Ioannis Topalidis is a former Greek

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 football player and was last the assistant manager of the Greek national football team.

Career

He spent most of his football career in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 where he played for clubs such as SpVgg Ludwigsburg

SpVgg Ludwigsburg

The SpVgg Ludwigsburg is a German association football club from the city of Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg.-History:The club was formed in 1907 under the name of 1. FC Ludwigsburger Kickers. In August 1907, the club then played its first game, a 0–2 loss to FC Vorwärts Stuttgart-Ostheim...

, VfR Bürstadt

VfR Bürstadt

Kickers VfR Bürstadt is a German association football club playing out of Bürstadt, Hesse. The team was founded 1 February 1910 as SC 1910 Bürstadt and took on the name VfR on 23 August 1919...

 and Starkenburgia Heppenheim in the German 3rd Division.

Coaching career

He began his coaching career with Eintracht Esslingen in 1989 and went on to coach SC Geislingen, TSG Backnang and Assistant coach by Hertha BSC Berlin

Hertha BSC Berlin

Hertha Berliner Sport-Club von 1892, commonly known as Hertha BSC or Hertha Berlin, is a German association football club based in Berlin. A founding member of the German Football Association in Leipzig in 1900, the club has a long history as Berlin's best-supported side...

. Topalidis became assistant manager to the Greek national football team in 2001. He was brought in by German

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Otto Rehhagel

Otto Rehhagel

Otto Rehhagel is a German football coach and former football player. Along with Helmut Schön, Ottmar Hitzfeld, Udo Lattek and Hennes Weisweiler, he is considered one of the most successful German managers....

 and won with him the 2004 UEFA European Football Championship

2004 UEFA European Football Championship

The 2004 UEFA European Football Championship, better known as Euro 2004, was the 12th European Football Championship, a quadrennial football tournament for European national teams. It was hosted in Portugal, for the first time, between 12 June and 4 July 2004, following its selection by UEFA, in...

.