Nikos Machlas

Nikolaos Machlas (Greek: Νίκος Μαχλάς, born 16 June 1973) is a Greek retired footballer and chairman of OFI Crete. He finished his career as a striker for Cypriot team APOEL.

Club career

OFI Crete

He began his career with OFI Crete, where he made his debut in February 1991 against Panionios. He stayed at the club for six seasons. He had the Dutch Eugène Gerards as a coach on OFI.

Vitesse

Machlas signed for Dutch side Vitesse Arnhem in 1996. He scored a disappointing 8 goals in 29 games in his first season in the Eredivisie, but in his second season he scored 34 goals in just 32 games, a feat which earned him the European Golden Boot for the 1997-1998 season. He scored 60 goals in 92 matches for Vitesse.

Ajax

Machlas joined Eredivisie giant Ajax Amsterdam in June 1999 for a then-club record $8.6 million. Despite netting 38 goals in 74 Eredivisie league games spread over three seasons, Machlas' goalscoring record was not deemed prolific enough for the demanding Ajax fans and coaching staff. The team went through a transition as poor results meant Machlas had to endure three different coaches in as many years. His place as striker became threatened by coach Ronald Koeman's preference for the younger strikers Zlatan Ibrahimović and Mido. His 12 goals in the 2001-2002 season were nevertheless important in the run toward the first league title for Ajax in four years. Ajax also won the KNVB Beker that season, meaning they achieved the "double". At the start of the 2002-2003 season, Koeman made it clear to Machlas that there was no future for him anymore in the first team of Ajax and was thus relegated to training and playing matches with the youth team. Eventually, the Greek striker and Ajax Amsterdam had split. "By mutual consent, Ajax and Nikos Machlas have terminated their contract. The termination takes effect immediately," Ajax said in a statement, adding that "the player could now join another club on a free transfer".