Giorgos Karagounis

At 47 years old, Giorgos Karagounis has this physical status:

Georgios "Giorgos" Karagounis (born 6 March 1977) is a former Greek professional footballer. Karagounis played for Panathinaikos, Apollon Smyrni, Internazionale, Benfica, and Fulham during his club career. Karagounis represented Greece from 1999 to 2014.

He was a member of the UEFA Euro 2004 championship team and also represented Greece at Euro 2008, Euro 2012, and the 2014 World Cup in Moscow.

With 139 appearances, he is the most captained player in the Greece national team's history.

Early life

In Pyrgos, Karagounis was born.

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Club career

Karagounis started his professional career in 1996 after signing on loan for Apollon Smyrnis of Panathinaikos. He already showed signs of his potential as a quick player in the center of midfield with the ability to also score goals in his first two years with Athens. He returned to Panathinaikos in 1998, the club where he learned his trade after two seasons with Apollon.

He made his way into the first team of Panathinaikos for the next five years. Despite Panathinaikos' inability to win the Alpha Ethnici title during his tenure, owing to several unpopular reasons, including a ball fixation scandal, the team was still a championship contender and had a good run in both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup, with Karagounis scoring key goals for the team. During his first season with the Greens and 2001–01, he scored 6 times in 24 league games. He appeared in all 12 of Panathanaikos' games, scoring a spectacular goal against Manchester United at Old Trafford in the UEFA Champions League, winning a free kick.

Karagounis scored a spectacular goal against Arsenal, beating David Seaman with a header to advance his team to the quarter-finals of the Champions League next season.

Karagounis left Panathinaikos to join Inter Milan in the summer of 2003. He was not a regular starter in the league during his first season with Inter in Inter, mainly appearing in European and Coppa Italia matches. Despite spending a lot of time on the replacements' bench, Inter could only finish fourth, with city rivals Milan winning the title. Despite this, he did well enough to be called up to represent Greece at UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal.

He returned to Italy in 2004-05 after helping Greece win the tournament. He was more often used in European and domestic Coppa Italia matches than in Serie A matches under Roberto Mancini. He won the 2004–05 Coppa Italia, leading Inter to victory over Roma in the final. Inter finished third in Serie A in 2004, with Juventus winning the trophy at the end of the season. Inter also reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, after Milan's expulsion.

Karagounis left Portugal in 2005 to sign a three-year deal with Benfica, who are based in the Estádio da Luz, where he won the Euro 2004 final with Greece.

While in Portugal, against Shakhtar Donetsk, and a free kick against Desportivo das Aves, Karagounis scored a couple of memorable long-range goals, as well as a free kick against Desportivo das Aves.

Karagounis' first season at Benfica was difficult, as he had trouble establishing himself as a first-team regular. However, he made a regular starter in his second season, putting in some strong performances and becoming a fan favorite for the Karagounis, who were already familiar with the group from their time together in Panathinaikos. Karagounis, after a fruitful stint with Benfica, seemed keen to return to Greece, first for Panathinaikos.

Karagounis will return to the Estádio da Luz to compete for a Benfica All-Stars squad in a charity match against a team that featured Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo in 2010.

Karagounis' deal with Benfica was set to end in July 2008, but his immediate resignation was negotiated due to personal circumstances. Karagounis returned to Panathinaikos right away, in the summer of 2007. He quickly re-established himself in the team, scoring key goals, particularly in Europe.

Karagounis emerged not only as a key figure at the club level, but also in Greece and Greece. He proclaimed himself as the captain of the national team. As Panathinaikos' progress in Europe, Karagounis' grit and commitment continued to give them an edge. Karagounis' contract with the club lasted until 2012 and he revealed he did not want to end his playing days on September 3rd. He captured his second Superleague title and the Greek Cup as the team's captain. In Group F, a 79th-minute shot by Karagounis secured Panathinaikos three UEFA Europa League points.

Karagounis left Panathinaikos to join Fulham in England Premier League on September 11, 2012. After Nikos Dabizas, Stelios Giannakopoulos, Vassilios Lakis, Theodoros Zagorakis, Angelos Basinas, and Kostas Chalkias, Karagounis became the eighth Greek player from the Euro 2004-winning team to play in the Premier League. "I'm delighted to have signed for Fulham Football Club and am excited by a new challenge in England and the Premier League," Karagounis said at Fulham's Motspur Park Training Ground. I'm looking forward to working under Martin Jol and playing with some of the best players at this Club." "Giorgos Karagounis has a wealth of club and international experience, and I'm delighted that he's joined us for this season," says Martin Jol. He has been a key player for his clubs and is a well-known international football player, and he is expected to become Greece's most capable player. He brings many desirable attributes to our team."

On September 29, 2012, Karagounis made his Premier League debut against Manchester City at Craven Cottage, winning in the 81st minute to replace Chris Baird. In Fulham's 4–0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield, Karagounis played the full 90 minutes. In the FA Cup against Blackpool in the 80th minute on January 5, 2013, he scored his first goal in England, with a "stunning 25-yard volley" that went in off the underside of the crossbar's underside; the match ended 1-1. He scored his first Premier League goal against Wigan Athletic in the 22nd minute on January 12, 2013, a week after his FA Cup heroics.

Karagounis was one of 12 players fired by Fulham at the 2012–2013 season.

However, Karagounis has expressed his desire to return to Fulham through his agent Paschalis Tountouris. Karagounis re-joined Fulham on September 9, 2013, resuming the team's one-year contract. Karagounis scored his only goal in a 4–3 loss to Leicester City in his second season with the Cottagers, but he was unable to stop Leicester from scoring a late winner. Karagounis suffered from muscle pains throughout the season, but he returned as a replacement in his last match for the club against Tottenham Hotspur on April 19th. Fulham was relegated from the Premier League at the end of the season.

In the summer of 2014, Karagounis was one of nine players released by Fulham.

International career

Karagounis captained Greece's entry into the 1998 European Under-21 Championship, and the team came close to winning after losing 1–0 to Spain in the final, and the team came close to winning. He was soon to be a regular on the national team after that. In 1999, he made his first international appearance against El Salvador and moved on to participate in 2002 FIFA World Cup qualifying.

Unquestionably, the UEFA European Championship for Greece at Euro 2004 was the pinnacle of his international career. He was a key player for Greece and scored the first goal of the tournament against Portugal, a spectacular long-range shot that stunned the hosts and gave Greece the energy and success in the tournament. In the 2005 FIFA Confederations Cup, 2006 FIFA World Cup qualification, and UEFA Euro 2008, Karagounis continued to play on a regular basis for Greece. Karagounis played in a Greece–Portugal friendly match in Düsseldorf on March 26, 2008. He scored two almost identical free kicks to win Greece by a 2–1 victory, giving him a bit of a highlight of his international career.

As a captain of Greece, Karagounis was instrumental in Greece's qualification for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He led Greece to its first victory in a World Cup match against Nigeria as captain, defeating Nigeria 2–1. Karagounis' debut against Latvia on October 8, 2010, equaling the record of his former Greece teammate Angelos Basinas. Karagounis made his 101st appearance in the victory over the Israel national team on October 12th, becoming the second most captained player in Greek footballing history, behind Theodoros Zagorakis and scoring his seventh goal. Zagorakis and Basinas praised Karagounis for his 111 appearances with Greece on October 7, 2011. The awarding ceremony took place at Athens' Karaiskakis Stadium before Greece's game against Croatia.

On the first day of Euro 2012, Poland defeated Greece on the 8th of June 2012. Wojciech Szny fouled Greek national Dimitris Salpingidis, resulting in a red card for Szczny. Karagounis saved Karagounis' penalty after substitution goalkeeper Przemysaw Tyto's penalty.

Karagounis began the final game of Group A against Russia on June 16, making him Greece's joint-most capped player with 120 caps alongside Theodoros Zagorakis. At the time of halftime, Karagounis scored the only goal of the match. As a result of this, Greece qualified for the next stage of the tournament. The second half was marginally less dramatic, but it did have its share of talking points. Karagounis made a hurried dash to the Russian box despite missing a crucial target. The captain seemed to be going to score another, but his leg was trapped by a Russian defender. Karagounis was adamant that he had earned a fine, but the referee was not impressed and charged him for simulation. Karagounis earned his second yellow card of the tournament, causing him to miss the quarter-finals.

Karagounis appeared in the second half of the match against Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification, making his country's 121st appearance for the country in the second half. With this match, he established a new record of most caps for Greece, beating Zagorakis. Against the Liechtenstein national football team, he scored a free-kick goal. Karagounis continued to play an integral and vital role throughout the qualifying campaign, leading to the nation's third appearance in the World Cup finals. Despite the fact that the 37-year-old's starting number had decreased, his fame in Greece was still high. Fernando Santos, the head coach of Greece, who worked with Karagounis at both Panathinaikos and Benfica, held him in sway due to the certainty that the veteran exudes. During World Cup qualifying, Karagounis said, "We have confidence and know we can beat any opponent." Karagounis completed the game between Costa Rica and Greece for the World Cup 2014, consisting of 90 minutes of normal time and 30 minutes of extra time.

After Greece's World Cup exit in a penalty shootout loss to Costa Rica, Karagounis resigned from international football. With 139 appearances in over 15 years since making his debut in 1999, he left as the country's most capped player with 139 appearances in over 15 years. Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Greece's goalcorer in the Costa Rica match, paid tribute to his departing captain [of caps], he's written his own story... he's been given everything for the team and had to make compromises for it... He's left us a legacy for the future. He should not be concerned.

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