Theofilos Vernezis

Theofilos Vernezis was a Greek footballer who played as a defender.

Early life

Vernezis from a young age excelled in all his sporting activities. From the mid-50's he played basketball at Ionikos Nea Filadelfeia, while he was also involved in athletics and played football at the academies of AEK Athens. He eventually chose football over the other sporting activities due to his love for AEK.

Club career

Vernezis was promoted to the men's team in 1956 under Kostas Negrepontis. He mainly played as a right or center back, but due to his athletic physique, he could also compete successfully as a goalkeeper, replacing the injured Stelios Serafidis. He holds the record of being the first non-keeper to play as a goalkeeper for a full match, while in 1962 he played in 5 league matches and in a cup match under the posts of yellow-blacks, since neither of the keepers of the club, Serafidis and Fakis were available at the time. In the same position he had a stunning performance in an international friendly against Bolton on 2 May 1962. He stayed in the double-headed eagle until the summer of 1965, winning a championship in 1963 and a Greek Cup in 1964.

Personal life

Vernezis died in February 1998.

Honours

AEK Athens