Vangelis Moras
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Evangelos Moras | ||
| Date of birth | 26 August 1981 | ||
| Place of birth | Larissa, Greece | ||
| Height | 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) | ||
| Playing position | Centre back | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Hellas Verona | ||
| Number | 18 | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1999–2001 | Larissa | 28 | (1) |
| 2001–2003 | Proodeftiki | 35 | (0) |
| 2003–2007 | AEK Athens | 71 | (0) |
| 2007–2011 | Bologna | 98 | (4) |
| 2011–2012 | Swansea City | 1 | (0) |
| 2012 | Cesena | 15 | (0) |
| 2012– | Hellas Verona | 95 | (2) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2002–2004 | Greece U21 | 11 | (0) |
| 2004 | Greece Olympic | 3 | (0) |
| 2009– | Greece | 19 | (0) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 26 April 2015. † Appearances (Goals). | |||
Evangelos "Vangelis" Moras (Greek: Βαγγέλης Μόρας; born 26 August 1981) is a Greek footballer who plays as a centre back for Serie A club Hellas Verona.
Club career
Greece (Larissa, Proodeftiki, AEK Athens)
Moras started his career at the Greek club Larissa and moved to Proodeftiki at the age of 20. After one season at Proodeftiki, the club won promotion to the Greek Super League for the 2002–03 season.
After having impressed in his first season in the Greek first division, Moras moved to Greek giants AEK Athens at the age of 22. He made 84 appearances in his career at AEK in all competitions, but he was never good enough for AEK's level so he got released by the club on 22 May 2007.
Bologna
On 1 July 2007, Moras signed for the Italian club Bologna. After his first season there, he helped the club to win promotion to the Serie A. Moras scored his first goal for Bologna against S.S.C. Napoli scoring the winning goal.
On 25 March 2011, it was confirmed that the player was in talks with Greek team Panathinaikos. He said that Bologna were not going to renew his contract and that he wanted to play football. According to Greek sports newspaper,[1] Panathinaikos wanted to sign Moras as a replacement for Jean-Alain Boumsong. He made 104 appearances in his career at Bologna in all competitions.
Swansea City
On 14 October 2011, it was confirmed that the player had joined Premier League team Swansea City. Brendan Rodgers’ defensive headache has eased slightly with FIFA finally giving Swansea City the green light to sign Vangelis Moras on a three-month deal.The Greek defender, a free agent having left Bologna in the summer, agreed terms with Swansea a fortnight ago after a successful trial in south Wales,by scoring a goal in a friendly against Llanelli on 7 October 2011, but delays in processing the paperwork looked set to leave Rodgers with only one fully fit centre-half for Saturday’s trip to Norwich. He made his Premier League debut in a 2–2 draw with Wolves on 22 October 2011. He left the club after his three-month loan deal expired in January 2012.[2][3]
Cesena
Cesena have officially signed former Swansea City and Bologna defender Vangelis Moras.The 30-year-old was a free agent after his short-term contract with Swansea expired and has signed a new deal until the end of the season.The Sea Horses announced that Moras will undergo his medical on Thursday before taking on his first training session.[4]
In his interview, the defender who picked up from Cesena from Swansea City with a contract until June, is ready to take the field and could do so already against Novara: "I am happy for my arrival even with a two-years' delay, as last season we were very close. With Swansea I did not go well (only 7 games with 6 of them with the reserve-team), so I desperately want to go back to Italy and I thanks Cesena for this opportunity." Furthemore, he said that "the situation is difficult but we can save, I'm used to fighting. I know the coach, it was he who took me to Italy, in Bologna, where I stayed four seasons, the best time of my career so far. I am a close friend of Antonioli together we were rossoblù: it was old then, it's old now, nothing has changed." [5]
On 21 January 2012, he made his debut with Cesena in a 5-1 loss with Roma. Besides the fact that he is regular starter till the end of the 2011/12 season, he left the club after his six-month deal expired in June 2012.
Hellas Verona
On 1 July 2012, Moras signed for the Italian club Hellas Verona. After his first season there, he helped the club to win promotion to the Serie A.On June 2013, Panathinaikos is chasing the signature of the Greek international, as the club looks to begin rebuilding after a disappointing season. The Athenian giants missed out on European football for the first time in almost two decades last season and the club is expected to change its approach to the transfer market drastically this summer. A key part of that approach will be focusing on bringing in Greek players and staff, whilst avoiding the exorbitant wages it has previously paid for underperforming foreign players.Moras, who was a key part of Hellas Verona’s promotion to Serie A last season, has reportedly been in contact with the club. Panathinaikos did not easily give up, offering him a two-year contract worth around €200-250,000 a year.[6]
Eventually, the upcoming deal with Panathinaikos did not come to an end and the Greek defender signed with the club for another year. Moras scored his first goal for Verona against Varese scoring the winning goal. In a game against Bologna, Moras did not react to a biff from Jonathan Cristaldo during the Serie A match between his club and Bologna FC at Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi on March 2, 2014 in Verona, showing his character and moral.[7] Additionally, on 9 April 2014, in an interview had made clear that Hellas Verona are not thinking about Europe, but only finishing out the season well. The club has been one of the surprise packages of the season and until recently were in direct competition for a spot in the Europa League. However, on from a recent fall in form, their Greek international centre-back has made clear where focus truly lies. "Europe? I don’t even want to hear that word,” he told reporters at a trade event this week. “We are thinking about every Sunday’s game, we will see at the end where we will be. I am not thinking about Europe, it is the only thing that can make me feel bad. Now we hope to close the season out very well, because it is good for the club and for the fans. This was a very difficult season, we were able to achieve safety in March and this was an important thing. It was not easy to reach this target and teams with more experienced players were not able to do it, and we have. Now let’s enjoy this moment, we have been through some difficulties and we now think to finish well.”[8]
Vangelis Moras will be part of the 23 players of Greece that will fly in Brazil. A great season with Hellas Verona's performance level that has not gone unnoticed by Fernando Santos, coach of Greece, who decided to bet big on him. But the first to believe in the quality of Vangelis Moras of Bologna was Fabrizio Salvatori, who took him in red and blue, " ...was released, and really wanted to come to Italy - says Salvatori exclusive to GianlucaDiMarzio.com - He accepted a year contract with an option for three more years if he had done well, and so it was with Bologna in Serie B came by a couple of goals in that year, and contributing significantly to the promotion. He steadily grows in confidence, which led him to play in the World Cup. He is a versatile player who improves every year. But even before this is a great guy who deserves this call, after he has done very well this year in Verona." [9]
On 8 July 2014 Hellas Verona have renewed Greek international Moras’ contract until June 2015. The defender put pen to paper on a new deal, which includes an option to add another year till June 2016. [10]
International career
Moras competed for Greece at the 2004 Summer Olympics.[11]
Following some impressive performances for his club in the Serie A, Moras was called up to play for Greece on 11 February 2009 in a friendly against Denmark, where he made his international debut. Greece manager Otto Rehhagel announced the ten men who will make up part of the squad to will take on the Danes in Piraeus, with the remainder of locally-based players to be called up as the match approaches. It is Moras’ name that stands out, the former AEK Athens man clearly having impressed Rehhagel in the Serie A this season.
The 27 year-old has established himself in manager Sinisa Mihajlovic’s first-team, making 18 appearances and even having managed to score a goal during his side’s 2-1 away loss against Inter Milan. Quoted by the Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) official website, the Bologna centre-back expressed a desire to seize the rare opportunity; if he plays against Denmark it will be his first ever appearance for the national team. “My call-up to the national team is something that I wanted after all the efforts of my career, something that they have vindicated. I am grateful to the people who have shown faith in me. On my part, I am prepared to do everything to please my manager and to maintain my position in the national team for a long time.” Moras said.[12]
Personal life
In July 2014, Moras travelled to Australia to donate bone marrow to his brother Dimitris, who had been diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia while on holiday in the country and was being treated in a Melbourne hospital.[13]
References
- ↑ "Νέο "μπάσιμο" για Μόρα". Exedra Sports. 3 June 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2011.
- ↑ "Rodgers breathes a sigh of relief as Swansea finally sign defender Moras". dailymail.co.uk. 14 October 2011.
- ↑ "Swansea City release Greek defender Vangelis Moras". bbc.com. 10 January 2012.
- ↑ "Cesena sign Moras". 11 January 2012.
- ↑ "Moras: "A Cesena arrivo con due anni di ritardo"" (in Italian). 15 January 2012.
- ↑ "Vangelis Moras a target for Panathinaikos". footballhellas.com. Retrieved 4 June 2013.
- ↑ "Cristaldo and Moras". zimbio.com.
- ↑ "No Verona-Europe talk". football-italia.net. 9 April 2014.
- ↑ "Moras at the World Cup with Greece". gianlucadimarzio.com. 2014-05-19.
- ↑ "Moras pens Verona renewal". football-italia.net. 2014-05-19.
- ↑ "Vangelis Moras Biography and Statistics". Sports Reference. Retrieved 2009-12-02.
- ↑ "Bologna Defender Moras Earns Surprise Greece Call-Up For Denmark Friendly". goal.com. 2009-01-30.
- ↑ "Vangelis Moras to donate bone marrow to brother". neoskosmos.com. 2014-07-28.
External links
- Vangelis Moras – FIFA competition record
- Vangelis Moras – UEFA competition record
- ESPN FC profile
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