Born in Paranesti, a village in the broader area of Drama, Loukanidis' father was killed by Bulgarian armed forces and soon after he was placed in an orphanage at age 10.

[1] He began playing football with the youth side of AEK Komotini, and joined the senior team of Doxa Drama F.C.

[1] He soon attracted the interest of major clubs in Greece and abroad, including Juventus FC[2] Finally, Antonis Mantzevelakis brought him to Panathinaikos via APOEL in Cyprus.

He made his debut in a 1-7 1960 European Nations' Cup qualifying defeat to France on 1 October 1958.

In his great career, alongside Panathinaikos, Loukanidis wore the shirt of Doxa Dramas and Aris Thessaloniki and of course the national team.