Dimitris Kalaitzidis (; born 20 January 1957) is a Greek professional football manager who is the current manager of Super League 2 club Apollon Pontus.
Coaching career
Kalaitzidis started his managerial career in 1996 as he was appointed manager of Ampelokipoi F.C. Through his career he managed sixteen different clubs. He spent most of his career being the manager of Veria F.C.
First steps
Kalaitzidis began his managerial career when he was hired as the head coach of Ampelokoipoi F.C.. He later joined Levadiakos F.C. but he did not remain with the club for a long time. After being fired by Levadiakos, he joined Apollonas Kria Vrisi F.C., where he stayed for a season. After, Apollonas it was Poseidon N.Mixaniona F.C. who trusted the young coach. Kalaitzidis stayed in Chalkidi for a year. In 2000, he joined Leonidio F.C. but the team's poor performance led him to the exit. His first professional job came when Panetolikos F.C., who was participating in Gamma Ethniki, offered Kalaitzidis a contract. Kalaitzidis joined the club and he remained only for few months. After taking a two-year break, Kalaitzidis returned to the football pitches as he joined ILTEX Lykoi F.C.. He left from the club on 22 December 2004 as he accepted the contract offered by Gamma Ethniki club Veria F.C., a decision that changed his whole career.
Veria
As manager of Veria, Kalaitzidis is considered as Veria's all-time most successful manager and he is a fan favorite. His first appointment as manager of Veria took place on 22 November 2004. During his first spell in Veria, Kalaitzidis won his first career promotion from Football League 2 to Football League as Veria was named the champion of North Group. That promotion would find Veria returning to Football League after four seasons. On 4 October 2005 due to some poor results, Kalaitzidis was fired by Giorgos Arvanitidis. Kalaitzidis returned again to Veria on 9 January 2007. Kalaitzidis's return changed Veria's overall performance radically and that resulted in Veria finishing third in 2006–07 championship and winning the promotion to Superleague, after eight seasons. At the end of the season, Kalaitzidis's contract was extended for another year, though Veria's poor start in Superleague resulted in Kalaitzidis being fired again.
Ethnikos Asteras, Makedonikos and Kerkyra
After being fired from Veria, Kalaitzidis took over Ethnikos Asteras, who was playing in Football league, bench but he was fired again after three months as the results of the club were not the expected. On 1 July 2008, he was appointed as Makedonikos' manager but he left the club on 22 December of the same year. On 4 July 2010, Kalaitzidis joined PAE Kerkyra as an assistant coach of Babis Tennes he left the club on 29 November of the same year, as Tennes was fired due to poor results. That was the first and the only time that Kalaitzidis would be an assistant coach.