From Fan to Champion

Who would’ve thought? On the same day that Greek basketball legend Nikos Galis turned 68—July 23, 2025—Haris Pavlidis, a lifelong fan of Galis and Aris Thessaloniki, guided Greece to the top of the world in women’s water polo.

Pavlidis has never hidden his love for Aris or for Nikos Galis. He began swimming for Aris in 1978, and by 1979, when Galis had just arrived in Thessaloniki, Haris had already switched to water polo, eventually becoming a center forward.

Despite his shift to the pool, his passion for basketball stayed strong. As a young man, he was in the stands of Alexandreio watching the golden era of Aris basketball and dreaming of reaching the top of his own sport.

Building a Legacy – In and Out of the Pool

Pavlidis achieved success not just as a player but even more so as a coach. His love for basketball influenced his coaching style—he famously introduced pick ‘n’ roll strategies into water polo, adapting court tactics to the pool.

In 1991, he left Thessaloniki for Piraeus to join Olympiacos, as the club began building its own water polo dynasty. There, he played under legendary coaches like Mile Nakic, Boris Popov, and Nikola Stamenic—the last of whom had a lasting influence on his decision to become a coach.

He played alongside top Greek talents, including Theodoros Vlachos (future head coach of the men’s national team) and Antonis Vlontakis, now part of his own coaching team.

From Olympiacos to the World Stage

After retiring as a player, Pavlidis began his coaching journey with Ethnikos and later led Glyfada to the Euroleague Final Four in 2007.

In a bold move, he chose to coach women’s teams—and it paid off. That same year, Olympiacos brought him back to Piraeus. What followed was a golden era:

• 10 Greek Championships
• 3 Greek Cups
• 3 European titles (Euroleague in 2015 & 2021, LEN Trophy in 2014)

He developed top players and introduced tactical innovations that were later copied across Europe. Overall, Pavlidis brought home 19 medals with Olympiacos and left behind a lasting legacy.

Coaching Abroad: Canada and China

While coaching Olympiacos, Pavlidis took over the Canadian women’s national team in 2016, earning silver at the 2017 World League and finishing 4th at the World Championships the same year.

In 2022, he accepted a blockbuster offer from China’s water polo federation. He led the Chinese women’s team to gold at the 2023 Asian Games and secured Olympic qualification for Paris 2024—though he left the team before the Games.

The Homecoming

Despite his success abroad, Pavlidis always wanted to coach Greece’s national team—a dream long delayed by federation politics. That finally changed on November 14, 2024, when Kyriakos Giannopoulos pushed to bring him onboard.

Within months, Pavlidis made history:

• April 20, 2025: Greece wins the Women’s Water Polo World Cup
• July 23, 2025: Greece takes gold at the World Championships in Singapore

Born January 25, 1971, Pavlidis is not only a father of two and an officer in the Hellenic Coast Guard—he is a man whose life revolves around water polo. He was exactly what the national team needed to climb back to the top.

A Team Built Over Time

Perhaps Pavlidis’s greatest secret weapon is his deep, long-standing connection with many of the players. He helped develop them at Olympiacos—both as athletes and as people—creating the foundation for the chemistry and trust that now fuels the national team’s golden run.