Kostas Mitroglou (, ; born 12 March 1988) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a striker. He is nicknamed "Mitrogoal" and "Pistolero" by fans due to his goalscoring abilities.
Raised in Germany, Mitroglou started his career at Borussia Mönchengladbach, where he established himself as an excellent prospect. He was signed by Olympiacos in the summer of 2007 and had two loan spells at Panionios and Atromitos before establishing himself in the team. He transferred to Premier League club Fulham in 2014 for a club record £12 million, and they were relegated in his only season, in which he was troubled by injury. He then returned to Olympiacos on loan and then to Benfica in Portugal, before joining the latter on a permanent basis in 2016. With Benfica, he would win five major honours, including back-to-back league titles, and set his single-season scoring record with 27 goals.
A full international since 2009, Mitroglou has earned over 60 caps for the Greece national team. He was selected in their squads for UEFA Euro 2012 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
Club career
Early career Mitroglou was born on 12 March 1988, in Krinides, Kavala, Greece, and emigrated as an infant with his parents from his native country to Germany. He grew up in Neukirchen-Vluyn, North Rhine-Westphalia. He began his career at TuS Preussen Vluyn. At age 11, he scored 24 goals in 16 matches. He then played for SV Neukirchen. In 2003, he joined MSV Duisburg. Later on, he joined Borussia Mönchengladbach. Mitroglou was a dominant player in the Under 19 Bundesliga. He scored 14 goals in 10 matches.
Olympiacos
2007–08 season After impressing at the 2007 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, Mitroglou was signed by Greek champions Olympiacos. His first official goal for Olympiacos came in a 2–1 away win against Diagoras in the Greek Cup after an assist by Luciano Galletti. His first Super League goal came in a 4–0 home win against Levadiakos.
During the final stages of the season, Mitroglou played an important part in helping Olympiacos claim their 36th league title, scoring the last-minute winning goal (2–1) in their match against AEL, this time assisted by Mirnes Šišić. His first goal in the Super League came in a 4–0 home win against Levadiakos. He then scored two goals in the last league fixture against Iraklis to seal a 3–1 win. He also scored in a 2–2 away draw against Iraklis in the Greek Cup semi-finals, after an assist from Michalis Konstantinou. In the 2007 Greek Super Cup, he scored the only goal as Olympiacos defeated AEL 1–0.
2008–09 season For the 2008–09 season, Olympiacos appointed Ernesto Valverde as their new head coach, who dropped Mitroglou because he wanted his team to play a quicker and more offensive style of football. Mitroglou therefore made fewer appearances than the prior season. He scored in a 2–0 away win against Nordsjælland in the first round of the 2008–09 UEFA Cup. In the Super League, he scored two goals in a home win 4–1 against Panionios.
2009–10 season
After Valverde left Olympiacos, Mitroglou saw increased playing time. He scored his first goal of the season against Sheriff Tiraspol in a 2–0 first leg away win in the UEFA Champions League play-offs, also scoring in the return leg (a 1–0 home win). Mitroglou scored the equalizing goal in an eventual 2–1 defeat of Standard Liège in a UEFA Champions League group stage match on 21 October 2009. He also scored in home wins against Asteras Tripolis (3–0) and Ergotelis (2–1). His next goal came in an away draw (2–2) against PAS Giannina after an assist by Dudu Cearense. He also scored a goal in a heavy 3–1 away loss to Panserraikos.
Mitroglou scored both goals in a 2–0 win against rivals Panathinaikos after assists by Dudu Cearense and Jaouad Zairi. He added two more goals in a 5–1 home win against Levadiakos. He scored in the club's 2–1 loss to Bordeaux in the Champions League round of 16, which saw Olympiacos eliminated following a 3–1 aggregate loss. His next goal came in Olympiacos' 2–0 win against Atromitos.
2010–11 season Ernesto Valverde returned as head coach of Olympiacos for the 2010–11 season. Despite being a starter and scoring a spectacular goal in the opening league match against Iraklis (1–2 away loss), Mitroglou only made four more appearances as Valverde chose to use Kevin Mirallas and Marko Pantelić instead. Mitroglou participated in the international match "8th Match Against Poverty" on 14 December 2010 (held at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium) as a player in the Olympiacos All-Star team and scored two goals.
Loan to Panionios In January 2011, Mitroglou joined Panionios on a six-month loan from Olympiacos. In his debut, he scored both goals in a historic 2–0 away win against Aris, the first for the club in 50 years. His next goals came at a 1–1 home draw against Panathinaikos and a 1–1 away draw against AEK Athens, the latter after an assist from Georgios Galitsios. He scored the winning goal (2–1) against Atromitos and converted a penalty at the 3–3 home draw against AEL. He added another one at a 1–1 away draw against Iraklis. He scored his last goal at the 2–1 away win against Kerkyra after an assist from Fanouris Goundoulakis. Mitroglou ended this year with nine goals in the Superleague, one with Olympiacos and eight with Panionios.
Loan to Atromitos Mitroglou was once again loaned, this time to Atromitos for the 2011–12 campaign. He scored his first goal at a 1–0 away win against Aris after an assist from Miguel Sebastián Garcia. He next scored at a 1–1 home draw against Panathinaikos after an assist of Denis Epstein. He scored two goals in a 2–1 home win against Panetolikos and one in a 1–0 away win against Doxa Drama. His next goal was at a 1–1 home draw against Levadiakos, once again assisted by Denis Epstein. He went on to score goals in the victories against Ergotelis (1–0) and OFI (2–0).
Mitroglou's next goal came from the penalty spot in a 1–1 away draw against Panetolikos. He scored a goal in a 2–1 away win against PAS Giannina and scored two goals in another 2–1 away win against his former loan team Panionios. He next scored at a 2–0 home win against Doxa Drama and a 2–2 away draw against Levadiakos. He scored the winning goal (1–0) against Skoda Xanthi His next goal came with a penalty kick in a 2–2 away draw against Ergotelis.
Mitroglou also scored a goal in the semi-finals of the Greek Cup against Asteras Tripoli, sending his team reach the final against parent club Olympiacos. He finished the season with 16 league goals, helping Atromitos to reach the Super League play-offs for the first time, where he added one more goal in a 1–1 home draw against PAOK after an assist from Ilias Anastasakos. At the end of the campaign, he was voted the Super League Greece Footballer of the Year.
2012–13 season The 2012–13 season found Mitroglou back at parent club Olympiacos. After Ernesto Valverde left, Mitroglou was favoured by new head coach Leonardo Jardim. Mitroglou showed a good form in the pre-season training scoring a total of three goals, two of them in a friendly against Spanish side Málaga at the Karaiskakis Stadium. However, the season started a bit irregular for him, as he had to compete with first-choice striker Rafik Djebbour in the starting 11. He therefore did not receive much playing time and often played as a substitute. His first goal of the season came in a 2–1 away win against PAS Giannina after an assist from Djebbour. In the same match, he provided an assist on Olympicaos' second goal, scored by Djebbour.
With Djebbour absent due to injury, Mitroglou was a starter for the second group game of the UEFA Champions League against Arsenal in the Emirates Stadium, where he scored the equalizer in an eventual 3–1 loss. He next scored a goal in a 2–0 home win against OFI after an assist from Paulo Machado. He scored again in the Champions League by scoring the winning goal in a 2–1 away win against Montpellier after an assist from Djamel Abdoun. He also added another goal against Montpellier in the return fixture on 6 November as Olympiacos claimed a 3–1 victory.
Mitroglou's scoring streak continued as he next scored two goals in a 4–0 away win against rivals AEK Athens, and one in each 2–0 victory against AO Kerkyra and Panachaiki, the latter being a Greek Cup fixture. He scored his fourth Champions League goal at the 2–1 home win against Arsenal. His first goal of 2013, came in a 3–0 home win against Veria, after an assist of Juan Pablo Pino. On 9 February, he scored the lone goal against Asteras Tripoli at the last minute of the match, giving Olympiacos the 1–0 away win. He scored the winning goal again at the 1–0 away win against AO Kerkyra.
Mitroglou's next goals came in a comfortable 4–0 away win against Platanias and the classical derby against Panathinaikos, which ended 1–1. In the Greek Cup semi-finals against Panthrakikos, he scored two goals in the first leg to give a 6–2 home win and another two goals at the returning leg (2–1 away win) as Olympiacos progressed to the final 8–3 on aggregate. In the last league match, he scored the opening for a 2–1 home win against Panionios.
2013–14 season During the pre-season preparation at Seefeld, Mitroglou scored a goal in a 2–1 friendly win against Azerbaijani club Simurq PIK.
On the second matchday of the Super League Greece, he provided an assist to David Fuster in a 2–1 home win against Atromitos. On 1 September 2013, he scored his first career hat-trick in a 5–0 away win against Levadiakos after three assists from Fuster. He scored his second hat-trick on the next fixture in a 4–0 home win against Skoda Xanthi, becoming the first player in Olympiacos history—as well as the Greek League generally—to score two consecutive hat-tricks, while also having also scored in an international match between these two fixtures.
Mitroglou scored his third hat-trick of the season on 2 October, scoring all three goals in a 3–0 away win against Anderlecht in the UEFA Champions League group stage. He became the first Greek player to complete a hat-trick in the Champions League, and along with Predrag Đorđević is one of only two Olympiacos players to have scored a hat-trick in the Champions League. Mitroglou's scoring streak continued as he scored another hat-trick four days later in a comfortable 6–0 home win against Veria, while also assisting a goal to Joel Campbell. His next goal came in an away win (1–4) against Platanias after an assist from Alejandro Domínguez, a match in which he also provided the assist for Javier Saviola's goal. On 24 October, Mitroglou assisted Domínguez's goal against Benfica in a 1–1 draw in the UEFA Champions League. He next scored two goals at a home win 5–1 against OFI with two headers after two assists from Joel Campbell. He next scored the winning goal in an away win (1–0) against Panathinaikos. He next scored a goal at a home win 4–0 against PAOK after another assist from Joel Campbell.
On 27 November, Mitroglou suffered an injury in a 2–1 away loss against Paris Saint-Germain, keeping him on the sidelines for over a month. On 19 December, amid much transfer speculation, Mitroglou renewed his contract with Olympiacos until 2017. On 10 January 2014, he recovered to come on as a substitute against Atromitos.
Fulham On 31 January 2014, Mitroglou signed a four-and-a-half-year contract for a transfer fee believed in the region of £12 million with English Premier League club Fulham. On 22 February, he made his debut for Fulham in a 1–1 draw at West Bromwich Albion, replacing Hugo Rodallega after 61 minutes. Mitroglou was the highest transfer fee in Fulham's history, and despite Fulham pinning their hopes of staying in the Premier League on the Greece international, they were relegated in May 2014. Due to various injuries and fitness problems, Mitroglou played in only two more Premier League matches before the end of the 2013–14 season, starting only one, away against Cardiff City.