Giorgos Karagounis

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"Karagounis" redirects here. For the midfielder of Atromitos, see Thanasis Karagounis.
Giorgos Karagounis
Personal information
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Position(s) Midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Panathinaikos
Number 26
Youth career
1993–1996 Panathinaikos
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1996–1998 Apollon Smyrni 55 (9)
1998–2003 Panathinaikos 118 (25)
2003–2005 Internazionale 21 (0)
2005–2007 Benfica 45 (3)
2007– Panathinaikos 127 (12)
International career‡
1998– Greece 120 (9)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 20 May 2011
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 20:33, 16 June 2012 (UTC)

Giorgos Karagounis (Greek: Γιώργος Καραγκούνης) (born 6 March 1977 in Pyrgos, Greece) is a Greek footballer who plays for Panathinaikos. He is best remembered for scoring the first goal of UEFA Euro 2004, a long range effort that helped his team to win the opening game of the tournament, in which the Greeks surprisingly emerged as champions.[1]

His style of play combined with his rather small stature have earned him comparisons with the former Greek midfield star Mimis Domazos. He is known as "a dogged worker in midfield and a deliverer of fine set plays."[2]

Club career

Panathinaikos

In the summer of 1995, Karagounis joined Panathinaikos FC at the age of 18 but was allowed to leave for Apollon Smyrnis, where he was a regular scorer over two seasons. He then returned to Panathinaikos where he was a fixture in the senior team for the next five years. Although Panathinaikos did not win an Alpha Ethniki title during these years, the team was always a contender, and it had good runs in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup, with Karagounis scoring crucial goals for the team. He scored six times in 24 league games in his first season back with the Greens and in 2000–01, he appeared in all 12 of Panathanaikos' UEFA Champions League games, scoring a memorable goal from a direct free-kick against Manchester United at Old Trafford.[3] Later, at the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, he scored a wonderful goal against Arsenal, beating David Seaman by head and bringing his team to the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.

Internazionale

Karagounis opted for a move to Serie A club Internazionale in summer 2003. Despite not being a prominent figure in the squad with limited appearances, he was still called up to represent Greece at UEFA Euro 2004 where he made his mark. He scored the first goal of this tournament against Portugal, helping Greece win 2–1, but was suspended as the hosts were shockingly beaten in the final. After becoming a Champion of UEFA Euro 2004, he won the Coppa Italia in the season 2004/2005 against AS Roma who contained Greek National Team mate Traianos Dellas.

Benfica

In 2005, he moved to Portugal to play for Benfica[4] based at the Estádio da Luz, precisely the same stadium where he won the Euro 2004 final for Greece. Karagounis stated, "I like Benfica. It's such a big club and I am honoured that they have great faith in me. I'm sure that my fellow Greeks are happy about my move here at Benfica." In July 2006, Karagounis scored a magnificent chip shot right out of the 18 yard line[5] against Shakhtar Donetsk which gave Benfica a 2–0 win. Karagounis' first season at Benfica was rough, as the Greek had trouble establishing as a key player. However, he achieved such a status on his second season at the club, throwing excellent performances, this time managed by Fernando Santos, who already knew Karagounis from Panathinaikos. Now, after a good two-year stay with Benfica, Karagounis seemed ready to return to play in Greece, again for Panathinaikos.

Panathinaikos

Allegedly, the player's family was not able to adapt to life in Lisbon and wished to move away from Portugal. Karagounis' contract with the Portuguese outfit was due to expire in July 2008, but the player and his manager negotiated his immediate departure.[6] After his release from Benfica in the summer of 2007, Karagounis immediately signed a contract with Panathinaikos for the next three years.[7] He quickly re-established himself with the team again scoring key goals in crucial games especially in Europe, in particular a wonderful volley against Werder Bremen.

On 3 September 2009, Karagounis extended his stay until 2012 and stated that he wants to end his career at the club.[8] As captain of the team of Athens he has won his second Super League (Greek league) and the Greek Cup.

National team

Early years

Karagounis captained Greece's entry to the 1998 UEFA Under-21 Championship, and the team came very close to winning, losing 1–0 to Spain in the final. After that, he soon became a regular on the national team. He made his first full international appearance against El Salvador in 1999 and went on to appear in qualifying for the 2002 FIFA World Cup.

UEFA Euro 2004 & beyond

The highlight of his international career was undoubtedly winning the European championship for Greece in Euro 2004. He was a key player for Greece and famously scored the first goal of the tournament against Portugal, a stunning long range shot that shocked the hosts and gave Greece the confidence they needed to win the game and progress in the tournament.[1] After winning Euro 2004, Karagounis continued to play on a regular basis for Greece in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, and the Euro 2008 finals. On 26 March 2008, Karagounis participated in a Greece-Portugal friendly match in Düsseldorf, Germany. This proved to be somewhat of a highlight of his international career as he scored two almost identical well-placed free-kicks to give Greece a 2–1 victory.[9]

Giorgios Karagounis as a captain of Greece contributed to the qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. As captain, he led the Greek National team to its first win in a World Cup match with a 2–1 win against Nigeria. On October 8, 2010, against Latvia, Karagounis reached 100 appearances for the Greek national team equaling the record of his Euro 2004 winning ex-teammate Angelos Basinas. On 12 October 2010 Karagounis made his 101'st appearance, becoming the second most capped player in Greek footballing history behind Theodoros Zagorakis and scoring his seventh goal in the victory against the Israel national team. On 7 October 2011 Karagounis was awarded by Theodoros Zagorakis and Angelos Basinas for reaching 111 appearances with the Greek National Team. The awarding ceremony took place at Karaiskakis stadium before the kickoff of a football match against Croatia.

UEFA Euro 2012

On 8 June 2012, Poland played with Greece on the opening day of Euro 2012. Poland goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny took out Greek international Dimitris Salpingidis, resulting in a red card for Szczęsny. Karagounis took the penalty against substitute goalkeeper Przemysław Tytoń who saved his penalty.[10] On 16 June 2012, Karagounis started the final game of Group A against Russia, making him their joint most capped player with 120 caps, together with Theodoros Zagorakis who held the record of national team appearances at the time – in that game, he also scored on the stroke of half time.[11] Greece would end up qualifying to the next stage of the competition, although Karagounis, after receiving a yellow card in the same game due to a penalty appeal of his turned down, got suspended from the quarterfinals.[12]

International goals

# Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition
1. 5 September 2001 Helsinki, Finland  Finland 5–1 Loss 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifier
2. 13 February 2002 Thessaloniki, Greece  Sweden 2–2 Draw Friendly Match
3. 12 June 2004 Porto, Portugal  Portugal 1–2 Win UEFA Euro 2004
4. 30 March 2005 Athens, Greece  Albania 2–0 Win 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier
5. 26 March 2008 Düsseldorf, Germany  Portugal 1–2 Win Friendly Match
6. 26 March 2008 Düsseldorf, Germany  Portugal 1–2 Win Friendly Match
7. 12 October 2010 Athens, Greece  Israel 2–1 Win UEFA Euro 2012 qualifier
8. 15 November 2011 Altach, Austria  Romania 1–3 Loss Friendly Match
9. 16 June 2012 Warsaw, Poland  Russia 1–0 Win UEFA Euro 2012

Club statistics

As of 20 May 2012 [13][14][15]
Club performance League Cup Europe Total
Season Club League Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Greece League Greek Cup Europe Total
1996–97 Apollon Smyrni Alpha Ethniki 31 2 – – 31 2
1997–98 24 7 – – 24 7
1998–99 Panathinaikos Alpha Ethniki 24 6 – – 24 6
1999–00 27 9 – – 27 9
2000–01 23 4 – 12 1 35 5
2001–02 21 3 – 13 2 34 5
2002–03 23 3 – 1 0 24 3
Italy League Coppa Italia Europe Total
2003–04 Internazionale Serie A 9 0 – 4 0 13 0
2004–05 12 0 – 3 0 15 0
Portugal League Portuguese Cup Europe Total
2005–06 Benfica Primeira Liga 19 1 – 7 0 26 1
2006–07 26 2 – 11 0 37 2
Greece League Greek Cup Europe Total
2007–08 Panathinaikos Superleague Greece 27 2 – – 27 2
2008–09 24 7 1 0 10 3 35 10
2009–10 24 2 5 0 12 1 41 3
2010–11 27 0 2 0 4 0 33 0
2011–12 25 1 2 0 3 0 30 1
Career total 366 49 10 0 80 7 456 56

Honours

References

  1. ^ a b Player review Uefa.com article, July 2004
  2. ^ Wilson, Jonathan. "Euro 2012 Preview: Greece". Sports IIlustrated. Retrieved 1 June 2012.
  3. ^ Manchester United – Panathinaikos Independent article, November 2000
  4. ^ Benfica sign Karagounis CNN article, August 2005
  5. ^ Match report a-bole-e-redonda article, July 06
  6. ^ Greek article on Karagounis Sport.gr article, July 2007
  7. ^ Greek article on Karagounis Sport.gr article, July 2007
  8. ^ Karagounis signs new contract with Panathinaikos
  9. ^ Greece – Portugal Fifa.com article, March 2008
  10. ^ "Poland 1 Greece 1". BBC Sport. 8 June 2012. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  11. ^ Wilson, Paul (16 June 2012). "Euro 2012: Giorgos Karagounis avoids Greece exit and makes Russia pay". Warsaw: Guardian.co.uk.
  12. ^ "Sweet result, personal bitterness for Karagounis". The Times of Malta. 18 June 2012.
  13. ^ "Giorgos Karagounis profile". Soccerway. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  14. ^ "Giorgos Karagounis profile". Guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 20 April 2012.
  15. ^ Template:Transfermarkt
Sporting positions
Preceded by Greece captain
2009– 		Succeeded by

Template:Persondata

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