Sokratis Papastathopoulos

Infobox Football biography
playername = Sokratis Papastathopoulos


fullname = Sokratis Papastathopoulos
dateofbirth = birth date and age|1988|6|9
cityofbirth = Kalamata
countryofbirth = Greece
height = height|m=1.83
position = Centre Back
currentclub = Genoa
clubnumber = 15
youthyears =
youthclubs = Apollon Petalidiou
Aias Paralias
AEK Athens
years = 2005-2008
2006
2008-
clubs = AEK Athens
→ Niki Volou (loan)
Genoa
Total
caps(goals) = 42 (1)
15 (0)
02 (1)
59 (2)
nationalyears = 2005-2007
2007-2008
2008-
nationalteam = Greece U-19
Greece U-21
Greece
Total
nationalcaps(goals) = 20 (2)
06 (0)
04 (0)
30 (2)
pcupdate = 5 October 2008 (UTC)
ntupdate = 28 September 2008 (UTC)

Sokratis Papastathopoulos (born on June 9 1988 in Kalamata, Greece) is a Greek international football player currently playing as a centre back for Genoa in Serie A.

He is regarded as one of the biggest talents in years and the next big thing in Greek football. Comparisons are already being made between him and Tony Adams while AEK Athens fans already consider him as the next Stelios Manolas.

Club career

AEK Athens

Papastathopoulos joined AEK Athens from Apollon Petalidiou for €30K. On October 26 2005 he made his debut for AEK Athens in a Greek Cup match against PAS Giannina scoring on the 7th minute of the game leading AEK Athens to a 3-0 win.

Niki Volou

On January 2006 he was loaned to Greek Second Division club Niki Volou for 6 months in order to gain first team football and gather valuable experience. He made a total of 11 appearances for Niki Volou.

Return to AEK Athens

During the 2006-2007 Greek Super League, Papastathopoulos managed to make 14 appearances whilst competing against the likes of Bruno Cirillo, Traianos Dellas and Vaggelis Moras. In AEK Athens' UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 campaign, Papastathopoulos managed to play in 3 out of the 6 group games. In these 3 games 3 AEK Athens managed 1 win (the famous 1-0 victory of A.C. Milan), 1 draw (the 2-2 away draw with R.S.C. Anderlecht) and one loss (the 3-1 away defeat to Lille OSC). During the 2007-2008 Greek Super League, he has been a mainstay in AEK's defence, keeping out competition from Geraldo Alves.

Genoa

On August 1, 2008, Sokratis Papastathopoulos agreed to transfer to Genoa, a Serie A team, for a fee of €4 million [ [http://www.aekfc.gr/index.asp?a_id=74&n_id=4314 Papastathopoulos joines Genoa] ] .He made his debut for Genoa on 27 September 2008 against Fiorentina, followed by a start against Ravenna Calcio in the Coppa Italia a few days later. His first goal for Genoa came on the 5 October 2008 at home to S.S.C. Napoli. Genoa won the game 3-2, but Papastathopoulos was sent off in the 89th minute [ [http://soccernet.espn.go.com/report?id=251286&&cc=5739 Papastathopoulos opens Genoa account] ]

International career

UEFA U-19 Championship 2007

At the 2007 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship in Austria, Papastathopoulos was captain of the Greece National Under 19 Football Team but controversially missed out on the final against Spain due to a suspension. Sokratis picked up his second yellow card of the tournament against Germany in the semi-final, following up on his first yellow card against Austria in the group stage. The Hellenic Football Federation tried to appeal the yellow card to UEFA but were rejected. The match referee of the Germany game, Kevin Blom, apologized to Papastathopoulos for giving him the yellow, as it was later shown on video that it was not a booking. Papastathopoulos was a key figure of Greece's defensive line and was sorely missed the final.

Greece

He was called up on February 1 2008 [ [http://www.uefa.com/competitions/euro/news/kind=1/newsid=652323.html Greece Squad call up] ] and made his debut on February 5 2008 in the 1-0 friendly victory against Czech Republic. The Greece squad for Euro 2008 was announced by Otto Rehhagel on May 27 2008, and Papastathopoulos was the unfortunate player to be cut from the provisional squad of 24 to the final 23-man selection. [ [http://en.euro2008.uefa.com/news/kind=1/newsid=702185.html?cid=rssfeed&att=index Greece's Papastathopoulos drops out] ]

tatistics

"Last updated May 31 2008"

Records

*On May 14 2008 during a derby match against Panathinaikos he became the youngest player to have ever captained AEK Athens at the age of 19.

Honours

Individual
*UEFA European U-19 Championship: UEFA Team of the Tournament
*Named in UEFA U-19 European Championships 2007 "Names to Note"; the best 11 players of the tournament. Team
*UEFA U-19 European Championships Silver medal (Greece).

References

External links

* [http://www.genoacfc.it/index.php?option=com_campionato&task=giocatore&giocatore=7306 Official Genoa profile]