Early years Born in Ambelokipoi,
Larissa Karapialis started with
street football, and in 1979, aged 14, he joined
the Toxotis Larissa youth team. In 1980, he moved to Toxotis' first team and got many top-flight clubs interested in him. In 1984,
OFI attempted to sign Karapialis for 2.1 million
drachmas, but he turned it down. He had an outstanding 1984–85 season with Toxotis, scoring 30 goals while playing as a
midfielder.
AEL In the summer of 1985, Karapialis was transferred to the then
-Greek Football Cup winner,
AEL for 1 million drachmas, and became very popular amongst the fans. In the first two seasons, Karapialis was used mainly as a substitute. When he managed to break into the starting XI in the 1987–1988 season, the club won their only
league title as the only team outside the two major Greek cities (
Athens and
Thessaloniki) to have won the Greek Championship with Karapialis being the Player of the Year.
Olympiacos In 1991 Karapialis signed for
Olympiacos. He made his debut against
AEK Athens, when Olympiacos won 4–2, thanks to a hat-trick by
Oleg Protasov. He quickly became the leader of the
Red Whites, thanks to his aggression and agility. He won one Greek Cup in his first five seasons with Olympiacos, but the next four were outstanding, winning four out of four Championships, another Cup, and a
Greek Super Cup. In May 2000, Karapialis announced his retirement from professional football. The same year, he was voted as the third-best Greek professional footballer (after 1979, when football became professional in Greece), just after
Vassilis Hatzipanagis and
Dimitris Saravakos. ==International career==