Marios Oikonomou
Oikonomou in 2018
Personal information
Date of birth (1992-10-06)6 October 1992
Place of birth Ioannina, Greece
Date of death 1 June 2026(2026-06-01) (aged 33)
Place of death Ioannina, Greece
Height 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in)[1]
Position Centre-back
Youth career
2010–2011 PAS Giannina
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2013 PAS Giannina 17 (0)
2013–2014 Cagliari 1 (0)
2014–2019 Bologna 71 (4)
2017–2018 → SPAL (loan) 4 (0)
2018 → Bari (loan) 3 (0)
2018–2019 → AEK Athens (loan) 21 (2)
2019–2020 AEK Athens 25 (1)
2020–2022 Copenhagen 13 (0)
2023 Sampdoria 6 (0)
2023–2024 Panetolikos 20 (1)
Total 181 (8)
International career
2012 Greece U21 1 (0)
2016–2018 Greece 6 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Marios Oikonomou (Greek: Μάριος Οικονόμου; 6 October 1992 – 1 June 2026) was a Greek professional footballer who played as a centre-back.

Club career

PAS Giannina

Born in Ioannina, Oikonomou began playing football with PAS Giannina. He signed his first professional contract in January 2011.[2] On 14 November 2012, he made his debut for the Greece U21 in a friendly match against Austria U21.[3] He made 23 appearances for the club in total.

Cagliari

After a strong 2012–13 season with PAS Giannina, Oikonomou signed a contract with Cagliari, a team in Serie A, the top league in Italy. He was the first ever player in the history of PAS Giannina who managed to sign directly a contract with a foreign club. His former club received €500,000 and later a small percentage of a future resale.[4] On 6 April 2014, he made his debut with the club in a home loss against Roma.

Bologna

On 1 July 2014, Oikonomou signed a contract with Bologna in Serie B, in a transfer deal which involved striker Alessandro Capello, who moved permanently from Bologna to Cagliari. Oikonomou opted for this transfer as he had made very few appearances for Cagliari during the previous season.[5] On 23 September 2014, he made his debut for the club, scoring the winning goal in a 1–0 away win against Ternana Calcio. He had a very good season with Bologna which attracted attention of several other Italian clubs, such as Lazio and Hellas Verona.

Despite his initial strong performances on the pitch, Oikonomou playing time dwindled after the club acquired services of another centre-back, Daniele Gastaldello in March 2015.

On 9 June 2015, Oikonomou contributed to Bologna's return to Serie A, just one-year after their relegation, in a dramatic 1–1 draw in the play-offs against Pescara Calcio.

Loan to SPAL

On 3 July 2017, Serie A newcomers SPAL secured a deal for Oikonomou. He joined the club on a loan, with SPAL's obligation to buy him from Bologna if the club managed to avoid relegation.[6] On 12 August 2017, he made his debut for SPAL in a home Coppa Italia 1–0 win game against Renate.

Loan to Bari

On 11 January 2018, it was announced that Oikonomou was to join Bari until the end of the season. On 27 January 2018, he made his debut in a 4–0 home loss game against Empoli.

Loan to AEK Athens

On 28 June 2018, Bologna loaned him out for another season, this time to AEK Athens. By the end of the first half of the season, AEK was already considering the option of making the transfer permanent. The club was reportedly prepared to pay a transfer fee in the range of €700,000.[7]

AEK Athens

Very soon after that, on 22 January 2019, Oikonomou became an AEK Athens player, penning a contract with the club until the end of the 2021–22 season.[8] On 31 March 2019, he scored his first goal for the club in a 4–0 home win game against Panetolikos.

Copenhagen

On 3 September 2020, Oikonomou joined Copenhagen for a reported €1 million fee, on a two-year contract.[9] In the 2020–21 season, he helped the club reach third place in the Danish Superliga and qualify for the Europa League play-off round. The following season, Copenhagen won the league title and qualified for the UEFA Champions League. On 12 October 2022, Oikonomou's contract was terminated by mutual consent.[10]

Sampdoria

After several months of free agency, Oikonomou joined Sampdoria on 17 February 2023, on a short-term deal until the end of the season.[11]

International career

In 2012, Oikonomou was capped by Greece U21s. On 16 March 2016, he was called for the first time to play for the senior team in two friendly matches against Iceland and Montenegro. On 24 March 2016, he made his debut with the senior side as a substitute for Kostas Manolas in a 2–1 home friendly game against Montenegro.[12]

Death

On 23 May 2026, Oikonomou was involved in a serious road incident in his hometown of Ioannina when his motorcycle collided with a car which was attempting an illegal u-turn through a median opening. He was admitted to an intensive care unit, where his condition was closely monitored. He died on 1 June 2026, at the age of 33.[13][14][15]

Career statistics

Club

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League National cup[a] Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
PAS Giannina 2010–11 Football League Greece 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
2011–12 Super League Greece 0 0 2 0 — — 2 0
2012–13 Super League Greece 17 0 4 0 — — 21 0
Total 17 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 23 0
Cagliari 2013–14 Serie A 1 0 0 0 — — 1 0
Bologna 2014–15 Serie B 33 4 1 0 — — 34 4
2015–16 Serie A 20 0 1 0 — — 21 0
2016–17 Serie A 17 0 2 0 — — 19 0
Total 70 4 4 0 0 0 0 0 74 4
SPAL (loan) 2017–18 Serie A 4 0 2 0 — — 6 0
Bari (loan) 2017–18 Serie B 3 0 0 0 — — 3 0
AEK Athens (loan) 2018–19 Super League Greece 9 0 1 0 8[b] 0 0 0 18 0
AEK Athens 2018–19 Super League Greece 12 2 6 1 — 0 0 18 3
2019–20 Super League Greece 25 1 2 0 1[c] 0 0 0 28 1
Total 37 3 8 1 1 0 0 0 46 4
Copenhagen 2020–21 Danish Superliga 8 0 1 0 1[c] 0 0 0 10 0
2021–22 Danish Superliga 5 0 0 0 4[d] 0 0 0 9 0
Total 13 0 1 0 6 0 0 0 19 0
Sampdoria 2022–23 Serie A 6 0 — — — 6 0
Career total 158 7 22 1 15 0 0 0 194 8
  1. ^ Includes Greek Cup, Coppa Italia, Danish Cup
  2. ^ Appearances in UEFA Champions League
  3. ^ a b Appearance in UEFA Europa League
  4. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa Conference League

International

Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Greece 2016 4 0
2017 0 0
2018 2 0
Total 6 0

Honours

Copenhagen

  • Danish Superliga: 2021–22
  • The Atlantic Cup runner-up: 2022

References

  1. ^ "Marios Oikonomou" (in Italian). U.C. Sampdoria. Archived from the original on 23 February 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2023.
  2. ^ "Επέστρεψε ο Σενόνε". 3 January 2011.
  3. ^ "Μεγάλη μέρα για το Μάριο Οικονόμου που φόρεσε τη φανέλα με το εθνόσημο". gianninasports.gr. 15 November 2012. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2013.
  4. ^ "Cagliari, arriva Ikonomou: 500mila euro per assicurarsi il talento greco". Tutto Mercato Web. 7 July 2013.
  5. ^ "Bologna-Cagliari, scambio tra Oikonomou e Capello: il comunicato ufficiale". gianlucadimarzio.com. 1 July 2014. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Υπογράφει στην SPAL ο Οικονόμου". Gazzetta. 30 June 2016.
  7. ^ "ΑΕΚ: Κρατάει τον Μάριο Οικονόμου". Pagenews. 31 December 2018.
  8. ^ "Έκανε δικό της τον Οικονόμου η ΑΕΚ!". Protothema. 22 January 2019.
  9. ^ "ΑΕΚ: Ανακοινώθηκε από την Κοπεγχάγη ο Οικονόμου". Iefimerida. 3 September 2020.
  10. ^ FCK OG MARIOS OIKONOMOU OPHÆVER KONTRAKTEN, fck.dk, 12 October 2022
  11. ^ Berlingheri, Federico (17 February 2023). "Oikonomou è un calciatore della Sampdoria". U.C. Sampdoria (in Italian). Retrieved 17 February 2023.
  12. ^ "Οικονόμου: "Να χτίσουμε κάτι καλό για το μέλλον"". SDNA. 24 March 2016.
  13. ^ "Incidente in moto in Grecia, grave l'ex giocatore del Bologna Oikonomou". Rai News (in Italian). 24 May 2026. Retrieved 1 June 2026. Secondo quanto riportato dai media greci, l'ex calciatore si trova in terapia intensiva, in condizioni critiche, dopo essersi scontrato con un'automobile a Ioannina, sua città natale.
  14. ^ Αναγνώστου, Γρηγόρης (1 June 2026). "Πέθανε ο διεθνής ποδοσφαιριστής Μάριος Οικονόμου". CNN Greece (in Greek). Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  15. ^ Καράγιωργας, Ιωάννης (1 June 2026). "Θρηνεί το ελληνικό ποδόσφαιρο: Πέθανε ο Μάριος Οικονόμου". Euronews Greece (in Greek). Retrieved 1 June 2026.