Pantelis Kafes

Pantelis Kafes (born on June 24, 1978 in Veria, Greece) is a Greek football player who plays for Olympiacos Piraeus. Being talented defensive midfield player, Pantelis Kafes has won acclaim for his creative abilities and excellent passing skills.

He started playing professional football in January 1995 at the age of 17 for Pontioi Verias. The club were relegated to the third division that summer and the following May were demoted again. The one shining light was Kafes, who joined PAOK FC in January 1997.

Kafes burst on to the Alpha Ethniki scene in 1998/99, scoring seven times. He continued to impress and was instrumental in PAOK's Greek Cup triumph in 2001. Again one of PAOK's outstanding performers in 2002/03, Kafes helped the club to a fourth-placed finish and also took his tally of UEFA Cup appearances to 21. Yet his spell in Thessaloniki ended acrimoniously as he was released from his contract after a dispute over unpaid wages. Olympiacos CFP stepped in with three-year contract.

He was ever-present in his first season at Olympiacos as they finished second in the Alpha Ethniki in 2003, and made his first UEFA Champions League appearances, five in all.

Played in the majority of Olympiacos' league matches on their way to the domestic double, and only a mid-season injury preventing him from matching his record in Europe, where he took part in all of the club's Champions League and UEFA Cup games.

Kafes has been a fixture in the Greek national side in recent times. He made his debut against Croatia in April 2001 and scored his first goal against Austria in Vienna in March 2003, following it up with another in an August victory against Sweden. Made two appearances in UEFA EURO 2004™ qualifying, and was in the finals squad - but did not play - as Greek claimed the championship. Has remained a squad regular if not first-choice selection.


Career statistics

Season	Club	Country	Matches	Goals
1994/95	A.E. Pontion	Greece	15	2
1995/96	A.E. Pontion	Greece	26	5
1996/97	A.E. Pontion	Greece	0	0
1996/97	PAOK FC	Greece	4	0
1997/98	PAOK FC	Greece	14	2
1998/99	PAOK FC	Greece	27	7
1999/2000	PAOK FC	Greece	26	4
2000/01	PAOK FC	Greece	27	4
2001/02	PAOK FC	Greece	23	4
2002/03	PAOK FC	Greece	25	8
2003/04	Olympiakos CFP	Greece	30	4
2004/05	Olympiakos CFP	Greece	20	2

Did you know?

• Kafes is one of the few outfield players who wears the No1 shirt.
  
  

Links

Pantelis Kafes Profile at Olympiacos CFP

Olympiacos - Current Squad 1 Kafes | 2 Patsatzoglou | 3 Domi | 5 Kapsis | 6 Stoltidis | 7 Castillo | 8 Marić | 9 Okkas | 10 Rivaldo | 11 Đorđević | 14 Żewłakow | 16 Né | 17 Taralidis | 18 Borja | 19 Kostoulas | 21 Georgatos | 22 Bulut | 23 Konstantinou | 28 Mendrinos | 30 Pantos | 32 Anatolakis | 33 Lemmens | 34 Giannou | 36 Fakinos | 40 Babangida | 55 Correa | 71 Nikopolidis | 74 Butina | 77 Pappas | 87 Panagopoulos | Manager: Lemonis

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