Giourkas Seitaridis

At 42 years old, Giourkas Seitaridis has this physical status:

Georgios "Giourkas" Seitaridis (born 4 June 1981) is a Greek retired footballer who played as a right-sided full-back and occasionally as a central defender.

He last played for Panathinaikos, a Greek Superleague team, after having competed at PAS Giannina, Porto, Dynamo Moscow, and Atlético Madrid.

He is a former member of the Greece national football team, for whom he made 72 international appearances, scoring one goal.

He was voted into the Team of the Tournament by his teammates who won Euro 2004. In the Pontic Greek dialect, "Giourkas" means "Giorgos" and is his grandfather's name.

Dimitris Seitaridis, both his grandfather and father, were footballers and then administrators.

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Club career

Seitaridis, a Pontic Greek immigrant, began his career with PAS Giannina, nicknamed Ajax of Epirus, in 1997, becoming a key right full-back for the club. Seitaridis was a member of the Greek Super League 2 from 1999-2000. He appeared in all 40 league games with PAS Giannina, scoring 5 goals.

He was immediately spotted by Athens-based Panathinaikos, and on January 12, 2001, he committed to them for a total fee of 300 million drachmas. He quickly established himself as a regular player for the team, winning the 2003–04 Alpha Ethniki and the Greek Cup against rivals Olympiacos, and at the age of 22 he captured his first silverware by assisting Panathinaikos in the 2003–04 season.

In a game against Manchester United on March 7, 2001, he scored his first European goal against them, kicking off the 2000-01 European Champions League's second group stage. He was named Greek Young Footballer of 2001, alongside Pantelis Kafes and Angelos Charisteas in September of the same year.

It was rumored that Seitaridis had signed for Portugal's side on June 11, 2004, the day before the ultimately fruitful UEFA Euro 2004 campaign for Greece, and the Champions League winners, F.C., were a day before the day's triumphant UEFA Euro 2004 campaign for Greece. Porto is charged with a €3 million transfer fee. The official announcement was made on July 26, 2004, about a month and a half later, with rumors comparing him to Real Madrid in the meanwhile. He was a member of the Drag Drag-ets team that won the Portuguese SuperCup and Intercontinental Cup of that year.

He was sold to Dynamo Moscow, Russia, for €10 million on May 23, 2005, following the footsteps of ex-Porto teammates Derlei, Costinha, Maniche, and Thiago Silva, who later moved to the Russian club the same year. Seitaridis began to complain at the club soon after, struggling to settle in Moscow, and said the weather was different from his homeland Greece and that he could not adjust to the cold. He made eight league appearances before deciding to leave after one-year with the club.

After striker Demis Nikolaidis' transfer to Atlético Madrid on June 16, 2006, he became the second Greek footballer to play for Atlético Madrid. The former was the one who persuaded him to join the club, as did his ex-Dynamo teammate Costinha, who joined Atlético the same year. In the La Liga open match against Racing Santander on August 27, 2006, Seitaridis was suspended in the first half of his debut game. He received his second red card only six games into the season on October 15, 2006, after being warned twice in a home league match against Recuno Huelva.

In a game against Gloria Bistrița for the Intertoto Cup, he scored his first goal for Atlético the following year. In November 2007, Seitaridis sustained his achilles tendon in a match against UD Almera, requiring him to have surgery. His absence was initially estimated at six weeks, but two and a half months later, in April 2008. He made 14 appearances for Atlético in the 2007–08 season due to his injury problems.

Seitaridis' first season was off to a promising start with new signings Tomá Ujfalu and John Heitinga, and his long contract meant that Atlético was trying to sell him. Despite this, Seitaridis was a starter in Atlético's first game, defeating Málaga CF 4–0, and went on to make 14 league appearances this season. Despite not being included in the 18-man squad, Atlético's president Enrique Cerezo suspended him and teammate Maniche on 29 April 29, 2009, because they failed to participate in an Atlético home match against Sporting Gijón. Seitaridis was released by Atlético a year before his deal came to an end, and the club's official website stated, "Seitaridis is also free to negotiate with other clubs who may be interested in signing him."

Seitaridis signed a four-year contract with Panathinaikos on September 10, 2009, the last day of the Greek free agent season for free agents players. Giourkas was quickly injured and was struggling to re-establish himself after missing most of the 2009–2010 season's games. Nonetheless, he miraculously returned to the line-up for the big derby against Olympiacos on March 21, 2010, and Panathinaikos put the season on a high note by winning the double. Seitaridis himself missed out on the 2010-09 Greek Cup final against Aris Thessaloniki due to injury, but he made two appearances on the road to the final.

Seitaridis' first season at Panathinaikos against Skoda Xanthi on August 27 was a positive start to the 2010-11 season. However, Seitaridis would return to a league match against Panserraikos two months later on December 4th, due to another muscle injury. He was placed on the transfer list in January 2011, but despite many offers from overseas clubs during the summer transfer period, he stayed at Panathinaikos.

He was even more disappointing in 2011-2012 as he was only able to play 45 minutes in an away game against Atromitos, where he was forced to leave at halftime due to poor results. He appeared in an away game against Asteras Tripoli for the second time, and stayed on the field for the full 90 minutes.

Seitaridis' 2012–13 season was off to a promising start, starting as a starter in the first three league games of the season. He also played a single role in Panathinaikos' 2012–13 UEFA Europa League group stage match against Tottenham Hotspur, which ended 1–1.

He didn't renew his deal and left the club in the summer of 2013.

International career

Seitaridis, a former Greece under-21 international, made his debut on October 6, 2000 in a UEFA Under-21 Championship qualifier against Finland under 21 years old. He was in the finals of the 2002 UEFA Under-21 Championship in Switzerland, where his team was disqualified from the competition after only one point in three games.

In an international friendly match against Sweden on February 13, 2002, Seitaridis made his international debut with the senior team. He helped Greece qualify for the UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal for the second time in history, and he was also one of the key participants during Greece's remarkable campaign, a victory that stunned the football world as Greece was deemed outsiders before the tournament began. As he was knocked down by Cristiano Ronaldo, Seitaridis won a penalty in the first match against Portugal. He also secured the important niche in the final by playing the ball in the center, which was unblockable from Cristiano Ronaldo. Overall, his contributions for the success of his team were acknowledged by the selection of him as part of the 23-man UEFA 2004 All-Star squad, as well as fellow Greek players Antonis Nikopolidis, Traianos Dellas, Theodoros Zagorakis, and Angelos Charisteas.

Greece qualified as European champions following their victory at Euro 2004, as a result of the victory. Giourkas Seitaridis, a member of the 23-man team, was a member of the 23-man squad.

In a Euro 2008 qualifier against Hungary on June 2, 2007, he scored his first international goal against Hungary on June 2nd, 2007, assisting the Greece national team in qualifying for the UEFA Euro 2008 championship. He appeared twice in Greece's tumultuous Euro 2008 season, despite being hospitalized in the second game against Russia.

Despite concerns about his health, Greece national manager Otto Rehhagel named Seitaridis in his 23-man team for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. In the first game of the group stage against South Korea, he only played for 90 minutes, losing 2–0. Seitaridis' national football team played two consecutive European and a World Cups after this game.

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