Early years

Born in 1919 to Greek parents in Tuzla, near Constantinople, Maropoulos came to Greece with his family at the age of 3, during the population exchanges, after the Greco-Turkish War in 1922. Having settled in Kalamata, at the age of 12 he joined the local football club Prasina Poulia. When his parents moved to Kalogreza in Athens, he played for Ethnikos Kalogreza. In 1934, he and Tryfon Tzanetis, were spotted by people of AEK Athens, who placed them in their youth team. In 1936, he was promoted to the men's team.

AEK Athens

Maropoulos played in AEK's attack and he was the fear of the opposing goalkeepers with his deadly shot. The slogan "You cannot, Maropoulos!" (Greek: "Δεν μπορείς Μαρόπουλε!") was originally chanted by the opponent fans, but later on came to be a chant of the fans shouted at him to make him bitter or stubborn and make him tear the opponent nets.^[1] Led by Maropoulos and under the instructions of the club's former glory, Kostas Negrepontis, AEK won their first two Panhellenic Championships in 1939 and 1940, including the first domestic double ever won by a Greek club.^[2]

Unfortunately, the glory years of AEK and Maropoulos were interrupted by the World War II. During The Occupation, he actively participated in the Union of Greek Athletes. The objectives of the UGA were to maintain athletic activity (albeit substandard) and to support athletes in difficulty due to illness or hunger.^[3] Maropoulos continued his career after the war, playing until the early 1950s.^[4] Maropoulos last played for AEK in 1952, having spent 18 years of active service at the club.^[5] He may have continued for a while, but he fell seriously ill and was bedridden for many months. Overall, he played in 144 official matches and scored a total of 89 goals.