Ioannis Okkas

Yiannakis Okkas
Personal information
Full name Yiannakis Okkas
Date of birth February 11, 1977 (1977-02-11) (age 33)
Place of birth    Larnaca, Cyprus
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Anorthosis Famagusta
Number 9
Youth career
1993-1997 Nea Salamina
Senior career1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1993-1997
1997-2000
2000-2003
2003-2004
2004-2007
2007-2008
2008-2009
2009-		 Nea Salamis
Anorthosis Famagusta
PAOK FC
AEK Athens
Olympiakos
Celta Vigo
AC Omonia
Anorthosis Famagusta		 053 0(16)
072 0(41)
080 0(41)
024 00(5)
077 0(18)
024 00(6)
023 00(9)
053 0(14)   
National team2
1997- Cyprus 100 0(26)

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of May 2, 2010.
2 National team caps and goals correct
as of October 8, 2010.
* Appearances (Goals)

Ioannis Okkas (*)

Giannakis 'Ioannis' Okkas (born February 11, 1977 in Larnaca) is a Cypriot football striker, who currently plays for Anorthosis Famagusta FC. He is also the captain of the Cyprus national football team and the 2nd leading scorer of all time just behind Michalis Kostantinou for Cyprus.


International career

At the age of 19, Okkas was called into the Cypriot national team, and remained a regular fixture in the following decade, passing the 50-cap mark in 2003.

He scored three goals in his side's failed attempts to qualify for the 2002 World Cup, and was also on target in Euro 2004's qualifying stage, notably against France, in which Cyprus lost 1-2, but with fine displays from Okkas, including a delicate chip that left French keeper Grégory Coupet completely stranded.[1]

On November 15, 2006, Okkas netted in a surprising Euro 2008 qualifier draw with giants Germany. He started captaining the national squad since the 2006 FIFA World Cup.

On October 8, 2010, Okkas reached 100 appearances with the Cyprus national football team against Norway in Antonis Papadopoulos Stadium in Larnaca. In the same match, he managed to score his 26th goal but Cyprus lost 1-2.

Trivia

For two consecutive years, Okkas scored the first league goal of the season in Greece, with AEK in 2003-04 and Olympiacos the next season.

References

1. ^ World Soccer review


External links

* National Football Teams
* Stats and profile at zerozero.pt

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License