Georgios Karagounis

Giorgos Karagounis

Karagounis playing for Greece in 2008
Personal information
Full name	Georgios Karagounis
Date of birth	(1977-03-06) 6 March 1977 (age 39)
Place of birth	Pyrgos, Greece
Height	1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position	Midfielder
Youth career
1993–1996	Panathinaikos
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1996–2003	Panathinaikos	118	(25)
1996–1998	→ Apollon Smyrni (loan)	55	(9)
2003–2005	Internazionale	21	(0)
2005–2007	Benfica	45	(3)
2007–2012	Panathinaikos	133	(16)
2012–2014	Fulham	39	(1)
Total		411	(56)
National team‡
1996–1999	Greece U21	39	(11)
1999–2014	Greece	139	(10)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:56, 23 May 2014 (UTC). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 01:02, 30 June 2014 (UTC)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 20:56, 23 May 2014 (UTC).

Georgios "Giorgos" Karagounis (Greek: Γιώργος Καραγκούνης; born 6 March 1977) is a former Greek professional footballer.

In his club career he has played for Panathinaikos, Apollon Smyrni, Internazionale, Benfica and Fulham.

Internationally, Karagounis represented the Greece national team between 1999 and 2014. He was a member of the Euro 2004 winning squad, and also represented Greece in Euro 2008, the 2010 World Cup, Euro 2012 and the 2014 World Cup. With 139 appearances, he is the most capped player in the history of the Greek national team.

Giorgos Karagounis began career as a professional footballer in 1996 when he signed on loan for Apollon Smyrnis from Panathinaikos. In his first couple of years with the Athens-based club, he already showed signs of his talent as a very energetic player in the centre of midfield who could also score goals. After two seasons with Apollon he returned to his parent club Panathinaikos in 1998, the club where he learned his trade. At Panathinaikos he became a fixture in the first team for the next five years. Although Panathinaikos did not win the Alpha Ethniki title during his spell, due to several controversial reasons, including a ball-fixing scandal, the team was always a title contender, and had good runs in both the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Cup, with Karagounis scoring important goals for the team. He scored six times in 24 league games during his first season with the Greens, and in the 2000–01. In the UEFA Champions League appeared in all 12 of Panathanaikos' games, scoring a memorable goal from a direct free-kick against Manchester United at Old Trafford. The following season, at the Apostolos Nikolaidis Stadium, he scored a wonderful goal against Arsenal, beating David Seaman with a header, in helping his team reach the quarterfinals of the UEFA Champions League.