A player blessed with attacking instincts and splendid close control,
Konstantinos Katsouranis was considered one of the most talented players
in Greece when he appeared at the UEFA Under-21 European Championship finals
in Switzerland in May 2002.
National team
Katsouranis was called up by Greece for the UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifiers
against Spain and Ukraine, yet did not play in the historic victories. After
25 games for the Under-21 team, he finally made his senior bow against Sweden
on 20 August 2003.
Club
Katsouranis burst into Panahaiki GC's senior side at the age of 17 and scored
on his debut against FC PAOK Thessaloniki in the 1996/97 season. Although
he played only four matches the following season, Katsouranis then enjoyed
four superb campaigns at the Patron stadium.
2002: At the conclusion of the 2001/02 campaign and his contract, the defensive
midfield player was sought by all three major teams from the Greek capital
and it was the move to AS Monaco FC of Akis Zikos that appeared to prompt
his decision to sign for AEK Athens FC two months later on a four-year deal.
He enjoyed his best season in front of goal domestically, scoring six in
26 games, and also impressed in the UEFA Champions League, sparking a comeback
against Real Madrid CF.
2003/04: Was more at ease in his second season at AEK, proving an ideal foil
for Thedoros Zagorakis. Katsouranis had more freedom to attack, scoring seven
goals, three of them headers, in his 27 matches.
Did you know?
With a splendid long-range shot, Katsouranis scored the winning goal for
AEK at Olympiakos CFP in what was the champions only home defeat of
2002/03.
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