Vassilis Tsiartas
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Vassilios Tsiartas has been labelled by many as perhaps one of the most naturally talented Greek footballers of his generation. Tsiartas was born on November 12th, 1972 in Alexandria, Greece and currently resides in Athens. As a player he was famed for his almost lackluster and slow movement on the ball, however his ability was never in question and was in many ways the definition of a player who wears the number 10 shirt. Tsiartas was predominantly left footed but was just as dangerous with his right. He was a 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 that qualified for Euro 2004 and later would go on to win the tournament as 100-1 outsiders.
[edit] Club Career
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 Yiotis Tsalouchidis and Dimitris Markos. The left footed attacking midfielder soon made a name for himself and his subsequent move to AEK Athens 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 where 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 returned to AEK Athens in 2000 and after another successful 4 year spell ended his career at FC Köln. Tsiartas officially returned to active competition by signing with Ethnikos Piraeus in Greece.
Club History
- 1987-1989 AE Alexandris (GRE)
- 1989-1990 F.A.S. Naoussa FC(GRE)
- 1991-1992 F.A.S. Naoussa FC(GRE)
- 1993-1996 AEK Athens (GRE)
- 1996-2000 Sevilla FC (ESP)
- 2000-2004 AEK Athens (GRE)
- 2006-2007 Ethnikos Piraeus GRE
[edit] International Career
Having played U-16 and U-21 he debuted for the Greek National Team in 1994 against Saudi Arabia. He managed a total of 12 goals in his 70 caps with the National Team including an important penalty against Northern Ireland in 2003 which lead to Greece qualifying for Euro 2004. He was used as a sub in Euro 2004 and managed to claim two vital assists, one against Spain and the other against the Czech Republic on the way to Greece's victory.
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Greece squad - UEFA EURO 2004 | |
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1 Nikopolidis | 2 Giourkas | 3 Venetidis | 4 Dabizas | 5 Dellas | 6 Basinas | 7 Zagorakis | 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 |
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