Theodoros Zagorakis

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Personal information
Theodoros Zagorakis
Full name	Theodoros Zagorakis (Θεόδωρος Ζαγοράκης)
Date of birth	October 27, 1971 (age 35)
Place of birth	Kavala, Greece
Height	1.78 m (5'10")
Playing position	Defensive Midfielder
Club information
Current club	PAOK
Number	7
Senior clubs¹
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1988–93 1992–98 1997–2000 2000–04 2004–05 2005–present	Kavala PAOK Leicester City AEK Athens Bologna PAOK	114 (6) 155 (10) 50 (3) 101 (4) 32 (0)
National team²
1994-2006	Greece	119 (3)
¹ Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of the end of the 2004-05 season. ² National team caps and goals correct as of October 12th 2006. * Appearances (Goals)

Theodoros Zagorakis (Greek: Θεόδωρος Ζαγοράκης) (born October 27, 1971 in Kavala) is the captain of PAOK and the Greece national football team that won the 2004 European Football Championship.

A gritty but stylish defensive midfielder, Zagorakis started his career with FC Kavala, but moved to PAOK Thessaloniki in 1992. He stayed with PAOK until 1998, when he moved to English club Leicester City. While in England, he took part in two consecutive League Cup finals at Wembley Stadium, losing the first against Tottenham Hotspur in 1999 and defeating Tranmere Rovers in 2000.

Zagorakis headed back to Greece in 2000, joining AEK Athens, where he won the Greek Cup in 2002. On July 14, 2004, he was released by AEK as a result of the club's serious financial difficulties. After failed talks with newly-promoted Spanish club Levante UD, he signed a two-year contract with Italian Serie A side Bologna on July 16, moving on a Bosman free transfer.

Zagorakis signed a 2-year contract with PAOK FC (21/7/2005), after Bologna released him for free, in July 2005 (Bologna was relegated from Italian Serie A, and could not afford his wages). His fee was announced to be something less than 900,000 euros per year, a significant cutback on his previous wages. When Zagorakis landed at Makedonia Airport in Thessaloniki, 5000 PAOK supporters were there to welcome him back.

Zagorakis goes by the nickname "Theo", which was given to him by Leicester fans. He prefers shirt number 7, which he wears for Greece and will wear again for PAOK.

Zagorakis is also the captain of the national team. His first cap was in 1994, against the Faroe Islands. He played an important role in Greece's victory in the 2004 European Championship, and was named the Player of the Tournament by UEFA. Zagorakis is currently Greece's all-time leader in caps, earning his 100th against Kazakhstan on November 17, 2004. He is at 115 caps as of March 2006 (scoring his first ever goal on a free kick against Denmark in World Cup 06 qualifying, in Athens, during his 101st cap), and has never missed an international game due to injury.

In October 5th 2006, Zagorakis announced his international retirement, after fourteen years full playing years as the Greek National Team Leader, being the most capped Greek International Player (Second is Stratos Apostolakis with 98 caps). It is remarkable that during these years (1994-2006), Zagorakis missed only one match for the national team.

[edit] Trivia

Zagorakis was featured on the cover of the Greek edition of FIFA 2000.
His body naturally produces high levels of testosterone, which were suspected to have been caused by performance enhancing drugs. It has long been proven that it is indeed a natural but rare phenomenon, although it can cause him inconvenience with regard to drug tests.
Zagorakis is said to bear a striking resemblance to Australian actor Hugh Jackman.

[edit] National Team Career

Match	Score	Competition	Date
Faroe Isl. - Greece	1-5	Euro 96 Qual.	07/09/1994
Greece - Finland	4-0	Euro 96 Qual.	12/10/1994
Greece - San Marino	2-0	Euro 96 Qual.	18/11/1994
Greece - Scotland	1-0	Euro 96 Qual.	18/12/1994
Cyprus - Greece	2-3	Friendly	25/1/1995
Greece - Romania	1-0	Friendly	08/2/1995
Greece - Switzerland	1-1	Friendly	08/3/1995
Greeece - Russia	0-3	Euro 96 Qual.	26/4/1995
Latvia - Greece	2-1	Friendly	17/5/1995
Finland - Greece	2-1	Euro 96 Qual.	11/6/1995
Scotland - Greece	1-0	Euro 96 Qual.	16/8/1995
San Marino - Greece	0-4	Euro 96 Qual.	08/2/1995
Greece - Yugoslavia	0-2	Friendly	20/9/1995
Russia - Greece	2-1	Euro 96 Qual.	11/10/1995
Greece - Faroe Isl.	5-0	Euro 96 Qual.	15/11/1995
Greece - Israel	2-1	Friendly	24/1/1996
France - Greece	3-1	Friendly	21/2/1996
Portugal - Greece	1-0	Friendly	27/3/1996
Greece - Slovenia	2-0	World Cup 98 Qual.	24/4/1996
Greece - Georgia	2-1	Friendly	8/5/1996
Greece - Albania	2-1	Friendly	14/8/1996
Greece - Bosnia	3-0	World Cup 98 Qual.	1/9/1996
...

WORK IN PROGRESS!

	Greece squad - UEFA EURO 2004 Champions
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