Vassilis Tsiartas
Tsiartas signing an autograph for a Greek fan.
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| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Vasilios Tsiartas | ||
| Date of birth | 12 November 1972 | ||
| Place of birth | Alexandreia, Greece | ||
| Height | 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in) | ||
| Playing position | Attacking midfielder | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 1987–1988 | Alexandreia F.C | 15 | (1) |
| 1989–1992 | Naoussa | 92 | (23) |
| 1992–1996 | AEK Athens | 98 | (37) |
| 1996–2000 | Sevilla | 139 | (43) |
| 2000–2004 | AEK Athens | 98 | (43) |
| 2004–2005 | 1. FC Köln | 4 | (1) |
| 2006–2007 | Ethnikos Piraeus | 3 | (1) |
| Total | 449 | (149) | |
| National team | |||
| 1996–1999 | Greece U21 | 2 | (0) |
| 1994–2005 | Greece | 70 | (12) |
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only. |
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Vassilios Tsiartas (Greek: Βασίλης Τσιάρτας) (born on 12 November 1972) is a retired Greek international football player who played as an attacking midfielder. Although he was famed for his lackadaisical playing style, his ability was never in question and he was in many ways the epitome of a player who wears the number 10 shirt. Tsiartas (nickname-EL MAGO) was predominantly left footed but was just as dangerous with his right. He was a phenomenal free kick specialist and also took all penalties for the National Team of Greece and his club sides. He was an important part of the Greek National Side claiming two assists in Portugal towards Greece's ultimate victory Euro 2004 (they began the tournament as 100–1 outsiders). In his entire career he did not receive a single red card. Although being a classic "number-10-player", Tsiartas was capable of scoring many goals due to his deadly footage and scoring abilities being one of AEK Athens top scorers. He is considered one of the best Greek players in history and one of the best free-kick takers of all time.
Born in Alexandreia, Greece, he began his career at the academy at AE Alexandris and later the team of F.A.S. Naoussa FC which also produced such players as Vassilis Lakis and Dimitris Markos. The left footed attacking midfielder soon made a name for himself and his subsequent move to AEK Athens FC resulted in him scoring the most goals in the 1996 season in the Alpha Ethniki (A League). This and his huge attacking presence lead to a move to Sevilla FC for a fee of 1.5m €. There, he was an influential captain and vital in team gaining promotion to the Primera Division. He was known in Sevilla as 'El Mago' due to his lethal ability with any free kicks combined with a powerful shot in or outside the box. He managed to achieve 65 apps for Primera Division scoring 18 goals, although he was the passer of the team. He returned to AEK Athens FC in 2000 for 3.5m € and after another successful 4 year spell at AEK he ended his career at 1. FC Köln. Tsiartas officially returned to active competition, by signing with Ethnikos Piraeus in Greece. On 14 February 2007 Vasilis Tsiartas announced his retirement from professional football.
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