Panagiotis "Takis" Fyssas (born 12 June 1973, in Athens) is a former Greek international footballer. He is currently technical director of the Hellenic Football Federation.

Fyssas started his career in the Panionios youth academy, achieving his senior debut in the 1990-91 season. After eight seasons in Nea Smyrni, which included a Greek Cup triumph, he signed for Athens giants Panathinaikos in 1998. The increased exposure Fyssas received playing at the Spiros Louis ensured a rapid elevation to the Greek national side and he made his debut against Finland in 1999. Fyssas also made his first UEFA Champions League appearance while with the Greens, in the 2000-01 season.

In December 2003 he moved to Lisbon with Benfica, where he was to stay for a season and a half, helping the Eagles claim the 2003-04 Portuguese Cup and 2004-05 Portuguese Liga. During this spell came the pinnacle of Fyssas's career: Greece's surprise victory at the 2004 European Championships. He played in all six of Greece's matches (starting five) and displayed a mixture of uncompromising defending and attacking verve on the left flank in the unlikely triumph.

After being allowed to leave Benfica in the summer of 2005, Fyssas made the surprise decision to move to Scotland with Hearts, despite reported interest from England and Germany. He collected his fourth career winners medal in his first season with the Tynecastle side, when they defeated Gretna in the 2005-06 Scottish Cup final. His first and only Hearts goal came in a league game against Motherwell on 9 December 2006.^[1] He became a popular member of the Hearts team and will always be remembered fondly for his celebrations after clinching a place in the UEFA Champions League. He left the Edinburgh club at the end of the 2006-07 season to move back to Panathinaikos.

In his second Panathinaikos term, he played just a couple of games and he silently decided to retire from football, after a glorious career.

[edit] Honours

• European Championship: 2004
• Greek League: 2003-04
• Greek Cup: 1998, 2004
• Portuguese Liga: 2004-05
• Portuguese Cup: 2004
• Scottish Cup: 2006

[edit] Career statistics

[1] [2]

[edit] International goals

Scores and results list Greece's goal tally first.

#	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1	13 February 2002	Kleanthis Vikelides Stadium, Thessaloniki, Greece	Sweden	1-1	2-2	Friendly
2	15 May, 2002	Ethniko Stadium, Rhodes, Greece	Cyprus	1-1	3-1	Friendly
3	15 May, 2002	Ethniko Stadium, Rhodes, Greece	Cyprus	2-1	3-1	Friendly
4	29 January 2003	GSZ Stadium, Larnaca, Cyprus	Cyprus	1-1	2-1	Friendly

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Panagiotis Fyssas career stats at Soccerbase
• Profile at londonhearts.com

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