Vasilios Tsiartas

Vasilis Tsartas
	Tsartas signing an autograph for a Greek fan.
Personal information
Full name	Vasilis Tsartas
Date of birth	12 November 1972 (age 51)
Place of birth	Alexandreia, Greece
Height	1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Senior career*
Years	Team
1989–1992	Naoussa
1992–1996	AEK Athens
1996–2000	Sevilla
2000–2004	AEK Athens
2004–2005	1. FC Köln
2006–2007	Ethnikos Piraeus
Total
International career
1996–1999	Greece U21
1994–2005	Greece
Medal record
	*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Vassilis Tsartas (Greek: Βασίλειος Τσιάρτας, born 12 November 1972) is a Greek former professional footballer who played as an attacking midfielder. Although he was famed for his lackadaisical playing style, his ability was never in question and he was in many ways the epitome of a player who wears the number 10 shirt. Tsartas (nickname-EL MAGO) was predominantly left footed but was just as dangerous with his right. He was a phenomenal free kick specialist and also took all penalties for the National Team of Greece and his club sides. He was an important part of the Greek National Side claiming two assists in Portugal towards Greece's ultimate victory Euro 2004 (they began the tournament as 100–1 outsiders). In his entire career he did not receive a single red card. Although being a classic "number-10-player", Tsartas was capable of scoring many goals due to his deadly footage and scoring abilities being one of AEK Athens top scorers. He is considered one of the best Greek players in history.

Club career

Born in Alexandreia, Greece, he began his career at the academy at AE Alexandris and later the team of F.A.S. Naoussa FC which also produced such players as Vassilis Lakis and Dimitris Markos. The left footed attacking midfielder soon made a name for himself and his subsequent move to AEK Athens FC resulted in him scoring the most goals in the 1996 season in the Alpha Ethniki (A League). This and his huge attacking presence lead to a move to Sevilla FC for a fee of 1.5m €. There, he was an influential captain and vital in team gaining promotion to the Primera Division. He was known in Sevilla as 'El Mago' due to his lethal ability with any free kicks combined with a powerful shot in or outside the box. He managed to achieve 65 apps for Primera Division scoring 18 goals, although he was the passer of the team.^[1] He returned to AEK Athens FC in 2000 for 3.5m € and after another successful 4 year spell at AEK he ended his career at 1. FC Köln. Tsartas officially returned to active competition, by signing with Ethnikos Piraeus in Greece. On 14 February 2007 Vasilis Tsartas announced his retirement from professional football.^[2]

International career

Having played U-16 and U-21 he debuted for the Greek National Team on 27 April 1994 in a game against Saudi Arabia. He managed to score 12 goals (5 of which were penalties) in his 70 caps with the National Team including an important penalty against Northern Ireland in 2003 which led to Greece's qualification for Euro 2004. During the Euro 2004 he was used mainly as a substitute by the team's coach Otto Rehhagel, but managed to claim two vital assists, one against Spain and the other against the Czech Republic on the way to Greece's victory in the tournament.