Sam Allardyce struck Bolton Wanderers gold with Greek transfer | OneFootball

Sam Allardyce struck gold with the signing of Greek international Stelios Giannakopoulos

Sam Allardyce struck gold for Bolton Wanderers with with the memorable signing of Stelios Giannakopoulos

The name Stelios Giannakopoulos is one that is fondly remembered among Bolton Wanderers fans for his five-year service to the club between 2003-2008.

The Greek international was brought to the Reebok Stadium by ex-England manager Sam Allardyce from Olympiakos, and what came next for the forward was a flourishing career that quickly led him to become a fan-favourite.

During his time at Bolton, Giannakopoulos made 177 appearances for the Whites, where he scored 28 goals and provided 12 assists in a team that is to this day considered as the club's golden years.

Under the management of Allardyce, alongside talented players such as the likes of Jay-Jay Okocha, Kevin Davis, and Youri Djorkaeff, just to name a few, Bolton Wanderers were a force to be reckoned with when Giannakopoulos arrived at the club.

The Greek's clinical nature in the final third, combined with the tight-knit group under Allardyce, has marked him down in the history books as a Wanderers cult hero.

Stelios Giannakopoulos was a gem signing for Bolton Wanderers

Giannakopoulos arrived in Greater Manchester with much expectation from the Bolton faithful after impressing overseas with Olympiakos. The Greek forward scored 87 goals for his former club before making the move to England to continue his goalscoring form.

And he did just that. Winning over the love and support of the fans is what resonated with Giannakopoulos the most, as he said via the Bolton Wanderers club website.

He said, "My family and I were always made welcome by the club and by the fans... You cannot win this love from the fans on day one. You have to work hard and perform week in, week out. You need results too, and I think we did exceptionally well."

After a steady start to life with Bolton, the two years to follow were when Giannakopoulos kicked on his career up North. The Greek international was a staple in Allardyce's team that just missed out on the Champions League spots in the 2004/05 season.

His efforts didn't go unnoticed by the Bolton faithful as he tallied up double-digits of goals and assists two seasons in a row.

Stelios Giannakopoulos was a hero for club and country

As well as being a key signing for Bolton at club level, Stelios performed on the biggest stage for his country as he was part of the Greece national team that went on to win the European Championships in 2004.

Giannakopoulos earned 77 caps for his country and scored 12 goals in his international career.

Stelios is talked about at the Reebok Stadium for giving the Bolton fans many fond memories, whether it's his 91st-minute header to win 1-0 against Derby, or scoring the third goal in Bolton's 3-2 win over Everton.

But one goal that stands out more than most is Giannakopoulos' FA Cup winner in 2006 to knock out Premier League giants, Arsenal, who had legends Thierry Henry and Freddie Ljungberg in their armoury.

Despite perhaps going under the radar in his Bolton career, as Stelios was overshadowed by others in the group, his stellar reputation for club and country lives on as he came to the Trotters as a low-risk transfer and left a cult hero.

Allardyce's decision to sign the Greek turned out to be shrewd business that not only propelled Bolton up the league table, but to European competitions also.