Takis Fyssas

Takis Fyssas

Personal information
Full name	Panagiotis Fyssas
Date of birth	(1973-06-12) 12 June 1973
Place of birth	Athens, Greece
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Playing position	Centre-back / left-back
Youth career
	Panionios
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1990–1998	Panionios	150	(9)
1998–2003	Panathinaikos	123	(6)
2003–2005	Benfica	30	(0)
2005–2007	Hearts	53	(1)
2007–2008	Panathinaikos	7	(0)
Total		363	(16)
National team‡
1999–2007	Greece	60	(4)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 11 May 2008. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 27 March 2007

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

Clubs

Panionios

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.

Panathinaikos

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.

Benfica

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. On 25 January 2004, he was on the bench for a 1–0 away win against future club Vitória de Guimarães, a game overshadowed by the tragic death of his team mate Miklós Fehér. He scored a goal on the final of Portuguese Cup that season, that gave them the victory against FC Porto. 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.

Hearts

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.

Panathinaikos

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

National team

Fyssas played 60 matches for Greece and he scored four goals. He was also one of the key players for the Greek national team that won the Euro 2004 championship in Portugal, a win that shocked the footballing world as Greece were considered 100–1 outsiders before the tournament started.

After retirement

Fyssas after his retirement enter into the staff of the Greek national Team helping Otto Rehhagel for the 2010 FIFA World Cup and the new coach Fernando Santos after Rehhagel retired in 2010.

Honours

Panionios

• Greek Cup: 1998

Panathinaikos

• Super League Greece: 2004

Benfica

• Portuguese Liga: 2004–05
• Portuguese Cup: 2004

Hearts

• Scottish Cup: 2006

Greece

• UEFA European Championship: 2004
• UEFA European Championship: UEFA Team of the Tournament 2004

Career statistics

^[2][3]

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

References

External links

• Profile at londonhearts.com

v t 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 t 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