Giorgos Karagounis
Personal information
Full name	Giorgos Karagounis Γιώργος Καραγκούνης
Date of birth	March 6, 1977 (1977-03-06) (age 32)
Place of birth	Pyrgos, Greece
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9+1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Panathinaikos
Number	26
Senior career1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1995–1996 1996–1998 1998–2003 2003–2005 2005–2007 2007–	Panathinaikos Apollon Smyrnis Panathinaikos Internazionale Benfica Panathinaikos Total	0000 0(0) 0 55 0 (9) 118 0 (25) 0 32 0 (2) 0 64 0 (4) 0 44 0 (9) 301 (47)
National team2
1999–	Greece	090 0(6)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 19 January 2009. 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 18 November 2009. * Appearances (Goals)

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

For many football supporters in his homeland, Karagounis represents everything that is good about the modern Greek game. His rugged and creative style of play combined with his rather small stature has earned him comparisons with legendary Greek midfield player Mimis Domazos. ESPN football analyst George James stated that he was "one of the most underrated players in the world."

[edit] Clubs

In the summer of 1995, Karagounis joined Panathinaikos 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^[2].

After Panathinaikos missed out on the Greek championship to Olympiacos by virtue of an inferior head-to-head record in 2003, Karagounis opted for a move to Internazionale in summer 2003. Karagounis played a pivotal part for Inter during his first season at the club, where he played in all European fixtures and his performance at UEFA Euro 2004 had improved his standing in the team for the next year. 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. However, Giorgos was not able to establish himself at a key player in Inter during his second season at the club, spending most of the matches in the subs bench or not even included in his manager's options.

In 2005, he moved to Portugal to play for SL Benfica^[3] 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^[4] 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 Giorgos from Panathinaikos. Now, after a good two-year stay with Benfica, Karagounis seemed ready to return to play in Greece, again for Panathinaikos.

[edit] Coming home

Allegedly, the player's family wasn't 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. "Typara"^[5] as he was known, was rumored to have several invitations from his home country Greece and from Italy, where he had played for two seasons. However, after his release from Benfica in the summer of 2007, Giorgos immediately signed a contract with Panathinaikos for the next three years. ^[6]. 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 singned a new contract with Panathinaikos until 2012 and stated that he wants to end career his career at the club.^[7]

[edit] National team

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. 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 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign, the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup 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.^[8]

[edit] 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

[edit] Honours

• Panathinaikos
  • Greek Championship: 1995/1996

• Internazionale
  • Coppa Italia: 2004/2005

• Greece
  • European Championship: 2004

• Benfica
  • Portuguese SuperCup: 2005

Panathinaikos

• Greek Cup: Runners up 1998-99

[edit] References

Greece Squads v • d • e Greece squad – UEFA Euro 2004 Winners (1st Title) 1 Nikopolidis • 2 Seitaridis • 3 Venetidis • 4 Dabizas • 5 Dellas • 6 Basinas • 7 Zagorakis (c) • 8 Giannakopoulos • 9 Charisteas • 10 Tsiartas • 11 Nikolaidis • 12 Chalkias • 13 Katergiannakis • 14 Fyssas • 15 Vryzas • 16 Kafes • 17 Georgiadis • 18 Goumas • 19 Kapsis • 20 Karagounis • 21 Katsouranis • 22 Papadopoulos • 23 Lakis • Coach: Rehhagel v • d • e Greece squad – 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup 1 Nikopolidis • 2 Seitaridis • 3 Vyntra • 4 Tavlaridis • 5 Kyrgiakos • 6 Basinas • 7 Zagorakis (c) • 8 Giannakopoulos • 9 Charisteas • 10 Tsiartas • 11 Papadopoulos • 12 Chalkias • 13 Sifakis • 14 Fyssas • 15 Vryzas • 16 Kafes • 17 Amanatidis • 18 Goumas • 19 Kapsis • 20 Karagounis • 21 Katsouranis • 22 Gekas • 23 Lakis • Coach: Rehhagel v • d • e Greece squad – UEFA Euro 2008 1 Nikopolidis • 2 Seitaridis • 3 Patsatzoglou • 4 Spiropoulos • 5 Dellas • 6 Basinas • 7 Samaras • 8 Giannakopoulos • 9 Charisteas • 10 Karagounis • 11 Vyntra • 12 Chalkias • 13 Tzorvas • 14 Salpigidis • 15 Torosidis • 16 Kyrgiakos • 17 Gekas • 18 Goumas • 19 Antzas • 20 Amanatidis • 21 Katsouranis • 22 Tziolis • 23 Liberopoulos • Coach: Rehhagel