Michalis Sifakis

Michalis Sifakis

Personal information
Full name	Michalis Sifakis
Date of birth	9 September 1984 (1984-09-09)
Place of birth	Heraklion, Greece
Height	1.85 m (6 ft 1 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club	Aris FC
Number	13
Youth career
	OFI
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
2002–2008	OFI	112	(0)
2007–2008	→ Olympiacos	7	(0)
2008–	Aris FC	76	(0)
National team‡
2004	Greece U21	15	(0)
2005–	Greece	11	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 13 October 2010

Michalis Sifakis (born 9 September 1984) is a Greek international goalkeeper. He is well known for his agility and reflexes.

Early years

Born in Heraklion, Greece, Sifakis starts playing football at the age of 9. His first team was Atsalenios Herakliou (P.O.A.).

Club career

OFI Crete

In 1999 Sifakis was transferred to the soccer club OFI Crete where he played with the B squad of OFI until 2002. In 2002 he signed his first professional contract with the club. He played for OFI until 2007 and participated in 112 matches for the Greek championship and cup.

Olympiacos

In 2007 the team Olympiacos made a offer for Sifakis, which was accepted by OFI, and he played as a replacement of the national goalkeeper Antonis Nikopolidis. During the season 2007–2008 his team won the Greek championship, the Greek Cup and the Greek Super Cup. And then he continues to be the replacement.

Aris F.C.

In 2008 Aris makes an offer to OFI and Sifakis is transferred to that club. During the season 2008–2009 Sifakis participates in 27 league and cup matches. He has participated in all league games of the ongoing season (2009–2010). In the following season (2010–2011) he had some medical problems that kept him away from some Aris and national squad's matches.

International career

In 2004 Sifakis was called for the Greece national under-21 football team. He played 15 games with the U21 selection.

In 2009 Greece’s national team coach, Otto Rehhagel, invited Sifakis to help the national team qualify for the South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup. On the 14 October he contributed to his team's victory against Luxembourg. He was also part of the squad for the final tournament.

Under coach Fernando Santos, Sifakis played most of his country's UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying matches.

Honours

In 2009 the Greek Professional Players Association honored Sifakis with the Fair Play award for his professionalism and ethos, due to his calm and non-violent reaction to a confrontation with a fan in the opening game of the 2009–2010 Greek season away at Iraklis. During the match, Sifakis was approached by an Iraklis fan who had run onto the pitch and began to verbally abuse him. Sifakis did not react and the stewards eventually intervened, removing the fan from the pitch. He has been awarded from PSAP as the best goalkeeper in Superleague in the years 2010 and 2011.

• • Greek Superleague best goalkeeper: 2010,2011
  • PSAP fair play: 2009

Statistics

Greek National Team

Games	Score
Latvia - Greece	1-1
Israel - Greece	0-1
Bosnia - Greece	0-0
Greece - Israel	2-1
Greece - Latvia	1-0
Croatia - Greece	0-0
Greece - Georgia	1-1
Greece – Korea DPR	2–2
Greece- Luxembourg	2–1
Greece U-21 – Irland U-21	0–2
Greece U-21 – Hungary U-21	0–2
Greece U-21 – Romania U-21	0–2
Denmark U-21 – Greece U-21	2 -1
Greece U-21 – Ukraine U-21	0–1
Τurkey U-21 – Greece U-21	0–1
Greece U-21 – Albania U-21	2–0
Georgia U-21 – Greece U-21	1–1
Greece U-21 – Denmark U-21	0–1
Greece U-21 – Kazakhstan U-21	5–0
Greece U-21 – Turkey U-21	2–1
Albania U-21 – Greece U-21	1–1
Greece U-21 – Cyprus U-21	0–1
Cyprus U-21 – Greece U-21	1–5
Greece U-21 – Bulgaria U-21	3–1

Clubs

Season	Club	No of games
2002–2003	OFI	4
2003–2004	OFI	15
2004–2005	OFI	29
2005–2006	OFI	31
2006–2007	OFI	33
2007–2008	OSFP	7
2008–2009	ΑRIS	27
2009–2010	ARIS	36
2010–2011	ARIS	34
2011–2012	ARIS	2

External links

• Michalis Sifakis Official website
• Aris team page
• Greek Superleague website