Giorgos Karagounis

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Giorgos Karagounis (Greek: Γιώργος Καραγκούνης; born March 6, 1977, in Pirgos, Greece) is a midfielder currently playing for Panathinaikos FC and Greece. He is best remembered for scoring the first goal of Euro 2004. His goal helped his team to win the opening game of the tournament, in which the Greeks emerged as the champions.

For many football supporters in his homeland, Karagounis represents everything that is good about the modern Greek game. His rugged style of play, combined with his rather small stature, has earned him comparisons with legendary Greek midfield player Mimis Domazos.

[edit] Clubs

He joined Panathinaikos FC as a youngster but was allowed to leave for Apollon Smirnis FC, where he was a regular scorer over two seasons before returning to the Athens club, 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, and Karagounis scored some big goals for the team. He scored six times in 24 Alpha Ethniki 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 FC at Old Trafford.

After Panathinaikos missed out on the Greek championship to Olympiacos CFP by virtue of an inferior head-to-head record in 2003, Karagounis opted for a move to Internazionale Milano 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 in Euro 2004 had improved his standing in the team for next year. He scored the first goal of this tournament against Portugal, helping Greece win 2-1, but was suspended as the hosts were beaten again in the final. However, Giorgos was not able to establish himself at a key player in Internazionale 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 S.L. Benfica based at Estádio da Luz, precisely the same stadium where he won the Euro 2004 final for Greece. Karagounis said; "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". On July 2006 Karagounis scored a magnificent chip shot right out of the 18 yard line against FC Shakhtar Donetsk this 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

Karagounis was rumored to be experiencing family problems. 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" was rumored to have several invitations from his home country Greece and from Italy, where he has played for two seasons. However, after his release from Benfica Giorgos immediately signed a contract with Panathinaikos for the next three years.

[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 has earned 71 caps so far in his career, scoring 6 goals. 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. After winning Euro 2004, Karagounis continued to play on regular basis for Greece both in the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign and in the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup.

On 26 March 2008 Karagounis participated in a Greece - Portugal friendly match in Dusseldorf. 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.

[edit] Honours

• European Championship: 2004

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 • 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 - 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