While he is perhaps at his best when bursting out of defence, Angelos Basinas's
key strength is his ability to adapt to playing a number of roles.
National team
Basinas is a veteran of the outstanding Greek Under-21 side of 1998 who only
narrowly failed to beat Spain's equally gifted young team to the UEFA Under-21
Championship. He made his full debut the following August in a 3-1 victory
against El Salvador and has since proved a regular, and consistent, performer.
He cemented a starting place late in UEFA EURO 2004, keeping his place
for the finals. Basinas converted the penalty that proved the winner in the
opener against Portugal, and played the full 90 minutes in the final as the
hosts were beaten again.
Club
A product of the club's youth system, Basinas' combative style masks a calm,
experienced manner and he has proved a valuable asset to Panathinaikos since
first donning the famous green shirt in December 1995, ending the season
with a championship medal. While goalscoring has never been a major feature
of his game he surprised his coach by scoring twice in the UEFA Champions
League against Valencia CF and Juventus FC in 2000/01. He added two more
the following season including the only goal of the quarter-final first leg
against FC Barcelona, who eventually progressed. Brushed off interest from
a number of European teams to sign a new four-year contract ahead of the
2002/03 season before helping the club reach the last eight of the UEFA Cup
- where his absence was considered the chief reason for Panathinaikos's defeat
in extra time by FC Porto.
2003/04: The Panathinaikos captain was instrumental in his side's domestic
double, scoring seven goals and providing six assists. His side's best performer,
he scored a superb long-range goal at Rangers FC in the Champions League
to win the Greens a place in the UEFA Cup.
Did you know?
Basinas scored his first hat-trick in the December 2003 defeat of Paniliakos
FC. |