Anthony Koutoufides
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| Personal Info | |
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| Birth | January 18, 1973, |
| Recruited from | Lalor |
| Height/Weight | 191cm/98kg |
| Playing Career¹ | |
| Debut | Round 13, 1992, Carlton vs. Adelaide, at Princes Park |
| Team(s) | Carlton (1992-)
267 games, 220 goals |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 2006 season | |
| Career Highlights | |
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Anthony Koutoufides (born January 18, 1973) is an Australian rules footballer with the Carlton Football Club.
Beginning his AFL career in 1992, "Kouta" quickly established himself as one of the most versatile and athletic players ever to play the game. He was a strong mark, a beautiful kick and a hard runner. Of Greek and Northern Italian heritage, Koutoufides made a choice to switch from track and field athletics to Australian rules football citing the love of team sports as the reason behind his decision.
Koutoufides' best season came in 2000 when he played 20 games, averaging 26 disposals, over six marks and nearly 2 goals a game. He was Brownlow Medal favourite in that same year but suffered a knee injury in round twenty, ruining his chances of polling votes in the final three games; he was eventually beaten by Shane Woewodin of the Melbourne Football Club.
Early in his career, Kouta was hot property, being an AFL face of Nike and adidas in the mid-1990s. He played in Carlton's 1995 premiership, and was captain of the Blues from 2003 to the end of 2006. He has signed on for another season 2007, with many suggesting it will be his last.
Arguably the most memorable game in Koutoufides' career was round six, 1996 against West Coast at Optus Oval. Playing on the wing, Koutoufides took eighteen marks, including the final game-saving mark which kept the Blues ahead by one point. It was included in the "Memorable Moments" competition for the Optus Oval farewell.
Koutoufides is also seen as a pin-up boy for the club. He has appeared in the Men For All Seasons calendar on numerous occasions and on the 28th November 2006, Koutoufides won the final of Channel 7's 5th season of Dancing with the Stars.
In October 2002 Koutoufides married Susie Angeloski. They now have two children - a son, Jamie and a daughter, Monique.
There has been criticism that Koutoufides did not deserve his $1 million contract as he missed a vast amount of matches due to injury.
At 34 years of age, many believed that 2007 would be Kouta's last year, however, after a solid pre-season and sporting a new look with a crew cut, he has stated his intentions to play on as long as he can and has had continued good form.
| Preceded by Shane Crawford |
Leigh Matthews Trophy 2000 |
Succeeded by Andrew McLeod |
| Preceded by Brett Ratten & Scott Camporeale (tied) |
Carlton Football Club Best and Fairest 2001 |
Succeeded by Corey McKernan |
| Preceded by David Teague |
Carlton Football Club Best and Fairest 2005 |
Succeeded by Lance Whitnall |
| Preceded by Grant Denyer |
Dancing with the Stars 2006 |
Succeeded by ? |
