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Zagorakis during his first period at PAOK, poses inside Tumba Stadium
Theodoros Zagorakis (Greek: Θεόδωρος Ζαγοράκης) (born October 27, 1971 in Kavala) is the captain of PAOK and the Greece national football team that won the 2004 European Football Championship. A gritty but stylish defensive midfielder, Zagorakis started his career with FC Kavala, but moved to PAOK Thessaloniki in 1992. He stayed with PAOK until 1998, when he moved to English club Leicester City. While in England, he took part in two consecutive League Cup finals at Wembley Stadium, losing the first against Tottenham Hotspur in 1999 and defeating Tranmere Rovers in 2000. Zagorakis headed back to Greece in 2000, joining AEK Athens, where he won the Greek Cup in 2002. On July 14, 2004, he was released by AEK as a result of the club's serious financial difficulties. After failed talks with newly-promoted Spanish club Levante, he signed a two-year contract with Italian Serie A side Bologna on July 16, moving on a Bosman free transfer. Zagorakis signed a 2-year contract with PAOK FC (21/7/2005), after Bologna released him for free, in July 2005 (Bologna was relegated from Italian Serie A, and could not afford his wages). His fee was announced to be something less than 900,000 euros per year, a significant cutback on his previous wages. When Zagorakis landed at Makedonia Airport in Thessaloniki, 5000 PAOK supporters were there to welcome him back. Zagorakis goes by the nickname "Theo", which was given to him by Leicester fans. He prefers shirt number 7, which he wears for Greece and will wear again for PAOK. Zagorakis is also the captain of the national team. His first cap was in 1994, against the Faroe Islands. He played an important role in Greece's victory in the 2004 European Championship, and was named the Player of the Tournament by UEFA. Zagorakis is currently Greece's all-time leader in caps, earning his 100th against Kazakhstan on November 17, 2004. He is at 115 caps as of March 2006 (scoring his first ever goal on a free kick against Denmark in World Cup 06 qualifying, in Athens, during his 101st cap), and has never missed an international game due to injury. In October 5th 2006, Zagorakis announced his international retirement, after fourteen years full playing years as the Greek National Team Leader, being the most capped Greek International Player (Second is Stratos Apostolakis with 98 caps). It is remarkable that during these years (1994-2006), Zagorakis lost only one match for the national team!
Zagorakis was the first Greek player to lift the Euro 2004 Cup, as he is the captain of the National team
Trivia
Just right after leading Greece to their finest moment, Zagorakis carried the Olympic Torch for the 2004 Athens Olympics Interestingly, Zagorakis bears a striking resemblance to Australian actor Hugh Jackman. Links
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org"
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