Soulis Markopoulos

Soulis Markopoulos was born Anastasios Markopoulos in Thessaloniki on 1 March 1949. Greek profiles describe him as a Thessaloniki native through and through, formed by the city's club basketball culture rather than by a foreign academy path. He grew up in an era when neighbourhood teams fed the big Macedonian clubs, and he stayed close to that ecosystem for the rest of his life.

Formal academic details were not made public in the major sports biographies. His basketball education came through club play at Olympos Saranta Ekklision and Dimokritos, then through long apprenticeships as a player-coach transition figure and as an assistant to elite coaches such as Dusan Ivkovic at PAOK. Those sideline years shaped the tactical habits later associated with his teams: organisation, defensive discipline, and patience.

Markopoulos played for Olympos Saranta Ekklision from 1967 to 1972, then for Dimokritos Thessaloniki from 1972 to 1978. With Dimokritos he competed in the top Greek league across multiple seasons. Basketbook notes his last year as a player around 1977 before he moved straight onto the Dimokritos bench. He never became a national star as a player; his lasting fame came later as a coach.

His head-coaching journey began at Dimokritos (about 1978-1987), continued at Iraklis (1987-1990), and reached European height at PAOK in 1993-94. After replacing Ivkovic mid-season, he won the FIBA Korac Cup over Stefanel Trieste and reached the Greek League finals. Subsequent stops included Aris, Makedonikos, AEK, Maroussi, long years back at PAOK (2009-2017), and a final Aris return in 2019. He accumulated the most games coached in Greek Championship history and twice won Coach of the Year (2008, 2014).

Public profiles centre his identity on Thessaloniki and family basketball. His son Charis (also spelled Haris) Markopoulos played professionally and became a coach; father and son later faced each other from opposite benches, a notable Greek league storyline. Greek Wikipedia records that his daughter Nancy is married to volleyball player Sotiris Sotiriou. A spouse's name was not made public in the sources reviewed for this profile.

Writers and obituaries describe a calm sideline presence, insistence on work rate, and defensive structure. In a 2016 APE-MPE interview he called the Korac Cup permanently carved in his mind, praised his earlier collaboration with Ivkovic as a friendship built on respect, and argued that 1990s PAOK's failure to win a EuroLeague-equivalent title was largely misfortune rather than lack of quality. When honoured for 600 league games he framed basketball as the life he had wanted since childhood and thanked God for it.

Markopoulos is remembered as the Greek Championship's all-time leader in games coached, a three-time PAOK head coach, the man on the bench for the 1994 Korac Cup, and a Hall of Fame inductee (2023). He worked for all of Thessaloniki's major men's clubs and helped Maroussi to its only EuroLeague qualification path. Younger coaches and players often cited his longevity and steadiness more than a flashy media persona.

FIBA Korac Cup champion with PAOK (1994). Greek League Coach of the Year (2008 with Maroussi; 2014 with PAOK). Greek Basket League Hall of Fame induction (2023) with John Korfas and Ioannis Bourousis. Career landmarks include passing Ioannidis for most top-division games coached (5 December 2010) and later tallies of roughly 702 league games and 341 wins.

He appeared in Greek sports media across decades, including an ERT "The Game" interview in November 2023 and PAOK club videos of award nights and courtside moments. Hall of Fame coverage in December 2023 brought fresh tributes from former players such as Giorgos Bogris. After his death, national outlets including Kathimerini, Voria, and Newsbeast published obituaries emphasising the Korac Cup and his games record.

Markopoulos died in Thessaloniki on 25 September 2026, aged 77. Voria reported that he had been hospitalised for months with health problems. Greek basketball and Thessaloniki clubs marked the day with mourning notices. A precise medical cause of death was not made public in the sources reviewed.