 Katsouranis with Greece in 2013 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Konstantinos Katsouranis | ||
| Date of birth | 21 June 1979 | ||
| Place of birth | Patras, Greece | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||
| Playing position | Defensive midfielder / Centre Back | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | PAOK | ||
| Number | 28 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Doxa Chalandritsa | |||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps† | (Gls)† |
| 1996–2002 | Panachaiki | 123 | (14) |
| 2002–2006 | AEK Athens | 110 | (29) |
| 2006–2009 | Benfica | 80 | (10) |
| 2009–2012 | Panathinaikos | 88 | (19) |
| 2012– | PAOK | 31 | (5) |
| National team‡ | |||
| 2003– | Greece | 108 | (9) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 15 December 2013.
† Appearances (Goals).
‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 November 2013 | |||
Konstantinos "Kostas" Katsouranis (Greek: Κωνσταντίνος "Κώστας" Κατσουράνης) (born 21 June 1979) is a Greek footballer who plays for PAOK and the Greek national team as adefensive midfielder.Katsouranis can also play in various positions, characteristic shared with Ruud Gullit as a result of the combination of his technique, speed and strength. He has been described as "a reasonable goal threat despite being notionally a defensive midfielder".
Club career
Panachaiki
He was not even 17 years old when he debuted in the 1996–97 season for the Patras-based club Panachaiki. He spent six seasons there and, by the third, was a regular starter.
When his contract with Panachaiki expired, Katsouranis decided that it was time to move forward to a bigger club. He opened negotiations with Panathinaikos, but the coach, Fernando Santos, decided to sign Portuguese Carlos Chaínho, a player he knew when at FC Porto, which meant Katsouranis' transfer would not be finalized.
Olympiacos then approached the Greek. The talks with the vice-president of the club, Giorgos Louvaris, seemed final, but Louvaris asked Katsouranis to wait until the president, Sokratis Kokkalis, returned from a business trip to the United States for the final negotiations. But former AEK Athens president Chrysostomos Psomiadis took advantage of the situation and convinced the promising midfielder to sign a three-year contract with AEK Athens.
AEK Athens
Coming off the bench and making an impressive debut for the club, Katsouranis immediately became an integral part of the club. His continuing progress in the top-level rapidly made him the team's best player and a first team regular with great performances, both domestically and in European competition. He was used mainly as a central midlfielder but also can be used in the wings. The 2004–05 season would prove to be one Katsouranis' finest seasons with the club, as he scored 10 times in 28 appearances from the defensive midfielder spot, leading the club in a hard battle for the title. AEK managed to finish third when many had expected a mid-table performance. Werder Bremen expressed strong interest for the Greek international but Katsouranis together with president Demis Nikolaidis decided to reject the offer.
In the 2005–06 season, Katsouranis led the club to a second place finish in the league, which brought them into the UEFA Champions League. At the end of the season, managerFernando Santos was sacked and Katsouranis wanted to leave to a bigger club and further his career abroad. He then signed with SL Benfica of Portugal, managed by Fernando Santos, for a fee of around €2 million plus the proceeds of friendly match in Athens between the two clubs.[2]
S.L. Benfica
Katsouranis signed a four-year contract with SL Benfica on 22 June 2006, joining is ex-manager in Fernando Santos and fellow countryman Giorgos Karagounis. When he arrived in June, he said "Even if Fernando Santos or Karagounis were not here, I still would have joined. Benfica to me is one of Europe's top clubs and they proved that in the UEFA Champions League. I am here to achieve that same objective and joining Benfica can also help my international career."
In his first Portuguese derby, against FC Porto, he followed on to score for Benfica with a header following a corner kick, the second goal he has scored for Benfica in the league in just a few matches. Katsouranis quickly became a key player for Benfica, scoring some important goals and also captaining the team on a few occasions. He proved to be one of the most important imports into the 2006–07 Portuguese Liga, playing in 29 league matches and scoring six goals.
Despite interest from Valencia CF, Werder Bremen, Tottenham Hotspur, and Juventus, Benfica refused to sell the player, despite Juventus willing to trade Tiago for the Greek international. Benfica were relunctant to sell and, on 14 September 2007, Katsouranis agreed to a contract extension with Benfica for another two years.
On 2 March 2009, Katsouranis was named "Benfica Player of the Year".[3]
Panathinaikos
Katsouranis signed a four-year contract with Greek Super League club Panathinaikos, on 1 July 2009.[4] He has stated that it's the team he supported since childhood.[citation needed] He scored his first goal against Sparta Prague in the Champions League. He scored his first league goal against Skoda Xanthi on the 2nd matchday of the 2009–10 season. Katsouranis scoring abilities were a key part of Panathinaikos' good run during the first half of the season, as the defensive midfielder scored 8 goals in just half a season. He eneded the season with Panathinaikos managed to end the season positively by winning the double with the 2009–10 Greek Cup final against Aris Thessaloniki.
In October 2012, Panathinaikos president Giannis Alafouzos terminated his contract with the club, with Katsouranis paying the price for Tryfili's bad appearances at the start of the 2012–13 season.[5]
PAOK
On 11 December 2012, he signed a contract until the end of the 2013–14 season with PAOK and made his club debut on 6 January 2013 against Panthrakikos. He would wear number 28 on his jersey. On 24 January, he scored his first goal with PAOK in the Greek Cup against Kallithea F.C.. On 3 March 2013 Katsouranis scored his first goal in the Greek Super League with PAOK in a 4-2 win against Panionios. He formed a strong partenship with Gordon Schildenfeldin the central defence reducing to a great extent the goals which PAOK condeded. On 27 August 2013 Katsouranis scored against Schalke 04 for the Play off Champions League in a 2-3 loss
In the 2013–14 season he was named vice-captain of the club behind Dimitris Salpingidis.
International career
Katsouranis made his international debut for Greece on 20 August 2003 against Sweden and scored his first goal against Kazakhstan in a 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifier. Katsouranis was one of the key factors in Greece's triumph at theUEFA Euro 2004, beating Portugal in his own "home" (Benfica's Estádio da Luz) and, following Greece's success at the tournament, Katsouranis was a regular for Greece in their unsuccessful 2006 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. Katsouranis became one of Greece's impact players in their UEFA Euro 2008 qualifiers in which he helped Greece qualify for the finals and have a chance to retain their crown. Their UEFA Euro 2008 campaign resulted in poor fashion as Greece failed to pick up a point. Katsouranis has captained Greece on several occasions and was selected for his country in the 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification. Together with Angelos Charisteas, Giourkas Seitaridis, Georgios Karagounis, Kostas Chalkias who all participated in Greece's Euro 2004 triumph, he led Greece to a 2–1 win against Nigeria, its first win in a World Cup tournament.
