Kostas Katsouranis

Kostas Katsouranis

Personal information
Full name	Konstantinos Katsouranis
Date of birth	21 June 1979 (1979-06-21) (age 32)
Place of birth	Patras, Greece
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Playing position	Defensive Midfielder / Centre back
Club information
Current club	Panathinaikos
Number	29
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1996–2002	Panachaiki	121	(14)
2002–2006	AEK Athens	110	(29)
2006–2009	Benfica	80	(10)
2009–	Panathinaikos	65	(16)
National team‡
2002–	Greece	88	(9)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 9 October 2011. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 11 November 2011

Konstantinos "Kostas" Katsouranis (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Κατσουράνης) (born 21 June 1979) is a Greek footballer who currently plays for Panathinaikos FC and the Greek national team as a defensive midfielder.

Club career

Panachaiki

He was only 17 years old when he debuted in the 1996–97 season for the Patras-based club Panachaiki, he spent six seasons there and, by the third, was a regular starter. During his time at Panachaiki, he helped them get promoted from the second division and was a vital part in there fight from relegation during his time at the club.

When his contract with Panachaiki expired, Katsouranis decided that it was time to move forward to a bigger club. He opened negotiations with Panathinaikos, but the coach, Fernando Santos, decided to sign Portuguese Carlos Chaínho, a player he knew when at FC Porto, which meant Katsouranis' transfer would not be finalized.

Olympiacos then approached the Greek. The talks with the vice-president of the club, Giorgos Louvaris, seemed final, but Louvaris asked Katsouranis to wait until the president, Sokratis Kokkalis, returned from a business trip to the United States for the final negotiations. But former AEK Athens president Chrysostomos Psomiadis took advantage of the situation and convinced the promising midfielder to sign a three-year contract with AEK Athens.

AEK Athens

Coming off the bench and making an impressive debut for the club, Katsouranis immediately became an integral part of the club. His continuing progress in the top-level rapidly made him the team's best player and a first team regular with great performances, both domestically and in European competition. The 2004–05 season would prove to be one Katsouranis' finest seasons with the club, as he scored 10 times in 28 appearances from the defensive midfielder spot, leading the club in a hard battle for the title. AEK managed to finish third when many had expected a mid-table performance. Werder Bremen expressed strong interest for the Greek international but Katsouranis together with president Demis Nikolaidis decided to reject the offer.

In the 2005–06 season, Katsouranis led the club to a second place finish in the league, which brought them into the UEFA Champions League. Att the end of the season, manager Fernando Santos was sacked and Katsouranis wanted to leave to a bigger club and further his career abroad. He then signed with SL Benfica of Portugal, managed by Fernando Santos, for a fee of around €2 million plus the proceeds of friendly match in Athens between the two clubs.^[1]

Benfica

Katsouranis signed a four-year contract with SL Benfica on 22 June 2006, joining is ex-manager in Fernando Santos and fellow countryman Giorgos Karagounis. When he arrived in June, he said "Even if Fernando Santos or Karagounis were not here, I still would have joined. Benfica to me is one of Europe's top clubs and they proved that in the UEFA Champions League. I am here to achieve that same objective and joining Benfica can also help my international career."

In his first Portuguese derby, against FC Porto, he followed on to score for Benfica with a header following a corner kick, the second goal he has scored for Benfica in the league in just a few matches. Katsouranis quickly became a key player for Benfica, scoring some important goals and also captaining the team on a few occasions. He proved to be one of the most important imports into the 2006–07 Portuguese Liga, playing in 29 league matches and scoring six goals.

Despite interest from Valencia CF, Werder Bremen, Tottenham Hotspur, and Juventus, Benfica refused to sell the player, despite Juventus willing to trade Tiago for the Greek international. Benfica were relunctant to sell and, on 14 September 2007, Katsouranis agreed to a contract extension with Benfica for another two years.

On 2 March 2009, Katsouranis was named "Benfica Player of the Year".^[2]

Panathinaikos

Katsouranis signed a four year contract with Greek Super League club Panathinaikos, on 1 July 2009.^[3] He has stated that it's the team he supported since childhood.^[4] He scored his first goal against Sparta Prague in the Champions League. He scored his first league goal against Skoda Xanthi on the 2nd matchday of the 2009–10 season. Katsouranis scoring abilities were a key part of Panathinaikos' good run during the first half of the season, as the defensive midfielder scored 8 goals in just half a season.

International career

Katsouranis made his international debut for Greece on 20 August 2003 against Sweden and scored his first goal against Kazakhstan in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier. Katsouranis was one of the key factors in Greece's triumph at the UEFA Euro 2004, beating Portugal in his own "home" (Benfica's Estádio da Luz) and, following Greece's success at the tournament, Katsouranis was a regular for Greece in their unsuccessful 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Katsouranis became one of Greece's impact players in their UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers in which he helped Greece qualify for the finals and have a chance to retain their crown. Their UEFA Euro 2008 campaign resulted in poor fashion as Greece failed to pick up a point. Katsouranis has captained Greece on several occasions and was selected for his country in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification. Together with Angelos Charisteas, Giourkas Seitaridis, Georgios Karagounis, Kostas Chalkias who all participated in Greece's Euro 2004 triumph, he led Greece to a 2–1 win against Nigeria, its first win in a World Cup tournament.

Career statistics

Club	Season	League		Cup		League Cup		Europe		Total
		Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Panachaiki	1996–97	14	2	*	*	-	-	0	0	14	2
	1997–98	4	1	*	*	-	-	0	0	4	1
	1998–99	28	1	*	*	-	-	0	0	28	1
	1999-00	27	5	*	*	-	-	0	0	27	5
	2000–01	25	2	*	*	-	-	0	0	25	2
	2001–02	25	3	*	*	-	-	0	0	25	3
AEK Athens	2002–03	26	6	*	*	-	-	8	2	26	6
	2003–04	27	7	*	*	-	-	6	0	27	7
	2004–05	28	10	*	*	-	-	6	1	28	10
	2005–06	29	6	*	*	-	-	2	0	29	6
S.L. Benfica	2006–07	29	6	2	1	-	-	11	1	42	8
	2007–08	27	2	2	0	1	0	12	1	42	3
	2008–09	24	2	1	0	5	2	4	0	34	4
Total (Portugal)		80	10	5	1	6	2	27	2	118	15
Panathinaikos	2009–10	28	8	*	*	-	-	11	2	39	10
	2010–11	32	6	0	0	0	0	5	0	36	6
	2011–12	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Total (Greece)		264	57	*	*	-	-	*	*	*	*
Career Total		372	68	0	0	0	0	68	7	440	75

International goals

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	17 November 2004	Piraeus, Greece	Kazakhstan	3–1	Win	2006 FIFA World Cup qualification
2.	7 October 2006	Piraeus, Greece	Norway	1–0	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
3.	11 October 2006	Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina	Bosnia and Herzegovina	0–4	Win	UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier
4.	22 August 2007	Thessaloniki, Greece	Spain	2–3	Loss	Friendly Match
5.	6 February 2008	Nicosia, Cyprus	Finland	2–1	Win	Friendly Match
6.	19 May 2008	Patras, Greece	Cyprus	2–0	Win	Friendly Match
7.	11 October 2008	Piraeus, Greece	Moldova	3–0	Win	2010 FIFA World Cup qualifier
8.	25 May 2010	Altach, Austria	North Korea	2–2	Draw	Friendly Match
9.	11 November 2011	Piraeus, Greece	Russia	1–1	Draw	Friendly Match

Honours

Team

Benfica

• Portuguese League Cup: 2008–09

Panathinaikos

• Super League Greece: 2009–10
• Greek Cup: 2009–10

National team

• European Championship: 2004

Individual

• Greek Footballer of the year: 2005
• Benfica Footballer of the year: 2008–2009

References

1. ^ Katsou joins Santos ans Benfica
2. ^ Footballer of the year for Benfica
3. ^ PAO FC sign Katsouranis
4. ^ [1]

External links

• (Portuguese) Kostas Katsouranis on S.L. Benfica's website
• (English) *Katsouranis PortuGOAL profile
• (English) *FootballDatabase.com statistics for Kostas Katsouranis

Persondata
Name	Katsouranis, Kostas
Alternative names
Short description	footballer
Date of birth	21 June 1979
Place of birth	Patras, Greece
Date of death
Place of death