Stefanos Kotsolis

Stefanos Kotsolis

Kotsolis with Panathinaikos in 2014
Personal information
Date of birth	(1979-06-05) 5 June 1979 (age 38)
Place of birth	Athens, Greece
Height	1.90 m (6 ft 3 in)
Playing position	Goalkeeper
Youth career
1997–1998	Panathinaikos
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
1998–2005	Panathinaikos	8	(0)
2005–2009	AEL	100	(0)
2009–2010	Omonia	15	(0)
2010–2017	Panathinaikos	17	(0)
National team‡
2005–2011	Greece	5	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 14:52, 15 June 2017 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 18:17, 22 December 2014 (UTC)

Stefanos Kotsolis (Greek: Στέφανος Κοτσόλης; born 5 June 1979) is a Greek professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper.

Born in Athens, Kotsolis joined Panathinaikos as an 18-year-old youth player in 1997 and made sporadic appearances over his first five seasons at Panathinaikos. The imposing form of first-choice keeper Antonios Nikopolidis kept Kotsolis at bay for most of that time. Kotsolis, then the great hope of Greek goalkeeping, has waited patiently for an opportunity to break into the Panathinaikos first team, but Nikopolidis was always too good to be a second-choice. He made his professional debut for Panathinaikos on 13 April 1999, in a Greek Cup game against Athinaikos.

In 2005, he was transferred to AE Larissa where he made a total of 121 appearances, playing there until June 2009. He won the Greek Cup in the season 2006/2007, beating his former club Panathinaikos for 1-2 in the Panthessaliko Stadium in [Volos|].

He was then transferred to Cypriot club Omonia, from where he was released in summer 2010. Here he won Cypriot First Division and the LTV Super Cup.

On 8 February 2011 he returned to Panathinaikos F.C. after five and a half years of absence from the team. On 23 July 2013, he renewed his contract for 2 more years. The 26 of April 2014 won his third Greek Cup with Panathinaikos playing the final against PAOK FC. On 9 June 2016, the veteran goalkeeper will remain a member of Panathinaikos in 2016-17 season, since the administration of the Greens extended his contract. On 16 June 2017, Panathinaikos officially announced today that the contract of experienced goalkeeper and captain of the team, will not be extended. The 38-year-old former international spent the biggest part of his career with the shirt of the Greens (1998-2005, February 2011-17), winning three domestic titles.