anagennisi Deryneia.^[8] On 25 January 2017, after only three months in charge, he left the team to take over as the manager of Doxa Katokopias.^[9][8] On 30 April 2017 he left the team.^[10] He later became the manager of Nea Salamis Famagusta.^[11] He was appointed manager of APOEL in January 2021.^[5] He was sacked in August 2021 after losing 4–0 against Pafos in the first match of the 2021-22 season.^[12]

Honours

Olympiacos

• Superleague Greece: 1998–99, 1999–2000
• Greek Cup: 1998–99

Anorthosis Famagusta

• Cypriot First Division: 2004–05, 2007–08
• Cypriot Cup: 2006–07
• Cypriot Super Cup: 2007

APOEL

• Cypriot First Division: 2008–09, 2010–11
• Cypriot Super Cup: 2008, 2009, 2011

References

1. "Coaching team". APOEL FC. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
2. Δημήτρης, Μώρος (11 December 1999). Σάββας Πουρσαϊτίδης Είχα...σύμμαχο τον Χριστό!. Ta Nea (in Greek). Retrieved 8 April 2021.
3. Παππάς, Νίκος (9 March 2012). ΑΠΟΕΛ Γκουρμέ με υπολείμματα. Makedonia (in Greek). Retrieved 8 April 2021.
4. "Savvas Poursaitidis". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
5. Ο Σάββας Πουρσαϊτίδης από το Ορφάνι προπονητής στο ΑΠΟΕΛ. Πρωινή (in Greek). Kavala. 8 January 2021. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
6. "Υπεύθυνος Scouting ο Πουρσαιτίδης" (in Greek). APOEL FC. 31 July 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2012.
7. Ευχαριστίες στον Πουρσαϊτίδη (in Greek). APOEL FC. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 7 June 2013.
8. Επίσημα στη Δόξα ο Πουρσαϊτίδης. Goal.com.cy (in Greek). 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
9. Προπονητής στη Δόξα ο Σάββας Πουρσαϊτίδης. SDNA.gr (in Greek). 25 January 2017. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 18 October 2017.
10. Παραιτήθηκε και φεύγει για Νιόν ο Πουρσαϊτίδης. Reporter.com.cy (in Greek). 30 April 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
11. Οριστικό για Σάββα. kerkida.net (in Greek). 18 October 2017. Archived from the original on 18 October 2017. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
12. "Apoel sack manager after one game". CyprusMail. Retrieved 3 September 2021.

External links

• Savvas Poursaitidis at National-Football-Teams.com