The events of the September 1955 and the difficult period that followed for the Hellenism of Istanbul, affected deeply Sofianidis who started thinking of relocating to his Greece.

[2][3] On Saturday 17 January 1959, AEK eventually submitted the sport's card of Sofianidis to the HFF and at the same time started negotiating with the TFF for the release of the player, so he can participate in the matches of the yellow-blacks.

Sofianidis played only in friendly matches until the agreement with the Turks was reached and he was integrated into the team's roster in 1959 season, which coincided with the start of the first championship with a national division in Greek football.

In 1968, when AEK played against Fenerbahçe in the Balkans Cup final in 1968, Sofianidis did not accompany his club to Istanbul as he would have been liable for arrest by the Turkish authorities for not fulfill his military obligations.

Greece played 7 times with Sofianidis as their manager, winning 3, drawing 1, and losing 3.