Sokratis Papastathopoulos

Sokratis Papastathopoulos (Σωκράτης Παπασταθόπουλος; born 9 June 1988), also known mononymously as Sokratis, is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for La Liga club Real Betis.

Papastathopoulos joined AEK Athens from Apollon Petalidiou after being scouted by Toni Savevski.

On 26 October 2005, he made his debut for AEK in a Greek Cup match against PAS Giannina, scoring in the seventh minute of the game to help lead AEK to a 3–0 win.

In January 2006, he was loaned to Beta Ethniki club Niki Volos for six months to gain first-team football experience.

He made 15 appearances for Niki Volos.

During the 2006–07 Super League Greece, Papastathopoulos managed to make 14 appearances whilst competing against the likes of Bruno Cirillo, Traianos Dellas and Vangelis Moras.

In AEK Athens' 2006–07 UEFA Champions League campaign, Papastathopoulos managed to play in three out of six group games.

In these three games, AEK managed one win (the famous 1–0 victory over A.C. Milan, where he man-marked Filippo Inzaghi), one draw (the 2–2 away draw with Anderlecht) and one loss (the 3–1 away defeat to Lille).

During the 2007–08 Super League Greece, he was a mainstay in AEK's defence, keeping out competition from Geraldo Alves.

He also played in the 2007–08 Champions League campaign, and in a Super League match, he became AEK's youngest-ever captain (age 19) in a game against Athens' local rival Panathinaikos in 2008.

On 1 August 2008, Papastathopoulos agreed to transfer to Genoa of the Italian Serie A for an undisclosed fee.

He also played a club friendly against Genoa on the same day.

He made his debut for Genoa on 27 September 2008 against Fiorentina, followed by a start against Ravenna in the Coppa Italia a few days later.

His first goal for Genoa came on 5 October 2008 at home against Napoli.

Genoa won the game 3–2, but Papastathopoulos was sent off in the 89th minute During the 2009–10 season, he managed to play in most games and gained a following.

On 20 July 2010, the A.C. Milan website confirmed that Papastathopoulos had joined the team, after Genoa and Milan reached an agreement to transfer Papastathopoulos to the club for €14 million, with the following payment schedule: Gianmarco Zigoni (half of his registration rights, valued at €3.75 million), Nnamdi Oduamadi (half of his rights, valued at €3.5 million) and Rodney Strasser (half of his rights, valued at €2.25 million) in a co-ownership deal, plus €4.5 million.

Papastathopoulos was the club's first arrival under new manager Massimiliano Allegri.

On 24 May 2011, Milan and Genoa executives Adriano Galliani and Enrico Preziosi, respectively, verbally agreed to settle the player ownerships (subject to player agreements) of Kevin-Prince Boateng, Alberto Paloschi, Marco Amelia and Giacomo Beretta.

The deal entailed that Milan buy back Gianmarco Zigoni, Rodney Strasser and Nnamdi Oduamadi (all under original price), while Genoa buy back Papastathopoulos for €13 million, which effectively made the de facto loan cost for Milan €1 million.

On 21 July 2011, Papastathopoulos moved to the Germany club Werder Bremen on a loan deal until the end of the 2011–12 season, with the option to purchase outright.

Following impressive performances on loan, on 16 April 2012, it was announced that Papastathopoulos would join Bremen on a permanent basis for a €5 million transfer fee.

The 2012–13 season, however, was not a good one for the club.

In March 2013, in the midst of a relegation battle and with tensions high, Papastathopoulos engaged in a training ground brawl with teammate Marko Arnautović.

On 24 May 2013, the eve of the 2013 Champions League Final between Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, Papastathopoulos completed a €9.5 million transfer to Dortmund, agreeing to a five-year contract through to 2018.

Upon signing, he spoke about the deal, saying, "Money did not play a role in my decision to join Dortmund. My own future was all that mattered and I am convinced that I made the right decision."

With centre-back Felipe Santana departing Dortmund for Schalke 04, Papastathopoulos began as the effective third-choice behind tandem Neven Subotić and Mats Hummels.

Borussia Dortmund Sporting Director Michael Zorc expressed his satisfaction with the deal: "We are delighted that Sokratis has decided to join Borussia Dortmund. He is a flexible player capable to play in a variety of positions in defence who we believe has tremendous potential."

On 10 July 2013, Papastathopoulos made his debut for Dortmund in a pre-season friendly away to Swiss club Basel at St. Jakob-Park, along with fellow BVB debutants (and future Arsenal teammates) Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

On 27 July, he won his first title with the club after entering the match as a substitute in a 4–2 win over Bayern Munich for the 2013 DFL-Supercup.

On 1 November 2013, he scored his debut goal for Dortmund in a win over VfB Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, 6–1.

Papastathopoulos' strong first year with Dortmund was rewarded with his selection to the best XI of the 2013–14 Bundesliga campaign.

The selection was organized in a worldwide fan vote by the governing body of the Bundesliga through its official website.

The description of his play following his nomination was, "The definition of defense falls on him. The Greek stopper took advantage of the opportunities given to him by the absence of Neven Subotić and Mats Hummels. Stable, with leadership characteristics and tendency to win the ball without making easily a mistake."

Bremen would ultimately finish the year in 14th, staving-off relegation.

In November 2014, Papastathopoulos was out of action for two weeks diagnosed with a broken fibula.

He suffered the injury to his right leg in Dortmund's 1–0 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach, a result that ended a five-match Bundesliga losing streak for the club.

After an early recovery, he was deemed fit for BVB's Champions League match against Arsenal on 26 November.

On 3 January 2015, football news website Goal.com assessed statistics to determine which players maintained the highest tackle success rate in the first half of the 2014–15 season across Europe's top five leagues; Papastathopoulos finished joint-third, alongside Hamburger SV's Matthias Ostrzolek, having won 92.59 per cent of all tackles.

In the summer of 2015, Papastathopoulos was linked with moves to various English Premier League clubs as Dortmund prepared for a new start following long-time manager Jürgen Klopp's departure.

Dortmund Sporting Director Michael Zorc, however, said Papastathopoulos would still have a part to play for BVB in new manager Thomas Tuchel's debut season with the club.