Giorgos Karagounis

Georgios Karagkounis (Γεώργιος Καραγκούνης; born 6 March 1977), known as Giorgos Karagounis (Γιώργος Καραγκούνης), is a Greek former professional footballer who played as a midfielder.

In his club career, Karagounis played for Panathinaikos, Apollon Smyrnis, Inter Milan, Benfica and Fulham.

A 79th-minute strike by Karagounis secured Panathinaikos three UEFA Europa League points in Group F.

Karagounis began his professional career 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.

At international level, Karagounis represented Greece between 1999 and 2014.

He scored 6 times in 24 league matches during his first season with the Greens, and in the 2000–01.

In the UEFA Champions League, he appeared in all 12 of Panathanaikos' games, scoring a memorable goal from a free kick against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

The following season, at the Leoforos Alexandras Stadium, Karagounis scored a wonderful goal against Arsenal, beating David Seaman with a header to help his team reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

In the summer of 2003, Karagounis left Panathinaikos to join Italian Serie A club Inter Milan.

During his first season with Inter, he was not a regular starter in the league, mainly appearing in European and Coppa Italia matches.

At the end of his first season in Italy, despite Karagounis spending a lot of time on the substitutes' bench, Inter could only finish a disappointing fourth, with city rivals Milan winning the title.

He was a member of the UEFA Euro 2004 winning squad, and also represented Greece at UEFA Euro 2008, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Euro 2012 and the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

With 139 appearances, he is the most capped player in the history of the Greece national team.

Karagounis was born in Pyrgos.

However, he performed well enough to be called up to represent Greece at UEFA Euro 2004 in Portugal.

After helping Greece win that tournament, he returned to Italy for the 2004–05 season.

Under Roberto Mancini, he was again mainly used in European and domestic Coppa Italia matches rather than in Serie A matches.

He won the 2004–05 Coppa Italia, helping Inter beat Roma in the final.

At the end of the 2004–05 season, Inter finished third in Serie A, with Juventus winning the title.

Inter also reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, suffering elimination by Milan.

Karagounis became the eighth Greek player from the Euro 2004-winning side to play in the Premier League, after Nikos Dabizas, Stelios Giannakopoulos, Vassilios Lakis, Theodoros Zagorakis, Angelos Basinas and Kostas Chalkias.

In 2005, Karagounis moved to Portugal to sign a three-year contract with Benfica, who are based at the Estádio da Luz, the stadium where he won the Euro 2004 final with Greece.

Karagounis scored a couple of memorable long-range goals while in Portugal, against Shakhtar Donetsk, and a free kick against Desportivo das Aves.

Karagounis' first season at Benfica was challenging, as he had difficulty establishing himself as a first-team regular.

However, he became a regular starter in his second season, putting in some excellent performances and becoming a fan favourite, who were by this time managed by Fernando Santos, who already knew Karagounis from their time together at Panathinaikos.

After a successful stint with Benfica, Karagounis seemed ready to return to play in Greece, again for Panathinaikos.

After his release in the summer of 2007, Karagounis immediately returned to Panathinaikos, signing for the club for the next three years.

He quickly re-established himself in the team again, scoring key goals, especially in Europe.

With his acquisition by the Athenians regarded as the start of a new era at the club, Karagounis emerged not only as a leading figure at club level, but for Greece as well.

He established himself as the captain of the national team.

Karagounis' grit and dedication continued to give Panathinaikos an edge as the team made progress in Europe.

Karagounis' contract with Benfica was due to expire in July 2008, but his immediate departure was negotiated due to personal issues.

On 3 September 2009, Karagounis extended his stay until 2012 and stated he wanted to end his career at the club.

As captain of the team, he won his second Superleague title and the Greek Cup.

Karagounis would return to the Estádio da Luz to play for a Benfica All-Stars team in a charity match against a team that included Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo in 2010.

On 11 September 2012, Karagounis left Panathinaikos to join English Premier League side Fulham on a free transfer.