Panagiotis Kone

At 37 years old, Panagiotis Kone has this physical status:

Panagiotis Kone (born 26 July 1987) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder with Western United in the Australia football competition, A-League. Kone first played football in Olympiacos, from where he migrated to Lens' youth team.

He began playing football in Athens before moving to Iraklis in 2008.

Kone has moved to Brescia, Italy, after two seasons with the club.

After one season in Brescia, he migrated to Bologna on loan in 2011 and then moved to Bologna in 2012 and then moved permanently to the club. In 2014, he signed for Udinese.

Kone left Udinese in August 2018 after loan spells with Fiorentina, Granada, and Athens. Kone appeared on youth teams before making his senior debut in 2010.

He was a member of the Greece squad that participated in the 2014 World Cup.

Early life

He was born in Tirana, Albania, and migrated to Greece with his parents Isaac, a biologist, and Leontina, a piano instructor, and older brother, who was two years old, when he arrived in Athens. As part of the naturalization process, he changed his name to Panagiotis. He has stated that he is a Greek by nature and ethnicity. Some of his relatives still live in Albania, and whenever he visits the country, he says "Kone the Albanian" to avoid discrimination. Sotiris, his brother, owns a bar in Athens.

He is of Albanian and Italian origins, according to Albanian and Italian press reports, but he has maintained that his family is ethnically Greek despite being born in Albania.

Kone began his youth at the Olympiacos youth academy, but he left France just before his 17th birthday when Lens expressed an interest in him. He was sold to Lens for €400,000.

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Club career

Kone returned to Greece to join AEK Athens, his first professional job after one year with Lens. He wore the number 10 shirt for the 2005-06 season as an 18-year-old, but with the arrival of former Ballon d'Or champion Rivaldo, he changed it to 22.

Kone was moved to Iraklis in 2008 after being in need of AEK's resources. In his two seasons with the club, he played 49 league appearances and scored eight goals; in 37 of these games, he was either a replacement or he was knocked out; Despite the fact that he played football well, the fact that he was quite young and out of syncence meant he would not be able to guarantee him a permanent seat in Iraklis' starting eleven.

Despite being under contract with Iraklis, Kone trained with Italian side Brescia in July 2010. Kone no longer trained with the club after it was announced to Brescia. He was due to be barred from his employment with Iraklis due to alleged debt owed to the club to him, but the Hellenic Football Federation (HFF) refused to accept his offer on July 22nd. Despite this, Iraklis sold him to Brescia for a €800,000 transfer fee.

Kone signed with Brescia Calcio in July 2010, an attempt to play outside of the Greek borders, ahead of the 2010–11 Serie B Championship. He put in some outstanding performances, catching the eye of club management with his technical education, fast pace, and a strong sense of direction. Following Brescia's relegation from 19th in 2010–11, he signed Bologna on loan for the 2011–12 season, with the option to make the loan permanent.

Kone arrived in Bologna on a temporary basis as a replacement for Francesco Della Rocca, who had departed from the country, and who had migrated to Palermo.

Bologna signed a €1.6 million fee in June 2013 to buy-out Brescia's 5 percent interest in Kone. He was co-owned by the two clubs at the time. Negotiations between the two parties had been tense prior to the agreement, and there were concerns that the case would go to a blind auction in the summer of 2013. Kone extended his Bologna contract just short of the contract had been signed. The Greek attacking midfielder has made his name in Italy, with a scissor-kick volley against Napoli last season, giving his side all three points in a 2–3 away win.

Kone scored his first goal of the 2013–14 season in a 1–1 home draw against Internazionale on November 24, 2013, finding the net in the 12th minute. Bologna, who suffered a 1–2 home loss to Catania, was relegated to Serie B in the penultimate matchday on May 11, 2014. Following the loss, 300 Bologna supporters surrounded the squad and barred them from approaching boss Davide Ballardini, who was later ordered to resign from their positions of service due to a cordon of riot police. After breaking down in tears in the melee, Captain Kone, one of the few players to come from the season at all, was consoled by a supporter. "We are mortified because the dressing room is ruined." In La Gazzetta dello Sport, Kone has been crying alone on the field," coach Ballardini was quoted as saying.

Following the demotion, it was reported in Italy that Palermo were keen to sign Kone, despite the fact that the agreement was not set to close before the 2014 FIFA World Cup. Despite Bologna's asking €5.6 million for Kone, Palermo's budget was still on the lookout, but Palermo was also considering a loan modification with the ability to buy-out next year. It was also considered that including players as compensation. In addition, Tuttosport and Torino's Torino management were poised to make their decisive move for Kone as a result of Giampiero Ventura's resignation.

Despite Palermo and Torino's concern, Udinese announced the signing of Kone. No information was given regarding the transfer price or any contract specifics.

Kone scored the equalizing goal—a ferocious, low volley—in the 2014-15 Coppa Italia against Napoli in extra time on January 22, 2015. In the subsequent penalty shoot-out, ten-man Udinese were disqualified after the 2–2 draw, but ten-man Udinese were eliminated in the second penalty shoot-out. Kone also threatened to score the winner when pouncing on a Miguel Britos mistake, putting goalkeeper Mariano Andjar into a save at full throttle. Kone scored his first Serie A goal with Udinese against Fiorentina on March 22nd. "My goal was important for the team, but we didn't deserve to lose this game," he said on Udinese Channel after the match. We had a fantastic game throughout the second half. We are a group of young people, and I give the coach praise as he read the game and the improvements it made because it helped us to play better in a difficult situation. We played well against Torino and Fiorentina, and our staff is growing every day. Do not forget that this is only the first year of the project.

Kone, as a replacement, helped Udinese snap Juventus' 47-game streak at home in the league on August 23 by providing an assist to teammate Cyril Théréau in a dramatic away win. Kone sustained a calf injury while on international service with Greece, and will be out of action for 2+1 months, according to Udinese. Kone made his return to the team on December 17th, 2015-16 Coppa Italia; controlling a cross with his heel, he swung his leg around and acrobatically flicked the ball into the top-left corner of the goal. Despite the individual's efforts, Lazio won 2–1, knocking Udinese out of the tournament by a single point. Kone played again as a substitute for Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu in a 4–1 away loss against Palermo on January 24, 2016, nearly four months since his last appearance with the club in Serie A.

He began the 2016-17 season adrift from last year's injuries, including a painful trip to Fiorentina. Kone has returned to Udinese without having played a single match or a reputation that has been reconstructed. Coach Giuseppe Iachini, he continued to improve physically and has increased confidence in their own capabilities. The physique is still to find, as well as the race speed. However, the fans of Empoli lauded his entry into the club as he helped the club avoid being concerned and desperate about the race, which made the team more compact. Kone has been suffering from a dislocated shoulder since his return to action on October 12, 2016.

Kone joined Fiorentina on a loan with the right of redemption from Udinese on January 31. The loan is for a first loan, but Udinese announced on their official website that Fiorentina will have the option to buy. Kone, a former Bologna midfielder, has had a difficult season with injuries this season, making only five league appearances for Udinese as a result. Kone poked surprise from Fiorentina's UEFA Europa League squad on February 4, 2016, a surprise for the midfielder, who had been suspended from Paulo Sousa, the club's coach. Panagiotis Kone made his Fiorentina debut in the Serie A match against Empoli on April 10, 2016 as an 82nd-minute replacement for Josip Ilicic.

Kone was loaned to La liga club Granada for six months on January 19, 2017.

AEK and Udinese reached an agreement on the return of the international midfielder on a season-long loan on August 30, 2017. Kone appeared as a replacement in a home 2–2 UEFA Europa League group stage home game against Rijeka on November 23, 2017, nearly eight months after his last appearance in the field. Kone scored his first goal for the club after ten years in a 3–1 home win over Kerkyra on December 11, 2017.

Kone has returned to Udinese after his loan, but the AEK's office is still waiting for an experienced Greek attacking midfielder to be released from the Italian club. During the 2017–18 season, Kone had 20 appearances in all competitions with the champions of Greece.

He and Udinese successfully ended their employment on August 31, 2018.

Kone was the first signing for Western United FC in the A-League ahead of their inaugural season in a two-year marquee contract on January 31.

International career

Kone has represented Greece at the youth level. Fernando Santos, the current Greece coach, called him up for UEFA Euro 2012 qualifiers against Georgia and Croatia just short of signing for Brescia. Kone made his senior national team debut in a 1–2 friendly away win over Austria on November 17, 2010. Before being suspended, he played the entire first half.

Kone was selected in the provisional squad for UEFA Euro 2012 based on Kone's position. He was suspended during Greece's 1–1 draw with Slovenia in a pre-tournament friendly on May 26, 2012. "What happened with Kone is a shame." After the draw, Santos said, "we lose our minds in the heat of the match." Kone was eventually dropped from Greece's final 23-man squad.

Kone's stellar season with Bologna helped Santos to include him in both the 30-man provisional World Cup squad and the final 23-man squad for the 2014 World Cup. He scored his first goal with Greece in a 2–1 friendly win over Bolivia on June 7, 2014.

Kone, a Greek player, sparked controversy after a photograph of him emerging on the Faroe Islands revealing an Albanian gesture, bringing him under scrutiny.

Kone beat Hungary 43-23 in UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying round, with a José Holebas cross to net a strong header on October 11, 2015. It was the first and only victory for Greece in qualifying, where it came last in Group F, meaning it would not qualify for the final tournament.

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